parcel post is the slowest ever shipping. I remember waiting for a package that was shipped 100 miles away via parcel. Took almost 3 weeks. I could have walked that distance backwards round trip faster.

 

That sucks man!! Like said earlier, UPS and Fed Ex, more reliable than the good ol' USPS snail mail, well... for me anyhoo.

 

I've had issues with UPS too... Shipped my buddy a custom built computer through UPS with $1500 in insurance, they destroyed the package, and had to be taken to small claims to pay up on the insurance. That was a nightmare...

With this seat though, I really wish the guy I am getting the seat from would have ponyed up a few extra bucks for priority... I paid fedex 150 bucks, I could have done priority mail for cheaper, but FedEx is much more reliable, he's had his console now since Tuesday.

 

No offense taken or meant. I was merely relating my experiences, sane as you were (which is why you escaped a bashing ). You are absolutely correct when you said it depends on where you are. Rural post offices are a trip. Even small town post offices can be...ah..."interesting" (as a friend of mine and I learned a couple of years ago dealing with one in a small WY town).

 

Were you using Suite xxx for your box number? How long ago was this?

For some odd reason, my address was never an issue up to a couple of years ago unless someone changed my address on mail going via USPS to POB or PO Box. Then the USPS would sometimes refuse to deliver it. Even that was rarely a problem.

Roughly two years ago, for some reason I have yet to figure out, vendors and carriers (other than the USPS) suddenly developed a penchant for messing around with my addresss. Vendors claimed the carriers were messing up. Carriers claimed the vendors did it. I've found it to be a mixture of both although I can't help but wonder if the shipping software the carriers provide the vendors might be behind some of it.

UPS has always been a problem, both when I was working shipping and receiving and for personal deliveries. When I started having the altered address problems a couple of years ago, I found their customer service (a definite misnomer in this case) to be totally obtuse. I never was able to get across to the morons what the problem was, both on the phone and when dealing with them via email. Based on the high percentage of Hispanic accents I have encountered (not to mention the way the email responses seem "canned" and totally miss the mark), I suspect their customer "service" has been farmed out of country. I find it interesting that, even if I track the address change to the vendor, UPS is involved far more often than anyone else combined. With one exception about two years ago, packages shipped USPS never have an altered address. I've tracked all altered addresses I've run into with packages shipped via Fed Ex back to the vendor.

Both when working shipping and when receiving personal packages, UPS had the highest incidences of shipping damage. UPS next day frequently wasn't. Fed EX Air (1 and 2 day delivery) rarely had problems but was expensive. I dealt with Fed EX Ground only when I was working shipping and receiving. We received more damaged shipments from them than undamaged ones.

After finding out that DHL is incapable of tracking packages that are being shipped to the USPS for delivery, I will never use them again and will instruct vendors not to use them, even if I have to pay more for shipping. At least with UPS and Fed Ex, I'm able to verify the address (even though the idiots at UPS occasionally take a bit of convincing) and issue an intercept.

Standard delivery with USPS has been reliable for me. I've never received a damaged package from them. They are slow but reliable. Express mail, on the other hand, is not guaranteed, thus unreliable, and I'll use Fed Ex instead. Now that I'm retired, I rarely need something delivered to me immediately (it's called planning ahead) so slow and reliable is fine with me.

These are my experiences. Naturally, your results may vary.

These are the experiences I've run into. If you all have had better luck

 

Someone stole my wallet, emptied it and dropped it into the mail. I got it back in 3 days, boxed and wrapped, no charge.

Sent my union book and dues in a legal sized envelope which got torn into two pieces on the return trip to my house.
Took a week, but the half of the envelope with my return address came back and since my name and address were stamped on my union book, about a month later it came too. The damaged occurred when the union was returning my property, so the check had already been cashed.

Above and beyond in both instances I'd say. I still have no complaint about the USPS.

 

man i've apologised several times. i really do feel bad, but i could not afford it. if i could do it again i'd probably ask somebody for some money then pay them back. but between all the other stuff and long hauls trying to straighten stuff out in a gas hog. i am broke! i wish there was a way to make it up to you. once again, i am sorry

 

Ouch that blows. Yeah, that's why I was saying earlier that Fed Ex is the better of the 2, although I've never had issues with UPS, I have heard some bad stories about them. I try to stay away from USPS for the simple fact that I've never had any luck with them.

 

That's cool, and I'm glad you understood (some people don't). And I forgot to mention that I don't doubt for one minute your satisfaction with USPS, for some folks that is what works best, and for others like me it just doesn't. You know what they say, when you find something that works, stick with it. And that certainly applies in this case (depending on who you are).

As for the whole civil service exam rant, I'm definitely standing by that. Sad part for me though is, if I took it, I'd probably fail the damn thing!

Tomorrow I'm gonna take a pic of my post office and post it in this thread, I think everyone will get a kick out of it. It's perfect for the subject matter.

 

Assuming I get a choice, I wouldn't ship in or out anything larger than 15 or 20 lb (or larger than an average computer) with USPS. I wouldn't ship anything in or out larger than 70 lb with UPS or Fed Ex. Anything larger than that, I would use a truck line. Incoming from one would be no problem since they can deliver to the back of my mail service from a lift gate. Out going would be a bit more of a hassle but most freight lines are more reliable than UPS or Fed Ex (with the exception of Yellow Freight; they have generated abnormally high damage claims in the past).

 

Don't feel lonesome. Unless they allow for handicaps (Senioritis, Old Timer's Disease, CRS, etc.), of course!

 

Yes. That is what the MBE manager told me to do.

My Name
My Street Address
Suite (my box number)
City, state, zip

 

I can honestly say that I've never had a problem shipping or recieving packages from USPS,UPS,Fed Ex or DHL.I have 3 vehicles and buy a lot of parts and other stuff online. I only once recieved a damaged product but that was because the seller did a lousy job packing it.
My only gripe is why does it take so long to recieve something shipped parcel post when for a few bucks more you can ship it priority mail and recieve it in 2-3 days.

 

Technically, that is illegal and the USPS will not permit delivery to an address like that. The law was passed back in, roughly, '95 but hasn't been vigorously enforced because a national association of private mail services fought back and, although the law was never repealed, the USPS has never enforced it unless they suspected mail fraud. Rarely, an "overzealous" carrier with an axe of some kind to grind will selectively enforce it but it tends to blow up in the carriers face.

In my case, the street address includes an actual suite so listing two suites would be a bit...problematic.

 

man you got ripped if you paid 150 to ship your center seat when I traded my center seat for console I paid 45 to ship through fedex.