Useless Parcel Service

[Car-Guy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Midpack I’m not a huge fan of USPS, but I wonder how they’d do if they were allowed to fully operate independently? USPS is forced to operate at a loss year in and year out with one hand tied behind their backs. They’re not allowed to set their own prices, they have a huge BnM presence, and they have to handle (non package) mail - none of the others would touch non package mail with a 100 foot pole.

I "somewhat" understand the handicaps they operate under. Still service is pretty bad. But like so many things here, we have learned (or learning) to accept poor services.

[Aerides]

If you privatized the USPS, a lot of rural and non-profitable routes would see even worse service. Or none. Way more people would be forced off the grid.

I run a small business and use the USPS for shipping. I have shipped thousands of packages over the years and can count true issues on one hand. Sure, a couple of late things, maybe 2 truly went poof into thin air, but by and large they are stellar considering the volume. Most of the variance is with local carriers. If yours is sloppy, sorry. I'm lucky mine have always been great.

UPS is head and shoulders over fedex.

[Midpack]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Car-Guy I "somewhat" understand the handicaps they operate under. Still service is pretty bad. But like so many things here, we have learned (or learning) to accept poor services.

Not to belabor, but how long would you operate with YOY red ink and provide good service? That’s the boat USPS has been in for 13 years that I know of.

[Koolau]

Don't send (or receive) a lot of packages. We no longer buy much "stuff." When we DO ship, USPS is really a bargain since we live in Hawaii. There is no premium for the extra 2500 air miles to the mainland. We HAVE had some issues with stuff sitting on docks getting rained on. Now, we know how to play it safe. Really don't have any serious "horror stories" on USPS. Probably more problems with the others but nothing too serious. Again, not a big sample size so YMMV.

[mountainsoft]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aerides I run a small business and use the USPS for shipping. I have shipped thousands of packages over the years and can count true issues on one hand. Sure, a couple of late things, maybe 2 truly went poof into thin air, but by and large they are stellar considering the volume.

Yep, same here. I've been mailing small packages through USPS for over 20 years with very few issues. Most arrive within 3-5 days, though some can take 7-10 days. I've probably had less than 3-4 packages get lost in all those years. Delivery has been slower during COVID, but all shipping services seem to be having the same delays.

My UPS driver is usually outgoing and talkative (to the point of being annoying some times. ), but he has been quiet and obviously run down the last couple months. I'm sure they're having a hard time keeping up with the extra workload since everyone is ordering online instead of shopping locally.

The biggest problem I have with all of the carriers is when they deliver our packages to the wrong address. My neighbor and I are frequently calling each other to swap packages. UPS seems to be the biggest offender in that area. My address is clearly marked on the mailbox out at the road.

USPS used to deliver our mail by 10am every single day, but in the last few years it can come anytime between 9am and 4pm. No rhyme or reason to when our mail will come, so I don't bother checking the box till the end of the day.

Shipping costs have really gone up in recent years. I don't even bother trying to sell small items online as the shipping often costs more than the item I'm trying to get rid of. I recently found https://www.pirateship.com/ which has been great for inexpensive USPS shipping rates.

On the other hand, the fact that I can ship a package across the country for three bucks is kind of impressive. I can't drive an hour from here for that price.

[COcheesehead]

Best thing I did with home delivery from FedEx or UPS is to sign up for an account which allows me to direct packages to UPS/FedEx stores, drug stores, etc. I also can designate deliveries as "leave without signature". I never have to wait for the driver again. FREEDOM!

[The Cosmic Avenger]

The point to remember is that the delivery services don't care about us. We are not their customers. The vendors/shippers are their customers. I always complain to the vendor if my package doesn't show up on time, or shows up damaged, and if it doesn't show up at all, I will insist on a refund or replacement from them. They can decide if the delivery service they use is worth the extra expense, but they won't care about delivery issues if they don't hear from their customers about them.

[Chuckanut]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aja8888 Sounds like UPS is getting as bad as the Post Office.

Odd. The Post Office in my area is excellent. A few years ago when large amounts of unmelted snow stopped trash pickup and deliveries from FED EX and UPS for an entire week, the PO missed one day. Only one day.

[RunningBum]

I feel like so much of this depends on your local carrier or office. Our USPS service is great with our current carrier. The one before her would constantly put mail in the wrong boxes in our kiosk. I'm told he was good before he suffered from a head injury.

[Cobra9777]

Even before Covid, we were getting more and more stuff delivered, mainly from Amazon. Now, we get almost everything delivered. Only exception is we do grocery pick-up at Walmart, which is about 5 minutes from the house. On average, we get 3-4 deliveries per week from Amazon, the vast majority of which are 2 days or less.

With all those deliveries, I've had a few problems. But not many. We had a $400 item go missing while intransit from California. Amazon expedited the replacement. The most common thing is having a package delivered to a neighbor. With Amazon Logistics, I can look at the photo and immediately recognize which neighbor has my package. But again, this is probably 1 in 50 or about a 2% error rate.

We get deliveries from UPS, USPS, FedEx, but now mostly from Amazon Logistics. The only tendency I've noticed is that Amazon Logistics is more likely to deliver to a neighbor than the others. UPS and FedEx are more likely to damage an item during handling. We've had the same USPS person for the 16 years we've lived here and she is extremely good, though not perfect.

Overall, I'm extremely satisfied with the level of service these shippers provide. But yes, it can certainly be frustrating when something goes wrong, especially if you try to resolve it through the logistics company. I don't bother. I just call Amazon and they make it right... often with a 1 or 2-day replacement plus a refund.

[jazz4cash]

Quote:

Originally Posted by samm NO way. I really like and respect UPS. I have had great experience with them shipping and receiving. I hate USPS. In my business career, we NEVER sent anything with USPS.

In my working days, we were a sub-contractor on a bid for a very large order of equipment for the USPS. The vendor was new in the game and nearly missed the deadline for the bid. Nervously they contacted USPS to confirm receipt of their bid. Yes they were told, the bid did arrive on time and everyone in the building noticed because they sent it via Fedex. They did not win the bid.

[JRon]

I used to have an ebay business where I shipped about 10 packages a day. FedEx and USPS were great, but UPS not as good. Our USPS carrier was beyond excellent. We moved so now have a different carrier that is not so good.

Our UPS driver would set packages against our screen door, which opens out, so when we opened the door it would push or tip the package over. I sometimes looked to see if he was sitting in his truck laughing at me trying to get a heavy or tall package Really depends on the person more than the company.

[Amethyst]

We have had an egregious amount of bad delivery experiences (broken and damaged goods) since moving to Florida. The problems usually haven't been with the shippers. They have been with the shipping warehouses, which are all over the country. Poor, insufficient packaging.

What makes it even more stressful is that you, the recipient, have to open and inspect for damage before the delivery person leaves - and boy, do they hate that, and try to wiggle out of it! As others have said, they are on a tight schedule and that extra 5-10 minutes cuts into it.

[Amethyst]

Our small neighborhood has the same house numbers on all the streets, which results in frequent misdeliveries to neighbors. We joke that we are unpaid contractors for the USPS, since we so often have to redeliver to someone else's mailbox.

We are also getting mail for the previous owners, who haven't lived here for more than two years (the house was a rental when we bought it). Lots of postcards from car dealerships and boat places. Evidently, they spent their money on fancy cars; they sure didn't spend it on their house.

[Lakedog]

Rarely an issue with UPS or USPS but FedEx is a different story, so much so that I no longer use FedEx for mailing anything. Once sent a letter for next day delivery by FedEx, and it went around the country before I finally had it returned to me a week later.

[CaptTom]

Interesting how there are good and bad experiences for each service. I guess it depends on the local folks wherever you are.

But beyond that, there are the policies and practices of each organization. This is where I think the USPS comes out ahead.

First and foremost, you know what it costs to ship USPS. The other two have phony "retail" prices which you pay when you order the product. But we all know that the shipper doesn't pay that rate. It's just a game to make the selling price look lower.

The other difference is that the USPS ships everything as soon as they get it. I've noticed that the other two will leave a package lying around in a warehouse somewhere if you haven't paid extra for 2-day (or whatever) shipping, apparently to encourage you to pay the premium delivery charge. Fortunately, this is becoming less of an issue as the shippers are all trying to compete with Amazon and their "free" 2-day Prime shipping.

[COcheesehead]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CaptTom Interesting how there are good and bad experiences for each service. I guess it depends on the local folks wherever you are. But beyond that, there are the policies and practices of each organization. This is where I think the USPS comes out ahead. First and foremost, you know what it costs to ship USPS. The other two have phony "retail" prices which you pay when you order the product. But we all know that the shipper doesn't pay that rate. It's just a game to make the selling price look lower. The other difference is that the USPS ships everything as soon as they get it. I've noticed that the other two will leave a package lying around in a warehouse somewhere if you haven't paid extra for 2-day (or whatever) shipping, apparently to encourage you to pay the premium delivery charge. Fortunately, this is becoming less of an issue as the shippers are all trying to compete with Amazon and their "free" 2-day Prime shipping.

As an eBay seller, I can tell you that USPS also has retail and wholesale pricing too.
As far as holding packages not paid as premium, would you give someone a dozen if they paid for 6?

[ronin]

Fortunately, UPS didn't lose my package. I went and got it yesterday. I am building a new mountain bike as a fun sort of fantasy project and this is an expensive titanium frame. I was pretty steamed but all is well.

Am still waiting for a tire that I didn't realize at the time is coming from Amsterdam! My bad on that one.

Other than that, I was able to accumulate 95% of my parts within a week from all over the country, mostly by USPS although there was a FedEx delivery in there too. No problems with any of that.

[Lakewood90712]

Corporate offices :
Ms. Carol Tome CEO
United Parcel Service, Inc.
55 Glenlake Parkway NE
Atlanta, Georgia 30328
Phone
1 404 828 6000

They have 495,000 employees , so sometimes the home office needs to nudge local managers, with a large stick. Be polite when you call HQ.

My UPS unhappy story, about 10 years ago, I paid for 2 day shipping on something to get it before thankgiving. Had it shipped to the loading dock of the company I was working as a second job. We never close . This receiving dock has been open 24/7 - 365 from 1991.
It made it to the local UPS and on the truck.
Aparently the driver ASSUMED we were already shutdown for the holiday , and never tried to deliver . Got it after the holiday I was beyond pissed.

[vince]

FedEx does that to me all the time. I think I must be at the end of his route and he just runs out of time.