WTF?!? How The Post Office Handles Your Mail

Reasonable Rascal

Reasonable Rascal

Veteran Member
Ever wonder why packages get lost or mail delayed? The beginning is at the bottom of the list as per typical USPS tracking lists, and the latest is at the top. This is a 3-4 oz package. Just the air miles it has traveled are astonishing. And if you look closely it is occasionally is two places more or less at once, a state or more apart.

RR
  • Sat, May 4
    5:06pm
    PROCESSED THROUGH USPS FACILITY
    SIOUX FALLS SD DISTRIBUTION CEN, 57104

  • Sat, May 4
    8:26am
    Arrived at USPS Regional Facility
    SIOUX FALLS SD DISTRIBUTION CENTER, 57104

  • Fri, May 3
    7:24pm
    Departed USPS Regional Facility
    SAINT LOUIS MO NETWORK DISTRIBUTION CENTER, 63042

  • Fri, May 3
    2:35am
    Arrived at USPS Regional Facility
    SAINT LOUIS MO NETWORK DISTRIBUTION CENTER, 63042



  • Thu, May 2
    8:44pm
    Arrived at USPS Regional Facility
    SIOUX FALLS SD DISTRIBUTION CENTER, 57104

  • Thu, May 2
    5:40pm
    Departed USPS Regional Facility
    OMAHA NE DISTRIBUTION CENTER, 68108

  • Thu, May 2
    5:11pm
    Arrived at USPS Regional Facility
    OMAHA NE DISTRIBUTION CENTER, 68108

  • Thu, May 2
    10:20am
    Departed USPS Regional Facility
    SAINT LOUIS MO NETWORK DISTRIBUTION CENTER, 63042

  • Thu, May 2
    5:54am
    DEPARTED USPS REGIONAL FACILITY
    MISSOURI CITY, TX 77489

  • Thu, May 2
    3:46am
    Arrived at USPS Regional Facility
    SAINT LOUIS MO NETWORK DISTRIBUTION CENTER, 63042



  • Wed, May 1
    5:48pm
    PROCESSED THROUGH USPS FACILITY
    MISSOURI CITY, TX 77489

  • Wed, May 1
    6:20am
    DEPARTED USPS REGIONAL FACILITY
    MISSOURI CITY, TX 77489

  • Tue, Apr 30
    9:41pm
    Arrived at USPS Origin Facility
    MISSOURI CITY, TX 77489

  • Tue, Apr 30
    8:26pm
    Accepted at USPS Origin Facility
    HOUSTON, TX 77067

  • Tue, Apr 30
    8:26pm
    Estimated delivery date updated to Sat, May 4

  • Tue, Apr 30
    3:50pm
    Departed Shipping Partner Facility, USPS Awaiting Item
    HOUSTON, TX 77067

  • Tue, Apr 30
    2:33am
    Tracking number provided
 
Z

zeker

Has No Life - Lives on TB
I have rural, at home, delivery.

between the snow plow going past @ 100 mph, and destroying the mailbox,

to, the mailman forcing a box into the mailbox, I am flummoxed.

the forced box is unable to come out without cutting the box.

the mail guy is great

but when he goes on vacation, I end up with notices saying my box is unfit/crooked/too low, too high, etc.

the girls dont like me?

when he gets back, I speak to post master and him,

and they both confirm the box is fine.
 
B

bracketquant

Veteran Member
zeker said:
I have rural, at home, delivery.

between the snow plow going past @ 100 mph, and destroying the mailbox,

to, the mailman forcing a box into the mailbox, I am flummoxed.

the forced box is unable to come out without cutting the box.

the mail guy is great

but when he goes on vacation, I end up with notices saying my box is unfit/crooked/too low, too high, etc.

the girls dont like me?

when he gets back, I speak to post master and him,

and they both confirm the box is fine.
Click to expand...

No mailbox snow plow deflector/fence?

Around here, people who live on long more rural roads put them up. If there are only a few mailboxes on a long stretch of road, and few cars too, the snowplow drivers aren't going to care about the mailboxes, and will drive as fast as they want to. Some keep them plain looking (which is kind of ugly), others decorate them (mostly painted with scenes of flowers, birds, bunnies, etc...), making them look quite nice. In the summertime, they may have hanging baskets of flowers on them, or a flower bed around the bottom.

Our city gets different plow contractors every few years. Some years they get paid by the millage (they drive very fast), and some years they get paid by the hour ( I can almost walk past the moving plow).
 
M

Murt

Veteran Member
this just my personal experience and my opinion

the main problems with the usps are the unions and the management
as an example of the union issues
if a mail handlers "called out" and there weren't enough bodies to "sling" the mail
many times management would pay the mechanics overtime to stay and help process the mail
when that happened the mail handlers would file a grievance because the mechanics were taking work away from the mail handler and in the end the mail handlers would be compensated
that is just one example
as for management --at the location that I am familiar with it was 95% gtr females that just wanted to show how much authority that they had--it was pathetic
projects that cost several thousands of dollars that any reasonable person could see was doomed to fail were done and re-done

there were times where the location in macon ga was sorting packages for Chicago
they would load the packages onto 18 wheelers and ship them south to sort them and load them back up and send them back

I expect the usps to close and consolidate as many processing centers as they can which will cause the mail to be shipped farther and slow down delivery times

JMO YMMV
 
patriotgal

patriotgal

Veteran Member
According to my postmaster friend they are too busy promoting admin to actually move mail. We have 2 hot spots in Arkansas where mail tends to go missing. I know of 2 post offices elsewhere with newly hired highly promoted postmasters who literally have zero employees. They will hire anyone but no one is willing. Both locations are the kind where you would need Kevlar as part of your daily uniform.
 
9

9idrr

Veteran Member
West said:
I sent a vary needed and vary important funds to a family member on 4-15 -24 registered.

Well here it is 5 -5- 24 and there now finally at least sending it back to me. Seems like the USPS has forgotten how to deliver mail.

Really urks me.
Click to expand...
When you send Registered mail, that used to add at least an extra day. Unless you specify a lesser time limit, signature-required must be held for fifteen days before return.
 
CaryC

CaryC

Has No Life - Lives on TB
ALL of our mail goes through Memphis.

If I am mailing a birthday card to my neighbor, the mailman picks it up in the box, it goes to Memphis and then comes back (depends on whether or not the people in Memphis think money is in the envelope) to my next door neighbor.

Got a call one Sat. from the doctors office (it was a computer but still on a Sat.?) giving me an appointment for the following Wednesday. Hit 1 to confirm. I hit 1.

Go to appointment have a good meet, go home.

The Friday after the appointment I get a letter in the mail from the Doctor. Telling me I have an appointment with him that past wednesday.

Call he called.

Mailed a garbage bill in. Wrote a check and mailed it in. Am still waiting for the check to clear. It's been two years.

Any bill with a check over 25.00 never gets mailed. No assurance it will reach it's destination. Like a 600.00 Car insurance bill. Nope, nope, nope.
 
B

bracketquant

Veteran Member
From what I hear, the USPS's biggest problem is funding.

If the law hasn't changed, they are the only agency that requires pre-funding of retirement plans. And they have to pre-fund retirement plans for the estimated new hires that they will have, some years down the road, people that don't yet work there.

Locally, the biggest change, in the past year, is that standard (inexpensive) shipment of packages is now all "ground", where previously much of it was done by air.
 
B

bracketquant

Veteran Member
CaryC said:
ALL of our mail goes through Memphis.

If I am mailing a birthday card to my neighbor, the mailman picks it up in the box, it goes to Memphis and then comes back (depends on whether or not the people in Memphis think money is in the envelope) to my next door neighbor.

Got a call one Sat. from the doctors office (it was a computer but still on a Sat.?) giving me an appointment for the following Wednesday. Hit 1 to confirm. I hit 1.

Go to appointment have a good meet, go home.

The Friday after the appointment I get a letter in the mail from the Doctor. Telling me I have an appointment with him that past wednesday.

Call he called.

Mailed a garbage bill in. Wrote a check and mailed it in. Am still waiting for the check to clear. It's been two years.

Any bill with a check over 25.00 never gets mailed. No assurance it will reach it's destination. Like a 600.00 Car insurance bill. Nope, nope, nope.
Click to expand...
You think that's something. If I mail a letter to someone in-town, it first goes to the regional processing center out of state, then to a smaller distribution center instate, finally across town, here, taking 6 days.

A letter to Hawaii takes 2 to 4 days.
 
et2

et2

TB Fanatic
Just ordered some spray cleaner my wife likes off Amazon ( hard to find). 3 bottles. Shipment arrived in a box a few day later. Was wrong stuff, not even close. Submitted return on-line and requested correct items.

Had to print bar code and take wrong items to UPS.

Next day order arrived … correct item. But 3 times the amount ordered. Got 4 free
 
West

West

Senior
9idrr said:
When you send Registered mail, that used to add at least an extra day. Unless you specify a lesser time limit, signature-required must be held for fifteen days before return.
Click to expand...
I sent it just registered not registered with signature. Big difference. The reason to send a simple first class less than 1 ounce envelope was for the tracking number, so I can see what's going on. Usually that works good, with in a week or two at most.

I mailed it on the 15 of last month. 3 times it was registered in the Sacramento distribution center on the 23rd, 25th and the 1st of May. Was supposed to go to small town in the California Sierras.

The latest is its back in OKC distribution center.

WTF!
 
L

Littlesister

Veteran Member
MIL once Fedexed (from Mobile to central Alabama) us several tickets to a sold out Auburn/Tennessee football game. For some reason, she noted the contents on the outside of the large FedEx envelope (bad idea). Of course, the tickets went straight to Memphis first and we never received them. Fast forward to the day before the game and we went round and round with FedEx on the phone. Us saying we needed those tickets right away and Fedex supervisor saying that they would start an investigation that would take days to weeks. Finally, DH told them " Ok, well we have people at the game and these are season tickets so we know the seat numbers. We will simply have someone ask security to check the seats to reveal who is sitting there." FedEx guy, "Hold on a sec." DH waited about 30 seconds. FedEx guy, "Sir, I have your tickets right here. Where can you meet our driver so we can get these tickets to you right away?"
 
changed

changed

Preferred pronouns: dude/bro
My mail either isn't getting to its destination or if it does its weeks late. The electric company has threatened to shut off my power. Similar situation with our internet provider. My kid's school never did get the tuition payment.
 
Texican

Texican

Live Free & Die Free.... God Freedom Country....
joannita said:
Use Zelle. The money is available immediately
Click to expand...

Zelle only works if your bank uses Zelle.

I tried to use Zelle through my local bank (17 miles away), but the local bank does not use Zelle. The local bank is well financed, so no worries there, but still watch the amount in the bank.

Texican....
 
feralferret

feralferret

Veteran Member
Kathy in FL said:
Not in my area. They each have their own delivery trucks.
Click to expand...
According to media reports, FedEx will no longer hand off parcels to the US Postal Service for last mile delivery. The service, known as FedEx SmartPost, saw the USPS deliver the last mile for FedEx – for a fee. The new service, called FedEx Ground Economy, will see FedEx handle last mile deliveries. Note: I was not aware that this had recently changed.

UPS SurePost relies on the USPS for last mile delivery services.
 
Knoxville's Joker

Knoxville's Joker

Has No Life - Lives on TB
Murt said:
this just my personal experience and my opinion

the main problems with the usps are the unions and the management
as an example of the union issues
if a mail handlers "called out" and there weren't enough bodies to "sling" the mail
many times management would pay the mechanics overtime to stay and help process the mail
when that happened the mail handlers would file a grievance because the mechanics were taking work away from the mail handler and in the end the mail handlers would be compensated
that is just one example
as for management --at the location that I am familiar with it was 95% gtr females that just wanted to show how much authority that they had--it was pathetic
projects that cost several thousands of dollars that any reasonable person could see was doomed to fail were done and re-done

there were times where the location in macon ga was sorting packages for Chicago
they would load the packages onto 18 wheelers and ship them south to sort them and load them back up and send them back

I expect the usps to close and consolidate as many processing centers as they can which will cause the mail to be shipped farther and slow down delivery times

JMO YMMV
Click to expand...
The consolidations won't slow things down perse. If they expand the ones that remain it will lessen the amount of leap frogging. But Until they continue meritorious only hiring practices this will continue to get worse. Hiring based on check boxes in a production environment is asking for issues...

Unfortunately the hamstrung Trump's postmaster general appointment and they are paying for it.
 
9

9idrr

Veteran Member
West said:
I sent it just registered not registered with signature. Big difference. The reason to send a simple first class less than 1 ounce envelope was for the tracking number, so I can see what's going on. Usually that works good, with in a week or two at most.

I mailed it on the 15 of last month. 3 times it was registered in the Sacramento distribution center on the 23rd, 25th and the 1st of May. Was supposed to go to small town in the California Sierras.

The latest is its back in OKC distribution center.

WTF!
Click to expand...
Registered mail always requires a signature, travels in a sealed pouch and has to be signed for by each employee who handles it. You may be thinking of the green return receipt that's returned to you with recipient's scrawl. The carrier who delivers your letter has to be cleared for the day by either turning in said mail piece or showing the addressee's signature. If it comes back undelivered that day it gets locked up 'til picked up. That green RetReceipt can also be used for Certified letters, flats and parcels. Whomever accepts your piece for mailing ought to tell you the difference.
That said, mail delivery seems to be suffering from severe suckage these days. The Sacramento plant ain't necessarily had the best of reputations when it comes to efficiency the last few years.
 
Panner

Panner

Veteran Member
Make sure if you order anything it isn't shipped by USPS Advantage. I ordered some stuff a couple of months ago that was shipped from Los Angeles to ST George, Utah. It took almost a week to go from one side of LA to the other, and then another 3 weeks to get to me after a trip around the west. I could have taken a horse to pick it up and brought it back home in that amount of time.
 
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