Kudos to the US Post Office

StarSong

StarSong

Awkward is my Superpower
Location
Los Angeles Suburbs
Most of us probably remember when the USPS pretty much sucked. It was one entity that was universally disparaged and was such an easy, familiar target that when a comedian started with, "I went to the post office yesterday..." the audience started groaning. Counter workers were mostly on the surly, unhelpful side, the mail often got lost, mis-delivered or took a ridiculously long time to arrive, and the stress on its employees was dreadful (remember "going postal?").

How times have changed! Why and how they evolved (and likely some of their motivation was increased competition), that government department sure has gotten its act together - at least from the standpoint of mail delivery. (I can't comment on corporate rates, pensions, seniority or personnel issues because I am blissfully ignorant of how those particular sausages are made.)

I ship out many boxes of homemade cookies to friends and family this time of year via the USPS Priority Mail 3 day service. I pick the boxes up at the PO, pay for and print the shipping labels at home, pack them up, then go to the post office to drop them off in one of the big bins - no standing in line necessary. Counter personnel smile at me and nod toward the bin I should use. (Yes, I could also give them to my letter carrier but at this time of the year I hate to burden them with more boxes in those little jeeps.) The USPS sends frequent emails advising me the status of my packages and often deliver them two days rather than three. A package that I sent on the 20th from So Cal to rural NJ was delivered at 9:33 am today (the 22nd). Impressive!

$13.65 per medium sized box. Flat rate on the free sturdy box that they provide. No weighing, no muss, no fuss. It's a serious bargain compared to UPS or FedEx Ground and is definitely less of a hassle.

p.s. Letters arrive a whole lot faster these days, too!

p.p.s. This isn't an ad for the post office. I just wanted to give some credit where credit is due.
 

Glad you're able to write your paean to the USPS, as above. My experiences are exactly opposite: Unreliable service, lost articles, incorrect deliveries, clerks who barely speak English, etc., etc. In my youth, the USPS was rock solid. Now, it's anything but. My UPS depot makes sending parcels so much easier than the USPS, and I find the rates better. Delivery is more reliable, as well. Yep, I know you deny it, but your post really does read like an ad for the USPS.
 
I prefer the USPS over FedEx and UPS.

StarSong, I think that USPS dropped the ball this time I'm still waiting for my box of cookies.

madame-alexander-waiting-santa_1_4eabc5a4e884737c4e5955b7a7145709.jpg
 

We have locked mail boxes on our street. Four lock boxes on the street, each one handles 10 to 15 houses, along with a box for folks that get a package (key goes into their lock box for their address).
About a month ago, I was walking my dogs, and the lock box that holds the mail was wide open...everyone's mail just sitting for anyone to take. I tried closing it which took 2 or 3 tries (guess it's easier when you have the main key). Secured all the boxes except the outgoing mail.
Got lucky and found the mail carrier on the next block, sent him to secure it.
Didn't report it to the local Post Office.

Then this week, my wife found the same issue, but the mail carrier was no where to be found. She took pics, and we reported it (and had to slam the doors closed again).

The response back from the local Post Office: in person (my wife): "Oh, that's just wrong, we will have this looked into" (she got the feeling it was the first time they had heard about this happening)

Response from official incident via USPS: "[FONT=&quot]I regret learning of the inconvenience you have experienced with one of our letter carriers. I share your concern and disappointment regarding the treatment reported in your complaint.[/FONT][FONT=&quot] Thank you for the photos. We will take care of this ASAP. If you have any further questions please don't hesitate to contact us again.[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] Please accept our deepest apology. Every effort will be made to provide you with quality service in the future."[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif](The official response reminds me of the same blah-blah-blah customer service from banks, cable companies, etc. )[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]We found out after this that [/FONT]the same thing happened the week before also (another neighbor found it wide open with unsorted mail. They sorted the mail and slammed the doors closed). They reported it to the local Post Office...so it's obvious that the local USPS don't give a damn at all, since they haven't fixed the issue.
 
Check with your homeowner's association about who is responsible for maintaining the cluster boxes in your development. I think that the USPS creates the requirements for the cluster boxes but the builder/owner may be responsible for installation, maintenance. and replacement of the faulty boxes.

Good luck!

Oldguy said:
We have locked mail boxes on our street. Four lock boxes on the street, each one handles 10 to 15 houses, along with a box for folks that get a package (key goes into their lock box for their address).
About a month ago, I was walking my dogs, and the lock box that holds the mail was wide open...everyone's mail just sitting for anyone to take. I tried closing it which took 2 or 3 tries (guess it's easier when you have the main key). Secured all the boxes except the outgoing mail.
Got lucky and found the mail carrier on the next block, sent him to secure it.
Didn't report it to the local Post Office.

Then this week, my wife found the same issue, but the mail carrier was no where to be found. She took pics, and we reported it (and had to slam the doors closed again).

The response back from the local Post Office: in person (my wife): "Oh, that's just wrong, we will have this looked into" (she got the feeling it was the first time they had heard about this happening)

Response from official incident via USPS: "I regret learning of the inconvenience you have experienced with one of our letter carriers. I share your concern and disappointment regarding the treatment reported in your complaint. Thank you for the photos. We will take care of this ASAP. If you have any further questions please don't hesitate to contact us again.
Please accept our deepest apology. Every effort will be made to provide you with quality service in the future."

(The official response reminds me of the same blah-blah-blah customer service from banks, cable companies, etc. )

We found out after this that the same thing happened the week before also (another neighbor found it wide open with unsorted mail. They sorted the mail and slammed the doors closed). They reported it to the local Post Office...so it's obvious that the local USPS don't give a damn at all, since they haven't fixed the issue.
Click to expand...
 
I'm generally happy with the USPS too, there are times when I get a neighbor's mail or they get a piece of mine, but overall they are reliable. I haven't missed getting any important mail or package deliveries, and the gifts I've mailed out at the post office have always arrived in a timely fashion. I do miss the days though when we had one mailman and got to know him, now I see different faces all the time, but if there's no mistakes, I can't complain.
 
treeguy64 said:
Glad you're able to write your paean to the USPS, as above. My experiences are exactly opposite: Unreliable service, lost articles, incorrect deliveries, clerks who barely speak English, etc., etc. In my youth, the USPS was rock solid. Now, it's anything but. My UPS depot makes sending parcels so much easier than the USPS, and I find the rates better. Delivery is more reliable, as well. Yep, I know you deny it, but your post really does read like an ad for the USPS.
Click to expand...

My experience has been similar to yours. Long lines, surly clerks, etc., lost mail, misdelivered mail.

I deal with the post office as little as possible. And back when I was working, if we had anything that REALLY, REALLY had to get somewhere on time, like court pleadings due on a certain date, (or get there at all), we used hand delivery in town, or FedEx out of town.
 
Wow, I'm glad I live where I do. I love my mail carrier and even the substitutes when he has the day off. Maybe a part of it is that since I'm retired and home, we get to chat. And he's cute. :) I'm looking out today to give him his Christmas card. The UPS guys are really good, too. We don't get FEDEX deliveries very often so can't really talk about them. But unfortunately, they tend to throw deliveries over the gate when it's closed. The UPS guys open and then close the gate. They tend to come after 6:00 or so.

Our mail boxes are not locked and have had no problems. But we are single family houses so I guess that makes a difference.
 
Butterfly said:
My experience has been similar to yours. Long lines, surly clerks, etc., lost mail, misdelivered mail.

I deal with the post office as little as possible. And back when I was working, if we had anything that REALLY, REALLY had to get somewhere on time, like court pleadings due on a certain date, (or get there at all), we used hand delivery in town, or FedEx out of town.
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^^ Yep.
 
Postage rates are going up effective January 27th. If you send a lot of mail, this might be a good time to stock up on "Forever" stamps.
:wink:
 
I live in an apt building ,our regular mail carrier,Mark is a really nice guy.
During this busy season,he comes back 2-3 times/day with packages he leaves in our mailroom
Whenever Mark is off,some of the subs who don't know the residents,will put mail in wrong boxes,its happened to me
Once in awhile when I go to local post office,the clerk seems to be in no hurry as I'm standing in line waiting for him/her to say 'next' Sue
 
Usps has been great this year but fed ex delivered 2 of my packages to my neighbor who was nice to bring them over. You would think they could tell the difference between apt A7 and A5.
 
My daughter sends a lot of her Etsy shop products to the U.S., and she's
impressed with the speedy service.

We are not all that impressed lately with our striking postal workers. However, we are not in their shoes, so, all we can do is be patient.
 
Butterfly said:
My experience has been similar to yours. Long lines, surly clerks, etc., lost mail, misdelivered mail.

I deal with the post office as little as possible. And back when I was working, if we had anything that REALLY, REALLY had to get somewhere on time, like court pleadings due on a certain date, (or get there at all), we used hand delivery in town, or FedEx out of town.
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^^ This.

I haven't had problems with surly clerks, but lots of problems with missing and misdelivered mail throughout the years. Long lines not an issue because I rarely go inside the post office.
 
Few problems. There's the regular postman who's friendly and efficient and I drive a couple of miles further to a nearby town post office rather than the closer one in the city which is far busier - - - -and I see just about as many jerks among the patrons as I see behind the counters. FedEx and UPS do a competent job although they're more apt to toss a package onto the porch rather than climb the 5 stairs.
 
At this time of year anyway, I think all delivery personnel are overworked and stressed. So many shop online now, so many of us want our shipments in two days, even when it's not necessary and could certainly wait a week or more.

(I remember when the mail came twice a day- the morning mail and the evening mail, when I was very young. Hah.)
 
Aunt Bea said:
Check with your homeowner's association about who is responsible for maintaining the cluster boxes in your development. I think that the USPS creates the requirements for the cluster boxes but the builder/owner may be responsible for installation, maintenance. and replacement of the faulty boxes.

Good luck!
Click to expand...

The boxes aren't faulty...the mail carrier fails to close them up. Not sure if it's our regular guy or someone else...one day I saw 3 different mail trucks on our street (one delivering mail to the boxes, one delivering packages, and one delivering more packages either to the one delivering packages or to the one delivering mail to the boxes)...that's how screwy the USPS is.
 

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