This is not intended as a bashing or jeer of our postal service. I ship a lot of packages by USPS and rarely have any problems. However, once in a while things do go wrong and when they do, trying to recover from a mistake can sometimes be downright hilarious. That is my only reason for sharing this story.
So, on Feb 7, I prepared a prize BOB package for Spiderman who lives in Canada. I used the USPS on-line mailing service to enter the customs & shipping info and print the shipping label/customs form.
I wish I had taken photos, but I didn't. However, for these types of shipments, I generally use Flat Rate Priority Mail Padded Envelopes and print two copies of the label. I apply a label sleeve to the front of the package & insert one of the labels into the sleeve as recommended by USPS. I also tape a copy of the label to the bottom of the package (fully taped with clear tape) just in case the main label gets lost.
I mailed the package from my office in Sugar Land, TX and it was picked up on Feb 8. Later that night, I checked tracking and it showed that the package was entered into the USPS system and made it to the main sorting station in North Houston.
The next day (Feb 9) while I was at work I checked the tracking again to see if it was on its way to Chicago which is the normal routing for international packages from Houston. Imagine my surprise when the tracking showed that the package had been delivered to its destination in Alvin, TX.
Sure enough, when I got home that evening, my wife informed me that a package had been left outside our garage door that day. No note or indication of any kind that there was any kind of problem with the package.
So, I wrote a note to our local postal workers to explain the problem and asked them to please ship it to the TO address in Canada. I attached the note to the package with a large rubber band and placed it in our mail box on the morning of Feb 10.
Imagine an even bigger surprise on the afternoon of Feb 11 when a special delivery driver pulls into our driveway and hands the package to my son who happened to be outside washing his truck at that time. No note, no comment, nothing - just handed him the package and drove off.
Now I'm really perplexed, so on the morning of the 13th, I made a special trip to our local post office to see what I needed to do to finally get this package out of Texas and on it's way to Canada. A very nice gentlemen waited on me and I explained all that had transpired, including my attempt to write a note to the local carriers/sorters. He scanned the bar code & checked the postage charge - everything came up just fine as you might expect, so he was as puzzled as I was. He then took the package to the back office to discuss the problem with a supervisor.
After a few minutes, he returned and told me that they had no idea of what happened and why my note didn't help. But he had an idea that we could try: he tore off several pieces of opaque tape and covered all the bar codes and my return address on the bottom taped-on label. Then he also placed opaque tape over the clear sleeve on the top of the package such that all bar codes and my return address were covered. So unless you physically removed the label from the sleeve, the only thing visible to the casual worker is the SHIP TO address and the tracking number. He then took out a black Sharpie and wrote "Please ship to Canada" on the package and tossed it into the outgoing mail bin.
It's been 2 days now and the package hasn't shown up at my house again (yet), so I'm hoping that it's on its way to Spiderman. Of course it's hard to tell, because the USPS tracking no longer works. Since the tracking shows that the package has already been delivered, there doesn't seem to be a way for them to reset it and update it with the package's actual movement.
If it doesn't show up at Spiderman's within a couple of weeks, we may never be able to figure out where it is.
So, on Feb 7, I prepared a prize BOB package for Spiderman who lives in Canada. I used the USPS on-line mailing service to enter the customs & shipping info and print the shipping label/customs form.
I wish I had taken photos, but I didn't. However, for these types of shipments, I generally use Flat Rate Priority Mail Padded Envelopes and print two copies of the label. I apply a label sleeve to the front of the package & insert one of the labels into the sleeve as recommended by USPS. I also tape a copy of the label to the bottom of the package (fully taped with clear tape) just in case the main label gets lost.
I mailed the package from my office in Sugar Land, TX and it was picked up on Feb 8. Later that night, I checked tracking and it showed that the package was entered into the USPS system and made it to the main sorting station in North Houston.
The next day (Feb 9) while I was at work I checked the tracking again to see if it was on its way to Chicago which is the normal routing for international packages from Houston. Imagine my surprise when the tracking showed that the package had been delivered to its destination in Alvin, TX.
Sure enough, when I got home that evening, my wife informed me that a package had been left outside our garage door that day. No note or indication of any kind that there was any kind of problem with the package.
So, I wrote a note to our local postal workers to explain the problem and asked them to please ship it to the TO address in Canada. I attached the note to the package with a large rubber band and placed it in our mail box on the morning of Feb 10.
Imagine an even bigger surprise on the afternoon of Feb 11 when a special delivery driver pulls into our driveway and hands the package to my son who happened to be outside washing his truck at that time. No note, no comment, nothing - just handed him the package and drove off.
Now I'm really perplexed, so on the morning of the 13th, I made a special trip to our local post office to see what I needed to do to finally get this package out of Texas and on it's way to Canada. A very nice gentlemen waited on me and I explained all that had transpired, including my attempt to write a note to the local carriers/sorters. He scanned the bar code & checked the postage charge - everything came up just fine as you might expect, so he was as puzzled as I was. He then took the package to the back office to discuss the problem with a supervisor.
After a few minutes, he returned and told me that they had no idea of what happened and why my note didn't help. But he had an idea that we could try: he tore off several pieces of opaque tape and covered all the bar codes and my return address on the bottom taped-on label. Then he also placed opaque tape over the clear sleeve on the top of the package such that all bar codes and my return address were covered. So unless you physically removed the label from the sleeve, the only thing visible to the casual worker is the SHIP TO address and the tracking number. He then took out a black Sharpie and wrote "Please ship to Canada" on the package and tossed it into the outgoing mail bin.
It's been 2 days now and the package hasn't shown up at my house again (yet), so I'm hoping that it's on its way to Spiderman. Of course it's hard to tell, because the USPS tracking no longer works. Since the tracking shows that the package has already been delivered, there doesn't seem to be a way for them to reset it and update it with the package's actual movement.
If it doesn't show up at Spiderman's within a couple of weeks, we may never be able to figure out where it is.
