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US Post Office -- Not bad -- but

Discussion in 'Fred's House of Pancakes' started by Stevewoods, Jan 9, 2022.

  1. Stevewoods

    Stevewoods Senior Member

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    Well, the hullaballoo about the U.S. Postal Service and their cuts in service have mostly been drowned out by Co-Vid, but apparently, they did pretty good during the holidays -- from their own news release:

    WASHINGTON, DC — The United States Postal Service reported preliminary performance metrics for the 2021 holiday season.

    Between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve, it took on average 2.7 days to deliver a mailpiece or package across the Postal Service network.

    During the same timeframe, the network accepted more than 13.2 billion letters, cards, flats and packages for delivery, exceeding 12.7 billion accepted for delivery during the same timeframe in 2020.

    Of course there are exceptions:
    Package I ordered for wifey.

    Last Wednesday, the package was shipped from a Portland, Oregon firm for delivery to wifey -- a distance of about 20 miles. It's a cookbook and it shipped via the "bound printed matter" service.

    Rather than go the 20 miles southeast to wifey, the package went a fair distance north to Fife, Washington, about three hours north of the delivery address.

    Once in Fife, WA, USPS shipped it back to Portland, OR the next day (Thursday).

    I guess because it felt at home in Portland, OR it sat around for a day or two and then ended up in San Francisco on Friday. And there it sits.

    It will get there eventually. And, I am actually not upset, just find it a bit amusing.
     
    #1 Stevewoods, Jan 9, 2022
    Last edited: Jan 9, 2022
  2. mikefocke

    mikefocke Prius v Three 2012, Avalon 2011

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    Or it won't.

    Last Thursday I got my morning scan of letters I was getting that day. Only one of the Xmas cards from a friend didn't show up. Asked my neighbors. No one had seen it. Left a note for carrier with a copy of the scan they sent me, she replied "call Post Office".

    Stuff happens.
     
  3. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    it was hit or miss for us over the holidays. some things came quickly, others, not so much.

    overall, no worse than fedex, ups or amazon
     
  4. John321

    John321 Senior Member

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    Some of the delivery problems are isolated to regions. We did very well receiving items with one exception, an item that came through the New Jersey Post Office. It was registered and luckily had tracking. The New Jersy Post Office received it and it sat there for two weeks before they shipped it. We started an inquiry after we saw no movement of the package for a week after it hit the New Jersey Post Office - our local Post Office ombudsman called us to respond to the inquiry and said unfortunately this is normal for packages going through this Post Office in New Jersey and he is having to often respond to customer inquiries when packages go through this Post Office. He said multiple inquires as well as investigations have failed to solve the problems with packages going through this depot.
     
  5. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    When I was managing memberships and dues for a Seattle-based organization, one member called up to inquire why her renewal hadn't been processed in nearly a month. Her mailed check showed up in the club's PO box shortly thereafter, having picked up two Washington DC postmarks in its journey across Seattle.
     
  6. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    A few years ago, I sent a practically irreplaceable computer GPU to southern California to have it re-balled due to a cracked solder joint. After two weeks and no return, I contacted the repairer. He said he never got it. I contacted the postal "service." After several calls over several days, they finally traced it to some little town in Nevada where it was apparently hiding out in the witness protection program. Eventually, the PO got it to CA and I got my computer put back together.

    A few months ago, one of our neighbors brought me an envelope containing one of my pension checks.

    I have lots more stories, like the package that took three weeks to get here from Montana.

    My theory is that, in trying to reduce delivery times, the USPS has arranged with the Galactic Government's research centre on Damogran to start using their Infinite Improbability Drive.
     
  7. ETC(SS)

    ETC(SS) The OTHER One Percenter.....

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    Trump lofted a bunch of news releases about how good a job HE did too.....
     
  8. Stevewoods

    Stevewoods Senior Member

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    Well, after being mailed in Portland, going to Washington and then spending a couple of days in San Francisco, package went back to Portland, was then sent to Seattle and after a day or two, back to Portland ... Finally delivered today -- traveling several hundred miles and several days to go what was only about 20 miles in the first place.


    Keseys Jail Journal: Ken Kesey: Hardcover: 9780670876938: Powell's Books


    Saw the book mentioned on a PBS documentary a couple of weeks ago.
     
  9. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    That's just amazing. And sadly, no where near a record considering how many letters and packages they have flat out lost.
     
  10. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    I sent a certified letter several years ago, and diligently watched for the delivery confirmation, and after a while there was a whole process I could go through to begin an inquiry into what had happened to the certified letter, and after that inquiry went through its motions I got a very polite letter saying they were sorry they had lost it and had no idea where.
     
  11. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

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    The speeds at which machinery at bottling plants run at means glass bottles are constantly breaking.

    There is a lot of mail going through the USPS's machines.
     
  12. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    sent a check to my brother in naples florida on january three. still hasn't arrived. might be time for direct deposit.
     
  13. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    The irony was that the certified mail service as what I paid the extra bucks for to make sure something is trackable and random stuff doesn't just happen.
     
  14. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    Does USPS give refunds for the extra bucks paid for extra service when they lose the item prior to delivery?
     
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  15. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

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    I thought certified just meant they got a signature or other proof that it was delivered to the address.
     
  16. Elektroingenieur

    Elektroingenieur Senior Member

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    That’s it exactly: despite their similar names, in the U.S., Certified Mail provides evidence of mailing and delivery, but it’s “dispatched and handled in transit as ordinary mail” (Domestic Mail Manual, 503.3.1.1). Only Registered Mail—intended for mailings of high intrinsic value—“incorporates a system of receipts to monitor the movement of the mail from the point of acceptance to delivery” (DMM, 503.2.1.1), at least in principle.
     
  17. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    Proof of delivery is why I occasionally used certified mail long ago, return receipt requested, for certain important pieces of paper necessary for continuation of certain benefits. The higher cost registered mail was not necessary.

    These days, the online tracking is sufficient for my needs, so don't pay extra for the return receipt. After a long hiatus, I used it several weeks ago, and sent of another this very afternoon.
     
  18. Stevewoods

    Stevewoods Senior Member

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    A bit of an update. The Kesey book was pretty good and worth the wait. But.....

    A relative died recently (heart, not Co-Vid) and it fell to me to do the local stuff (which basically meant closing down his house, cleaning etc.).

    Oh, and I got to be the lucky soul that had his remains taken "care of" -- meaning cremation. That happened several weeks ago. Now the remains need to be reunited with his kids -- whom live some 35 hours of driving away -- way down in California.

    I did not want to drive them down and no one wanted to drive up.

    And, the only carrier that will handle "cremains," is the US Postal Service. But they have to be packed in a special box and sent Priority Express. The packaging is not available at Post Offices. It has to be ordered from the USPS online store -- the materials and the shipping are free....

    They say the materials will ship in 1-3 business days.....been more than three weeks. Have not seen them yet....I think a mule train might be in order. LOL!