My USPS Shipment hasn't moved since Jan. 4th

[Rip Van Dan]

I bought a set of monitors from a local online vendor. I've had them in my possession for over a week. That vendor didn't have the XLR's I wanted in stock when I bought the monitors so I turned to another online vendor noted for satisfying a musician's sweet tooth. I purchased the cables and they were shipped on the 4th by USPS First Class Mail.

I sell a lot of automobile parts online and while I am aware of the delays experienced by all the major shippers, I can't really say I've had a particularly difficult time with any of them. Just about everything I shipped to my customers since the first of the year has arrived, safely. That includes UPS, FedEx and USPS packages.

I contacted the online vendor I bought the cables from asking if they had an updated timeframe based on delays. They just said sit and wait or, if you really need the cables, call and we'll see what we can do. Meanwhile, the online vendor that I originally purchased the monitors from has the XLR's back in stock.

So, do I sit and wait for the original set of cables to wend their way through the USPS system or do I buy another set from the online store I bought the monitors from. They didn't seem to have any issues getting my parts to me in a timely fashion by USPS, UPS or Fedex. BTW I'm not blaming anyone. I know there are a multitude of reasons for the delay. I just want to hear what you would do.
Thanks!

If you need them now, buy them from another vendor. Whoever's XLR cables arrive first will be the ones you keep and you should return the ones that arrive last, especially if it's the original vendor that you bought them from.

Also, don't expect timely updates on tracking from USPS. You typically get the "shipped", "in-transit", and "delivered" messages and that's about the best granularity you'll get from them.

 

[OogieWaWa]

Another point to make, I'm trying to get everything from local shops if I can from now on. Those guys can use it right now, and I don't mind spending a few extra bucks to help.

 

[ak56]

Just be glad it's not being handled by DHL.

International is significantly different....

Shipment from China: DHL picked it up on the 9th, delivered it on the 12th.

 

[rashrader]

Interestingly enough, I’ve had my share of screwups with FedEx Ground lately. They might not be experiencing the same delays but they are not as reliable as UPS. At least that’s been my personal experience and I ship about 1800 -2000 packages a year between the three carriers.

That’s unfortunate. I’ve only had issues with USPS. I guess I’m shipping about 8-10 a month. I’ve had multiple tracked packages with USPS get stuck at hubs for 2-3 weeks since November.

 

[JTE]

Shipment from China: DHL picked it up on the 9th, delivered it on the 12th.

I started using DHL for international parcels in October* and have been extremely happy. Rates on par with USPS PMEI, better tracking information, quick delivery, and less customs hassle for customers.

*Previously avoided DHL because the quoted rates were exorbitant, but we connected with a contracted reseller that gives excellent rates.

 

[trickyric]

I ordered a Tee shirt from Reverb... USPS lost it.... It has been in USPS limbo for 3 weeks.. it finally started moving last night.....

 

[Jhengsman]

I have had a really bad time with USPS this year. Shipments have been stuck for weeks for no reason at all. The story from my local post office worker was that if USPS couldn't clear it out with that day's mail, it gets thrown into a pile that they slowly work off. I sold a bunch of non-musical stuff on eBay right around the holidays and three out of about 15 shipments got hung up in the mail. They eventually got there, but it took a while for them to get dislodged. The good news is that it almost certainly will get where it's supposed to go--it might just take a while for it to get moving again.

It is a function of scanning and tracking. Once a service goal is missed you have a failure. But more stuff is coming the next day. Before tracking we worked the oldest stuff first. With tracking we try to avoid more "failure" and move the newest stuff to try to keep the 93% on time rate and make the station look better.

Now because UPS FedEx and Amazon drops their shipments directly at the delivery station instead of the processing plants they are also moved ahead of the line since it is not worked by the dwindling staff.

Those of you who watch a track of a piece hit the destination area and then go off to another area only to come back it is because of a local relative lack of staff. It is being trucked to another location with more available man hours where they reset their computers to distribute to carrier routes and then that bag of stuff is trucked back to the delivery city and station.

 

[Spupilup]

Let me add to the saga. A short while ago I received an email from the midwestern vendor asking me to fill out a customer satisfaction survey. I left all the specific questions blank but mentioned in the "additional comments" area, that is was a bit ridiculous to be asking about my level of satisfaction with the transaction when I haven't even received my order. I went out and worked around the house for about a half hour and when I came back in I saw that I had received an email from my rep. A new order was being processed with the parts that I had ordered and they were going out by FedEx Ground (I guess on Monday). I think it's extremely generous that they would do this without my even asking for this level of service. The only reason I answered the survey the way I did was because I thought they should (especially these days with deliveries being so slow) check to make sure the customer had received their order before asking about it.

 

[PolkaHero]

I called the Allen Park, Michigan sorting facility and was told they are four weeks behind due to Covid, a short staff, and package overloads from the holidays. No customer access point so I can't drive down there to get my packages myself. Guess I'll have to wait!

 

[Jeff Scott]

I called the Allen Park, Michigan sorting facility and was told they are four weeks behind due to Covid, a short staff, and package overloads from the holidays. No customer access point so I can't drive down there to get my packages myself. Guess I'll have to wait!

At least, you got what sounds like a straight answer from them.

 

[Jhengsman]

At this time last year my district was a near panic because Amazon was delivering a greater percentage of their stuff with their own service. Route inspections to further eliminate routes and trucks which had been from 53 to 38 over the past 25 years were announced.
Literally the day of the panic runs on the super markets I was being inspected as the stay at home orders went out. The very next week as higher risk people refused to come to work and the excess from Amazon came. Since that time we have been beyond a Christmas season tempo of operations busting past the 60 hour work week regulations on a constant basis. It was only when carriers were recruited from Arizona and New Mexico to help fill our vacancies for the election could we at least deliver all of a day's parcel load as streets went into rotation to receive letters.

They have stopped just short of mandatory 7 day work weeks to go with the 12 hour plus days. But they have scheduled temporary help to such hours so when we are lucky we get a couple of weeks before they quit and HR tries to find another body to send to the front. It is truly a pick up the satchel and scanner holster from the one who fell before you. Going into a holiday weekend 5 of the remaining 38 routes did not receive a single letter or parcel.

 

[Standalone]

Must. Resist. Making. Political. Comment.

 

[fourstringdrums]

Must. Resist. Making. Political. Comment.

 

[fourstringdrums]

I have another package that has been sitting on accepted since the 12th.

 

[Spupilup]

I mentioned that without so much as a call to Sweetwater (I might as well mention them by name although I doubt any of you had a question as to who the Midwest vendor was) they sent out a second set of XLRs by FedEx. According to my rep, they left the warehouse on Saturday (although the tracking still isn't active in the FedEx system). So, it's only natural that around 6am this morning I received a text from USPS alerting me that my package was in the Springfield, MA distribution center. That's usually the last stop off before a scan at my local post office and then delivery. I'd say we're probably looking at delivery on Wednesday or Thursday at this point. I contacted Sweetwater to alert them of the movement within USPS of my shipment and to pull the second shipment from their loading dock before FedEx actually picks the package up. My rep said it was too late and told me to keep the second shipment.

There you have it. I really feel bad about the fact that the USPS has been turned into complete disarray over the last year. I feel bad for USPS employees because, through no fault of their own, they've been forced to bear the brunt of this disarray. I feel bad about this transaction costing Sweetwater money in the long run. Finally, I feel bad that I haven't been able to use my new Focal monitors for two weeks now. Hopefully, in. a few more days I'll be able to post photos of a NCD!

 

[Gilmourisgod]

Now I'm waiting....again... for a Rocklite fingerboard and trussrod from LMI. the USPS tracking says "In Transit, Late Delivery", which means.. what? Shutting down a bunch of sorting machines for...Reasons... probably wasn't likely to result in improved service, which seems obvious in retrospect.

 

[Jhengsman]

Now I'm waiting....again... for a Rocklite fingerboard and trussrod from LMI. the USPS tracking says "In Transit, Late Delivery", which means.. what? Shutting down a bunch of sorting machines for...Reasons... probably wasn't likely to result in improved service, which seems obvious in retrospect.

No it means a lack of healthy manpower to actually pick up a piece move it to a scanner and send it to the next step. Just as the processing plants have stuff stored outdoors waiting for space available so are the delivery stations where there are not enough carriers remaining to get to every address 6 days a week and their floors are also jammed.

 

[Jhengsman]

I called the Allen Park, Michigan sorting facility and was told they are four weeks behind due to Covid, a short staff, and package overloads from the holidays. No customer access point so I can't drive down there to get my packages myself. Guess I'll have to wait!

Until it is processed and sent to a route when you get it worked down to a few hundred pieces to look through someone would have to stop what they are doing and literally look for needles in a needle stack

 

[Spupilup]

I got another text from USPS a short while ago. My package has left the distribution center in Springfield, MA. Under normal circumstances that would mean that the next scan for the package would be at my local post office. First, that the package had arrived and then that it was out for delivery. While that would be nice, I am not counting on that to happen given what's been going on. At least I know it's getting close.

 

[Spupilup]

I've had a battle of the text messages from USPS and FedEx throughout the night and early morning. The barrage culminated in two alerts. The first, from USPS alerting me the original order is out for delivery with an expected arrival time between 6am and 10am. While the second, from FedEx, coming through minutes ago, saying a delivery of the replacement package will be arriving between 9am and 9pm. It's really a shame that so much waste of time, effort and money came about because of the insane pressure brought on the poor folks at USPS thanks to budget cuts, COVID and a massive increase in demand for their services.

I'll post up when the first package arrives at my door today. Anyone want to take bets on whether it will be USPS or FedEx?