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Parcel post sucks. I bought a part for my snowmobile on Ebay and it took 2 weeks to get here from Michigan, shipped parcel post.

 

Masterfully insightful!

 

This has been my experience as well.

 

USPS sucks for sure... The few companies I order silver through sends them by USPS and that tracking is never right...

 

I have to respectfully disagree with you Mz. Fitzgerald. In my experience, USPS is waayy worse than UPS or Fed Ex (don't know about DHL) and I'm sorry to hear you've had problems with them. When it comes to packages less than 10lbs., they deliver straight to my door, and I live in a VERY rural area. I've never seen them "farm" anything out for delivery, so that's the first I've heard of that. Though I don't care much for the prices they charge, they are much more reliable than the USPS, and they will deliver on some of the stupid holidays that the government takes a day off for, this coming Monday being an example. I've paid for overnight delivery through the USPS (which isn't cheap) only to receive something from them 3, sometimes 4 days later. Not exactly what I'd call "overnight", but maybe more "overpriced". Unfortunately, with some companies, you have to accept the USPS as that is all they will use. I'll bet ol' Ben F. is rolling over in is grave. Smart man with a good idea, too bad there are idiots (some, not all) employed by the government to screw it up. And as for the comment about the civil service exam, I know some postal workers as well as some govt. employees and they "ain't" exactly rocket scientists. 30 years ago when I was just a kid starting out in the world, I worked with a guy who was basically a 100 watt bulb working on 40, who took the exam to become a postal worker and better himself (I have to admit he was smart for doing that). Well, he passed with flying colors and went from making minimum wage, which was $2.85 if I remember correctly, to making $12 an hour right away and all the big fat benefits that went with it. That was hell of alotta of coin for "unskilled labor" back then. Which by the way is part of the reason the postal service and the govt. is so financially strapped, too many people employed by the govt. that are waayy overpaid, JMO. And who's footin' the bill for that? Go ahead, you can say it, you know the answer. As far as I know, that is what he is still doing today. And please remember, it doesn't really take a whole lot of thinking to deliver something (sorry delivery people, but I speak from experience as it just so happens my very first job was at an auto parts warehouse delivering parts to all the big parts stores, with that very same guy). And lets face it, todays technology has made that task a bit easier. Oh, and I certainly don't agree with screwyou. To say that the USPS is crappy or the govt. hires people with very little intelligence, though I have met a few, is not only a bold statement but a rather insulting one as well. So in closing, to LADY, govt. workers and delivery people who read this, let the bashing of me begin!!

P.S. I really need to shut up and stay outta this section don't I.

 

You probably need to spend more time in this section.

Bravo!

 

I don't know, I'd probably just end up pissing people off. Not to mention making a lot of frienemies

 

Ha, I do it all the time... no biggie. Most on here understand.

 

I hear ya, then you have the ones that take life lust a little too seriously

 

Sorry to disappoint you but I'm not going to bash you.

Granted, USPS has lousy to nonexsistent tracking and they tend to be slower, but packages usually arrive in better condition and I've never had USPS alter my shipping address (more on that in a bit).

When I worked in warehousing, I spent a lot of time working shipping and receiving. The company I worked for quit using UPS for shipping because we had so many problems with them for misdirected deliveries and damage claims, which UPS bent over backwards to avoid paying on. We used Fed Ex for small package shipment unless the package was going somewhere that Fed EX didn't service, in which case we used USPS, even if UPS did service the destination.

Even Fed Ex wasn't without problems. We finally had to quit using Fed Ex Ground because of the high number of damage claims. Air seemed to be ok. Fed Ex Ground was actually the bankrupt RPS (Roadway Package Express) that Fed Ex bought out. The only changes Fed Ex made was to hand out Fed Ex uniforms to the RPS drivers and mishandlers and repaint the trucks. Fed Ex even paid the former RPS employees the same wage RPS paid them, which was significantly lower than the FED EX Employees were making for doing essentially the same work. I'm sure that really motivated the former RPS employees to work at their best.

Most of the problems I've personally have had with carriers other than USPS has to do with my shipping address. I do not have any of my mail, packages, etc. delivered to my home. The mail box is not secure; anyone can get into it (and since I live in a mobile home court, I'm not permitted to change out or modifiy the mail box). Also, packages delivered by all carriers just get dumped on my doorstep where anyone can get at them. If the package has to be signed for, the delivery person, more often than not, will try to get a neighbor to take delivery. Not all my neighbors are all that trustworthy (packages and mail has been known to stray at times).

For that reason I have a private mail service to receive my mail, packages, etc. I have to use a private mail service since the USPS will normally (more on that "normally" in a moment) not accept deliveries from any carriers that are not the USPS because they are "competition." Since the private mail service is a commercial address, all packages have to be signed for. Since the service maintains consistent hours, I don't have to worry about packages being returned to a terminal or dropped off with someone less than trustworthy because "no one was at home." I also don't have to arrange to have my mail held if I go out of town.

The problem I've run into has to do with the address. USPS lobbied for a law a few years ago that requires clients of private mail services to use a certain format for the address (supposedly to prevent mail fraud but actually it was an attempt to harass private mail services out of business). The first line after the addresssee is the box number with the initials PMB (Private Mail Box). The second line is the street address. The third line is city, state, and zip code.

You would think that would be no problem but I have had nothing but problems with vendors who feel they have to "correct" the address. Many will change the PMB, either manually or with the shipping software they use, to POB or PO Box. Even if they don't change the PMB, they (or their software) often delete the street address because post office boxes do not require a street address, just the zip code. Even when I put in the shipping instructions not to change the address, they often still will do it. I've had the same problem with carriers at times (except for USPS).

Adding to the problem are vendors who haven't quite made it into the 20th century, let alone the 21st, and have only one address line in their shipping software so they will try to cram everything into one line. Whatever doesn't fit gets truncated (or they may have two lines for the street address but they are too short). My mail service is located in a strip mall. Since the package is addressed to me (I would put in care of the mail service name but the forms never have room for it), if the street address has the suite number missing, which it will be if the last part of the street address has been truncated, then the delivery person has no way of knowing where to deliver the package (although I've gotten lucky a few times because the carrier had delivered there often enough to recognize the address format and knew where to deliver).

I've learned, as soon as I get a tracking number, to call the carrier and have them verify the delivery address in their system. If the address has been screwed up, I can then initiate an intercept to have the address corrected when the package arrives at the final hub prior to going out for delivery. At worst, it may delay the package a day but usually it doesn't.

To regain some of the revenue they have been loosing, the USPS has been contracting with some carriers to deliver packages under 10 lb to residential addresses in certain areas. If my address is messed up, it could be interpreted as being residential and shipped that way. Once the package has been turned over to USPS, all tracking ends. So far, the only ones I'm aware of doing this are UPS and DHL.

I ordered an item from Newegg late last year. They shipped DHL. When I received the tracking number, I called DHL to verify the address. They said they couldn't do that on that type of shipment because it was being shipped to the USPS for delivery. When I finally did get the package, the suite number had been truncated. Apparently (and fortunately) the delivery person was a regular on the route and recognized the address as being the format used by private mail services. Since DHL can't tell the difference between a residential address and a commercial one and they can't verify the address on a misdirected package, the next time I order something from NewEgg, I will instruct them to NOT use DHL again.

Again, I've never had any of these problems with the USPS, both at work and at home. I've found their employees, generally speaking, to be better trained and brighter than most of employees of the other carriers. UPS' customer service is staffed by morons. I hate having to deal with them. I often have to ask for The delivery people of all the carrriers other than the USPS are pushed hard to be fast so they tend to be careless with package handling. When I worked shipping and receiving, I would receive between 30 and 100 packages each day from UPS. It galled the drivers that I wouldn't sign for the packages until I verified the address (they felt I should just count them). Many of the complexes I worked at had multiple delivery locations and, invariably, the drivers would switch locations on at least one package. We also had to check for visible damage (which was frequent) and have it reported before we signed for the package or UPS would reject the damage claim. The folks up at the central mailroom never had those problems with USPS.

 

My PO carrier brings rolls of stamps to my door, boxes for shipments, posts shipments for me, picks up shipments. No complaints from me.

Your rural carrier can perform many tasks that have to be done in a Post Office right from your home. Not too many people realize this.

 

This is Smart Post, some times it is FedEx some times UPS, depends on which package carrier the company has a contract with.

This is what free shipping offers are centered around. The package carrier picks up the truck / trailer and uses USPS who is already going that way, so to the package carrier, they can offer a heck of a deal on it, the package carrier does not need to run a truck past your house for the 1 item.

Companies like Amazon has such a large contract with package carriers, the cost is stupid low to start with, so they do not use this option.
I had a return a pair of pac boots, the Amazon UPS return shipping label cost me $4.85 to send them back ( it was on my dime, size issue not product issue ).

Others like Zappos eat the < 5.00 return shipping costs as part of the business, but offer the free upgraded shipping if you keep the charge as a credit ( so they do not pay the juice on the charge and the credit ).

I have had long ship times around bank holidays with USPS ( stuff from WA taking ~ 50% longer ), where UPS and FedEx do not on the bank holidays.

FedEx even delivers on SAT, where UPS wants extra ( FedEX will charge extra for a specific SAT delivery, where if the schedule just works that way it is free ).

I do not have a UPS account, but I use my FedEx account quite often, and the FedEx home is down right reasonable for shipping stuff, tracking and delivery confirm are included ( vs USPS nickle and dime on these ).

 

First let me say I am not disappointed that you did not bash me. I just know that there are others who may take things the wrong way, and sometimes I can't blame them for that.
Secondly, I hope you did not take any offense to my post as it was not intended to be taken that way. I was only disagreeing with you based on my experiences with USPS and the other carriers. I often find that it is not the same for everybody, everywhere. It obviously depends on where you are and who is running the show.

For me, UPS and Fed Ex have been what works for me, Fed Ex being the better of the two, and since I live in a rural area it is always the same drivers for my route. And thankfully, I can say I have never received a damaged package from either carrier in the 9 years I have been here, though I wouldn't be surprised if it has happened to others out there from time to time. And just so they're not left out, I have never received any damaged goods from USPS as well

My biggest problem with the USPS is that fact that I have been ripped off by them more often than not when paying extra for expedited shipping and things don't arrive when they are supposed to. I have never had that issue with the other carriers, so maybe I should knock on wood or keep a rabbits foot handy. And sometimes USPS will require a signature upon delivery to which I won't find out until I arrive home and find that little yellow note in the mailbox or on the door notifying me of that fact, and by that time their offices are closed and I have to make other arrangements, delaying my package even longer. As I stated before, I live in a very rural setting and don't have to worry about things coming up missing when left at my doorstep. Of course there is a first time for everything, so I hope I don't jinx myself. I do realize that depending on what you are purchasing and what company you are dealing with, that a signature is required for secure deliver of certain packages, but I am always made aware of that by said groups. It is only the USPS that surprises me with that requirement.

One thing I did not bother to mention before is the fact that my local post office is right across the street from me within a 100 yards, I'm looking at it right now. You would think that would make things very convenient for me, but unfortunately it does not. Because it is what they consider a "rural" post office, there are different rules that apply to it, the biggest being the hours of operation. They open at 8 a.m. and close the doors at 2:30 p.m. When we first moved here we did not have a mailbox and had to get a P.O. box which meant if we did not get our mail or packages out of there by 2:30 in the afternoon we were screwed. Sometimes we did not get our mail for 5 days until the weekend arrived because obviously we have to work longer hours during the business week than they did. I did not let that go on for too long and put in a mailbox and got on the rural route. That's just the price you pay for country livin'. Funny thing is, is that this post office is nothing more than a wooden 2 room shack that's been there since the 1920's (or so I've been told) and run by one women who was a very unpleasant sort of person who constantly messed up our mail. She's a local that had been there forever. Thankfully they got rid of her and things have been better ever since. I should take pic of it and post it up, you'd get a good laugh out of it.

 

LF, I had a box at a Mailboxes Etc. store for years, and kept it after the UPS buyout. I *NEVER* had delivery issues with ANY carrier by using the street address followed by "Suite xxx".

 

Thanks for all the responses.

Got a call back from USPS customer service today and they tried to tell me that Parcel Post is not a guaranteed service and that they put parcel post items on trucks after they've placed all of the priority items. They told me that it could take as long as 3 weeks and even longer from date of sending to the time I get it, depending on the volume of priority mail. Eventually they have to put it on a truck, why couldn't they squeeze it on one by now perplexes me.

I am currently in the middle of a BBB.org complaint against this service and the false date estimation. If a package is parcel post, they should not be putting an estimated delivery day on the tracking page. Seems ludacris to me. And I am also screwed because I cannot do anything to speed up the package. I offered to pay to upgrade it to priority, and they told me that its not worth it, because they wouldn't be able to locate it.

... friggen A