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USPS troubles - how about switching to DHL?


mke

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Unbelievable. USPS tracking shows the package to be still in Itasca (just checked). Japanpost tracking shows that a package with the same number is already here in Japan.

Until now, such a discrepancy has only happened with a few extra-cheap Chinese shipping companies. But should not when I have to pay 50 bucks for such a small package.

I hope that it will be here in 2 days and that it is really the expected package.

 

Priority service - ha. Don't want to know how non-priority services would be treated. Get it yourself, perhaps?

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In almost 41 years of shipping and receiving packages from Fed-X, UPS, DHL, and other commercial non-government couriers, I've never failed to successfully get it done. Once a UPS truck had a an accident containing a package I had sent to a client. UPS had a truck there to transfer the packages and send them on their way. The package was delayed two hours. Since it was delayed, UPS refunded my money. If it had been the USPS, it would have taken five days for the USPS to assemble a group of management, labor unions, and underworked and overpaid employees to decide what to do. They get paid regardless of how long it takes.

 

All the mailing and packaging failures I've experienced have been at the hands of the USPS. Lost, delayed, damaged, delivered to wrong address - anything that can happen to a package has occurred by the USPS with never an apology - just a shrug of the shoulders.

 

Even the commercial couriers that use the USPS as the final delivery fall victim to the behemoth USPS and its bloated bureaucracy and complacent workers. Not all USPS employees are guilty but they are the exceptions.

 

I never use USPS if it's at all possible. I hope I live long enough to see the USPS replaced by commercial operations where competition provides better service instead of the government monopoly that only delivers if and when it wants.

'We live in times where smart people must be silenced so stupid people won't be offended."

 

Clip from Ricky Gervais' new Netflix Special

 

 

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Had a package coming last week from DHL and it ended up delivered by my mail man!

PAKMAN

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11 hours ago, sgphototn said:

I never use USPS if it's at all possible. I hope I live long enough to see the USPS replaced by commercial operations where competition provides better service instead of the government monopoly that only delivers if and when it wants.

I've got news for you.  The USPS is NOT a government monopoly.  It's a private enterprise these days that (under the current Postmaster General) destroyed sorting equipment, and then whined about how they're not getting any federal tax revenue.  

They are IMO, the POSTER child for why "privatization" is a REALLY BAD IDEA.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

"It's very nice, but frankly, when I signed that list for a P-51, what I had in mind was a fountain pen."

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1 hour ago, inkstainedruth said:

I've got news for you.  The USPS is NOT a government monopoly.  It's a private enterprise these days that (under the current Postmaster General) destroyed sorting equipment, and then whined about how they're not getting any federal tax revenue.  

They are IMO, the POSTER child for why "privatization" is a REALLY BAD IDEA.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

Of course it's a monopoly. Start a mail delivery service, use everyone's mailboxes to deliver the mail, then when you're visited by the Postal Inspectors request the best upper bunk in Leavenworth.

 

If you read history see what happened to others when they challenged the post office monopoly and started their own mail service.

 

USPS Monopoly

 

Oops again, Ruth. A simple Google search would have given you the correct information in three seconds.

 

 

'We live in times where smart people must be silenced so stupid people won't be offended."

 

Clip from Ricky Gervais' new Netflix Special

 

 

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I’m not a huge fan of the post office, but for the most part (FOR ME) they have gotten the job done. The problem with their operations, as I see it, is that they have a “people problem”. Crappy, poorly trained employees that just don’t care. They virtually can’t be fired for any reason and have some of the best pensions known in the developed world. While the PO IS subject to some insane laws (PRE fund retiree pension costs), they don’t have the same risk of failure that a private enterprise would have, which makes it somewhat like a monopoly. They can borrow money from the federal government at favorable rates, and can lose money year after year with no implied penalty. That’s a problem that private enterprises don’t have the luxury of having.

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Australia Post, Royal Mail, and USPS have all given me good service. UPS has almost as good a track record.  As a recipient, DHL has been good, but their costs to ship have always been higher -- sometimes twice to three times as any of the postal services, and I've not used DHL.

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Except that they don't.  I've been told repeatedly by a "supervisor" (such as when I asked to speak to the Postmaster about issues I had with stopped mail being delivered in spite of the paperwork I filled out) that they DON'T get money from the federal government.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

ETA: Sorry, that was in response to Carguy, not you ParrmattaPaul.  I have no experience with postal systems outside the US, other than the occasional postcard mailed from Europe on trips abroad with my parents decades ago.

"It's very nice, but frankly, when I signed that list for a P-51, what I had in mind was a fountain pen."

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And unfortunately, the fact that they SAY they don’t get money from the government is tripe they are fed to make themselves feel better….if they lose money in a given year, the borrow from the treasury to make up the shortfall - private enterprises can’t do that. Also, it is my understanding that while they pay federal income tax, it is somehow refunded back to them. So yeah, they don’t explicitly get funding from the government, but they do….

 

Whatever the case, I certainly don’t mean to cause strife here. The fact is, like most other government agencies (or semi government) the post office is a bloated, inefficient mess. They don’t have to pay the price for their mistakes that legit private businesses do. If they did, their decisions and the subsequent outcomes would be far more important than they are.

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And where are you getting this information from?  Because I *also* get information about how the USPS runs from my brother-in-law, the Postmaster in a small town in Massachusetts.  He's gotten to the point of asking his boss if he can work as a carrier because he'd get paid better (he hasn't had a raise in several years, and, because he's "management" now makes less than his employees).  He has to work seven days a week sometimes, because they won't give him the funding to hire more employees, so the office is shorthanded -- when people at the window go on lunch break, he has to fill in for them, in addition to all his work as postmaster).

The irony in all of this?  When he first got the job (after he worked his way up from doing utility route work -- i.e., every other carrier's day off) his supervisor suddenly realized that he hadn't had to go down to that office since my brother-in-law took over as Postmaster, because suddenly that office wasn't a problem child anymore.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

"It's very nice, but frankly, when I signed that list for a P-51, what I had in mind was a fountain pen."

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On 7/12/2021 at 8:35 PM, inkstainedruth said:

Yeah, I figured as much (really, in this day and age, a shipping company DOESN'T provide tracking?).  Apparently, after looking at the seller's FB page, I'm lucky I got the CD at ALL....   Their wall was filled with complaints about how the item hadn't arrived, or they sent a DVD that wasn't Region 1 format, etc., etc.... :o 

Well, I got the seller back, but good -- because after my very negative feedback the seller offered me a partial refund if I "amended" what I posted.  And I "amended" it all right.  Told the world about the bribery attempt, heh heh.  And pocketed the refund and the joke's on them because with the refund (plus some rewards points I already had) I paid a whole whopping 68¢ for a $13.99 US CD....  And of course the "amendment" was even MORE negative than the first one had been....  

My mother would be SOOOO proud! :thumbup:

Hmmm.  Just now looked on Amazon and the CD (new) is now a LOT more that $13.99 price I "paid" (that seller wasn't listed as a source).  I could have gotten a slightly cheaper copy at the time from a seller in Germany, but chose the US seller as figuring I'd get it faster, and not have to deal with waiting for it to get out of US Customs, since the bad seller was in Pennsylvania.  And then it turned out I could have DRIVEN there and back easily, because the place was an hour away.  I strongly suspect that the PA seller just turned around and ordered the cheaper one from the seller in Germany.  I got better service from the Japanese eBay seller I ordered my grey Pilot Decimo from at about the same time: better price than through Pilot-USA, good communication, was able to track the pen through Japan Post, and then, after it got through Customs, through USPS tracking.  And came two days after the CD AND my (then) mailman Dave came to the door because I had to sign for it.  The CD?  Came in the mail with the rest of the stuff stopped over Thanksgiving.... And left on the porch on top of the stack (I had specifically requested it be placed inside the storm door, due to the time of year, and then contacted the seller directly in case Amazon hadn't passed the message along).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

Righteous kill!!
👍

Eat The Rich_SIG.jpg

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Thanks, Detman101!

Fighting the seller for jerking me around was way better than the alternative -- my mother's ghost coming out of the grave, going "What is WRONG with you?  Didn't I teach you BETTER than that?"

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

"It's very nice, but frankly, when I signed that list for a P-51, what I had in mind was a fountain pen."

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39 minutes ago, Carguy said:

And unfortunately, the fact that they SAY they don’t get money from the government is tripe they are fed to make themselves feel better….if they lose money in a given year, the borrow from the treasury to make up the shortfall - private enterprises can’t do that. Also, it is my understanding that while they pay federal income tax, it is somehow refunded back to them. So yeah, they don’t explicitly get funding from the government, but they do….

 

Whatever the case, I certainly don’t mean to cause strife here. The fact is, like most other government agencies (or semi government) the post office is a bloated, inefficient mess. They don’t have to pay the price for their mistakes that legit private businesses do. If they did, their decisions and the subsequent outcomes would be far more important than they are.

 

 

Don’t kid yourself.  Not only is so-called private enterprise dependent on government services such as roads, courts and the post, but it is just as bureaucratic, if not more.   FedEx and UPS would not even exist without the government you despise.  And if either were to take on the mission of the USPS, they would end up looking like the USPS.

 

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I retired from federal service (12 years with the DoD and 20 years with the USPS) and I can tell you that the rank and file people who move the mail do care and, for the most part, work hard and do their jobs well.  My first five years with USPS I worked from 10pm to 6:30am sorting and processing mail, with Tuesday and Wednesdays off.  After that, I transferred to the USPS Accounting Service Center to finish my career as an Accounting Technician.  Working there was hell, doing office work in the same environment as military basic training, punching a timeclock and working under time and quantity requirements until I couldn't take the stress anymore and retired.  Being in the military was easier than working for the USPS, in my opinion.

 

The USPS is the only federal entity with collective bargaining rights.  It is funded with the postage you pay to mail a letter or package, not taxpayer dollars.  I made descent wages and paid into my retirement fund just like every other USPS employee.  It was a job like all others, with horsepoo managers and good benefits.  No other postal system delivers as much mail and packages to as many addresses as the USPS does at the cost of a first class stamp or the postage collected for all the other services they offer.

 

Thank you, inkstainedruth for your knowledgeable comments.

Breathe. Take one step at a time. Don't sweat the small stuff. You're not getting older, you are only moving through time. Be calm and positive.

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I apologize…l obviously don’t have the correct information as some posters have better sources. I don’t really care one way or the other, my opinion was just that, an ill informed outsider looking in. I’ll still use the post office as it has the services I need at a price I’m willing to pay…..

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I may dislike how the post office runs these days...but it is still an integral part of modern society and one of the few delights I have during the course of my day.
Visiting the local post office to mail a letter is the highlight of most of my days.

Eat The Rich_SIG.jpg

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In almost 41 years of shipping and receiving packages from Fed-X, UPS, DHL, and other commercial non-government couriers, I've never failed to successfully get it done.

 

Every time I had a critical package sent by UPS, they screwed it up.  I had a critical piece of equipment that was supposed to go out to the eastern end of Long Island.  The manufacturer sent it to the station instead of drop shipping it to the site.  No problem - send it UPS red to me, and it'll be there the next morning.  The next morning UPS delivered it 4 1/2 miles up the hill to the station.  THEN the lost it for a week in the center out on Long Island.

 

UPS used to say "We run the tightest ship in the shipping business," but they never defined the word "tight."

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23 hours ago, PAKMAN said:

Had a package coming last week from DHL and it ended up delivered by my mail man!

ALL of the major carriers frequently use the USPS for last mile delivery for at least some of their packages.

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@Ron Z

In your first posting, you wrote you don't trust DHL. In the explanation post, it is now UPS. Or is that a different "don't trust"?

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> Had a package coming last week from DHL and it ended up delivered by my mail man!

In Japan, we are lucky. DHL uses Sagawa for the last mile. Anyway, typically, all (I experienced) delivery companies in Japan (Japanpost, Yamato, Sagawa, ...) are very reliable.

Even Amazon delivery starts getting reliable. In the beginning, it was awful.

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