United States Post Office, a joke......

[Team Sergeant]

So I buy a cutting board......

And it's shipped. Read the USPS Tracking, start from the bottom up...... It was supposed to be here last Friday. Still not here. I doubt USPS has a clue where it is........ Denver to Phoenix is a 12 hour ride.......

Another government run "business"....... going bankrupt, oh no it's not your keeping it afloat with billions of taxpayer money......




USPS Tracking™
Customer Service ›
Have questions? We're here to help.
Only applicable to visual users.
Tracking Number: *********************

in-transit
Expected Delivery Day: Friday, February 6, 2015

Product & Tracking Information
Postal Product:
• Standard Post
Features:
o USPS Tracking™
DATE & TIME STATUS OF ITEM LOCATION
February 6, 2015 , 12:00 am Departed USPS Facility DENVER, CO 80217

Your item departed our USPS facility in DENVER, CO 80217 on February 6, 2015 at 12:00 am. The item is currently in transit to the destination.

February 5, 2015 , 4:36 pm Arrived at USPS Facility DENVER, CO 80217
February 4, 2015 , 8:24 am Arrived at USPS Origin Facility MEMPHIS, TN 38136
February 2, 2015 , 7:51 pm Departed USPS Origin Facility BATON ROUGE, LA 70826
January 30, 2015 , 7:36 pm Arrived at USPS Origin Facility BATON ROUGE, LA 70826
January 30, 2015 , 5:32 pm Departed Post Office BATON ROUGE, LA 70818
January 30, 2015 , 2:55 pm Acceptance BATON ROUGE, LA 70818

[Ret10Echo]

Interested in the resolution (if any) on this.

I found out through a similar experience that when the items move from one collection point to another, that the "tracking barcode" is for the ENTIRE shipment...not for YOUR (My) package...

Therefore, if there were 43 packages in a shipment....there is no way of knowing which package is missing if there are only 42 deliveries at the other end.

Fortunately the company I was working with sent another item to replace the "lost" item....(FEDex)

Hope you get some resolution TS. It doesn't pay for the time-suck though

[alelks]

Don't even get me started on the USPS.

We're a shipping company and ship through all the major carriers. We've been doing this for over 17 years now.

The USPS is BY FAR the worst when it comes to tracking ANYTHING!


Little known fact: Both UPS and FedEx have contracts with the USPS for certain types of packages. They carry the packages the majority of the way and the USPS delivers it to what they call "the last mile". Problem is that UPS and FedEx get it there rather quickly but it may sit in the local post office 2-3 days before they decide to deliver it. For FedEx it's called Smartpost and it's the hardest thing in the world to track, even if FedEx picks it up from us. When they pick it up they scan it into there system but there is no way to track it until the USPS scans it and many times they DON'T scan it when it gets into their hands.

If it's a SmartPost call your local post office to see if it's there.

EDIT! I've also seen something take 10 days to get from my town to another town 70 miles away because someone put it in the wrong bag and it went to California first. That's why you always see in the fine print that they "STRIVE" to get Priority Mail to it's destination within 2-3 days but it's not guaranteed. It's FRUSTRATING!

[Requiem]

Looks like it's taking the scenic route. I wonder where it will show up next. (We could place bets on how far and how long it travels. )

Keep us updated.

Susan

[Sdiver]

I seem to remember seeing TOMAHAWK9521 hanging around one of the local Denver P.O.s last week.

Might wanna check with him.

[MR2]

Oh great, now we have a tomahawk stealing cutting boards!

[Javadrinker]

The USPS is a joke, but evidently a great job to have. I always pay for the next transport option if USPS is the standard. It doesn't do any bit of good to go "talk" with the postmaster either.
Only upside is I do not get any spam mail.

[Richard]

New Orleans? Maybe that was your mail carrier Bryan Williams saw floating by...

I've had issues with all the major carriers on occasion (USPS, UPS, FedEx, DHL) but have had nothing but positive experiences with the USPS here at my local post office. For example, I had ordered a special Christmas gift from a company in upstate New York on 15 Dec 2014 to take with us to Dallas on the 23rd. The normal UPS delivery expectations were 3-5 business days, which meant it should have arrived here in NorCal on Saturday the 20th at the latest. However, due to the weather and the volume of holiday shipping, the package – according to the scanned tracking system - did not arrive in the Sacramento terminal until the 22nd at 6 a.m. It was then turned over to the USPS for delivery at 11 a.m., too late for the day’s normal courier delivery.

I waited until 2 p.m. to ensure it was not in the day’s mail, and then went to the post office to see if I could pick it up there. As the daily delivery of packages, a huge bin about 8’ x 8’ x 8’, had not been sorted and scanned into the post office’s system, the clerk told me to check back by 5 p.m. (closing time) to see if it was available.

I returned to the post office at 4:45 and told my story to another clerk who informed me that they had not finished the sorting, but that the package would certainly be delivered in the next day's mail. I told him I was leaving for Texas the next day on a 5:30 a.m. flight and that would be too late, and that the package was a special Christmas gift meant for somebody in Dallas. He then gave me a number to call and told me to call him that night around 7:00 p.m. to see if the package was available.

I checked the USPS on-line tracking system after dinner and saw the package had been scanned into the local post office at 6:40 p.m., and called the number. No answer – so I drove to the post office and rang the bell for the customer service window.

Upon the second ring, a voice called out that they were closed. I called back that I was in earlier and told to come back around that time to check on my package. Several minutes later, the postal clerk opened the window to me and I told him I had seen where my packaged had been scanned in at 6:40 p.m. Another employee called out that they were supposed to be closed, but the clerk told her that he had promised me to check for my package when they sorted the mail and left to look for it.

Several minutes passed and he returned with my package, giving it to me after checking my ID against the name/address of the package.

I thanked him and offered him a tip when we shook hands. He told me it was unnecessary, he was just doing his job, but I insisted and told him how much I appreciated his assistance, and wished him and his family a joyous holiday season.

For important mail (e.g., renewing my passport recently), I use the USPS flat-rate priority mail w/signature notification. I used it most recently when renewing my passport - Sacramento to Philadelphia (sent on Fri afternoon and signed for at the DOS center on Mon morning), DOS processed, and returned to me by priority mail. Entire process took 3 weeks.

As with most organizations, I think it varies quite a bit depending upon the employees and management involved.

Richard

[alelks]

Don't even bother complaining to your local Postmaster. What you do is go online and file a formal complaint. The local Post Offices HATE this as they have to take action and reply back up the chain to DC. I don't even bother complaining to my local PO anymore because NOTHING ever gets done.

We have a carrier that has more complaints filed against her for her attitude than any other employee at that office. I was told this by 2 separate Postmasters. Well it's evident that they are not doing their jobs because she still has hers. Everyone that comes into our place and sees her picking up always says "Oh God, you have her as a carrier". I then proceed to tell them how to file a PROPER complaint online.

It's the same when you call our local office, they just have PISS POOR attitudes. Now if I call anywhere else, they are as nice as can be. One Postmaster told me that the Lumberton Post Office was infamous in DC. I say that if that's the case why haven't they fixed it.?

In my opinion it has to do with the unions and the Postmaster being afraid to take action for fear of the backlash/attacks that he would receive.

Don't EVEN get me started on the unions.

[PSM]

In Hermosa Beach, we had the same mailman for about a decade. He was pretty much a part of the family. The current dog and his predecessor would wait at the door for him every afternoon. He would actually come in the house to give them treats and play with them. I had taken a picture on the first dog waiting for him and looking out the door. He got transferred about a year before we moved to AZ, but I saw him once and stopped to talk to him. I saw that he had her picture attached to his sun visor. She had been dead about 3 years.

Pat

[TOMAHAWK9521]

Originally Posted by Sdiver

I seem to remember seeing TOMAHAWK9521 hanging around one of the local Denver P.O.s last week.

Might wanna check with him.

Hey! Don't be trying to get me in trouble. I can do that just fine on my own, thank you. Besides, I live 30 minutes north of Denver and only roll down there for school. Plus, I can make my own cutting boards if I want one, so Nyah!

[Team Sergeant]

Originally Posted by Sdiver

I seem to remember seeing TOMAHAWK9521 hanging around one of the local Denver P.O.s last week.

Might wanna check with him.

Never thought about that angle...... I should have kept my mouth shut until after I received the package..... sneaky Special Forces bastards one and all....

[miclo18d]

I deal with small packages everyday at my work and I too agree that the USPS is the worst of the three, however, I only see problems on occasions. I think that, yes, they are unionized and lazy, but here in Florida, they do a pretty good job. Our local carrier always comes in the store, we know him by first name and the fact that his son is finishing up Marine Infanty School. I have usually had good interactions at the actual post offices locally, except maybe the wait as you would just see people go on break and leave their coworkers hanging with a rush of people.

I have had a package that was supposed to go from the west coast of Florida to the east coast of Florida (2 day priority) and when the customer called me to find out where it was and I tracked it, I found it on its way to Ashville, NC and some lost packages that cost us some serious cash.

My favorite in Florida, and I hate to admit it, is the unionized UPS. They do an outstanding job for our rush orders. Overnight ground anywhere in the state except the Keys and the Panhandle. (A majority of our customers are on the East coast)

[Richard]

This was my most recent go-round with UPS.

Waiting for and tracking an expensive watch that was being sent to my wife from Dallas, a notice appeared that there was an address problem which precluded delivery and they were working to resolve it. I then checked the address of the package and it, along with the zip code, was correct, so I checked the update box to indicate it was, indeed, correct.

The next day I check the progress again and there is a message that the package is now being sent back to Dallas. WTF!

I call UPS and go through all the “Press whatever” notions to actually get a service rep, tell him what’s happened, and – after about 30 minutes of him attempting to fix the problem from somewhere in Waziristan by the sound of his accent – end with him telling me he has notified a supervisor and that I will be called back within an hour.

I give them two hours, during which I logged on and checked the status several more times, and call back again. This time I am connected with a woman who, after I explain my previous predicament and give her the name of the guy I’d spoken with earlier (I always ask for and write down the name of whomever I talk to in this matters), tells me that there was nothing done and the status of the package is that it is still scheduled to return to Dallas from Sacramento that day.

This is UNSAT and I tell her so, and we work through the process – if they actually have such a thing – again. This time, after about 30 minutes, she tells me the package is now tagged to ‘hold’, and gives me a name and telephone number for their air freight facility about 7 miles from the ranch next to what was once Mather AFB and is now a commercial cargo airport.

I call the number and speak with the facility manager who tells me that I can come to the facility and pick-up the package 1530-1830 that day.

I show up and they want the failed delivery notice which I never received, so I give them the original tracking number I’d written down off of the UPS web-site. The guy puts it into the computer and comes back with a “This is missing a number and we can’t locate it.” Before I ‘go postal’ on them, I take the paper and read the long alpha-numeric tracking number to him as he again inputs the info, and – behold – there it is! He had mistyped the number.

Five minutes later I have signed for the package and headed home, wondering just how many more of those rocks in the cogs there must be in that complex delivery system and how much stuff must get misrouted out there by any of these companies if this was any indication of employee efficiency.

Another issue we dealt with this year over the holiday season was having a package sent to a niece in Dallas through UPS and having it stolen from her front porch by some sorry MFer – something that seemed to happen in a lot of areas around the country this year. Now we request a delivery signature when shipping packages.

Richard

[SF0]

I'm expecting 60 CR123A batteries, estimated to be delivered this past saturday. I noticed tracking said "Delivered in/at mailbox". I go to check, and the box is empty. Filed an online complaint, and they called me about an hour ago, saying they'll check with the carrier once he gets there.

I had a Harley transmission sent to me one time at another address, and the contract carrier didn't even attempt to deliver it. No note either. I check with the PO, and I find out it was scheduled to be returned to shipper that same day, because "it didn't fit in my mailbox". No shit!?

I had another mailman rubberband any packages that didn't fit to my mailbox TO the front of my street side mailbox. I came home one day to find my order of two Milt Sparks holsters affixed that way. There was also a large tear in the side, with one of the holsters half way falling out. Complained the next day- kept on happening.

I'm expecting some B slings from John McPhee. Maybe they will deliver (but not really) them today.