USPS is terrible.

mm93

mm93

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There was a time when I used USPS far more than UPS or FedEx because the service was good, and delivery was prompt. Now I just wish USPS would either quit, or become privatized so they were so inept!
Back early this month I purchased a nice old Wilkinson/Ballard powder measure for my collection from a guy back in Ohio. He got my MO and sent me a tracing number the next day. The box went from Ohio to Oregon in two days, and I was excited! Then the 3rd day instead of "out for delivery" it showed back in transit to next destination! Then two days later back in Cincinnati, Ohio! Then two more days and back to Oregon again! This has repeated 4 trips now across the US, and just going from one Ohio facility to the Oregon facility, and repeating this ****!
I tried in vane to get a live body at USPS to talk to at customer no service, but after 10 minutes of redirection by computer voices I finally was put on hold to speak with an actual agent! Wait time estimated to be 36-54 minutes, so turned on the speaker and just listened to Christmas music as I waited. After 20 minutes the music stops, so I grab the phone hoping to talk to a human, but instead it simply hangs up on me and nothing happens!!
At this point I'm totally lost on how to proceed? I've wanted this powder measure forever, and was so excited to finally get one. But now it seems it's destined to just go back and forth forever, and never get to me, or back to the seller so he can send it some other way?
Frustrated, angry, and sad.
 
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Yup, if you look you’ll find multiple threads on this very subject. My opinion on the usps is not fit for this site as I’ll get severely dinged.
Mrs. RSBH44 and I sent two boxes full of Christmas gifts to our granddaughters down in NC two weeks ago. We paid big money for priority to make sure that it all arrived on time. We were told we had plenty of time and the boxes would be there in 3-4 days. Well, you’ve probably already guessed that the boxes have yet to arrive and we keep getting the run around from the Post office down there where tracking last shows them arriving to. The Mrs. Is very upset and fit to be tied. Our daughter is a single mom and if our packages don’t show up the girls won’t have much of a Christmas. The worst part , there is absolutely no recourse for calling the usps out on the mat.
 
FWIW, I had a similar experience trying to ship something within my state. It kept making a loop between Dallas, Ga, Dallas, Tx, and Atlanta. (It was supposed to go to Resaca, Ga.)

An in person meeting at my local PO, with photos of the item addressed correctly, and the tracking number, got it delivered in 2 days.

It’s still poor service, but if someone fat fingers some information, those bar codes just keep sorting based on that bad information, regardless of what is actually written on the parcel.
 
Maybe the issues I have ran into are local issues for my area (Chicago Suburbs) Here's what I have run into:

1. I'm retired and the wife and I go away for a week or two. Before leaving I fill out a hold mail card at the post office. I've ran into, the mail was delivered, partially delivered and never stopped, over loaded my mail box so the top was opened, it rained and ruined all the mail. I go to mentioned the issue at the post office and asked for a supervisor. The woman said there is no supervisor and if i had a complaint, she gave me a 800 number.

2. I live at the end of a long U shaped street, I can always see the postman coming. For the last few years, there are days when the postman never comes. I know I read the new Postmaster wanted the post office to stop overtime and become profitable. So is this why no mailman shows up on some days? They're short handed, so no mail delivery?

3. I went to the office today at 4pm. The line was out the door. I peaked inside and there are spots for 5 or 6 cashiers, There was only one cashier.
 
Yep. I ordered a down jacket from a company in Utah and it shipped the next day. USPS tracking showed it made to Atlanta, Ga pretty quick, then it went to Jacksonville, Fl and then back to Atlanta and now it's back in Jacksonville again. Tracking shows it's been in Jacksonville for 3 days now & who knows when it will ever get out of there and make to me in E. Tennessee.

I know we have several retired postal workers on this forum that bristle up when they read these threads, but the sad truth is the USPS is not what it was in the past. A system that was once efficient and dependable has progressively gotten worse & worse over the last several years. It's like a roll of the dice when you ship something now. Rant over. Don
 
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I followed these instructions a couple of months ago, and it worked quickly. The receiving postmaster in LA called me and even gave me her cell phone number if it didn't get resolved within 24 grs. Nice lady!
 
I believe that a big part of their problem is lack of proper training of replacements of experienced employees.

My nightmare started when I made a dumb mistake on a $765 USPS money order by putting the wrong recipient’s name on the MO and sending it off to make a purchase. A few days letter, the seller graciously notified me that his bank would not accept it, which is understandable; so, he asked me how I wanted to handle the payment. I aplogized profusely, paid him with a credit card and asked him to teturn thr incorrectly addressed MO.

I had all my paperwork and took it back to the post office where I got the MO, and asked the USPS employee at the counter for a refund. No problem, said the employee…EXCEPT, that we don’t have enough cash in our cash register to refund you $765. So…what do I do, I asked? Try another post office that has that kind of cash in hand.

After driving around my county for about 20 miles, I got the same response from a total of 4 United States post offices. I had started to panic when I went to the fifth post office with my fingers crossed and when it was my turn, I once again explained to the guy at the counter my predicament.

I was expecting the worst, when this mature-looking employee says “no problem!” I was sure I heard wrong, but he said: just endorse it, we’ll accept it and provide you with a new money order for $765, which you can fill and send to whomever you owe the money, or write it to yourself and deposit it to your bank account.

My jaw dropped, and I thought I was going to kiss the guy, but I just asked him if he had been working for the USPS for a long time. He could see the relief on my face; so, he laughed, said yes, and called for the next customer.

No other employee at the other 4 post offices, nor their supervisors, had suggested this simple fix. Although they were all very courteous, they just didn’t know what to do! One fellow at the fourth post office even shook his head and privately said, man, I would be frantic, too. That’s a lot of money!
 
You know, they got a tough job. Getting a Christmas card or package from New York or some distribution center in California to a backwoods rural Arkansas mailbox in a few days is a downright wonder to me.

I have a good rapport with our local mail carriers and I respect them immensely. Whenever I'm trying to hunt down a local that don't want to be found, the local mail carrier is usually one of the first people on my list to ask where they might be.
 
Apparently, the USPA thinks I live at every address that has the same street number (376) except the one I live at, because they all get my mail first.
 
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