Community Chat

[Ms Tink]

Well here is my 2 cents worth. Once upon a time long ago USPS delivered most of the packages I received. It was very seldom I ever would see a UPS or FedX truck unless it was at a business. Over the years the USPS has really gotten slack. They use to employed their own employes but it appears now they will hire Joe Come lately off the street. The vehicles most drive here looks like a mosquito truck. Very seldom will you keep the same carrier for over 3 months. They are not friendly - they refuse to close the mail box even when it's raining. So I'm use to soggy mail. On the other hand I have had one minor thing with UPS. They pull into my yard and did not leave a package yet they did not scan it had been delivered. Poor little fellow it sounded like he was rebuilding that truck. Later that day UPD did delivered. FedX I've never had a problem. I really enjoy buying from the Q. IF they are going to start having there mail transfer over to the post office (SUREPOST) then I will have no other choice than to go to another shopping network. I really don't want too but sometimes a change can be good. I will not go through the ordeal I had today. It has to be UPS/FedX - nothing more - nothing less.

[garmer]

I have a monthly subscription for my dog food from Amazon. It used to come UPS, and that guy is like clockwork.

USPS got a new contract with Amazon to do all the deliveries here. Last month and this month the tracking said it was delivered to my address. It was an absolute lie both times. Those packages never left the local post office.

Mail lady didn't feel like lugging a 40lb box. The first time the Postmaster assured me it wouldn't happen again. She didn't even leave a slip in the box.

This month, same thing. Their excuse? The postmaster is off sick today. Lame.

I pay for this service for the convenience of having it delivered to my door. If I have to drive to the Post Office, I might just as well drive to the store to get it.

The postal non-delivery defeats the whole purpose of me paying for this service.

[KathyPet]

Ah yes the very reliable “unnamed sources” telling their story

[novamc1]

@VAbelle

I have recently lost all  confidence in USPS service. 

A birthday card I mailed to my sister many weeks ago has yet to arrive and at this point, probably never will.  (She thinks the problem could be on her end in Northern Virginia, because she has also had USPS problems, but the problem just as likely occurred here or somewhere in between.)

I also wasted  a personal trip to the post office and almost $8.00 on  mailing-- by certified mail/return receipt requested-- a Tyvek envelope to our builder concerning warranty issues on our home. Tracking indicated the mailing was still pending because the first delivery attempt failed due to builder's "office was closed".

The mail was eventually returned to us, saying it was "undeliverable as addressed"---which is total baloney.  The address was correct, several attempts were supposed to be made to deliver and get a signature, but tracking does not show these attempts were ever made,  and all I have to show for it is the returned original envelope.

I now want to send some gift cards to people for the holidays, but knowing how gift card mailings have long been subject to theft AT  POST OFFICES  by employees (!!), I am reluctant.  

And we've all read a report now and then of huge baskets of mail actually being thrown out in the trash by  USPS employees who just don't care and don't want to deal with them.

I ordered a gift card for Christmas years ago from a major mail-order retailer and it never arrived.  I called the retailer, got the card cancelled, and they sent a new one so I could present it in time for Christmas.  In August of the following year, the cancelled card  ordered during  the previous  November showed up in my mailbox with a handwritten note scribbled on the envelope saying "delivered to wrong address".

I'm willing to bet someone had tried to use that cancelled gift card before FINALLY deciding to foward  it to me.

Keep track of any gift cards you try sending by mail.  Theft is a frequent problem.

USPS is not on my "good" list these days.  And whenever I am delivered a piece of mail that doesn't belong to me and have to put it back in the mailbox for correct delivery, I wonder what in the world might have  happened to my mail that I  simply don't know about yet.

[Vivian]

All this reminds me of a Seinfeld episode where Newmsn, a postman, became so overwhelmed by the vast amounts of mail to deliver that he started hoarding the mail in his apartment. He never delivered it. I bet the USPS didn’t care for that particular episode.

[Nataliesgramma]

Right now I am lucky....I get my mail at the same time every day and my packages are scanned as 'delivered' when they are. UPS delivers on my street between 2-4 and will gently knck when he leaves me a package.

I've had some doosies over the year though.....I remember the UPS man that banged on the door so hard that I fell off a ladder because I was so startled and the Mailman that smaked like a chimney when he delivered the mail....so everything smelled like an ashtray when I got it...

[goldensrbest]

The post office here puts packages in my mail box ,that is at end of driveway,not a long one at that ,and sometimes they are hard to get out,had a fedx deliver a box,it was raining they put it in a plastic bag, in front to garage door,my front steps and porch is just 5 steps away.

[VaBelle35]

During the height of holiday online shopping, we have 2 UPS people in the truck.  Our regular guy and a helper.  I also notice that sometimes a second truck will come by and make deliveries at another time of the day during this time (I saw both trucks yesterday).

My regular UPS truck is normally here at 5:15 every day.  You can set your watch to it.

I never know when USPS is going to show up.  Usually it's 3:00, lately it's been 4:00.  Last Monday I assumed it would be another Monday where we didn't get mail delivered, but I saw the truck out there at 7:15 pm.  I couldn't tell if it was the regular guy or not (he wears a safari-type hat).  We have been told by our Postmaster that they will pull their employees in if the roads are bad, a storm is coming or other unforeseen events.

I'm just glad I come home from work around 2-3 and work from home as I can so that I can grab my packages as soon as I hear the truck.

[Isobel Archer]

If we have several packages, the postman will drive down our long driveway and leave them in front of the garage.  But if there is only one or two - and they are too large for the box, he will leave them in front of the box (almost in the street as we have no sidewalks).  And this is in a neighborhood where a woman was recently arrested for stealing packages from mailboxes (not even those left on the street, but inside the boxes.)  Nice.

I frequently get mail for other people - even packages.  And yes, I frequently have items showing as "delivered" which I then don't get until the next day or two - don't know if they have been delivered to someone else who finally brought them to my box - or if the postman just fudged the paperwork.

Sometimes we miss getting bills - but since we get email notifications, we haven't missed payments.  Who knows what other mail we've missed getting.

And yes, I have reported all these things to the manager of the post office - all to no avail.

Not impressed with their "service."

[Snoopp]

@novamc1 I was speaking to someone the other day who found a pile of undelivered mail in a wooded lot.  Tons of mail just thrown there.  He said USPS caught the employee who did it and gave him the option of resigning or going to trial.  The guy resigned.  Nothing more than a slap on the wrist.