Useless Parcel Service

[Nemo2]

Not at all. You weren't expecting anything, so you didn't miss anything. If it eventually shows up, you're in for a nice surprise.

At least that's how I would look at it.

Me....I'm the optimist......figure my best friend's won $100 million and sent me my cut!

 

[troutnut1]

My UPS driver was facing a nasty divorce at Christmas time 10 years ago. So we made him a nice card and put a crisp $100 bill in it (a favorite thing my dad used to do).

We got fabulous service before that, and great service after that. We have continued that tradition ever since and have enjoyed the same UPS driver ever since.

I wanted to do the same thing with my mailman, but they can’t take anything over $20. So I buy them pounds of coffee from a favorite shop. We get great service from them too.

I don’t know why it took us so long to figure out how important these folks are to our life. We are very remote and order almost everything online. And we have a driveway longer than a lot of city roads.

 

[kingkarmann]

Bear in mind that more people are shipping rather than shopping in persons, and each of them (UPS, USPS, FedEx) may be lighter on employees to load and drive trucks and answer phones, etc. I just try to keep that in mind before bad mouthing a business. Of course I heard complaints before this year too. I'm not an apologist for any of them, but I do try to have more patience with any business this year.

Peak shipping around the holidays has turned into a peak every day all year long!
DW has worked many decades for a large “parcel delivery” company. Shipping levels are historic. They are trying to push more through the same infrastructure. Also a very high turnover in this industry.
It is starting to stabilize at the moment, until they lose more folks to the second wave of Covid-19

 

[Amethyst]

Speaking of package tracking, it can be wacky.

Back in May, I ordered a set of fancy compression socks from a Chinese company which advertised on FB. I expected to wait a looong time for them to arrive, and wasn't disappointed - they got here yesterday. That is not the wacky part. The company sent me a tracking link, which showed the socks gradually making their way from Shenzhen to California, then down through various U.S. junctions, to Jacksonville, then Orlando, then my town.
Then, the tracking link showed the socks apparently going back up through Florida, west through Oregon into California! I emailed the company to notify them that the socks were on their way back to China without having been delivered, please refund my money. They replied to sit tight, no worries, I would have my socks in a week.
And the funky part is, I did!

 

[Midpack]

My UPS driver was facing a nasty divorce at Christmas time 10 years ago. So we made him a nice card and put a crisp $100 bill in it (a favorite thing my dad used to do).

We got fabulous service before that, and great service after that. We have continued that tradition ever since and have enjoyed the same UPS driver ever since.

I wanted to do the same thing with my mailman, but they can’t take anything over $20. So I buy them pounds of coffee from a favorite shop. We get great service from them too.

I don’t know why it took us so long to figure out how important these folks are to our life. We are very remote and order almost everything online. And we have a driveway longer than a lot of city roads.

We give our USPS mailperson and trashperson a $20 during the December holidays. Don't know if it helps service or not, but we have great service.

 

[partition1]

Same here with our CT hub a month or so back. We spoke to a driver of Big Brown and he told us that they were completely overwhelmed, not enough help, employees sick etc. He told us to wait to order anything that would ship thru them for a while. We did - and it seems to have settled down some. We are back to on-time deliveries.

 

[ownyourfuture]

The FedEX person by me runs from the truck to the house and back every time.

Same thing in my area. Last week I heard the doorbell ring. Got to the door in approximately 10 seconds. The package was there, but the truck was already pulling away.

 

[Amethyst]

Yesterday I was going out the front door, and paused when I saw the FedEx truck at the end of the driveway. I greeted the delivery man. He held up a small package and said, "Is this for you?"

I didn't know what to say - I mean, it was clearly my house, but how could I read the address on the package? Fortunately he then read the addressee's name, which I could attest was mine.

 

[Qs Laptop]

I'm a small business owner that works from home and uses UPS, FedEx, and USPS nearly every day for outgoing shipments. UPS and FedEx know to enter the side access door of the garage to pick up my outgoing packages.

I could regale the group for hours with stories but here's one of the most recent ones.

Ordered some window blinds recently. They came last week, Friday, I think. UPS driver put the carton in the garage. Tuesday, my wife asks, "Did you order another set of blinds? There's another package from Blinds Galore by the front door."

Turns out it wasn't another package--the UPS driver had moved the package he delivered on Friday from the garage to the front door. Why'd he do that? Strange.

 

[SpinDoctorTX]

Once we started going inside for tracking receipts, we had very few problems with the USPS. Prior to that, I & DH had ebay & gunbroker packages "disappear" from time to time. Now, with covid, I only will go inside the PO if the value is over $20.

Our next door neighbor works for UPS as a driver. He picks up and delivers for us when he is working on the regular trucks. Lately he has been driving feeder trucks so he can't pick up... For his sake I hope he gets to stay on those routes as it is already so hot here and only early July.

 

[Nemo2]

DW is overnighting at her, [-]aging[/-] already old, father's today......there was a scheduled UPS delivery, (we've still heard zip about the phantom package referred to in post #45 although we have filed a 'claim').

Since she wasn't going to be here, she (thought she) arranged for me to be e-mail c.c.'d on delivery notification(s).

I'd been checking outside periodically...nada....DW phones, she's received delivery notification.......so, with her on the line, I check outside......package sitting on the outside edge of the front porch, (great if rained), no doorbell ring, no e-mail notification at my addy.