Hi Folks,
Thought I'd share some experiences here. Since we relocated to the West Coast, we have had one problem after another with mail delivery here. We have had packages delivered opened (empty envelope), delivered to the wrong apt (thank you nice neighbors) and not delivered at all. Complaining and filing complaints to postal authorities results in: a)complete denial, b). blank stares, and c) b.s. answers a four year old wouldn't believe. Our carrier, despite being informed he went to the wrong building, couldn't care less.

In our experience, other areas are better or worse, which leads me to believe the problem is with local postal mgmt and personnel. We had excellent service in VT.

In future, we are only using Fed EX and UPS. Also folks, beware of using the cheapest UPS shipping as they ship to your local post office, and then your carrier delivers it ( or not).

Thanks for letting me vent.

Keep good records and go higher on the ladder. Have you done any on line reviews? Service here is excellent but a Priority package I sent to the west coast (Washington) took almost ten days and not two.

The service from any organization is dependent on the employees or volunteers. Doesn't much matter what management tells them particularly if it is difficult to replace them. The more that the individual people care about the quality of their contributions the better the operation. Unfortunately not all folks care about anything other than a larger paycheck. Even that does not matter to some.

Though this might be considered political or prejudice it is not intended to be so. I have found that the higher the population density and the closer to an ocean the lower quality of many services. Complaining even to management often just produces more upset people.

We have great postal service in Southeast Texas (a right to work state). A few bags of cookies near Christmas time and occasional compliment on the service insures that everyone in the local post office know us by name. Doesn't hurt our service one bit!

Join the club! What you have described above is absolutely nothing new for me since I have had the above issues, and many more, for the past 20 years or so. I have soooooo many stories about my postal deliveries that I could write a best-selling book! Some of the issues that I have had with the post office over the years are totally and completely unbelievable. If I were to tell you some of the stories regarding my mail delivery you would flat out think that I was making the stories up! And, these issues that I have with the post office don't happen once in a while....they happen constantly on a regular basis!!

Thanks for sharing. You should write that book! Might be a best seller!

After all this, I usually use Fed Ex or UPS. At least they find the right front door. I usually request these shippers if I buy something online. Again though--watch out for the cheapest UPS rate. They save money by shipping to your nearest post office. Then you're at the mercy of disgruntled postal employees once again.

I only reward GOOD service not bad. Cookies and Xmas gifts are left for those rare breeds of carriers who still care about what they do and the people they serve.

Ya, if I wrote a book about the postal service the book would be at least 1,000 pages thick. And, when people would read some of the stories they would probably think that the book is fiction because the stories in the book are completely unbelievable, but yet they would be all true. Here is a sample of just one of the zillion true stories that I have: I am on a rural route and I have a very big mailbox out on the road. My mailman left ALL of his mail for the entire route in my mail box one day for me to deliver for him and he went home because it was snowing!! And, my mailbox is in the middle of his route!

Also, we never know when we will get our mail. We have had mail deliveries as late at 9:30 at night!

I refuse to ship ANYTHING via the post office and I haven't done so in 20 years. Also, most everything that is shipped to me comes either FedEx or UPS.

A few minutes of reading on this website will change the way you think about the USPS forever....

http://postalemployeenetwork.com/news/category/usps-news/theftandfraud/



.

I changed the way I think about the USPS 20 years ago because of all of the issues back then (and still) with my mail service. That was an interesting web site!

I've got the opposite story, lol. I've been using the USPS for 29 years now from this location. Although not perfect, the service has been great. Thousands of packages later, never lost one and only one was damaged one time. This was many years ago. It was insured and they got re-reimbursed for it on their end. The part was not ruined, just damaged and they still ended up getting a lot of salvageable parts from it. Same story for packages getting delivered here. Very little to speak of all through the years.

The place I have trouble with is UPS. They can beat up anything, lol. Covered with dirt to boot.

I have had the same good results with USPS. For manty years I used UPS. Then their rates when higher and higher so I tried USPS and have been using them for several years now. No problems so far.

Wish that I could say the same. I have had packages smashed, opened, destroyed and lost by the post office. I even had one package delivered out to the lower pasture behind my house where it sat out in the snow and rain for two weeks until I discovered it there by accident. And, the weird thing is that the mail man has to go right by house to get to the lower pasture!

I will never, ever, ever ship anything of value through the stupid post office. On the flip side of the coin I have had great luck with FedEx and UPS for the last 25 plus years.

I had a little trouble with our new-at-the-time mail lady. She would just drop the packages on the ground next to the mailbox instead of bringing them to the door and under the porch roof. One firm, but respectful note in the mailbox cured that. I would had taken it to the next step if I needed to, but she got the message as mentioned. We are now pretty good friends and she has actually become pretty diligent in her job.

If people treat other folks like they would like to be treated positive things happen. Way too many only get complaints so are on the defense from the get go. Not that kindness will always win but has a better chance.

Well I live close to the ocean and basically in between Boston and Providence RI. My town is pretty rural and my PO is a small one. The manager of that office runs it like she’s a captain of a ship. One time I kept getting messages in my mailbox saying I had to go to the PO to pick up my package because no one was home. This was not true and after the third time I went to complain and talked with that manager. She told me she just needed me to write down my experience because I would be the third person complaining and she could then fire that person which she did! The young man that replaced her was great and when he was first learning the job, he pulled down my 300’+ driveway, saw me in the yard, hopped out, and gave me my mail and package. As he was doing this, that manager came driving in and got out of her vehicle reprimanding him pretty sternly. When he got out of his truck, he set the brake but left it running. Turns out that’s a big no-no and she gave him three days off. When I learned of this, I went down and told her that he’s the best mailman my road has ever had. She thanked me but said he still had done something wrong and she needed to set a precedent with everyone working in “her” PO! If only more of them felt this way, the PO would be much better.
Just recently I got an envelope from the PO stating that my literature had been damaged but they were still getting it to me so I would have it. In the envelope was just the cover from a 40 page Oldsmobile club roster. Everything else was gone. Gee, thanks.

Yep, that's the stupid post office!!!

Everyone's experiences are different. I personally believe some UPS employees purposely play a game and see how hard they can drop a package to try and break something. I believe they also steal things they notice have value. Try a claim for damages? They always answer that it wasn't packed well enough. On the other hand, misdirecting or stealing US mail is a federal crime.
Whenever possible, I ship through the USPS.

Verne

...I guess its the "area"??? Around my neck of the woods I got tired of every package UPS delivered being banged up and many times damaged. I set up an account with Fed-X and have been happy. They give great service here. However, the folks at the post office, in my small town, know me very well and that I'm always shipping "car parts". They give me tips on what is best and as I have tracked the stuff the Post Office has been the best. My "gals" even give me the best time of day to ship.
End results is I can ship it USPS I will. Otherwise, I do the Fed-X thing........for my area.

EDIT: stay away from the "stores" that tout a fed-x or a UPS flag outside. They are only an "agent" and you WILL pay more.....lots more.