USPS and It's Less Than Reliable Service! Your Tales of Woe!

[Damaramu]

NEW UPDATE: (Gave Thread New Title)
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The seller responded. He said he had this happen to a few of his other customers. Stated that as soon as the package arrives, he'll contact me.

Meanwhile, I've been tracking another package that arrived from Japan via EMS. The mail carrier attempted delivery of the package TWICE, while my wife and I were at work. So I called the PO, told them to hold the package, and picked it up on my lunch break.
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UPDATE:
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Well, on a lark I checked the tracking number again and guess what? Someone at the post office found this "missing" game, marked it as unclaimed and shipped it back to the seller! WTF?? I called them at least 5 times looking for this fucking package.

So I emailed the seller and explained to them what's going on. I'm also calling the post office again and will have them look at their goof up. Someone is asleep at the wheel, that's for sure.

Hopefully the guy will respond. If not, then I'll have my credit union step in and do a charge back.
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This is more of a rant than anything:

I bought a game through BIN on Ebay. The guy shipped it with tracking. Having not received the game, I check the shipping status...WTF?! USPS is showing my game was delivered to me LAST FRIDAY! No way in hell has it been delivered because I was at home on the 22nd (my birthday).

Now, I'm not blaming the seller, but I am looking rather suspiciously at our NEW mailman.

Check this shit out:
After seeing the package was delivered, I call the apartment office to see if it's there (that's where they usually leave packages for us). "Yup, you have a package here!" Great, so I go in after work to pick it up.....again, WTF?

It was a totally different package! No game at all. It was in fact, my Brisco County Jr. dvds.....but waitaminute. The mailman dropped off my dvds at the office....and didn't bother to leave a notice in my mailbox (which our former mailman always did).

So anyway, I call up USPS and started an "investigation". Guy says they'll contact me on Monday.
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The wife suggests I get my packages shipped to my work place for now on. I think I'll do that. FUCK!

[Damaramu]

Bump for update.

[The 1 2 P]

Yeah, the post office is far from perfect. I hope it all works out for you.

[thetoxicone]

I don't think I've ever lived anyplace where I haven't had major issues with the mail service.

[Fuyukaze]

It's just as bad here. It's come to the point I'm taking every other Saturday off work just so I can get my damned EMS package because the mail driver refuses to blow her horn and wont leave anything larger then a small box in our mail box. Given her the option to even leave it outside our fence but she refuses to work with us.

[Kitsune Sniper]

I think you can report your maillady to your local postmaster.

But yeah, that does suck.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

Where I live, I have all but confirmed that my post office readily avoids carrying my (very frequent) eBay packages to my apartment and ringing my doorbell to give them to me.

They've gotten in the habit of just filling out the "Sorry we missed you!" slips and sticking them in my mailbox.

It's happened at least 20 times this year, and I've asked the postmaster at my post office "What do I need to do to get you to actually DELIVER my packages?" and the guy just totally denies that the letter carrier doesn't attempt to bring them with him and ring my bell.

Not much else I can really do apart from putting a closed circuit camera by my mailbox ... but even if I had evidence ... I'm not sure that the post office would do anything about it. Plus I guess I'd rather tollerate this than have them leave large packages on my doorstep where passers by could just walk off with them.

[jb143]

I took a day off work once to wait for a really important package sent overnight delivery. The post office told the shipper that someone had to be there to sign for it. So while I was waiting I heard the door to our apartment building open and close again followed by a clump clump clump down the stairs. So I opened the door to find the package sitting there as the mailman was driving off, having never even set foot inside the building. I'm just glad it wasn't something breakable.

[ryborg]

Where I live, I have all but confirmed that my post office readily avoids carrying my (very frequent) eBay packages to my apartment and ringing my doorbell to give them to me.

They've gotten in the habit of just filling out the "Sorry we missed you!" slips and sticking them in my mailbox.

If there isn't a secure area for packages in your complex, the mailman is following the rules. Filling out the peach slips is the correct course of action. The only time the mailman comes to your door to deliver something in person is if a signature is required. Not sure why postal supervisors haven't told you this.

Think about it; do you know how many packages each route gets per day? If you have the mailman hand-deliver every single package, it would add at least 1-2 hours to his shift every day. That means MANY more carriers would have to be hired, which means postage goes WAY up.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

If there isn't a secure area for packages in your complex, the mailman is following the rules. Filling out the peach slips is the correct course of action. The only time the mailman comes to your door to deliver something in person is if a signature is required. Not sure why postal supervisors haven't told you this.

Think about it; do you know how many packages each route gets per day? If you have the mailman hand-deliver every single package, it would add at least 1-2 hours to his shift every day. That means MANY more carriers would have to be hired, which means postage goes WAY up.

Okay, if thems the rules, thems the rules ... but as far as customer service goes - they need to revise those slips to say "Your package is waiting for YOU at the post office to complete the delivery process yourself" and not "Sorry we missed you!" ... as no ATTEMPT was ever even intended to be made.

[Fuyukaze]

Okay, if thems the rules, thems the rules ... but as far as customer service goes - they need to revise those slips to say "Your package is waiting for YOU at the post office to complete the delivery process yourself" and not "Sorry we missed you!" ... as no ATTEMPT was ever even intended to be made.

You got that right. In my case, they dont even bother honking their horn. Now, I could understand them not being sure if someone was home but when people are outside the house in the yard screaming for them to wait so they can get the keys to the gate and they still drive off? I've asked if they could just leave the package over the fence and at first they were ok with that. Then some rule came up where they wouldnt do that. I asked if they'd please leave the package at the post office if they couldnt deliver it and sometimes they do, sometimes not. I'm at wits end on how to go about getting my mail. If a PO box wasnt so expensive I'd go that route and just get my mail from a neighboring town but even that's not an option aparently.

[Damaramu]

Jeebus. I should rename this thread "USPS Horror Stories". I'm really sorry to hear this crap is happening to you guys too.

[ryborg]

Okay, if thems the rules, thems the rules ... but as far as customer service goes - they need to revise those slips to say "Your package is waiting for YOU at the post office to complete the delivery process yourself" and not "Sorry we missed you!" ... as no ATTEMPT was ever even intended to be made.

It's a generic form used for all delivery notices. I think you're making a big deal out of nothing.

Of course everyone has postal horror stories. When you get mail six days a week for your entire life, yeah, mistakes are going to be made. I've still had to deal with FAR fewer postal mistakes myself than the troglodytes who work at UPS and FedEX.

[The 1 2 P]

Jeebus. I should rename this thread "USPS Horror Stories". I'm really sorry to hear this crap is happening to you guys too.

I guess I should consider myself lucky. My only horror stories were hearing from two different buyers that their items never arrived. Coincidentally they were both sent by media mail. Today I never send media mail without a delivery confirmation number.

As for the slips they leave when you aren't home, I don't mind as long as I can go pick it up before the post office closes that day.

[debian4life]

While USPS Priority Mail is cheaper, UPS tracking is much better. Tracking on USPS only tells you it made it to the post office thats it.

Regards,

Brian

[thetoxicone]

As for the slips they leave when you aren't home, I don't mind as long as I can go pick it up before the post office closes that day.

Mine always say 7:30 the next morning but at least I work until 7:15 a.m. and the post office is on my way home so it isn't much of an issue.

[Icarus Moonsight]

It's a generic form used for all delivery notices. I think you're making a big deal out of nothing.

Defensiveness detected! Don't tell me, you work in the customer service field don't you? LOL It's easier to deal with servers and Chinese/Pizza delivery drivers... service sucks then you don't tip. They either get the idea and step it up... or next time they spit in your food or *glug* worse. I guess that translates to - Mail service suck? Use Fed_ex or UPS. You get insurance and tracking for free and you don't have to deal with the post office bull-shit. Yay!

Damn customers, always complaining and ruining a what would otherwise be a great job! I. Hate. Them. ALL. :p Seems that most customer service follows the "Randal from Clerks" method these days.

[JerseyDevil65]

While USPS Priority Mail is cheaper, UPS tracking is much better. Tracking on USPS only tells you it made it to the post office thats it.

Regards,

Brian

That used to be the case but not anymore Now, the carrier scans the package before he leaves it on your doorstep.

[Icarus Moonsight]

That used to be the case but not anymore Now, the carrier scans the package before he leaves it on your doorstep.

Then could you explain to Damaramu how his "scanned at the doorstep" package went MIA and when liberated from the postage abyss was sent briskly back to the sender instead of his own hands? Hmmm... still slightly broken if you ask me. This very scenario has happened to me before, only I was the seller. I got the item back 4 months or more after I sent it off. This was about 5 years ago. Glad to see some things never change, even if those things are infrequent.

[ryborg]

Mail service suck? Use Fed_ex or UPS. You get insurance and tracking for free and you don't have to deal with the post office bull-shit. Yay!

Yeah, you're right. $7 to ship a game, CD or DVD via FedEX or UPS is much better than the $2.50 or so it costs at the post office. On a strict package-by-package basis, most people I know, myself included, have had far more lost and mis-directed packages using FedEX or UPS.

The only time using a non USPS service is worth it is when you're mailing a huge and heavy item. You're wasting money any other time unless you qualify for a corporate discount.

[Icarus Moonsight]

There is the old axiom of - You get what you pay for. ;)

[Starwander]

If there isn't a secure area for packages in your complex, the mailman is following the rules. Filling out the peach slips is the correct course of action. The only time the mailman comes to your door to deliver something in person is if a signature is required. Not sure why postal supervisors haven't told you this.

Think about it; do you know how many packages each route gets per day? If you have the mailman hand-deliver every single package, it would add at least 1-2 hours to his shift every day. That means MANY more carriers would have to be hired, which means postage goes WAY up.

I used to work at the post office and this is not exactly true, yes they are not suppose to leave the package in an unsecure location, but you can fill out a form that authorizes the mailperson to leave the package at a place of your choice. This form releases the post office of any liability resulting from leaving the package at your home.

Edit: I should also add this waiver doesn't work for packages that require signatures like insured packages

[JerseyDevil65]

Then could you explain to Damaramu how his "scanned at the doorstep" package went MIA and when liberated from the postage abyss was sent briskly back to the sender instead of his own hands?



The package could have been delivered to the wrong address, it was scanned so it showed up as being delivered. The wrong recipient probably gave the box back to their mail carrier and brought it back to he PO and it sat there for any number of reasons (unable to read original recipients address or maybe they were lazy and forgot it in the undelivered bin, or maybe they are just stupid).

I am not defending the PO, I was merely pointing out that packages are scanned by the mail carrier in the truck before they are delivered.

[ryborg]

I used to work at the post office and this is not exactly true, yes they are not suppose to leave the package in an unsecure location, but you can fill out a form that authorizes the mailperson to leave the package at a place of your choice. This form releases the post office of any liability resulting from leaving the package at your home.

Right, but I think people here are talking more about apartment buildings rather than residential homes. You don't have to worry about theft of packages in most 'burbs as you do in a busy apartment complex. As much as everyone complains about having to pick packages up, I don't think most people would want their mailman just leaving it out in the lobby mailroom or wherever, form or not.


There is the old axiom of - You get what you pay for. ;)

If ebay were to somehow require that all sellers can no longer use USPS in favor of the other "more secure" services (and triple+ the cost), buyers and sellers together would revolt like nothing seen before on ebay. Yes, please ship my GBA game or memory card for ~$8 please and have it take longer.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

I live in an apartment. But not an apartment complex. I have my own mailbox and my own front door, just like a residential property.

For several years, the mail carriers in my area used to leave mailbox sized packages in my mailbox, and in most cases would ring my doorbell to hand them directly to me.

However, as the volume of eBay business I did increased (and I assume the volume of overall package via internet order business for ALL residents in my area) they began this practice of not delivering the packages to my apartment at all.

I don't want the mail carrier to leave my packages on the sidewalk, but if it's a package that's small enough to fit in my mailbox, I EXPECT THEM TO DO SO.

My most recent trip to the post office yielded a package that was approximately one foot by six or seven inches. MORE THAN SMALL ENOUGH to fit in my mailbox, and when I handed the "Sorry we MISSED you!" slip to the mail person, I watched them go to a shelf FULL of small packages to find mine.

This is NOT a matter of "rules", this is a matter of mail carriers are either not willing to carry x-amount of packages during their daily route, or they are not able to.

When I PAY upward of $10 for priority mail I expect that that delivery will END in my mailbox, not at my local post office.

You can defend the post office all you'd like on this - but I have been dealing with this becoming an increasingly frustrating (and very obvious) act of apathy/negligence on their part for the past 10 years. I have my personal first-hand experiences, and nothing you can say will make me feel any different about what I expect as a customer of their services (not to mention a tax-payer).

And, for the record - the PINK "Sorry we MISSED you!" slips are NOT "all-purpose" slips. The slips that absolutely require the recipient of the postal package to travel to the post office to sign for a package with ID is the GREEN "Certified Delivery" slip. Or for packages that have been insured.

The pink ones are intended to be left after an ATTEMPTED (and failed) delivery.

[Starwander]

I live in an apartment. But not an apartment complex. I have my own mailbox and my own front door, just like a residential property.

For several years, the mail carriers in my area used to leave mailbox sized packages in my mailbox, and in most cases would ring my doorbell to hand them directly to me.

However, as the volume of eBay business I did increased (and I assume the volume of overall package via internet order business for ALL residents in my area) they began this practice of not delivering the packages to my apartment at all.

I don't want the mail carrier to leave my packages on the sidewalk, but if it's a package that's small enough to fit in my mailbox, I EXPECT THEM TO DO SO.

My most recent trip to the post office yielded a package that was approximately one foot by six or seven inches. MORE THAN SMALL ENOUGH to fit in my mailbox, and when I handed the "Sorry we MISSED you!" slip to the mail person, I watched them go to a shelf FULL of small packages to find mine.

This is NOT a matter of "rules", this is a matter of mail carriers are either not willing to carry x-amount of packages during their daily route, or they are not able to.

When I PAY upward of $10 for priority mail I expect that that delivery will END in my mailbox, not at my local post office.

You can defend the post office all you'd like on this - but I have been dealing with this becoming an increasingly frustrating (and very obvious) act of apathy/negligence on their part for the past 10 years. I have my personal first-hand experiences, and nothing you can say will make me feel any different about what I expect as a customer of their services (not to mention a tax-payer).

And, for the record - the PINK "Sorry we MISSED you!" slips are NOT "all-purpose" slips. The slips that absolutely require the recipient of the postal package to travel to the post office to sign for a package with ID is the GREEN "Certified Delivery" slip. Or for packages that have been insured.

The pink ones are intended to be left after an ATTEMPTED (and failed) delivery.

You absolutely right it has a lot to do with laziness or not having enough time. Packages take more time to deliver since you have to scan the package, plus for city carriers most of them are required to walk their routes and park at designated areas. So basically they do not want to carry packages in addition to the mail. It really sucks and there is no way to solve the problem. Union postal employees cannot be fired for this behavior and even if the post master talks to them they are unable to discipline them. Switching to UPS or FedEx is the only solution or attempt to sweet talk your mail deliver. I know it seems wrong, but if you establish a good relationship with your mail carrier typically they are willing to work with you or go out of their way to help you.
Just one bit of warning, do not anger your postal employee, since they will and can easily screw with your mail. It happens more often than you think and you will never get anything done.

[ryborg]

words

Wow, yeah, in that case, you just have a shitty mailman. There's no excuse to not put a small package in the mailbox.


And, for the record - the PINK "Sorry we MISSED you!" slips are NOT "all-purpose" slips. The slips that absolutely require the recipient of the postal package to travel to the post office to sign for a package with ID is the GREEN "Certified Delivery" slip. Or for packages that have been insured.I have never seen those slips in every place I've lived, and my business makes me receive a lot of mail and packages. Strange. The peach slips have a check box for Certified and Insured letters/packages, so that's what I've always been in contact with.

[Starwander]

Wow, yeah, in that case, you just have a shitty mailman. There's no excuse to not put a small package in the mailbox.

I have never seen those slips in every place I've lived, and my business makes me receive a lot of mail and packages. Strange. The peach slips have a check box for Certified and Insured letters/packages, so that's what I've always been in contact with.

Actually Ryborg is right the peach slips are all-purpose and can be used for every type of package, including those that need signitures.

[Nitrosport]

I'm stilling waiting for a package of genesis games. It shipped about 8 months ago via usps. The tracking shows it got right to my post office and then disappeared. I wonder what happened....

[Damaramu]

Heh. I'm not too fond of FED-EX either. A buddy of mine out in California sent me his unused video card and sound card from an older computer. It had tracking on the package and guess what? FED-EX left it at the front door of my apartment.

And you know what happened? Someone swiped it. I will NEVER use FED-EX or UPS for this reason. I'm just glad I didn't pay for those cards.

:bullshit:

[The 1 2 P]

That used to be the case but not anymore Now, the carrier scans the package before he leaves it on your doorstep.

Thats what I was just pondering as I read his post. When you track a delivery confirmation number on usps.com it tells you what day and time your item arrived. This is a must if you ever send anything thru media mail. Trust me.

[The 1 2 P]

Oops, I forgot to add that today I got a package from Fed Ex. The cool thing was: he called me an hour before he got here and asked if I was going to be home. I said yes and when he arrived he still came up to the third floor to deliver it to me instead of leaving it by the the mailbox. Considering I didn't have to sign for it, I thought that was pretty cool.

[jonjandran]

Over 1900 packages shipped with the USPS from 4 different cities I've lived in and not one problem.

Over 500 packages received from USPS in 4 different cities and not one problem.

Sucks to be you guys. :ass:

[BIGMIKE]

carriers do carry a lot of things around. i can attest to that much. i've done both sides. drive and walking around. it could be newspaper day, val pack day. any 3rd bundle kinda day. being a mailman isn't as easy as it appears. lots of things need to be done in order for your route to be delivered correctly. we aren't perfect, but I at least try to be. when it comes to parcels though, i take a lot of things into consideration before leaving or attempting stuff. at apartments, it's a gamble to leave bigger packages. it's my job to deliver the package, what happens after it's dropped off is nothing i can control. i won't do that is certain situations, but overall i throw and go. when in doubt always get the insurance, confirmation, or signature confirmation on things you don't want to take a chance with sending or receiving. if there is a sizeable amount of goods in question, you better believe someone is signing for it if i send it. when i leave the slip the customer can pick up or specify a day to redeliver. we are flexible. communication is the key. i'm a note kinda guy. if there is something that you want done all you have to do is drop a note in the box. it's that simple for me. i'm here for you.

thanks
a mailguy (rural side)

[ryborg]

I got a package from Fed Ex. The cool thing was: he called me an hour before he got here and asked if I was going to be home.

Wow, FedEX has *never* called me for any reason, even when one of my packages got on the wrong truck from Ohio and was heading to New Mexico or something instead of NY. You must have dealt with a really good delivery guy.

I get home from work today and I noticed NINE huge packages in a snowbank in front of my house. It was a big order of clothes shipped via DHL and I wish they would have either not threw them in the snow or put them in a more secure area (or even given me a slip so I could pick them up). I wish I had my camera on me because it was quite a sight. The first thing I thought of was this thread.

[mills]

I've litereally seen delivery men from DHL Park their truck in front of my building, walk up to the mail room and stick a "sorry we missed you" slip on a mailbox, get in their truck and leave.

[InsaneDavid]

i'm a note kinda guy. if there is something that you want done all you have to do is drop a note in the box. it's that simple for me. i'm here for you.

Pretty much every problem I've had at the last point in the chain (PO to door) has been resolved by doing that. Usually it was from folding things that shouldn't be folded.

As for DHL they're a pain in the ass except that they take good care of what you're shipping. I would never ship a pachinko machine anything other than DHL.

UPS pretty much just always drops at the door with a knock. Customer service has been good from my experience however. Once I was going to be away from home on business and I had a package coming. I opted to have the package delivered to the place of business that I was staying at. Due to a screwup from the company I bought from, they put the street address of where I was staying but the city and zip code of my payment address (home). After noticing this on their website tracking (the package was going out and coming back to their local dock) I called their 1-800 number and had it straightened out within five minutes.

[Jimmy Yakapucci]

A number of years ago I had ordered a computer through the mail. At that time I was living in a basement apartment so I did not have a separate mail address. The mail came in upstairs and they brought down what was mine. I was leaving one afternoon and noticed a couple boxes sitting underneath the landlord's travel trailer that weren't there the day before. I checked them out since the landlord was out of town. It turned out that it was my computer and monitor! Of course, across the box, bigger than life was the notice, "Signature Required." After talking to my landlord, he told me that at one time, since it was raining, the delivery guy actually put stuff inside the trailer.

JY