Do you love the USPS or what.........?

[flintknapper]

Ordered a couple of parts recently to be delivered to my P.O.Box

One part....was something I need pretty quickly, the other one not.

Both parts shipped USPS priority mail.

Of course, as luck would have it.... the part I am in no hurry for arrived on time.

The other (although correctly addressed) was 'mis-shipped' to another Post Office....20 miles down the road from mine. Once that facility recognized the mistake they sent the package BACK to Houston (160 miles from me) to be 're-shipped'.

No doubt...there is some regulation or policy they must follow to have the package go back through normal channels, but a simple 'call' to my post office (just 20 miles away) would have alerted me to the problem and I could just have gone and picked it up.

Now....I won't have the package (if ever) for about another week. Somehow....this seems less than expedient.

[Jusme]

Ordered a couple of parts recently to be delivered to my P.O.Box

One part....was something I need pretty quickly, the other one not.

Both parts shipped USPS priority mail.

Of course, as luck would have it.... the part I am in no hurry for arrived on time.

The other (although correctly addressed) was 'mis-shipped' to another Post Office....20 miles down the road from mine. Once that facility recognized the mistake they sent the package BACK to Houston (160 miles from me) to be 're-shipped'.

No doubt...there is some regulation or policy they must follow to have the package go back through normal channels, but a simple 'call' to my post office (just 20 miles away) would have alerted me to the problem and I could just have gone and picked it up.

Now....I won't have the package (if ever) for about another week. Somehow....this seems less than expedient.

You ever wonder why they have so many financial problems? If we conducted business like that we wouldn't be in business very long. It sometimes amazes me how many things could be corrected through common sense, but when you get the government involved in business, common sense goes out the window.

[jmorris]

I've found service levels to be widely erratic between post offices. About three years after I moved from Schertz to Converse and had closed my mail box I got a call from the Schertz office. My sister had accidentally mailed a package to my old address. They held it for me. Don't know how they tracked me dowm.

On the other hand, I showed up 5 minutes after closing at another just to pick up a package and even though they were still waiting on customers they wouldn't let me in the door.

[Pariah3j]

I hate shipping through them... I go out of my way not to order from places that I know use the USPS.

[Oldgringo]

Priority Mail seems to get the better treatment; however, it's still the same 'ol people working toward their pensions from the same 'ol gubmint.

[rentz]

mail in my area is so unreliable i'd rather not even bother, i either get other peoples mail or i get none at all.
and unfortunately the people who get my important mail dont seem to be bothered to put it back in the post for correct delivery.

just yesterday i get a failed to deliver notice in my box for a package needing a signature....yet no one ever came to the door, they never do.

[Syntyr]

OR WHAT!!!

[Jusme]

I live in a rural area, and our mail service is haphazard at best. We too get the wrong mail, even though our mailbox has the address in 4 inch reflective numbers. I received some mail one time for another address, I wrote "delivered to the wrong address" on the envelopes, and placed them back in the box for pick up the next day. The next day was a Saturday, and I was outside when the mail carrier came by. She stopped, got out of her truck and said, "this postage has already been cancelled you can't mail these" I looked at her like a toad frog in a hailstorm for a moment, and then asked if she had delivered the mail the previous day. She stated that she had, and I told her that she had delivered the mail to the wrong address, and that was why I marked it as such, and asked her if she really thought I was going to buy postage to send mail, to an address that she should have delivered it the day before?

She got a blank look on her face, and said she didn't know what to do. I told her that she needed to go ask her supervisor, to revue the screening process for mail carriers.

[TxRVer]

I must be living right. I have very little trouble with the USPS.

[TreyHouston]

I looked at her like a toad frog in a hailstorm for a moment,...

i love the visual

[G26ster]

You ever wonder why they have so many financial problems? If we conducted business like that we wouldn't be in business very long. It sometimes amazes me how many things could be corrected through common sense, but when you get the government involved in business, common sense goes out the window.

It's not the USPO at fault, it is us as a society. We have become so accustomed to shoddy work, or service, that it has become the norm. I run across it every day wherever I shop, and every time I need service. It's daily!

For example: Wednesday. Wife wanted a small cheeseburger and fries from McDonalds. Told me to make sure they put more than one pickle slice on it. I told them at the ordering mic, I told them at the window I paid for it, and sure enough when they handed me the bag, it had ONE pickle slice. Thursday, ordered two personal pan pizzas from Pizza Hut. Went to pick it up at the scheduled pick up time. Young lady at the counter said it will be a few minutes more. I waited. After about 5 minutes another worker asked if I had been helped. I said yes, but I saw two personal pan pizza boxes sitting in the warming area. I asked him to check to see if they were mine. They were! They were ready when I got there, but nobody bothered to check. And these are the people that believe they deserve $15/hr minimum wage.

I remodeled two bathrooms last month. We used fiberglass tub and shower surrounds. It took many trips to Home Depot returning the cracked items, due to poor packing/shipping. The toilet for the front bathroom, already has a problem, but I sure am not un-installing it to return it. The 40v hedge trimmer I bought last month at Lowe's already has a battery issue after 2 uses. The foot massage bath I got for my wife last month has been returned because it did nothing but sit there - not working. I could go on and on, and you folks probably can too.

These are small inconveniences/examples, I realize, but they illustrate the daily frustration with businesses as a whole. They are not gov't run businesses, and they perform shoddy service, yet they thrive. Why, because we accept it. The whole point is that WE, as consumers, have allowed this to happen, and it will only get worse, as the work ethic in this country doesn't exist anymore.

[casp625]

Well, I am about to go to my local post office to see if I can pick up a package that is scheduled to be delivered tomorrow. The mailman already delivered my mail so I know it's not on the mail truck...

[FCH]

Our USPS is good. We have the same carrier all the time and usually the same sub. They go out of their way to help us old folks.
I have a relative working for USPS in the next town over. I know he is very conscientious and also very reliable but I also know his USPS has trouble keeping substitutes, so when the primary carrier is not on duty ...
I know of one case where a person sent mail to ### Pecan St. It was marked "no such address" and returned to the sender. The problem was, there was no Pecan STREET in the town but there was a Pecan DRIVE.

[Jusme]

You ever wonder why they have so many financial problems? If we conducted business like that we wouldn't be in business very long. It sometimes amazes me how many things could be corrected through common sense, but when you get the government involved in business, common sense goes out the window.

It's not the USPO at fault, it is us as a society. We have become so accustomed to shoddy work, or service, that it has become the norm. I run across it every day wherever I shop, and every time I need service. It's daily!

For example: Wednesday. Wife wanted a small cheeseburger and fries from McDonalds. Told me to make sure they put more than one pickle slice on it. I told them at the ordering mic, I told them at the window I paid for it, and sure enough when they handed me the bag, it had ONE pickle slice. Thursday, ordered two personal pan pizzas from Pizza Hut. Went to pick it up at the scheduled pick up time. Young lady at the counter said it will be a few minutes more. I waited. After about 5 minutes another worker asked if I had been helped. I said yes, but I saw two personal pan pizza boxes sitting in the warming area. I asked him to check to see if they were mine. They were! They were ready when I got there, but nobody bothered to check. And these are the people that believe they deserve $15/hr minimum wage.

I remodeled two bathrooms last month. We used fiberglass tub and shower surrounds. It took many trips to Home Depot returning the cracked items, due to poor packing/shipping. The toilet for the front bathroom, already has a problem, but I sure am not un-installing it to return it. The 40v hedge trimmer I bought last month at Lowe's already has a battery issue after 2 uses. The foot massage bath I got for my wife last month has been returned because it did nothing but sit there - not working. I could go on and on, and you folks probably can too.

These are small inconveniences/examples, I realize, but they illustrate the daily frustration with businesses as a whole. They are not gov't run businesses, and they perform shoddy service, yet they thrive. Why, because we accept it. The whole point is that WE, as consumers, have allowed this to happen, and it will only get worse, as the work ethic in this country doesn't exist anymore.

I understand your frustrations, and I too have had more than my fair share of issues with items/services purchased in the private sector. However, I don't "just put up with it" I complain, I write company executives, I contact the BBB. Does it always result in satisfaction? No, but at least with the private sector, with very few exceptions, I have alternatives, and I take my consumer dollars to those who consistently provide quality products along with good customer service. I don't have that option with the USPS. And when I have to pay shipping costs for a product I have have ordered from a company that I enjoy doing business with, and have to put up with shoddy service from the carrier, no matter how much I complain, or report the issues, nothing is done. But they haven't had a rate decrease on their services yet. I understand that no matter how conscientious a business is run, error/mistakes are made, but if they don't do anything to rectify it, then I will not do business with them, but USPS doesn't give me that option.