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Why the USPS is in trouble


Randomguy

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Yeah, because leadership sucks and are swamping it up to try and steal the election, yada yada yada, but here is why their package service sucks:

Tracking Number: 9400111202555579615011

Your item was delivered to the front desk, reception area, or mail room at 9:05 am on August 28, 2020 in NEW YORK, NY 10019.

Status

Delivered

August 28, 2020 at 9:05 am

Delivered, Front Desk/Reception/Mail Room

NEW YORK, NY 10019 

 

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Just so you know, the package was NOT delivered.  I went down and talked to the doorman and he basically laughed.  "When USPS says something is delivered, that means they are telling you what you want to hear.  It will probably be here later today."

How come Fedex and UPS can track packages accurately (and have for at least a solid decade), but USPS cannot?  How come notices are accurate with the other carriers?

Not that I am super upset or anything, just grousing a bit.  It did cost me 15 minutes between going down to talk with the doorman and coming back and all, though, shirley it can't be that hard to have accurate messaging, right?

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1 hour ago, Randomguy said:

How come Fedex and UPS can track packages accurately (and have for at least a solid decade), but USPS cannot? 

Ours does. The postman carries a handheld device that he enters the delivery status into. I am notified within minutes of the information. We tested it when it first came out.

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Everything seems to process through the post office locations in my state quite well.  Most of my mail delays are happening in North Carolina, California and some midwest locations where packages marked as accepted by the post office seem go stay for days before showing up in CT.  I don't know if that means that the incoming facility is slow, the tracking is being withheld so that I can't tell when something just sits. or the trucks from there to here are just slow.

All the apparent changes to my mail service seem to have begun this year.  Before this year everything was very fast, even stuff from overseas.  For the latter, I no longer order from there if possible.  Some international postal departments are virtually shut down due to covid.  Hong Kong is one such place.

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29 minutes ago, sheep_herder said:

Bet that varies by location.

It does.  I bet I have filled out 20 or more changes of address for local addresses here.  Sometimes they work for a few months, but then mail starts coming to old addresses again.  Sometimes they don't work at all.

 

1 hour ago, donkpow said:

Ours does. The postman carries a handheld device that he enters the delivery status into. I am notified within minutes of the information. We tested it when it first came out.

Maybe it does for your area, or for the letter carriers themselves, but I got my 'delivered' notice a full three hours before it was actually delivered.   If you can't relay accurate information, then you should relay that it is on track for delivery or something similar, not that it is here and signed for when nothing could be further from the truth.

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59 minutes ago, Randomguy said:

It does.  I bet I have filled out 20 or more changes of address for local addresses here.  Sometimes they work for a few months, but then mail starts coming to old addresses again.  Sometimes they don't work at all.

 

Maybe it does for your area, or for the letter carriers themselves, but I got my 'delivered' notice a full three hours before it was actually delivered.   If you can't relay accurate information, then you should relay that it is on track for delivery or something similar, not that it is here and signed for when nothing could be further from the truth.

Perhaps the fault is not with the post office, but with the delivery person who cheats on his postings.  A couple of weeks ago the delivery truck that comes up our street marked a package not delivered because driveway was blocked.  I waited all day for that package and the was never anything in the driveway.  He was running late and my package was delivery 1 the next morning at 7:30 am when he started his run.  Or perhaps your guy scanned the wrong package in the truck before finding the right one and didn't correct it.

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25 minutes ago, maddmaxx said:

Or perhaps your guy scanned the wrong package in the truck before finding the right one and didn't correct it.

According to the doorman (who accept all the packages), the USPS always sends delivery texts or emails well before the packages arrive, sometimes a day or more before they arrive.  

Chicago was the worst mail service I have seen, although NYC is a distant second.

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1 hour ago, Randomguy said:

According to the doorman (who accept all the packages), the USPS always sends delivery texts or emails well before the packages arrive, sometimes a day or more before they arrive.  

Chicago was the worst mail service I have seen, although NYC is a distant second.

I get no texts from USPS.  If I check tracking I can usually see where a package has been and will see it marked out for delivery on the day it is delivered.  That's all we ever get.

FedEx sends an email stating that a package will be delivered on the day of delivery.

UPS sends nothing but their tracking works like the USPS described above.

I am completely unfamiliar with the manner in which you describe your post office operating.

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2 hours ago, maddmaxx said:

I get no texts from USPS.  If I check tracking I can usually see where a package has been and will see it marked out for delivery on the day it is delivered.  That's all we ever get.

FedEx sends an email stating that a package will be delivered on the day of delivery.

UPS sends nothing but their tracking works like the USPS described above.

I am completely unfamiliar with the manner in which you describe your post office operating.

When you go to track a package on their site, there is an option to have them message, email, or have a homeless guy pee on your front door whenever a status change occurs.  None of it worked, I got no progress changes or status until I got a notice that it was delivered three hours before it was delivered.  It is there, but it may take some digging.

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We probably have the best mailman in the world. He works with us about where to leave packages and uses initiative to decide best practice for us. He is about to retire. I hope we get the good guy to replace him. The potential new guy has a different schedule but he is very nice and cooperative.

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9 hours ago, Further said:

USPS left 2 packages, 2 catalogs, and a letter sitting in front of my garage today, it rained, a lot, there is no roof. :angry:

I have a covered porch, that would have been the better choice. The mailbox would have been good for for the letter. 

Sometimes they do that to us too. All delivery services sometimes do though. 

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To the original topic, the USPS has enormous legacy costs. There was a time, under the leadership after the Korean war, that almost any veteran could count on a position with the postal service. Competition and digital communication has drastically reduced income but hasn't reduced the costs. The USPS still has the infrastructure to deliver to nearly address in the country.

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22 hours ago, maddmaxx said:

My former regular mail lady used to put packages inside a plastic bag if it was raining.  Nobody bothers any more.

Ours still do, and some ignore the 'beware of dog' sign and bring the package to the back porch. Regulars know if the dogs are out, as they meet the carriers at the gate.

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On 8/28/2020 at 3:23 PM, Randomguy said:

Maybe it does for your area, or for the letter carriers themselves, but I got my 'delivered' notice a full three hours before it was actually delivered.   If you can't relay accurate information, then you should relay that it is on track for delivery or something similar, not that it is here and signed for when nothing could be further from the truth.

Wow! You got the new prototype...it tells the future! Now if it could just pick the lottery numbers. :(

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Not the USPS...but

I ordered a can of brake fluid from Amazon. The truck shows up next day as anticipated. Saw him arrive and went to the door as he left. The dude delivered an empty foam padded envelope that was never sealed and the product was nowhere on the front porch! Reviewed it on the security camera and saw the envelope flapping in his hand flapping in the breeze which would be impossible if had 16 oz can of brake fluid. Caught the truck at a delivery stop in the next neighborhood and not on the floor or envelop container bag. Put a claim in and amazon refunded the purchase and made a trip to Mini Parts Dept. Independent auto parts stores, while they carry Dot 4, the don't carry, or it is way over prices, the newer low viscosity Dot 4. It was actually cheaper at Mini.

To add insult to injury, while it did require some fluid to top off, the indicator light wasn't that it was low. Rather it was a mileage timing light that service was due to flush the brake fluid. Never had that done before on any vehicle, and don't know if will this time...but can't find the secret handshake to turn the indicator light out. Reset not covered in the owners manual (obviously) and Google searches and YouTube videos were earlier model years with different systems than the current (2017 to present) models.

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