Disappointed with our USPS

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Chase
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Disappointed with our USPS

Post by Chase »

I am extremely disappointed with the USPS. That's twice just this week.

For starters, I shipped two boxes, not heavy, to my daughter at an APO address. It cost $120.00 just to go from Western PA to the APO in Washington State. Absolutely outrageous in my opinion.

The I ordered two knives that shipped from Ohio, which as Priority Mail should have been here in 3 Days according to the USPS shipping map. The knives were shipped on 4 Dec and they still have not arrived here in Western Maryland. I realize it is the holiday season, however, the USPS shipping network severely lacks efficiency.

The knives departed Ohio on the 4th, didn't arrive in Pittsburgh PA until the 8th. They departed Pittsburgh on the 8th and went to Washington, DC. They departed DC on the 9th which means I won't receive them until Monday the 11th...I hope!

In looking at the USPS map, they show priority mail from Ohio should reach Parts of California in 3 days.

Even with the increased mail during this time of year....8 days from Ohio to Western Maryland is ridiculous. Heck, I could have walked from here to Ohio quicker....

Sad and very disappointing

Tom
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Re: Disappointed with our USPS

Post by gino »

I agree sometimes they do ship in complete opposite directions several times. I ordered something for the wife on Sunday and still not here today originally to be here Wednesday.
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Re: Disappointed with our USPS

Post by ScoutKnives »

Don’t expect to get anything on time this time of year threw The USPS , My business relies on parts shipped from all over the US and it usually takes 3 times the norm for my packages to arrive in December .
Always looking for Mint pre war scout knives
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OLDE CUTLER
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Re: Disappointed with our USPS

Post by OLDE CUTLER »

It's not just packages, the other day I got 5 letters in my mail lock box. None were even addressed to me. Doesn't this kind of thing make you wonder "Where does my mail go?"
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Re: Disappointed with our USPS

Post by Gunsil »

When I was young, maybe ten (circa 1957), my dad worked in the mail room at Grand Central Station in NY city. I would go to work with him sometimes when school was out. We would go down to the incoming trains and get huge sacks of mail and take them in canvas sided carts back to the huge sorting room. There were slots in the walls for each state and the mail sacks were emptied out onto big tables and hand sorted and the letters addressed to a certain state would be put in the slot for that state. Being a somewhat precocious ten year old I would occasionally put one addressed to say Maryland in the Oregon slot. I guess the poor addressee received his mail much later than he expected. I don't know if modern lapses in delivery are due to brats in sorting rooms but we all get mail that somehow took way to long to reach it's destination. Part of life, and like the weather, it doesn't do much to complain about it. I know I can never complain since I was guilty of causing a few delays and I know what goes around comes around (LOL).
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Re: Disappointed with our USPS

Post by JohnR »

Chase, sorry to hear but I'm in the same boat, My 2 Maher&Grosh have been floating around in the USPS system for almost a week and all tracking shows is delayed. It's not just the time of year, a month ago I had a knife ship from Lancaster Pa to Eldersburg MD, First Class took 9 days to go 60 miles, an Amish guy in a buggy could have got it here faster.
Something is going on lately with USPS on the East Coast.
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OLDE CUTLER
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Re: Disappointed with our USPS

Post by OLDE CUTLER »

UPS and FEDEX are just as bad in my area. I had sent a revolver back to Smith & Wesson to have some repair work done. I sent it to them by FEDEX 2 day service because that is your best choice. They require this because the fast shipping gives their employees less time to steal your gun. Then when S&W sent it back to me, they sent me an email and FEDEX tracking with the date. It arrived the day prior to that date when I was not at home, and the FEDEX delivery person threw the box on my front deck and left it. The Federal firearms laws and FEDEX policy require that ONLY the person whose name is on the shipping label can and MUST sign for the box. But they left it lying on my front deck for a couple of hours until I got back home. Anyone driving or walking by would have seen it and could have taken it. Lucky for me, and THEM it was still there when I got home. And UPS delivered a box by hiding it under my back deck and the sticky note they leave on the front door blew away with the wind. I am calling all over to try to find a package that has already been delivered and hidden from me.
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Re: Disappointed with our USPS

Post by Lansky1 »

Most times I’ve always been happy with USPS for knife shipments. One anomaly of late - took 16 days for a knife to get from Birmingham Al to PA, shipped First Class. Tracking didn’t show any update at all for 12 Days. Postmaster told me recently that every time a package hits a belt, it is scanned and is reflected in the tracking - it’s like it sat in a bin at the post office for 12 days until someone got to it - calling BS on that ::td::
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Re: Disappointed with our USPS

Post by tongueriver »

I am nearly 71 years old and have seen many thousands of pieces of mail come and go through my address. The performance of the shipping entities varies with the individuals involved. Our postal carrier is absolutely stellar. He deserves a national award of some kind. His supervisor probably dislikes his superb performance because he takes too much time at the job. I have seen other postal employees who should have been fired, including supervisors (I worked for 31 years in the postal service). One employee I worked with became a postmaster in a central Montana town, after successfully stealing a number of firearms without getting caught. I watched one supervisor (who also was famous for stealing employees' lunches) hide a registered mail item in some old sacks on the dock where his car was parked to make the transfer when he got off work. I foiled that one. In retaliation he planted some silver bars in a place where I was responsible, hoping I would take the bait. A few years ago I purchased a firearm on GunBroker.Com. It never arrived and never arrived but the tracking (UPS) said it had been delivered to the hardware store I had designated. I went on the hunt and finally found it 3 blocks away lying on the floor of the gift shop of the Holiday Inn. The employee there just handed it to me when I gave my name. No documentation, signing, identification, nothing... in violation of Federal law. Although I have mentioned some warm fuzzy thoughts about the shipping industry ( :lol: ) I have to say I have had remarkably good luck with the post office and I use them all the time. I will give them a thumbs-up, but with reservations for certain employees both then and now. But the incompetent employees are in every profession without exception; I am sure everyone has observed it (even in politics ::td:: :shock: ::td:: :shock: ::td:: :( :( :( ).
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Re: Disappointed with our USPS

Post by peanut740 »

Tom and John,Ken took your packages to the P.O. early Monday morning.Sorry for the delay.I shipped a package to Texas awhile back and it went from Southern Ohio to 3 different cities in Wisconsin before finally headwind south.
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Re: Disappointed with our USPS

Post by JohnR »

Roger, no fault on your end at all, you guys shipped quick, blame falls fully on USPS, as I stated in the earlier post they have been horrible lately with packages just sitting in one location for days without moving.
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Re: Disappointed with our USPS

Post by jerryd6818 »

I noticed that as recently as this past summer (approximately) the Post Office "realigned" their distribution centers. Mail used to come to Rockford through Oak Creek Wisconsin, just south of Milwaukee. Very efficient.

Now it mostly comes to Rockford through Des Plaines and Palatine Illinois which are Chicago suburbs, sometimes both. Not very efficient. Many times this route adds a day to time in transient.

They never should have opened up tracking to public view. It just frustrates the shirt out of me when I see my package go to Bumfuzzle Iowa before coming here. (that seldom happens)

All that said, for handling Billions of pieces of mail each year, they really do a pretty darned good job. It's the occasional screw up that sticks out and sticks in our craw and gets remembered. Only a couple of times in my life have I had a package get completely lost. That's not bad folks
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Re: Disappointed with our USPS

Post by Mumbleypeg »

Our mailbox sits at the end of the drive at its intersection with the county road, 1/4 mile from our house. For at least 30 years UPS has always delivered packages to the house. If a signature is required and no one is home here, they drive the 1/2 mile to my sister's house and leave it with her.

The USPS mail carrier we had for years would drive up to our house and ring the doorbell, get a signature and hand over the package. If no one was home he left a note in the mailbox by the gate. Since he retired several years ago his replacement just leaves the notice in the mailbox. Meaning someone has to drive the 16 mile round trip into town to sign for the item at the post office.

For years FedEx left packages at the gate rather than bring them to the house. Fortunately no one has ever stolen anything - yet. If a signature was required they left a sticky note on the post at the gate. :x Then I have to drive 35 miles to their dispatch location, or call and reschedule the delivery and hope they bring it to the house and someone is there to sign. I called Fedex customer service several times and complained. I told them their competition in the brown trucks didn't have any problems delivering packages to my door. Nothing changed. Finally I asked for the manager, who apologized and said there was no excuse for it and he would get it fixed. For about a year they delivered everything to the house. Then about a month ago they started leaving packages at the gate again. ::dang::

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Re: Disappointed with our USPS

Post by philco »

Ken it sounds like you need to make another phone call.
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Re: Disappointed with our USPS

Post by RalphAlsip »

jerryd6818 wrote:I noticed that as recently as this past summer (approximately) the Post Office "realigned" their distribution centers. Mail used to come to Rockford through Oak Creek Wisconsin, just south of Milwaukee. Very efficient.

Now it mostly comes to Rockford through Des Plaines and Palatine Illinois which are Chicago suburbs, sometimes both. Not very efficient. Many times this route adds a day to time in transient.

They never should have opened up tracking to public view. It just frustrates the shirt out of me when I see my package go to Bumfuzzle Iowa before coming here. (that seldom happens)
A report was published a few years ago that described a pay incentive plan for USPS sorting facility managers that had unintended consequences. Facility managers were rewarded for getting all the mail off their floor and on the way to its destination. What ended up happening was the facility managers would take any bags of mail and parcels that were not sorted and just throw them on a truck to be taken somewhere else only to be returned back to the facility. The manager met the "bonus" requirement of no mail on the floor, but this behavior was detrimental to the delivery of the mail.

I've recently noticed inexplicable routing in the delivery of some of my packages recently, too.
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Chase
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Re: Disappointed with our USPS

Post by Chase »

Roger,

No fault of yours or Kens. The packages were scanned Monday morning as you say and I couldn't have asked for anything more!

This is clearly the USPS. And it's not my local carrier either....it hasn't even gotten to my town yet. Six days and it hasn't reached my post office....yet they were sent PRIORITY MAIL, and the USPS says it would only be three days. I am not unreasonable and would expect an additional day or two due to the holiday mailings. It just doesn't make any sense for the package to go from Ohio to Pittsburgh, taking 5 days. And then to be sent to DC which is 3 hours drive time right past my home to be turned around and sent back to my hometown...3 hours.

Where is the efficiency in that?

Tom
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Re: Disappointed with our USPS

Post by bighomer »

There's no rhyme or reason to USPS, I bough some Dec 3rd got them Dec. 8th got another Dec 3rd and one Dec 6th they are somewhere in the system . ::shrug::
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DM11
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Re: Disappointed with our USPS

Post by DM11 »

Like the rest of you I've had lots of long delays and packages going off is different directions than they should in the last few weeks. I've never seen this much trouble getting a package. Its almost amusing to watching the tracking sometimes. Where is my package going to today? :)
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Chase
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Re: Disappointed with our USPS

Post by Chase »

Package delivered today!

8 Days to deliver when they charge you for Priority Mail which is supposed to reach you in 3 days!

If I had paid the shipping I would demand a refund!

Tom ::td::
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Re: Disappointed with our USPS

Post by terryl308 »

Typical government run business! They know Christmas is coming for 12 months in advance, hire some more people and gear up! I had a priority box get delivered a year ago from St. Augustine,Fl and it took 2 weeks to get here! I had to do the tracking and found out it went to Cheyenne,Wy by mistake, out for delivery is what they told me, well it went back to Den. Co. then back to north Platte, Ne, then back west to Lodgepole, Ne. What a CF! ::td:: Terry
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bighomer
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Re: Disappointed with our USPS

Post by bighomer »

I got the one I bought on the 6th of Dec. but one I bought Dec.3rd is still in la la land, go figure. ::shrug:: ::uc::
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Re: Disappointed with our USPS

Post by zzyzzogeton »

Over the years, I have had many a strange routes for my incoming mail. I also used to have issues with "Mailbox Shoppers" and "Porch Shoppers" I used to live 55 miles from where I live now. I frequently had packages that would show "Delivered" but were no where to be found. :x Those issues were fixed by getting a PO Box at a PO that accepts packages via any shipper.

Now, if some fool writes the address out in cursive or really poor handwriting, well 1 of 2 things happen - either

-- the computer decides the address is unreadable and the package gets "AUTO-REJECTED" and kicked out of the system into a bin where it sits until a human has time to "fix" the issue. Delays occur.

or

-- the computer "guesses" where the package is supposed to go and off it goes to the guessed at destination and limbo issues will occur.

If the wrong zip code is put on a package, even if the label was printed via a label from the USPS website with barcodes and every thing, all bets are off.

3 years ago, I had a $300 sword go from New Jersey right passed Texas to Los Angeles. It disappeared for a couple of weeks and then popped up in Honolulu HI, sat for a couple of days and then departed Honolulu, never to be seen "again".

As the deadline approached the time limit to file a claim, the seller refunded my money and filed a claim with the USPS and got their money.

6 months later, I got notification that I had a package in that required a signature. I was somewhat confused by the notification as I was unaware of any such package coming in. So, I stood in line to get the package. Out comes the clerk with a large, significantly beaten up box.

Now the clerks at that PO have seen me ship in literally thousands of sharp/pointy objects through the PO, so they are always asking about what was in my boxes if there isn't a long line of customers. Frequently, I'll open the boxes and show them the "unique" pieces, like Patton sabers, faschinenmessers, sword bayonets, WW2 crash axes, etc

Floyd (working with me that day) asked me

"What kind of knives are you getting from Fiji?"

Me - "Fiji? None. Why?"

Floyd - "Well, that's where this one is coming from."

Totally confused, I signed for it and immediately opened it up right there in the PO. Lo and behold, it's the missing sword. For some reason, even with a perfect address label on the box, the sword had gone all the way to the Fiji Islands and back,

Me - "Better get the postmaster. This is that lost sword from last March."

Well, the postmaster came out (not the same one we had 6 months before) and I explained the sequence of events. He just looked me in the eye and said

"I am NOT going to try to figure out what to do with this can of worms. Have a nice day."

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Re: Disappointed with our USPS

Post by bighomer »

Finally got the knife bought on Dec.3rd, all the way from Colorado by pony express , l guess. ::shrug::
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Re: Disappointed with our USPS

Post by tjmurphy »

Still waiting. Started out in DeRidder, LA and went to Lubbock,Texas???? Hope it gets here before Christmas ::shrug::

The package is delayed and will not be delivered by the expected delivery date. An updated delivery date will be provided when available. Your item departed our USPS facility in LUBBOCK TX DISTRIBUTION CENTER on December 17, 2017 at 12:00 am. The item is currently in transit to the destination.

Status

In-Transit, Delayed
December 17, 2017 at 12:00 am
DEPARTED USPS REGIONAL FACILITY
LUBBOCK TX DISTRIBUTION CENTER
Change Delivery Instructions
In-Transit, Delayed
Text & Email Updates
Change Your Delivery Instructions
Tracking History
December 17, 2017, 12:00 am
Departed USPS Regional Facility
LUBBOCK TX DISTRIBUTION CENTER
The package is delayed and will not be delivered by the expected delivery date. An updated delivery date will be provided when available. Your item departed our USPS facility in LUBBOCK TX DISTRIBUTION CENTER on December 17, 2017 at 12:00 am. The item is currently in transit to the destination.

December 16, 2017, 6:05 pm
Arrived at USPS Regional Facility
LUBBOCK TX DISTRIBUTION CENTER
December 16, 2017, 12:27 pm
In Transit to Destination
On its way to FLORENCE, KY 41042
December 15, 2017, 12:27 pm
In Transit to Destination
On its way to FLORENCE, KY 41042
December 14, 2017, 12:27 pm
In Transit to Destination
On its way to FLORENCE, KY 41042
December 13, 2017, 10:27 pm
Arrived at USPS Regional Origin Facility
BATON ROUGE LA PROCESSING CENTER
December 13, 2017, 9:12 pm
Accepted at USPS Origin Facility
DERIDDER, LA 70634
December 13, 2017, 8:45 am
Shipping Label Created, USPS Awaiting Item
DERIDDER, LA 70634
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Re: Disappointed with our USPS

Post by treefarmer »

It's always interesting to follow the tracking. I sent a Christmas package to my daughter in Lawrenceville, Ga. last Friday, the 15th. The lady at the Chipley post office said it should be delivered on Monday the 18th. So on the 17th, Sunday, the package was on their porch when they got home from church. ::hmm:: Just the opposite of most experiences.
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