%$^&* POST OFFICE

[chuck]

I won an auction and went to the post office got money order and sent it along with an FFL license registered mail, IT SAT IN THE POST OFFICE FOR 4 DAYS BEFORE THEY SHIPED IT OUT. no more post office fer me.

 

[Rick Courtright]

I won an auction and went to the post office got money order and sent it along with an FFL license registered mail, IT SAT IN THE POST OFFICE FOR 4 DAYS BEFORE THEY SHIPED IT OUT. no more post office fer me.

Hi,

Registered mail? Or even just "certified?" There's surely more to this story than meets the eye... this coming from a former disgruntled postal worker who handled his share of what they called "accountable" mail back then.

Rick C

 

[Kanook]

Many years ago I won an auction for a 77/50. I called the seller minutes after I won and got all shipping address for the USPS money order. I went to the post office and in the line realized I forgot the sellers address at home, so I called him from the post office ( 1 hour from first time). I filled out the money order (with him on the phone) and left it with the clerk.
12 days later he received the money order. When he filled out the feedback, he said I took 12 days to get him his money order and didn't leave a A+. So I called him and asked what was I supposed to do different, he stated his ad says payment must be received in 7 days.

New story, I constantly get mail for other addresses and often wonder if people get mine.

New story, I mailed a cheque to another member on here that he never received.

The postal workers have a hard job, I am not complaining, it does no good.

 

[Mobuck]

You chose the wrong service for mailing. Registered Mail is supposed to only be used for mailing cash, extremely valuable items, or other things like "bearer bonds". I've mailed high dollar guns this way as the boxes are handled more carefully than common packages. The USPS employee should have guided you into "Certified" or possibly just "Priority" mail. Now, if you "demanded" to use Registered, that's your problem.
Here's how Registered Mail works: it is signed for at EVERY stop, vehicle change, or location--anywhere that custody is transferred. This makes Registered Mail the SLOWEST form of first class mail service. Depending on current local procedures, it may have to be hand transferred to a transport driver rather than simply left for dispatch. This could explain the "4 day wait".

 

[DGW1949]

Just this past month, I sent cash via 1st Class Mail to another forum member for some items he agreed to sell me. It was safely in his hand (NC) about 3-1/2 days after I'd dropped it off at my P.O. (Texas)...And ya know, North Carolina ain't exactly "right over the next hill" from S/E Texas...just sayin'.

I'll be 68 next month, and there's no telling how many transactions I've carried out through various PO's over the years, nor how many of 'em involved cash sent in a regular ole envelope...and all without a single problem.
Myself, I got nothing but respect for those folks and the job they do.

DGW

 

[Goldstar225]

You chose the wrong service for mailing. Registered Mail is supposed to only be used for mailing cash, extremely valuable items, or other things like "bearer bonds". I've mailed high dollar guns this way as the boxes are handled more carefully than common packages. The USPS employee should have guided you into "Certified" or possibly just "Priority" mail. Now, if you "demanded" to use Registered, that's your problem.
Here's how Registered Mail works: it is signed for at EVERY stop, vehicle change, or location--anywhere that custody is transferred. This makes Registered Mail the SLOWEST form of first class mail service. Depending on current local procedures, it may have to be hand transferred to a transport driver rather than simply left for dispatch. This could explain the "4 day wait".

That was my experience as well. Several years ago I bought a gun online from a private seller. I sent payment by registered mail reasoning that it would be the highest standard of proof if things went sideways. I didn't realize just how tight the controls were. I also didn't know that (at least at the time) there was no electronic tracking. To locate the item each location in the chain had to be contacted and they would look it up in the "book" to check received and transferred dates along with next destination. I guess that's what puzzles me the most about USPS is the lack of real time tracking of an item since their sorting system operates by scanning items.

 

[Pat-inCO]

Let's see now . . . . . .

USPS sucks . . . . . .
UPS is a disaster . . . . .
FedEx is lousy . . . . . .
There is another one that is the West 25% of the nation that is even worse . . . .

Doesn't leave a whole lot of other options . . . . . . does it? :roll:

 

[Kevin]

If USPS used real time tracking, it would help out a great deal. I've only had sour results from the post office when i dealt with EBay. Which is a very odd coincidence now that I think about it.

I have had letters returned because of wrong addresses. They were returned two years later but I still got them back. Christmas cards where the recipient had moved in this case.

 

[redhawker]

Here's a few USPS stories for you.

#1. - I mailed out our water bill payment to the city 7 days before it was due. City hall is in the same zip code as us and about a mile from the house. Received notice 7 days later that our payment was late. Had to pay a late fee on the next bill. It took USPS 8 days to get it there.

#2. - Mailed my sister in Oregon (I'm in Commiefornia) a LARGE check and some legal papers from my Dad's estate, registered, return receipt. Tracked it and it got all the way to Portland and then stopped moving. After a few days of it still being reported as in Portland, I had the Post Office do a trace on it. After several days their conclusion, it was lost. Had to stop the check and recopy the legal papers and re-mail, this time overnight FedEx which got there no problem. 68 days later I get the return receipt in the mail. It finally got to my sister, total time 82 days.

#3 - (This one is a weekly, if not more often, occurrence.) I will receive mail in my mailbox that is addressed to various neighbors. It is not miss-addressed but miss-delivered. It has the proper recipient's name and address and all on it. This ranges from junk mail to bills to misc envelopes to magazines to packages from small to large. These are either other houses on our street or houses up to 4 blocks away with the same address number but a different street. Me, being a nice guy (or a sucker, depending on your view) will finish the proper delivery of the item for the post office (only because I'd want someone to do the same for me, not to help out the USPS.)

 

[GP100]

Over the past several months, I have gotten mail for people that wasn't even close to my address.. The address was about 5 miles away somewhere..

I have been nice enough to write on the envelope that the mail was mis-delivered and place it in the outgoing chute.. After about the 9th time this happened I finally got fed up and wrote on the envelope, "LEARN HOW TO READ!"

Keep in mind, after the third time it happened, I did talk to the local post office about it.. The postmaster didn't seem to care one way or the other..

The response I got was, "it happens." I then replied, "it shouldn't."

I swear they must hire the biggest idiots they can find out here, (not hard to do) that could care less about how they do their job..

I realize the Idaho education system is sorely lacking, but seriously? Yep, a great brain trust out here for sure..

 

[Mobuck]

" These are either other houses on our street or houses up to 4 blocks away with the same address number but a different street. Me, being a nice guy (or a sucker, depending on your view) will finish the proper delivery of the item for the post office (only because I'd want someone to do the same for me, not to help out the USPS.)"
While this is a very honest and noble gesture, I don't think this is helping USPS correct the problem. Informing a USPS supervisory person (not the carrier, a counter clerk, or the janitor)of the persistent problem might help fix the issue.
Here's an instance of a similar situation: A customer commented about an ongoing problem with (so and so's) mail being delivered to their mailbox and her husband had been taking it to the "right place" for 5-6 months. When asked for details, the lady said the mail was for their neighbor's nephew who had temporarily moved in with Aunt and Uncle. Nephew had apparently transposed numbers on the change of address and no one had reported the confusion so we just kept delivering to the wrong place. The lady said she'd told "George" but he only worked occasionally and had failed to pass the information on to myself or the regular delivery person.
In the case described where mail for totally wrong addresses is consistently misdelivered, there's either a sorting or an employee problem that can and should be fixed.

 

[redhawker]

" These are either other houses on our street or houses up to 4 blocks away with the same address number but a different street. Me, being a nice guy (or a sucker, depending on your view) will finish the proper delivery of the item for the post office (only because I'd want someone to do the same for me, not to help out the USPS.)"
While this is a very honest and noble gesture, I don't think this is helping USPS correct the problem. Informing a USPS supervisory person (not the carrier, a counter clerk, or the janitor)of the persistent problem might help fix the issue.
Here's an instance of a similar situation: A customer commented about an ongoing problem with (so and so's) mail being delivered to their mailbox and her husband had been taking it to the "right place" for 5-6 months. When asked for details, the lady said the mail was for their neighbor's nephew who had temporarily moved in with Aunt and Uncle. Nephew had apparently transposed numbers on the change of address and no one had reported the confusion so we just kept delivering to the wrong place. The lady said she'd told "George" but he only worked occasionally and had failed to pass the information on to myself or the regular delivery person.
In the case described where mail for totally wrong addresses is consistently misdelivered, there's either a sorting or an employee problem that can and should be fixed.

I guessing but it sounds like maybe you work for USPS and actually care. However, I've found that most don't. It's been reported and nothings been done. No reason to report it further because nothing will change. It isn't consistent and it's various addresses and streets all over the neighborhood.

 

[Bull Barrel]

A friend used to drive a contract delivery truck for USPS.
He would drive to the bulk mail center and pick up his truck and then go to four POs and deliver/pick up mail and take it back to the BMC.
Thing is if he picked up mail at PO 1 going to one of the other three POs he didnt drop it off that night. Instead it went to the BMC and then the next day past its origination point and delivered to the destination PO. Worse yet if a letter was addressed to somewhere in the same zip code it still went to the BMC and then right back to the same PO the next day.

 

[pete44ru]

.

I couldn't justify mailing my municipal tax payments in, since my City Hall/Tax Dept is less than 3 miles from my home, so for peace of mind I simply hand deliver my payments off directly to a tax clerk the next time I know I'm going near/by there.


.

 

[Selena]

It's amazing how people of all stripes see the less than stellar performance of one of the jobs the Fed is given Constitutional authority to perform then decide the Fed is best suited to handle others?

 

[Bull Barrel]

But but but....its been privatized......yeah right.

 

[GP100]

" These are either other houses on our street or houses up to 4 blocks away with the same address number but a different street. Me, being a nice guy (or a sucker, depending on your view) will finish the proper delivery of the item for the post office (only because I'd want someone to do the same for me, not to help out the USPS.)"
While this is a very honest and noble gesture, I don't think this is helping USPS correct the problem. Informing a USPS supervisory person (not the carrier, a counter clerk, or the janitor)of the persistent problem might help fix the issue.
Here's an instance of a similar situation: A customer commented about an ongoing problem with (so and so's) mail being delivered to their mailbox and her husband had been taking it to the "right place" for 5-6 months. When asked for details, the lady said the mail was for their neighbor's nephew who had temporarily moved in with Aunt and Uncle. Nephew had apparently transposed numbers on the change of address and no one had reported the confusion so we just kept delivering to the wrong place. The lady said she'd told "George" but he only worked occasionally and had failed to pass the information on to myself or the regular delivery person.
In the case described where mail for totally wrong addresses is consistently misdelivered, there's either a sorting or an employee problem that can and should be fixed.

I guessing but it sounds like maybe you work for USPS and actually care. However, I've found that most don't. It's been reported and nothings been done. No reason to report it further because nothing will change. It isn't consistent and it's various addresses and streets all over the neighborhood.

This is exactly the issue I'm having.. The numbers aren't even close to my address numbers.. How can they not see this when shoving it in my box? Are they that ignorant? And then, to have a postmaster say, "it happens."??? Seriously? The cows out here have more brains than some of the people..

But yet, they aren't sheepish about asking for more money to ship stuff. So, I shouldn't feel bad for asking for good service either.. Then they wonder why they are losing money.. :roll:

If the postmaster doesn't care, then why should the employees? Hence, why should I care and give them my money? Seems they are their own problem..

 

[Mobuck]

"I guessing but it sounds like maybe you work for USPS and actually care."

I retired in 2009 and yes, we all "cared " as if every letter was the most important thing in a customer's life.
By "we" I mean three generations of career service by my Grandfather, Father, and myself totaling over 100 years of "Post Office" work.

 

[Cholo]

Some wouldn't even be happy with the Pony Express

 

[Mobuck]

Even thirty years back the USPS was a good paying career with excellent benefits. Now, it's just a job and is treated as such-do only as much as required to draw a paycheck and don't look back.

 

[prairieviper]

I rarely encounter a problem with the USPS and certainly no more than with UPS or FedEx and I prefer using USPS for shipping packages, when possible. Maybe being in a small rural area makes a difference.

 

[redhawker]

"I guessing but it sounds like maybe you work for USPS and actually care."

I retired in 2009 and yes, we all "cared " as if every letter was the most important thing in a customer's life.
By "we" I mean three generations of career service by my Grandfather, Father, and myself totaling over 100 years of "Post Office" work.

Well, I can see why you would with the family background and all but, sadly, that's not the prevailing attitude in my neck-o-the-woods. Around here you're lucky if the post office person actually speaks intelligible English let alone gives a rat's rear end about their job.

 

[redhawker]

Here's another one for you representing the USPS "great" customer service. This just happened. I had ordered a very expensive small item that was going to arrive between Wednesday and Saturday this week. I was going to be out of town Thursday and Friday so, instead of letting the package lay on the porch (since it was just slightly too big to go into the secure mail slot), ripe for theft, I figured I'd do a vacation hold for the two days we were going to be gone. Wet on the USPS web site and put in for a vacation hold and discovered it was for a minimum of 3 days which meant no mail until Monday even though we were going to be back Friday afternoon. Well, a little inconvenient but not a big deal. Fortunately, the item shows up on Wednesday so that solves that but too late to change the vacation hold, but really not a huge problem, so we leave it in place. So we go on the trip and come back to a mail box full of mail. Great job USPS...again.