USPS vs UPS vs FEDex - my opinion has changed and someone's gettin' in trouble..:)

[Relic]

I moved to my new location in September of last year. Prior to that, I was a USPS loyalist. Between buying and selling here on TB, plus eBay, I must have had well over 500 transactions in a couple of years and I had never had a single issue with USPS even though the bulk of my usage was with them. I did have issues with UPS, and Fedex especially at my old location.
I recall defending them (USPS) in a few threads and I also recall just kinda leaving it at "well it may just depend on your location.." etc.

Well - it's true. Here at my new location, FedEx and UPS are spot on, and USPS..? Well, they suck. Royally suck and what's more...I've nailed them and potentially have someone's job in my hands.
Here's the deal - since moving here, I noticed that a LOT of my USPS packages were coming late, or weird stuff would happen like I would get a delivery attempt notice on my door saying "3rd attempt" when (since I work from home) I'm always home and absolutely KNOW that 2 prior attempts were not made. No one even bothered to knock on the door or ring the doorbell. I've also noticed a pattern - small packages that fit in my mailbox are always on time. Packages that require a signature will either not arrive or arrive late. Big packages that would require the driver getting out the mail truck and bringing it to my door would also be late or never reach me.
Recently, I had a situation where an important priority mail package did not arrive, so I went to the post office and there it was, with claims that they tried 3 x to deliver but there was "no one home". (I was home and awaiting the package all 3 days of their claim and can prove it).
So, I have some affidavits from shippers, I have receipts, tracking numbers, showing late/failed deliveries and actual video of a driver walking a "delivery attempt failed" notice to my door without even knocking. AND, I have that exact person's supervisors name and phone#.
I probably have enough to get this person canned.
So.....what should I do?
Should I approach our driver and nicely explain that I'm home every day so would like my packages delivered, or go to their supervisor and potentially get them canned?
What say ye, TB?

[jmattbassplaya]

I down for canning him, but that's just me.

[Relic]

Originally Posted by jmattbassplaya

I down for canning him, but that's just me.

I'm pissed off enough to, I really am... but then if I actually went through with it, I'd probably feel like crap once I calmed down.

(our driver is a "she" BTW)

[macaroni tony]

I'd hate to see anyone get fired...I'd say approach the driver first. But it'd be hard to fault you for calling the supervisor.

What kind of work do you do? I'd like to work in my drawz too

[hdracer]

It's a government union job. No one is going to get fired. Transferred may be.
We had a guy here that was throwing mail in a trash dumpster so he did not have to deliver it and HE didn't get fired.

[MJ5150]

Calm down bro, then act. Times are tough right now, so really think twice before you get someone fired.

I'd go out and meet your mailwoman and get a friendship going with her. Maybe a bottle of her favorite perfume, a hat for her favorite team, stuff like that. You need the mailwoman and the post office working with you and to be your buddies. I take care of all the delivery drivers that come to my house, FedEx, UPS, and USPS. In turn they take care of me.

-Mike

[MatticusMania]

Originally Posted by Relic

I'm pissed off enough to, I really am... but then if I actually went through with it, I'd probably feel like crap once I calmed down.

(our driver is a "she" BTW)

Id have a talk with your USPS delivery person, once. Explain to them that you are always home, and would appreciate your packages actually being delivered. Make no threats of reporting her to her supervisor or anything like that, and if it happens again, make the call.

[Relic]

Originally Posted by MatticusMania

Id have a talk with your USPS delivery person, once. Explain to them that you are always home, and would appreciate your packages actually being delivered. Make no threats of reporting her to her supervisor or anything like that, and if it happens again, make the call.

This is what I'm thinking as well.

[RonGillman3]

Talk to her first. No reason to get her fired in todays economy. Maybe she'll actually do her job after a little chat with you.

[Hutzbordello]

send him the video.........

[Relic]

Originally Posted by Hutzbordello

send him the video.........

Or I could just threaten to post it on youtube and reap the rewards of INSTANT delivery day or night and even Sundays

[MatticusMania]

I havent had any bad experiences with any majot shipping companies. Though, now that I live in a condo complex I have my items shipped to my parents house, since someone is usually home there. I wouldnt want them to leave my package on my doorstep for someone else to pick up.

[macaroni tony]

I get all my stuff shipped to my job...

EDIT: who gives a ****?

[Big B.]

Originally Posted by RonGillman3

Talk to her first. No reason to get her fired in todays economy. Maybe she'll actually do her job after a little chat with you.

I tend to disagree. I feel that in a tough economy actually doing your job is a really good idea since tons of of people would kill to have it. Being a small time instrument/furniture builder I can say that bad shipping can impact my profits in a huge way. You pay a company for a service, especially a specialized service such as priority delivery, and it is their responsibility to provide it.

I want to say the OP should say something to her and see if it fixes the problem but I doubt he is the only person she does it to on her route.

[warnergt]

Here's a video of a UPS delivery attempt.

[RonGillman3]

Originally Posted by warnergt

Here's a video of a UPS delivery attempt.

So thats how it works

[C.Linton]

I have this same problem with USPS. Small packages that fit in the box are delivered as they should be, anything larger than that or requiring a signature. a pink slip is left telling me I have to go pick it up as a matter of course. I've been complaining about this for about ten years now, to no avail. The problem as they tell me is because my mailbox is at the front of the building (it's a converted house really) and I live at the back, their only obligation is to deliver any packages to the "point of delivery". (i.e., the mailbox), and if the carrier feels they can't do that in a secure manner (which apparently is any package that won't fit in the box) they leave the pink notice. They tell me the carrier is under no obligation whatsoever to deliver it right to my door at the back, even if the address label says to do so, (which it does almost 95% of the time, I make sure of that). The only thing I can do is get a tracking number and sit out front of my building and wait for it when the tracking tells me it's "out for delivery", and even that depends on if I can time it right to be there when they get there, I may have to wait for hours, and if the weather is bad that will screw me up.
Because of my situation, in that I have no car, and must take the bus to the P.O., this is a huge hassle for me. So much so, that it has gotten to the point, where I will not order something if it will be shipped to me via USPS, unless there is no other alternative. It's a load of bollocks if you ask me.
I have never had this kind of problem with UPS or Fed-ex.
Basically what USPS is telling me is they don't deliver them to the back door, because they don't have to (so they say). I've talked to every supervisor out there, and they've all told me this. I even accidentally got a hold of the local PM general, (for some reason she was answering the phones that day), I told her about it as they wer holding a package for me, she told me that she would have this paticualr package re-delivered to my door, and this practice of not delievring to my door "Stops now."
The package was delivered the next day, but the very next time I had a package coming, it was business as usual, and I could not get a hold of the PM G again. I'm pretty much screwed because it's not the individual carrier screwing up (NEWMAN!!!), it's seems to be a matter of policy.

[macaroni tony]

Originally Posted by C.Linton

It's a load of bollocks if you ask me.

hahahahahaaha!!!

[Jhengsman]

Originally Posted by macaroni tony

I'd hate to see anyone get fired...I'd say approach the driver first. But it'd be hard to fault you for calling the supervisor.

What kind of work do you do? I'd like to work in my drawz too

USPS carrier on lunch here. About two weeks ago I put a post on this site saying that maybe 60% of carriers never take larger parcels out of the office. Before when we had jeeps they wouldn't fit and what our slang would call a UPS route would run them out. Since being upgraded the UPS routes have been cut but many carriers and a high percentage of women claim the pieces are too big for them so they fill out the notice 3849 and leave the parcel in the office.

Since the supervisor can't justify overtime to get someone else to carry it nor prove someone is strong enough tob actually attempt it alone everyone pretends the piece went out and was attempted.

Now for the second and third attempts, you are misreading the 3849. We stopped doing second attempts on expressmail about three years ago and never "attempted" before. It is a second and final notice which the clerk sends out saying come pick up an item or we will return it. If you call in or get online and request a redelivery then a carrier will take an item back out. But then you hit that 60% again who will decide its too big and write a notice.

You don't hold the carriers job, the supervisor however is often in a zero defect position and you do hold his job in your hand. They are often replaced but soon overtime usage, which is reported nightly, to get stuff delivered will outweigh the occasional complaint and the cycle will start over again.

Now back to lunch for me, have a nice day.

[Relic]

Originally Posted by C.Linton

I have this same problem with USPS. Small packages that fit in the box are delivered as they should be, anything larger than that or requiring a signature. a pink slip is left telling me I have to go pick it up as a matter of course. I've been complaining about this for about ten years now, to no avail. The problem as they tell me is because my mailbox is at the front of the building (it's a converted house really) and I live at the back, their only obligation is to deliver any packages to the "point of delivery". (i.e., the mailbox), and if the carrier feels they can't do that in a secure manner (which apparently is any package that won't fit in the box) they leave the pink notice. They tell me the carrier is under no obligation whatsoever to deliver it right to my door at the back, even if the address label says to do so, (which it does almost 95% of the time, I make sure of that). The only thing I can do is get a tracking number and sit out front of my building and wait for it when the tracking tells me it's "out for delivery", and even that depends on if I can time it right to be there when they get there, I may have to wait for hours, and if the weather is bad that will screw me up.
Because of my situation, in that I have no car, and must take the bus to the P.O., this is a huge hassle for me. So much so, that it has gotten to the point, where I will not order something if it will be shipped to me via USPS, unless there is no other alternative. It's a load of bollocks if you ask me.
I have never had this kind of problem with UPS or Fed-ex.

Very very interesting and thanks for posting that. They may try to claim the "point of delivery" thing, but I cannot imagine how it could be claimed that she cannot do it in a "secure manner" as our mailbox is about maybe 40' in a direct line from our front door.
In my case though, I'm usually not even getting the slips stating that they attempted delivery so she's not even bothering. It's really just laziness.
I had gone in person to the post office (which is how I get her supervisor's #) and when I had spoken to a guy there, he told me that the drivers have a strict scheduling and are under intense pressure to complete routes in a certain amount of time and that's probably why she's not trying. Yet....I have seen her a few times stopping to chat with people on her route. She even talked to my wife for about 10 minutes a couple of weeks ago.
So my conclusion is that the biotch is just lazy.
Oh yeah, she failed to deliver our mail today probably because I didn't shovel enough room near our mailbox. That's another issue - if I dont completely shovel around it so that it's totally clear, she wont drop off mail.