USPS strikes again (rant)

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RonSchmitt

RonSchmitt

Member
Joined
Jan 9, 2006
Messages
544
Location
Milwaukee, Wi, USA.
Placed an order for a couple items I needed to finish a Christmas order last Tuesday. Order shipped priority mail ( 2 - 3 days per USPS ) same day. It is now Wed, 8 DAYS LATER!!!!! Still no package, my customer is ( understandably) not happy and cancelled his order.

Detailed Results:
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Arrival at Post Office, December 23, 2009, 5:35 am, MILWAUKEE, WI 53219
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Processed through Sort Facility, December 22, 2009, 4:38 pm, OAK CREEK, WI 53154

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Processed through Sort Facility, December 21, 2009, 2:43 pm, HAZELWOOD, MO 63042

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Processed through Sort Facility, December 20, 2009, 2:06 pm, HAZELWOOD, MO 63042

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Processed through Sort Facility, December 16, 2009, 3:53 am, PHOENIX, AZ 85043

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Electronic Shipping Info Received, December 15, 2009

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Shipment Accepted; December 15, 2009, 3:43 pm, YUMA, AZ 85364

Lesson learned: try to keep parts on hand.
 
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Unfortunately it is just the time of year. Mailed a package to Yuma, Az on 15 December. Arrived on the 21st. Yes, USPS Priority.
 
I've mailed several packages the last few days and was advised by the post office to send them priority. Seems that priority has become the new "standard" service recommendation.
 
Ron, I had the same experience with a package from A.S. but I got mine Monday and like yours it was ordered the 15th, Post Offices are shutting down all over the country, and many employees are getting lay offs, plus, it is that most wonderful time of the year. (unless you need something in a hurry)
 
2-3 days is an estimate and not guaranteed.............
and around Christmas almst everyone knows things are going to take longer.

Whether through poor planning or an unavoidable surprise, you need to ship at the last minute, you need to bite the bullet and pay for overnight service.

The PO handles a billion pieces of mail a year (not sure what the exact figure is) and even if they are 99.99% perfect, that still leaves a lot of pieces that are going to be off schedule.

If you don't like the USPS service, try UPS or FedEX. Doubt you will find they are any faster at this time of year.

Maybe you should hand-deliver and pick up your packages so the USPS would not have the opportunity to screw them up for you??
 
My wife and I mailed out Christmas goodies box to the kids.. one to Texas, two to Illinois... the Illinois arrived in todays mail... 3 days as advertised... suspect the Texas one has arrived also, but the son only checks his mail box once or twice a week... it's a community box at the entrance to the sub-division and he usually comes in the back entrance since it's closer to his house....
 
Randy_ said:
2-3 days is an estimate and not guaranteed.............
and around Christmas almst everyone knows things are going to take longer.

Whether through poor planning or an unavoidable surprise, you need to ship at the last minute, you need to bite the bullet and pay for overnight service.

The PO handles a billion pieces of mail a year (not sure what the exact figure is) and even if they are 99.99% perfect, that still leaves a lot of pieces that are going to be off schedule.

If you don't like the USPS service, try UPS or FedEX. Doubt you will find they are any faster at this time of year.

Maybe you should hand-deliver and pick up your packages so the USPS would not have the opportunity to screw them up for you??
Click to expand...

Not always is it just harping on them, yes they send a billion pieces a year, thats what they do! its what they have done and will continue to do. BUT alot of it boils down to lazy, unmotavated people. My last package almost didnt make it cause the idiot running the route read the numbers off the box backwards! Even with me standing there! She delivered a package to me that was for a house 4 blocks over! No excuse for that.

I have seen some of the sorting facilites, they can handle it, its the people that work for them that cant, its another job that takes a major foul up to get fired from so there is no motivation to work harder, period.

I am sorry even with the holidays, 8 days to go only half way accross country, by priorty is bad, considering it flew 90% of the way!

Jmo
 
yes, 2-3 days is only an estimate....and they will tell you when you go to complain that it isn't a guarantee....BUT...they will definately take the extra money from you and not tell all this to you up front....i don 't use USPS....for that reason.......

i feel if you pay the extra money for a specific service....then you should get that service...can you imagine ordering something from, say, AS and paying their price for that beautiful burl pen blank and when it comes in, it's a grey plastic stick...
this is in no means a stab at AS...i've had nuttin but perfect service from them...it's the first one to mind, that's all.
 
I've used USPS the past few years for customer deliveries and have been extremely pleased with their service. It's hard to go wrong with free boxes, free pick-up, reasonable pricing and 3-4 day delivery. No mailing service runs at 100% efficiency all the time and to expect perfection is not reasonable. But, I do know how frustrating things can be when something goes wrong. I've mailed 50 or so USPS Priority Mail packages this month and none have taken more than 3-4 days to arrive. In most cases, people are actually suprised how fast their order arrived.

Pat
 
Did it ever occur to you people, those that are complaining about slow delivery times, that a major storm system was recently experienced on the East coast? Do you know that FedEx carries a large portion of Priority Mail? Do you realize that a large cargo plane cannot land on an airfield that is socked in by bad weather?

You had one year to plan on your Christmas business. If you waited until the last minute (or close to the last minute) and your order was delayed - too bad. Next year plan ahead!

:>)
 
Take it from someone who has shipped everything from 2-oz samples to 45,000lb truckloads, from plastic to dangerous goods, nationally and internationally:

USPS: it's called 'snail-mail' for a reason. They only good thing about USPS is that it is cheap. Don't use it for anything you're in a hurry for.

UPS: nope, nada, ain't gonna happen. If you ship anything with orientation arrows on the box (the 'up' arrows), the guys at UPS think of it as a 'Throw THIS Way' arrow. They once lost a transmimssion for my Jeep for two months.

FedEx: Love 'em. Will ship anywhere, anytime, and will get it there overnight if you're willing to pay for it. Customer service is excellent. Their online shipping label generator is easy and effective (I use their dedicated Ship Manager program, but that's only good for businesses). In 7 years of shipping, they've only mislocated one package (temporarily) and the only problem I have with them is the local lady in charge of inspecting dangerous goods shipments. She feels that 5-gallon pails of dangerous goods require orientation arrows, while federal regulations stat that they are only required on over-packs and combination packaging (fyi, a pail is a single-pack). It's just easier to include the arrows than to argue with her.

Put simple: If you need it fast, FedEx it. If it's not priority, USPS will do.
 
I think that people are spoiled and want everything the minute you decide you want it and want it immediately. It was only a few years ago that it took many days to get a letter or package. Waiting was just something that had to occur. In today's world everyone wants it now, or yesterday. Because of the electronic age everyone is impatient and gets cranky when it doesn't happen immediately or we don't get it the minute we want it.
Well, it certainly beats the Pony express and stage coach speed. Things happen such as weather, broken equipment and yes, sometimes human error. All in all the USPS does a good job and I am sorry that someone lost an order, but most people are doing the best they can and patience is a good skill and helps prevent ulcers, stress, heart attacks and general crankiness. I have paid extra to get something there using other carriers and still encountered issues. Life is too short to get too upset about too much.
 
As much as we all moan about delays, I think USPS and our Royal Mail do a great job. I've sent / recieved dozens and dozens of packages that they both handled and only had one pack that got 'chewed' by a USPS sorting machine and only the torn wrapping was delivered together with an apology note to the recipient. Royal Mail confirmed that the pack was delivered damaged and paid the full insurance plus the postage costs.
No complaints from me:biggrin:
 
Arizona Silhouette said:
Did it ever occur to you people, those that are complaining about slow delivery times, that a major storm system was recently experienced on the East coast? Do you know that FedEx carries a large portion of Priority Mail? Do you realize that a large cargo plane cannot land on an airfield that is socked in by bad weather?

This is true, but what about packages coming from the west cost to the Midwest where there wasn't any storms?

You had one year to plan on your Christmas business. If you waited until the last minute (or close to the last minute) and your order was delayed - too bad. Next year plan ahead!

:>)
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Yup, that must be it, all poor planning. Nothing to do with a last minute order from a customer or Oh how about a sale that says still time for shipping b4 xmas order now, Lowest price of the year, Only two days left on the sale blah blah blah..

It still boils down to inefficiency 90% of the time.
 
Grim Spirit said:
She feels that 5-gallon pails of dangerous goods require orientation arrows,
Click to expand...

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For bonus points, put one on each end.

And don't forget to mark you Priority Flat Rate boxes "DO NOT FOLD"
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It was actually folded in half so it would go in our box sideways. After I pulled it out, I dug up an undamaged flat rate box and verified that everything we had gotten that day would easily fit in there without squashing any of it. (Failing that, we also have a special device on our house for things that won't fit in the box. It's called a front porch.)
 
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You can say what you want to but I have had better luck with the USPS than I have with anyone except DHL and they only do international now. For me priority mail arrives faster than UPS ,in fact I quit ordering from craft supply a couple of years ago because they would only ship UPS and not USPS. As far as Fed Ex if they deliver you never know where they are going to leave it. I had one package left next door on a pile of bricks beside their driveway. The driver was to lazy to even take it to the porch. The last two deliveries went to the house on the other side of me. They throw it down on the porch, knock on the door and take off. The last delivery my neighbor tried to tell them it didn't belong there as them were leaving the driveway and the driver just yelled its on the porch. I am fed up with Fed Ex and my neighbor and I have decided if they deliver like that again just to leave it there and I will call and tell them I have not recieved my package and my neighbor will call and tell them there is a package that is not his sitting on his porch. Maybe if they have to come back,pick it up,and deliver it to the right address they will slow down I get it right the next time. With the service I get from everyone else I am happy to use USPS whenever possible.
 
CSUSA does give a USPS option now.
As for accepting an order on the 15th that needed to be delivered by Christmas. I know that I would only accept an order having told my customer there are a lot of reasons it may not get done in time. In short I would not guarantee delivery by Christmas. I learned it does not pay to tell a customer I will do things that have a good chance of failing. I loose the sale and have an unhappy customer at the same time. My web site says I need 6 weeks to complete an order. I never need that much time that is why I listed it as needing that much. even if it is a nightmare I can get a pen completed in half that time. if I have all the materials on hand I can do it in 2 days. I do not say I can get a pen to a customer before Christmas after Nov. 25th. I know I can but I don't let them have that expectation.
 
I think the gripe that OP was having was with the delivery time. And I have to agree. It has nothing to do with the holidays. Over the last 6 months I have had many packages delivered to my address from many parts of the US. The truth of the matter is that those that shipped regular first class postage got it to me way faster then those that shipped Priority mail. And that to me is a problem. If you pay extra for Priority then it should come faster then First class. Otherwise what is the point of paying $3-4 extra?!!!
 
Rob, This is to you since you asked the question, But not to meant at you. It is a serious answer to the question "Why pay the extra" First class only covers packages up to 13 ounces. you then roll over to the Priority. Priority is not faster than First class. just lower price for heavier packages.
 
Daniel said:
Rob, This is to you since you asked the question, But not to meant at you. It is a serious answer to the question "Why pay the extra" First class only covers packages up to 13 ounces. you then roll over to the Priority. Priority is not faster than First class. just lower price for heavier packages.
Click to expand...

To quote USPS when I talked to them,
Order of shippingment, Overnight-First class-priority-parcel

That is the order they are shipped, loaded and sorted. So for a box you are paying extra to get it there, they also claimed(sic) that parcel goes all by truck and anything above it goes air from sort to sort facilty. Ya right!
 
So why don't vendors give the option of using First Class? I rarely order that much weight but I am never given the option of using a cheaper postage. I was under the assumption that using Priority gets it to me faster or else why is called Priority?
 
On the other hand I have had vendors charge me for Priority mail and ship it first class. Nothing to do with this thread just thought it was interesting.
 
Arizona Silhouette said:
Did it ever occur to you people, those that are complaining about slow delivery times, that a major storm system was recently experienced on the East coast? Do you know that FedEx carries a large portion of Priority Mail? Do you realize that a large cargo plane cannot land on an airfield that is socked in by bad weather?

You had one year to plan on your Christmas business. If you waited until the last minute (or close to the last minute) and your order was delayed - too bad. Next year plan ahead!

:>)
Click to expand...

Bill, I'm not complaining,I think it's amazing that I got your package when I did, apparently the major hang up with my package was at the Phoenix sorting terminal, as far as a storm, I live 90 miles east of the FedEx main shipping terminal, and there was no storm here just the normal cold and a little rain. The main problem with USPS is they have had to cut back on employees, that by closing quite a few smaller Post Offices across the country, believe it or not, it's not supposed to operate at a loss. I do think the USPS click&ship site needs some work, but that's a whole different story. I can't see why any one should be surprised by slow mail this time of year.
 
Grim Spirit said:
Take it from someone who has shipped everything from 2-oz samples to 45,000lb truckloads, from plastic to dangerous goods, nationally and internationally:

USPS: it's called 'snail-mail' for a reason. They only good thing about USPS is that it is cheap. Don't use it for anything you're in a hurry for.

UPS: nope, nada, ain't gonna happen. If you ship anything with orientation arrows on the box (the 'up' arrows), the guys at UPS think of it as a 'Throw THIS Way' arrow. They once lost a transmimssion for my Jeep for two months.

FedEx: Love 'em. Will ship anywhere, anytime, and will get it there overnight if you're willing to pay for it. Customer service is excellent. Their online shipping label generator is easy and effective (I use their dedicated Ship Manager program, but that's only good for businesses). In 7 years of shipping, they've only mislocated one package (temporarily) and the only problem I have with them is the local lady in charge of inspecting dangerous goods shipments. She feels that 5-gallon pails of dangerous goods require orientation arrows, while federal regulations stat that they are only required on over-packs and combination packaging (fyi, a pail is a single-pack). It's just easier to include the arrows than to argue with her.

Put simple: If you need it fast, FedEx it. If it's not priority, USPS will do.
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Wes,
Looks you and I may have been in the same business - back when I was in business - I shipped with the Airlines, Steamship lines, Truck lines and courier companies.... my courier of choice for anything domestic was always FEDEX... for International DHL... I know I had preferential carriers for most destinations, based on service, rates and customer service. I had some carriers on my no shipments for any reason list also... same reasons.

After 40 years in traffic and transportation, I have a pretty good understanding of the problems and probabilities of getting something from point A to point B... sometimes I'm amazed that it happens at all given the volumes that are handled.... at any rate, I have little complaint for any of the services we use... think of where we would be without any of them....
 
Arizona Silhouette said:
Did it ever occur to you people, those that are complaining about slow delivery times, that a major storm system was recently experienced on the East coast? Do you know that FedEx carries a large portion of Priority Mail? Do you realize that a large cargo plane cannot land on an airfield that is socked in by bad weather?

You had one year to plan on your Christmas business. If you waited until the last minute (or close to the last minute) and your order was delayed - too bad. Next year plan ahead!

:>)
Click to expand...

First, just to be clear, I was in NO WAY complaining about the service from Arizona Silhouette. Bills customer service has always been top notch.

As far as planning ahead for Christmas, I ordered the parts on the day I took the order because I don't sell many stoppers at all, ( customer wanted 4, I only had 2 bases ) and as things are a little tight around here, I don't keep a lot of stock on hand. Hopefully I will be able to sell more this coming year and WILL be able to "plan ahead"
 
Arizona Silhouette said:
Did it ever occur to you people, those that are complaining about slow delivery times, that a major storm system was recently experienced on the East coast? Do you know that FedEx carries a large portion of Priority Mail? Do you realize that a large cargo plane cannot land on an airfield that is socked in by bad weather?

You had one year to plan on your Christmas business. If you waited until the last minute (or close to the last minute) and your order was delayed - too bad. Next year plan ahead!

:>)
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This horse is about dead, but to keep beating him anyway... another thing that isn't taken into consideration... there isn't a flight or truck from every origin point to every destination point... those of us who live in small towns probably have their packages relayed several times before they have filtered down to the local delivery... Even the larger cities have multiple relays en route...

UPS uses Dayton (I think - have forgotten all my hub points since I retired).. Fedex uses Memphis, the USPS uses sort stations in most major population area... A packaged shipped by PSI via USPS to me goes to the local sort station, where it is assembled with other packages heading in this direction... it may travel with a hundred other destinations to another sort station where it is sorted and shipped to next station along the line, etc etc... until it reaches TN, then it's sorted out for the local stations... the truck that delivers to Tellico Plains, will also deliver to Maryville, Vonore, Madisonville, Sweetwater, Athens, and all of the other little post offices along the way... then it get sorted for the rural routes out of TP...
 
rjwolfe3 said:
So why don't vendors give the option of using First Class? I rarely order that much weight but I am never given the option of using a cheaper postage. I was under the assumption that using Priority gets it to me faster or else why is called Priority?
Click to expand...

Some of us try to do what is most cost effective for our customers. When you place an order on my website, you are automatically charged USPS Flat Rate Priority mail. When I pack your order, I weigh each package and if it can go First Class for less, I ship first class and issue a refund for the difference.
 
Some of us try to do what is most cost effective for our customers. When you place an order on my website, you are automatically charged USPS Flat Rate Priority mail. When I pack your order, I weigh each package and if it can go First Class for less, I ship first class and issue a refund for the difference.
Click to expand...

I was really referring to the big three. I wish all of the vendors would do what you do. Personally I think First Class is so much faster then Priority which still doesn't make sense to me. The only reason I ship all of my packages Priority is for the tracking and insurance but I only charge my customers what USPS charges me and no more. I have never received a refund from a vendor for shipping charges. I do like how AS does it with charging the cheapest but you don't know the total that way until it ships. I thought it was amazing when I shipped a Priority package on the 21st of December to California and my customer received it on the 24th. I guess that blows the busy Christmas season theory away. I don't have the answers to the shipping questions but I like to read what others write so that I can give the best service to my customers.
 
I think one of the biggest misconceptions is that Priority is an upgrade from First Class. Priority is an upgrade from Parcel Post. PP & Pr are available for all packages. FC is only available for packages under 14oz.
 
I have never shipped parcel post so could some one fill me in the details. Can you track with parcel post? How bout insurance? What is the average shipping time for parcel post as compared to priority?

Another question, since Priority is not guaranteed 2-3 days does that mean Express is not guaranteed either? If not, what shipping method would you offer if you wanted something in 1-2 days?
 
rjwolfe3 said:
I have never shipped parcel post so could some one fill me in the details. Can you track with parcel post? How bout insurance? What is the average shipping time for parcel post as compared to priority?

Another question, since Priority is not guaranteed 2-3 days does that mean Express is not guaranteed either? If not, what shipping method would you offer if you wanted something in 1-2 days?
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Parcel Post is completly ground. Tracking not really, it does show some movement when shipped Delivery confirmation as well, but they will tell you its not ment for tracking.

7-10 business days time frame.

1-2 day shipping UPS 2nd day or fedex...
 
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