USPS Issue

[elkhorn]

I don't post my frustration here on the site and I know I'll probably get a lot of flack for posting this, but I am just so frustrated.

I had a customer order two of my watch parts pens and wanted them the them the next day (old project manager quote: it it wasn't for the last minute, nothing would ever get done). No problem, I assured her. We'll use the USPS overnight GUARANTEED service. Boy was I wrong.

I brought the package to the post office 2 hours before the deadline for it to be delivered (GUARANTEED) by noon the next day.

It didn't arrive. The customer called and asked where the pens were. A trip to the post office, papers in hand, elicited only a "Oh, another one not delivered." Wow! No remorse, no apology. Just "another one not delivered."

The pens finally arrived today, just in time for the event. Thank you for an understanding customer!

What if I had been filing my taxes at the last minute (I know, NO ONE ever does that :wink. Or some other equally important date (what could be more important than filing your taxes.).

From now on, sorry USPS, but I'll use FedEx or UPS if I want something to actually get there the next day.

Anyone else encountered this problem?

Thanks for listening.

 

[Edgar]

One of the few good things I can say about the IRS is that they go by the postmark date rather than the arrival date, so as long as you mail your return in time, you won't get penalized if the USPS doesn't deliver it in time.

Unfortunately, "guaranteed" only means "we'll kinda try - maybe" as far as USPS is concerned.

I use USPS a lot, but if a delivery is critical, I always use UPS or FedEx. While they are not infallible either, they certainly have a better track record than USPS. I think the reasons are rather obvious.

 

[jttheclockman]

I hope the lesson learned here is never, ever promise a client any date and that means any date for delivery. You do your best and if it at all possible do not wait for the last minute. Their fault for ordering last minute. It is out of your hands unless you can personally deliver them. The world did not come to an end. Relax.

And yes the IRS goes by postmarks and not delivery.

 

[TellicoTurning]

In defense of the post office, your profile doesn't say where you are in UTAH nor your post didn't say where the over night had to be delivered... but if you are mailing out of Podunk Junction to another Podunk Junction, the post office doesn't have direct service from same PJ to another PJ... the mail has to be routed through sort centers. Utah probably has two or three sort centers in major cities where there is an airport... your destination delivery also has to go through a sort center and then be routed out to destination...
UPS and Fedex both work the same way... UPS/FEDEX picks up at your address, ships the package to their sort centers... Memphis or Dayton... where it is sorted, then flown back to the destination or appropriate sort center for that destination where it is sorted again to the delivery van... I worked for 40 years in the traffic and transportation industry, and used USPS, UPS, FEDEX, DHL, PUROLATOR, EMERY, TNT EXPRESS and a host of other courier companies... while they all did relatively good jobs, they also all missed deliveries...

 

[dogcatcher]

I have dealt with them all, they have their shortcomings every so often. The guarantee is only to refund your money, I would rather have the cheaper USPS every time, and get their occasional refund, than pay the higher prices of the competition and get the occasional refund. Over all I will save my customers a lot of money using the cheaper USPS, and still get the same result.

 

[ed4copies]

The USPS does NOT guarantee overnight in all instances.

You have to go to the Post Office, have them scan it, then they will tell you if it will get there, next day. That is a guarantee that they will refund the postage, if it does NOT get there on time.

UPS and FedEx are, in most cases more than double the cost of USPS Express.

So, give your customer the choice. AS long as YOUR work is on-time, THEY put themselves under the tight time line, let them decide how they want to solve the problem. IF they choose a carrier that doesn't get to them as promised, you should be "guilt-free". Control the factors you CAN control and NEVER make promises based on what someone else is supposed to do!!!

 

[thrustmonkey]

I placed an order with Exotic earlier this week, and as usual, Ed and Dawn got it shipped out right away. I paid extra for insurance, I don't know why, I just had a feeling, but what the heck.

It was sent out priority, and I kept track of it on my computer, like a little kid waiting for a present. I ordered some ca that I needed for something I was working on. Trying to guess what kind of candy Dawn had included had nothing to do with it.

The package left Racine, made it to Illinois (a relatively short trip) in one day. And it was there for another day. And it was there for another day. It sat at the receiving facility for 3 days! It finally moved today, and hopefully it will make it to my post office. Wonder how long it will sit in my post office before it will be delivered.

 

[magier412]

Not that this has anything to do with anything...

One time while on vacation on Oahu, I inadvertently left some medication behind in the hotel room when I moved to the second week of my trip on Maui. No big deal, thought I, I'll just call the hotel and ask them to Overnight the Rx via FedEx...so that's what I did...or so I thought...

When I went down to the front desk the next day to ask about my Overnight package, they told me to not expect it for three days.

"Three days?", I said.

"Yeah...in the islands, it takes three days to get Overnight packages because they have to go through Memphis."

LOL...

So, yeah...all about perspective, but I wish they'd told me that before I'd spent the money on overnight delivery and then still had to go get the Rx emergency refilled.

BTW: I NEVER use USPS for anything that I absolutely have to get somewhere on time...and on those rare occasions where it arrives when it's supposed to, I chalk it up to human error.

 

[elkhorn]

Thanks for the comments, everyone! All of you make valid points. I shipped the package from Salt Lake City, Utah to Dallas, TX. Both major hubs. When they scanned it, they said it would be there by noon the next day.

All's well that ends well. The package did arrive today in time for the party. The customer was appreciative of my going back and forth to the post office on her behalf, and she was delighted with the pens.

Hope everyone enjoys the rest of the weekend and remember to set your clocks AHEAD one hour tonight.

Take care,

John

 

[Fay Prozora]

Same kind of a problem here. I ordered a mold from Fred and he got it to the post office on the 3rd and it was actually shipped on the 4rth. It was supposed to be here on Friday the 6th a 2 day shipment. It never got here. I tracked it and another package this a.m. and they said there was a delay in the delivery. It finally reached Tacoma Wa early this a.m. So I'm in hopes it will get there tomorrow. I feel that if it a 2 day priority shipment then it should be as that. You pay for it, it should be at the destination on time. I can understand bad storms and such things like that but at least they should make that sort of thing known to the customer. It wasn't Fred's fault at all as he did what he was supposed to do. Once it was out of his hands then it's the post office that is supposed to get it to the destination. I know how frustrating it is. I had this type of thing happen to me before. Still looking forward to trying out the mold. At least UPS puts a notice on their home page about package delays because of heavy storms and such causing delays. Fay

 

[nativewooder]

Just about the only way to assure overnight or next day delivery is to use a courier service. No service with union employees can deliver due to the limitations of work areas, etc. Just because someone at USPS says a package will be in a Dallas Post Office by noon the next day does not mean it will be "sorted" or "delivered" to your customer in the time required.

 

[Akula]

This year my USPS experience has been strange. I don't do the overnight, so glad that is not an issue for me. I mailed out a package that sat in North Texas for several days.

 

[Smitty37]

It is winter in the USA

Folks, giving USPS their due...It is winter. When airports are closed or delays occur they happen to airplanes carrying mail as well as other flights. When roads are impassable they are impassable for post office trucks too. Last week around the Philadelphia hub there were bad roads, accidents that closed them, etc. All of those things can affect your mail. We had one day last week when the mail carrier could not get to our mail station...no mail.

 

[oneleggimp]

Where we live, the Nineteenth Century "Pony Express" could do better than USPS. I always ask for UPS when I order from someone.

 

[BigE]

The worst thing about USPS is that it is impossible to get a refund from them (or next to impossible). I've never succeeded, and they've lost a few of the packages I've shipped. UPS is very easy to get a refund.

FedEx has never lost a package. I've had overnight delivery from Taiwan via FedEx and it arrived the next day.

The only thing USPS has going for them is price and ease of use.

 

[mbroberg]

I ordered around $450.00 in material from a supplier in................UTAH. Per the tracking the shipment left the Salt Lake USPS Facility on 3/3/15. Expected delivery date 3/4/15. It hasn't arrived yet and tracking hasn't been updated since. Even so, while frustrated, I'm not panicking yet. I've filed a claim and the shipper has also. I'm holding out hope that it will show up. All in all USPS does a pretty good job. If nothing has changed by next week my attitude may be different. :frown:

 

[jttheclockman]

I ordered around $450.00 in material from a supplier in................UTAH. Per the tracking the shipment left the Salt Lake USPS Facility on 3/3/15. Expected delivery date 3/4/15. It hasn't arrived yet and tracking hasn't been updated since. Even so, while frustrated, I'm not panicking yet. I've filed a claim and the shipper has also. I'm holding out hope that it will show up. All in all USPS does a pretty good job. If nothing has changed by next week my attitude may be different. :frown:

3/3/15 to 3/4/15 with a huge snow storm in between. Man maybe a helicopter can do it. :biggrin:

About a month ago we had a snow storm here and I did not get mail for 3 days. They actually did the route broken up the next day with 3 different carriers which are subs.

 

[LarryDNJR]

I used USPS Priority Mail recently and it was at least 3 days late. Was going to file a claim for refund until I found this in the FAQ section on their website.

USPS FAQ

Priority Mail®

1, 2, or 3 days (not guaranteed)

5 or more Days from the date of mailing

The not guaranteed part is what kills me. Don't offer a service with time-frames if they can't be met.

At least reword it to something like Priority Mail - Maybe Delivery in 1-3 If You are Lucky

 

[Michael67]

I ordered around $450.00 in material from a supplier in................UTAH. Per the tracking the shipment left the Salt Lake USPS Facility on 3/3/15. Expected delivery date 3/4/15. It hasn't arrived yet and tracking hasn't been updated since. Even so, while frustrated, I'm not panicking yet. I've filed a claim and the shipper has also. I'm holding out hope that it will show up. All in all USPS does a pretty good job. If nothing has changed by next week my attitude may be different. :frown:

The delivery date of the next day on the 4th is not possible from Utah to Columbus with just Priority Mail. Priority Mail is a 2-3 day service. Your "Supplier" has end of day pickup, goes to dist. center for processing, then Leaving facility scan may only be loading on truck. Trucks may not leave until later at night. I ordered from a Utah supplier and he sent it out on Tuesday and I received it Friday. That's about right from where I live in east central Illinois. I would have thought Saturday, but there has been a lot of bad weather lately. I bet it will show up Monday.

 

[mbroberg]

I ordered around $450.00 in material from a supplier in................UTAH. Per the tracking the shipment left the Salt Lake USPS Facility on 3/3/15. Expected delivery date 3/4/15. It hasn't arrived yet and tracking hasn't been updated since. Even so, while frustrated, I'm not panicking yet. I've filed a claim and the shipper has also. I'm holding out hope that it will show up. All in all USPS does a pretty good job. If nothing has changed by next week my attitude may be different. :frown:

The delivery date of the next day on the 4th is not possible from Utah to Columbus with just Priority Mail. Priority Mail is a 2-3 day service. Your "Supplier" has end of day pickup, goes to dist. center for processing, then Leaving facility scan may only be loading on truck. Trucks may not leave until later at night. I ordered from a Utah supplier and he sent it out on Tuesday and I received it Friday. That's about right from where I live in east central Illinois. I would have thought Saturday, but there has been a lot of bad weather lately. I bet it will show up Monday.

I don't disagree and I hope you are right about it showing up on Monday. I'd be happy with some sort of tracking update on Monday. I didn't make the dates and times up, I'm repeating what they posted for the tracking number. My primary concern is not that it didn't get to me by the 4th, but that there has been no up-date to the tracking since the 3rd when it departed the facility in Salt Lake City. But as I said, I'm not panicking yet, only frustrated that 5 days later (3/8) I have no idea where my $450.00 worth of stuff I need for a consignment agreement is.

 

[pinelumber]

Post office

My wife is a letter carrier for the last 39 years!! She is always complaining about how bad the service has been in the past 5 years. We have mailed a first class letter 70 miles and it has not arrived in a week!!?? On the other hand UPS has a much better tracking system than the Post Office. The bedst is Timberbits in Austrailia from order to delivery over 9500 miles 3-4 day delivered. and Free Shipping can't beat that!!



Pinelumber :bananen_smilies104::RockOn:

 

[Cmiles1985]

To what Smitty's said about weather. Remember that in Dallas last week, there was "wintry weather." It doesn't take much in the way of snow or ice to shut things down in areas that are not used to it.
Also, think about your odds for a mishap. How many parcels does USPS handle daily? How many does FedEx/UPS/other high priced logistics company, and what is the package delivery error rate? It may SEEM worse with USPS when in all actuality, they may make fewer errors than the others! I don't know the figures; the above is merely speculation.

As for the lack of tracking updates, that always drives me nuts. Then for hubs, I send a package per month to Pleasanton...from Corpus Christ. Pleasanton is just over halfway between here and San Antonio. The package must go from here to San Antonio before it comes almost half way back! It doesn't make sense from a common sense standpoint, but it somewhat does from a logistical standpoint.

 

[yort81]

I use USPS often..... But i treat them in the same category as Gambling Or Loaning Money to friends and strangers.... If I can't afford to lose it gambling... or in the case of loaning... Give it... Then i use UPS or FedEx.... yes they cost considerably more, but their track record is considerably better. And there are things that i ship that are worth the extra money :biggrin:

 

[Smitty37]

Maybe I'm Just Lucky

I ship almost exclusively via USPS for a couple of reasons and while I am not a big vendor I do ship over 1000 packages a year. In the last 10 years of using USPS and none for delivery to the USA were lost. A couple did suffer package damage but only one where I had to replace the entire contents and two where part of the contents were lost. There have been a few where the time in transit exceeded the estimated delivery time but about as many where the delivery was faster than expected. All in all they have done a fine job for me.

 

[Bob Wemm]

I don't think it matters which service you use, they all have hiccups.
What REALLY gripes me is that they charge for "Overnight" delivery when there is no chance in hell of achieving the promise.

Bob.

 

[eajacobson]

No known delivery issues _yet_, but I've had a call in to USPS support just to be able to pay for the click and ship labels I need for the group buy. Opened the incident on Wednesday last week - and they said they need to close all incidents in 48 hours. Well, so far, no closure that I've seen. Another call after they open to see what today's story is.

Ed

 

[Fay Prozora]

I ordered around $450.00 in material from a supplier in................UTAH. Per the tracking the shipment left the Salt Lake USPS Facility on 3/3/15. Expected delivery date 3/4/15. It hasn't arrived yet and tracking hasn't been updated since. Even so, while frustrated, I'm not panicking yet. I've filed a claim and the shipper has also. I'm holding out hope that it will show up. All in all USPS does a pretty good job. If nothing has changed by next week my attitude may be different. :frown:

The delivery date of the next day on the 4th is not possible from Utah to Columbus with just Priority Mail. Priority Mail is a 2-3 day service. Your "Supplier" has end of day pickup, goes to dist. center for processing, then Leaving facility scan may only be loading on truck. Trucks may not leave until later at night. I ordered from a Utah supplier and he sent it out on Tuesday and I received it Friday. That's about right from where I live in east central Illinois. I would have thought Saturday, but there has been a lot of bad weather lately. I bet it will show up Monday.

I don't disagree and I hope you are right about it showing up on Monday. I'd be happy with some sort of tracking update on Monday. I didn't make the dates and times up, I'm repeating what they posted for the tracking number. My primary concern is not that it didn't get to me by the 4th, but that there has been no up-date to the tracking since the 3rd when it departed the facility in Salt Lake City. But as I said, I'm not panicking yet, only frustrated that 5 days later (3/8) I have no idea where my $450.00 worth of stuff I need for a consignment agreement is.

I agree, there had been no updates on mine either for a few days. I tracked it today and it is in Port Angeles and will be here today. At least there could have been a notice on their home page if there are storms and possible delays because of them. If ups can do that then there is no reason why usps can't. Otherwise I don't really have an issue with the delivery, but it not showing up and no updates and all can be frustrating and that can make a person upset... Hope your items come real soon. Fay

 

[Edgar]

Folks, just keep in mind that there are good reasons why UPS and FedEx are more expensive and also generally more reliable than USPS.

UPS and FedEx are profit-seeking, free-market enterprises and their prices reflect the true costs of providing their services. Similarly, their services are designed and operated to satisfy their customer base for the purpose of increasing market share and profits.

USPS on the other hand is a government agency (regardless of what they say to the contrary) and their rates are subsidized by our tax dollars (regardless of what they say to the contrary), so they are able to offer competing services at a lower price. Similarly, they do not have the same incentives to provide competitive tracking, delivery, refund, etc. services as UPS and FedEx.

I admit, I use USPS a lot because of the lower price, but I also recognize that UPS and FedEx sometimes provide better service and there are times when I use them for that reason.

 

[dogcatcher]

I ship almost exclusively via USPS for a couple of reasons and while I am not a big vendor I do ship over 1000 packages a year. In the last 10 years of using USPS and none for delivery to the USA were lost. A couple did suffer package damage but only one where I had to replace the entire contents and two where part of the contents were lost. There have been a few where the time in transit exceeded the estimated delivery time but about as many where the delivery was faster than expected. All in all they have done a fine job for me.

Same here, we ship a lot through USPS. The problems we have had were 2 returned packages, on both the numbers were transposed, our fault. One was miss delivered, seems that the customer did not know he live on at the address he provided us.

We tried FedEx and UPS, just cannot justify the higher costs, nor do the customers want to pay the higher costs. We ship anything and everything for $5.95 in small flat rate USPS boxes, if they buy to much to fit the small box, we absorb the additional costs.

As to the OP's problem, when you people get snow, we get ice storms, trucks create large parking lots on the Interstates for several days. FedEx, UPS and USPS trucks all sit there at the same time. We have had a lot of ice in the last few weeks.

 

[socdad]

This is cut / pasted from USPS Tracking site. All looks OK other than I live in Dayton, Ohio ... I am not sure why my package sent from St Paul MN went to SANTA CLARITA, CA 91383!

DATE & TIME STATUS OF ITEM LOCATION
March 8, 2015 , 4:11 am Departed USPS Facility SANTA CLARITA, CA 91383

Your item departed our USPS facility in SANTA CLARITA, CA 91383 on March 8, 2015 at 4:11 am. The item is currently in transit to the destination.

March 8, 2015 , 12:59 am Arrived at USPS SANTA CLARITA, CA 91383
March 6, 2015 , 4:45 am Departed USPS Facility SAINT PAUL, MN 55121
March 6, 2015 , 1:37 am Arrived Origin Facility SAINT PAUL, MN 55121
March 5, 2015 , 11:40 pm
Shipping Label Created SAINT PAUL, MN 55111 March 5, 2015 , 10:46 pm

 

[Smitty37]

Hmmmm

Package mailed Saturday 3/7/15 from Wooden Wonders, Pearland TX USPS First Class - arrived Monday 3/9/15 at Smitty's Pen Works, Milford DE. I don't know about you folks but I would call that pretty decent service.

 

[Edgar]

Package mailed Saturday 3/7/15 from Wooden Wonders, Pearland TX USPS First Class - arrived Monday 3/9/15 at Smitty's Pen Works, Milford DE. I don't know about you folks but I would call that pretty decent service.

No argument LeRoy.
In general, USPS does very well - I use them a lot and I have very few complaints.

However, you do get what you pay for. As an example, I shipped out a number of gift packages during December. Most of my "2-3 day" USPS deliveries took 5 days or longer - particularly as we got closer to Christmas (and there were no weather issues involved). All of my FedEx deliveries at that same time were right on target - some even arriving a day early. My point is simply that for-profit companies have different incentives than government agencies and sometimes that needs to be taken into consideration.

 

[mbroberg]

My package arrived today. I hope the OP gets his!

 

[Fay Prozora]

I got mine today but they sure were late so they must have had a lot of mail to deliver. The post lady was very nice and I did not say any thing about it being a few days late. The package was well worth the wait. Fay

 

[bobleibo]

They must like me better!

You folks must have done something to make them mad and they're out to get you
I arranged to send some kits and blanks to 2 members who would turn them for the Military Service Pens project
Fri 3/6 - went to Woodcraft to pick up kits, they only had some, so I called CSUSA and had them ship me what I needed. Even though they are only a few miles away, it's financially dangerous for me to go into the showroom!
Sat 3/7 - order from CSUSA arrived. I boxed up the orders and took them to the P.O. late that night. Only shipped them flat rate box, nothing special
Sun 3/8
Mon 3/9 - both orders delivered...... one to Washington and one to Georgia

Hmmmmm, ??????

Shipment Activity Location Date& Time<?xml:namespace prefix = "o" ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o>
USPS Shipment Info for9405903699300373901741<o></o>
Delivered, Front Door/Porch BOTHELL, WA 98021 March 9, 2015 1:22 pm <o></o>
Arrived at USPS OriginFacility SALT LAKE CITY, UT 84199 March 8, 2015 12:05 am<o></o>
Accepted at USPS OriginSort Facility DRAPER, UT 84020 March 7, 2015 10:50 pm <o></o>
<o></o>
Shipment Activity Location Date & Time<o></o>
USPS Shipment Info for9405903699300373901734
Delivered, Front Door/Porch EVANS, GA 30809 March 9, 2015 3:33 pm<o></o>
Arrived at USPS OriginFacility SALT LAKE CITY, UT 84199 March8, 2015 12:04 am<o></o>
Accepted at USPS OriginSort Facility DRAPER, UT 84020 March 7, 2015 10:49 pm <o></o>

 

[dogcatcher]

Package mailed Saturday 3/7/15 from Wooden Wonders, Pearland TX USPS First Class - arrived Monday 3/9/15 at Smitty's Pen Works, Milford DE. I don't know about you folks but I would call that pretty decent service.

No argument LeRoy.
In general, USPS does very well - I use them a lot and I have very few complaints.

However, you do get what you pay for. As an example, I shipped out a number of gift packages during December. Most of my "2-3 day" USPS deliveries took 5 days or longer - particularly as we got closer to Christmas (and there were no weather issues involved). All of my FedEx deliveries at that same time were right on target - some even arriving a day early. My point is simply that for-profit companies have different incentives than government agencies and sometimes that needs to be taken into consideration.

The USPS doesn't get taxpayer subsidies except for voter mailings overseas and matter for the blind. They also handle more volume than FedEx, UPS and the other private couriers combined.

To expect 2 or 3 day delivery during December with the Christmas volume is hilarious. Next time I see my mailman I will tell him, I bet he needs a good laugh.

 

[Edgar]

Package mailed Saturday 3/7/15 from Wooden Wonders, Pearland TX USPS First Class - arrived Monday 3/9/15 at Smitty's Pen Works, Milford DE. I don't know about you folks but I would call that pretty decent service.

No argument LeRoy.
In general, USPS does very well - I use them a lot and I have very few complaints.

However, you do get what you pay for. As an example, I shipped out a number of gift packages during December. Most of my "2-3 day" USPS deliveries took 5 days or longer - particularly as we got closer to Christmas (and there were no weather issues involved). All of my FedEx deliveries at that same time were right on target - some even arriving a day early. My point is simply that for-profit companies have different incentives than government agencies and sometimes that needs to be taken into consideration.

The USPS doesn't get taxpayer subsidies except for voter mailings overseas and matter for the blind. They also handle more volume than FedEx, UPS and the other private couriers combined.

To expect 2 or 3 day delivery during December with the Christmas volume is hilarious. Next time I see my mailman I will tell him, I bet he needs a good laugh.

Call it what you want, but USPS runs a huge deficit every year which is covered by a "loan" from us taxpayers that will never be repaid. I call that a taxpayer subsidy. And I'm not necessarily complaining about that situation either as I take advantage of their lower shipping charges and free shipping materials quite often. I also realize that I would not likely get 6-day a week rural route mail delivery if it weren't for our subsidies and I certainly don't get free boxes from UPS or FedEx.

I didn't say that I expected a 2-3 day delivery at Christmas time - I was just pointing out that private enterprise companies are more incentivized to maintain or even surpass their normal delivery schedules at that time, and find a way to do so, while a government agency is not, and doesn't.

I didn't mean for my posts to be construed as a complaint about USPS. I was mainly just trying to point out why UPS and FedEx offer better tracking service, generally better customer service with regard to refunds, and overall somewhat more reliable delivery than USPS.

 

[MesquiteMan]

I just did a little research for the heck of it. Here is what I found:

USPS delivered 155.4 billion packages and mail pieces in 2014
UPS delivered 4.6 billions packages and mail pieces in 2014
Fedex-I could not find any numbers for them but it is said UPS dwarfs them so I would guess it is less than 4.6 billion.

I think we are pretty damned lucky to have such a good, reliable, cheap postal service compared to most all other countries in the world.

I offer both USPS and UPS ground. I can say that UPS ground has much more reliable tracking but USPS is usually faster. Depending on where it is going will determine which is cheaper. Sometimes it is USPS, sometimes it is UPS.

 

[Smitty37]

Package mailed Saturday 3/7/15 from Wooden Wonders, Pearland TX USPS First Class - arrived Monday 3/9/15 at Smitty's Pen Works, Milford DE. I don't know about you folks but I would call that pretty decent service.

No argument LeRoy.
In general, USPS does very well - I use them a lot and I have very few complaints.

However, you do get what you pay for. As an example, I shipped out a number of gift packages during December. Most of my "2-3 day" USPS deliveries took 5 days or longer - particularly as we got closer to Christmas (and there were no weather issues involved). All of my FedEx deliveries at that same time were right on target - some even arriving a day early. My point is simply that for-profit companies have different incentives than government agencies and sometimes that needs to be taken into consideration.

The USPS doesn't get taxpayer subsidies except for voter mailings overseas and matter for the blind. They also handle more volume than FedEx, UPS and the other private couriers combined.

To expect 2 or 3 day delivery during December with the Christmas volume is hilarious. Next time I see my mailman I will tell him, I bet he needs a good laugh.

I believe USPS makes in pretty clear that December shipping will often take longer than normal simply based on the volume of shipping. BTW my last UPS package arrived via my USPS mail Carrier.

 

[Cmiles1985]

I just did a little research for the heck of it. Here is what I found:

USPS delivered 155.4 billion packages and mail pieces in 2014
UPS delivered 4.6 billions packages and mail pieces in 2014
Fedex-I could not find any numbers for them but it is said UPS dwarfs them so I would guess it is less than 4.6 billion.

I think we are pretty damned lucky to have such a good, reliable, cheap postal service compared to most all other countries in the world.

I offer both USPS and UPS ground. I can say that UPS ground has much more reliable tracking but USPS is usually faster. Depending on where it is going will determine which is cheaper. Sometimes it is USPS, sometimes it is UPS.

This is precisely what I was getting at in an earlier post. I just didn't take the time to dig the figures out. Even if USPS is half as good as UPS, you're still 15 times more likely to have an error with a package. If they have the same incident rate, you're 30 times more likely to endure a package error!