ANOTHER POST OFFICE RANT!!!

[speckledhen]

I'm so sorry, Jean. I know how frustrating it is! One of the packages sent parcel, but charged Priority for, that Christina mentioned was mine. Cost a pretty penny to send them cross country, then to have them take a solid week Parcel Post was inexcusable.

 

[Cassandra]

Is there something else that is more reliable? I mean, like Fed Ex, UPS or DHL?

I will know better than to use the post office.

Cassandra

 

[Rare Feathers Farm]

Quote:
Yeah, I think just about anything is more reliable then the post office...but they'll charge you $30 or $40 to ship UPS/FED EX/ DHL. Sighs

 

[asher]

Quote:
Actually...overnight is overnight express guranteed from most locations. Some will not be able to make it overnight, but will be 2 days. If it doesn't arrive within the time frame they tell you, you CAN get a refund on postage. (The sender can, actually.)


I've just been through a ton of training as a carrier. A lot have. They have increased more training for everyone and although SOME people will mess up along the way, MOST of us are doing our absolute best to get your packages to you at a reasonable time. The "old timers" probably do need to go back through training and some are, but there are those that aren't and some that just don't give a darn, quite frankly. MOST of us are definitely trying to do our best, though so please don't stick us all in the same category. We depend on our business and revenue (you sending packages, buying postage, etc.) to pay our income so most of us are doing the best we can to serve you and get your packages where they belong as quickly as we can.

 

[speckledhen]

Cindy, I know there are some that want to do a good job, but I've seen so, so many that really just dont care because their jobs are secure. And I know you can get a refund, if you fill out paperwork and wait, in some cases, 30 days, for some things, but when there is a guarantee of overnight, I want it overnight, not money back if it doesnt get there. I want it to get there when its supposed to. My mail carrier is a gem, but the boss in that location told me they can't hold just packages and they will not call for pickup. Well, my carrier called me because he knows why I want to pick up those particular packages. And I rarely get them, so it isn't a terrible inconvenience for them to do so, IMO. And it's some of the old timers who care more than the ones with the extra training, I think.

 

[asher]

Well...I'm new and had all of the extra training...but I also know how much my packages always meant to me so that may be part of it.

What they may not realize is that their job is *not* that secure. They can be fired on the spot, depending on how severe the mistake is. (For instance, we're not allowed to back up EVER. period. the end. unless ABSOLUTELY neccesary and approved by management...and we can lose our jobs for that on the spot. I NEVER knew that backing rule before I started this training and see a LOT of people who have been in the job for years and are comfortable with the job that totally ignore that rule.


BUT just like in every job, a lot depends on the individual. And yes, some just do NOT care, sad as that is. We do get paid a really good income and, honestly, if they don't like the job and want to do the job they are paid for, they should leave. JMO

(BTW, two guys here just lost their jobs b/c they did not get express packages where they were supposed to be on time. If the paper says noon, they have to have it there BY noon (according to their scanner) or they very well can lose their jobs.

 

[Leslie In North Pole]

Quote:
Priority is estimated at 3-5 from Alaska... Parcel post is 3 to five weeks!! The longest I have had a package take to get from here is five days sent priority, I had a pair of parcel post packages take five weeks... it was horrible, they literally took the slow boat to arrive. I am very clear on my eBay auctions but some people don't read...

I believe that the postal service should have to scan at each major hub, it only takes a moment... but it is hit or miss on if they bother. Now that I am doing the click and ship, just to prove I am mailing out when I say I am I am now printing out an "acceptance notice" that I can have scanned when I drop off packages.

 

[speckledhen]

I'll probably be sending some eggs to Alaska in June so we'll see what happens then, Leslie. To be fair, last week, I received eggs from California, Illinois and Alabama, all sent Monday, all received Wednesday (well, they were on a late truck and when I called, they were all there and I picked them up). All boxes were in good shape, no eggs broken. This week, Jody sends me a box from PA, which went to NJ before going to Atlanta then up to me. Why NJ? Who the heck knows? Took an extra day, the box was ripped and crushed on one corner, in spite of HUGE red letters saying "FRAGILE-HATCHING EGGS". Not much consistency, but at least none of those eggs were broken, either, thank goodness.

 

[hensdeliverthegoods]

Here's my 2 cents on the Post Office. A few years ago, I sent my computer to a friend who was going to fix and update it for me. I just packed it up and sent it, I didn't really do anything more than mark the box "Fragile" on the top. When my friend sent the computer back to me, he wrote all over the box "Fragile! Be Careful! Breakable!" etc. etc. When I got the package, it was a mess. Banged up, torn, the computer case had dents in it and it had obviously been dropped. When I called the PO to complain, they gave me some drivel about maybe one of the shipping trucks being in an accident. Since my friend hadn't insured the package, I was S.O.L.

I was relating this story to another friend who used to work in the package processing warehouse for the PO. He said that when boxes come in marked all over with Fragile, Breakable, etc. that some guys in there thought it was funny to accidentally "drop" it a few times. Apparently if they aren't seen there's no way to trace it back to them. Since then, if I have a package that's fragile, I'll mark it once and once only. I realize that you can't really do that with eggs, but it just goes to show you what kind of people may be handling your packages while they're in route to your home PO.

 

[Crunchie]

That totally sucks!! Sorry this happened to you.

But--I really think that they can track that package a little bit better for you. I would pursue it a little further, if you have the energy for it. I understand that there are no guarantees, even with Priority, but those packages have to be scanned at major hubs. You really think the DHS would let packages go through everyday without a (electronic) paper trail? They just don't want to track it because you didn't pay for the service. But those are eggs, for goodness sake--extremely time sensitive, and almost a living creature! I know we all take a gamble that our shipped eggs will be damaged and that they won't get to their destination in the timeframe that we hoped. Things happen, and I think anyone who sells/buys hatching eggs has made peace with the risks--after all, with the volume of packages in the mail system you can't expect them all to arrive in perfect condition and on time! But to not be delivered at all or lost for such a long period of time? That's unacceptable.