Mattallica Posted January 31, 2009 Share Posted January 31, 2009 (edited) and they wonder why they have a 2.8 Billion dollar loss in revenue last year. i've been waiting on a package to be delivered, that was accepted by the usps in Illinois on 1/23 and now eight days later it has traveled a whole 4.5 miles, i didnt realize they were going to walk it in. should reach me hear in Vermont the first week of September 2010 at that rate. Edited January 31, 2009 by Mattallica Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karamazov80 Posted January 31, 2009 Share Posted January 31, 2009 My local USPS office is particularly bad about "misplacing" things. On more than one occasion, I have had to call and go there multiple times until they finally found something for me. But still, the pros of USPS far outweigh the cons of using UPS or the bane of my existence, Fed Ex. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
groundhog7s Posted January 31, 2009 Share Posted January 31, 2009 My biggest problem with the USPS is how you have to pay them extra if you want them to prove that they delivered it or to cover loss if they damage it. If I went to a resturant and didn't get my food, the manager wouldn't ask me if I paid extra to prove I didn't get it. If the waiter drops my plate on the way to my table, he wouldn't tell me it was my problem because I didn't pay extra to make sure he got it there. Plus my post office changed their hours a few years ago to 8-4 M-F and 8-11 on Saturday. Since I work 7:30-4 and they have no postage machine in the lobby I'm out of luck. They're rates go up, they get it there when they want to and the service gets worse. Most other industries wouldn't be able to function like that and get by with it. But, I have to deal with it because UPS and FedEx are unreasonably priced for smaller items. Yeah, I think they suck to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karamazov80 Posted January 31, 2009 Share Posted January 31, 2009 I do hate their hours. Whenever I want to ship something large out of the country, I have to drive over there. Since they close around 4:30, I can never go on days when I work. And now, the government is supposedly considering making the post office open only 5 days a week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcastick Posted January 31, 2009 Share Posted January 31, 2009 ....you have to pay them extra if you want them to prove that they delivered it....... I do know you can get delivery confirmation online for free.......so, that's...uumm....something I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karamazov80 Posted January 31, 2009 Share Posted January 31, 2009 I do know you can get delivery confirmation online for free.......so, that's...uumm....something I guess. Through Paypal, unless you do Priority Mail (where it is free), I believe that it is 17 cents Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TM2 Dinobot Posted January 31, 2009 Share Posted January 31, 2009 I wouldn't trust any one else with my shipments. I've had trouble with them occasionally, but when considered how much I ship, or heck, how much they ship on a daily basis PERIOD, it's fairly amazing. They always treat me good. (unless they're remodeling, right Metallica? ) I won't do UPS. They cost more, and the guy at the UPS office threw me out. Literally threw me out of the store, and told me to never come back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Webhead Posted January 31, 2009 Share Posted January 31, 2009 I won't do UPS. They cost more, and the guy at the UPS office threw me out. Literally threw me out of the store, and told me to never come back. I'd like to hear this one...spill it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captain_cbecker Posted January 31, 2009 Share Posted January 31, 2009 and they wonder why they have a 2.8 Billion dollar loss in revenue last year. i've been waiting on a package to be delivered, that was accepted by the usps in Illinois on 1/23 and now eight days later it has traveled a whole 4.5 miles, i didnt realize they were going to walk it in. should reach me hear in Vermont the first week of September 2010 at that rate. During the holidays I bought something from Best Buy that was shipped by their econo UPS/USPS hybrid service (UPS ships to the local USPS hub and then the Post office gets it to your door. In one instance, the item I ordered was tracked by UPS to the Postal hub in about 2 days (within a mile of the delivery address), where it sat for over a week before being delivered. I called to ask after a couple days, and all I heard was, "we have 30 days to deliver before it's late, call us in a month and we'll trace it" Talk about no service. Additionally, I manage a shipping/receiving and mail service department for a stock trading company - I have to argue constantly with the Post Office becasue they mis-deliver items all the time - in one instance, I had to argue that the USPS needed to deliver mail as it was addressed - since the carrier thought they knew better, they were returning mail to the sender, even though the address on the front was correct in all respects. I had to escalate to the National Customer Service department because the local team was a bunch of idiots who pretty much wouldn't be told how they should do their jobs. On the other hand, I feel that UPS charges a lot and makes sure to take their time on the ground service (to remind you that you didn't pay to get it any sooner)... it's funny that a UPS package from AFX in So Cal takes the same amount of time as shipping from BBTS on the East Coast (I live near San Fran.) even though they travel, by truck, about 20% of the distance. For the cost, I prefer Priority Mail, since I get stuff from the East Coast in 2-3 days instead of 7-8. My Punisher-War Zone set shipped from SciFiGenre on Wednesday afternoon and arrived on the West Coast in Friday's delivery and cost about $5 to ship. If it were from BBTS, I'd have paid $2-3 more to ship UPS and I probably wouldn't see it until next Wednesday or Thurs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
groundhog7s Posted January 31, 2009 Share Posted January 31, 2009 I'm not sure it's shipping that slows up BBTS. I ordered from them a few weeks ago and the order showed in their warehouse for a whole week until it actuall shipped out. This was for instock items (BSG mates). Tack on to that shipping time and it was two weeks from order until I got it for in-stock stuff. I think it all comes down to a lot of people don't care much how they do their job and this translates into any business you're in. But most businesses fail to realize or correct the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TM2 Dinobot Posted January 31, 2009 Share Posted January 31, 2009 I won't do UPS. They cost more, and the guy at the UPS office threw me out. Literally threw me out of the store, and told me to never come back. I'd like to hear this one...spill it So I'm working for a company, and I had to change out a display in a store. A 5'x3'x2' was no longer needed, so they sent me a box, with paid postage, and told me to return it. I forgot and had the display and box sitting in my truck for a week. They called and reminded me, so I went down to the local UPS station. I walk in with this display, and set it on the counter, and proceed to unfold my box, and before I can even start, the guy in charge said "I'm warning you, you'd better not scratch my counter" Okay, strike one. I'm packing it up, and he's arguing with a old woman who's sending a package to her son in Iraq, and he wants to charge her $60! It is $8, I repeat EIGHT dollars to ship to US troops through the USPS. But I digress. I get to the counter, and I ask him if he has any tape. He points to the wall and says "It's $0.99 for us to tape it up" Okay, no biggie. I tape it up, do my business, piss him off because of the size of my box, and he proceeds to charge me six bucks. I'm all "WTH man?" because, obviously, he said it was less than a dollar. He says no, it was a dollar for HIM to tape it. Since I did it myself, using his tape, it was six dollars. I flatly stated I wasn't paying, so he said "good bye sir. Please leave my store" Okay, fine. I get a call half an hour later, saying the pre-paid postage had the incorrect amount, and I owed him $32 or some such number. I told him to call my company, as it's really not my problem. He said "You know what? No, we're not doing this. Come get your shit" I'm thinking Okay... So I get down there, grab my box (which he'd kicked the heck out of), and as I'm leaving, he sticks his finger out at me and says "I don't ever want to see your face again" I said. "Trust me, you won't. And I'm telling everyone I meet about this too," I took it to the store I'd retrieved the display from, and before I could even get an explanation out, the Manager said "Don't worry, I'll make sure it goes out on the next shipment" I've had similar experiences with Fed Ex, where they charged me for something I didn't ship. Wha? Yeah, USPS for me, or nothing. My only complaint is they they don't track into other countries. I can understand why not, with the logistics and all, but still, it'd be nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Webhead Posted January 31, 2009 Share Posted January 31, 2009 I won't do UPS. They cost more, and the guy at the UPS office threw me out. Literally threw me out of the store, and told me to never come back. I'd like to hear this one...spill it So I'm working for a company, and I had to change out a display in a store. A 5'x3'x2' was no longer needed, so they sent me a box, with paid postage, and told me to return it. I forgot and had the display and box sitting in my truck for a week. They called and reminded me, so I went down to the local UPS station. I walk in with this display, and set it on the counter, and proceed to unfold my box, and before I can even start, the guy in charge said "I'm warning you, you'd better not scratch my counter" Okay, strike one. I'm packing it up, and he's arguing with a old woman who's sending a package to her son in Iraq, and he wants to charge her $60! It is $8, I repeat EIGHT dollars to ship to US troops through the USPS. But I digress. I get to the counter, and I ask him if he has any tape. He points to the wall and says "It's $0.99 for us to tape it up" Okay, no biggie. I tape it up, do my business, piss him off because of the size of my box, and he proceeds to charge me six bucks. I'm all "WTH man?" because, obviously, he said it was less than a dollar. He says no, it was a dollar for HIM to tape it. Since I did it myself, using his tape, it was six dollars. I flatly stated I wasn't paying, so he said "good bye sir. Please leave my store" Okay, fine. I get a call half an hour later, saying the pre-paid postage had the incorrect amount, and I owed him $32 or some such number. I told him to call my company, as it's really not my problem. He said "You know what? No, we're not doing this. Come get your shit" I'm thinking Okay... So I get down there, grab my box (which he'd kicked the heck out of), and as I'm leaving, he sticks his finger out at me and says "I don't ever want to see your face again" I said. "Trust me, you won't. And I'm telling everyone I meet about this too," I took it to the store I'd retrieved the display from, and before I could even get an explanation out, the Manager said "Don't worry, I'll make sure it goes out on the next shipment" I've had similar experiences with Fed Ex, where they charged me for something I didn't ship. Wha? Yeah, USPS for me, or nothing. My only complaint is they they don't track into other countries. I can understand why not, with the logistics and all, but still, it'd be nice. Wow that's an awesome story. Kudos to you for keeping your cool. Isn't USPS Priority International trackable? I thought only their flat rate boxes were not Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winkerbean Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 I love American customer service!! That story is priceless, god bless the good old british royal mail!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karamazov80 Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 Wow, it sounds to me like that guy is trying to get fired. I wouldn't have left without talking with his superior, or getting their corporate headquarters on the phone. There is being rude, which happens almost every day and is no big deal, and there is being a complete d*ck, which is not OK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buttheadsmate Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 I love American customer service!! That story is priceless, god bless the good old british royal mail!! The post office in our town can be a dangerous place,business is so bad that if you walk past it too slowly they throw you IN. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dio Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 WTH, my UPS store will tape for free. The only thing they charge for in packaging is using bubble wrap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karamazov80 Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 Now that you mention it, I believe that my USPS only tapes stuff for free if you are shipping Priority Mail (they have special tape). I recall them telling me once that I would have to pay for tape if I was going to ship my package through other means. . .but good packaging tape is expensive (I must have spent $30 or so on tape last year alone), so I'm not too surprised about that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blacksun1520 Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 The USPS might just start sucking a little more. I heard recently that they are thinking of only being open 5 days a week, and only delivering on those 5 days. I don't know what day, probably Saturday, as this would piss the most people off, but it's not a definite thing... yet. BS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hulk197 Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 Yeah, I've heard this too. I've heard that maybe Tuesdays might be the day they eliminate. You do have to admit for the volume the usps does and the service they provide, the cost isn't too bad. I ship a lot of stuff all over the country and the world to my ebay buyers and it's rare (knock on wood) that there is a problem. That said, a recent purchase arrived to my mailbox crushed, opened with the contents missing but the bubble wrap and invoice still there. A warning: tape over the "easy pull tab" on those priority boxes!! Whoever did this knew the sender was shipping something decent and just ripped that sucker open and took my minimates! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Donster Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 Mattalica, I think everyone can feel your pain. I get tracking on all of my packages these days, as they tend to disappear every once in awhile. I'll try to keep mine brief, but I had someone make my wife a Ressikan Flute from her favorite TNG episode. A few years back she mentioned that would have been the one thing she would have bid on had we the means. The guy finishes it up in record time and sends it out waay before Christmas with a tracking number and all. Of course I keep an eye on the tracking status, see they tried to deliver it and left a notice for pickup. I go to pick up the package and they can't find it. So I go through the routine and give my information for them to track down the package, as my mail carrier is apparently out sick or some nonesense. I ask that they call me when they have something, no problem. It took me 3 calls to them to finally track the package down. Apparently he had put it under the senders address and not mine. In the long run, this took about a week to track down and I still can't believe the incompetence of not looking in every portion, as it has my address on the end of the package. I think the real pisser is it sounds like most of don't have a post office that's convenient to where we live and now they are talking about taking a day off in my neck of the woods due to funding. Bureaucracy, gotta love it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TM2 Dinobot Posted April 29, 2009 Share Posted April 29, 2009 Yet another reason why USPS is superior! 30lb box to Argentina. USPS: $70.50. UPS: $508.75. DHL: $584.00. FedEx: n/a I'm not even joking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MinimateEspo25 Posted April 29, 2009 Share Posted April 29, 2009 wow, but an a slightly unrelated note; tm2. shipping to argentina, do we have a member in argentina? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Punisher Posted April 29, 2009 Share Posted April 29, 2009 Yet another reason why USPS is superior! 30lb box to Argentina. USPS: $70.50. UPS: $508.75. DHL: $584.00. FedEx: n/a I'm not even joking. I sold some stuff on ebay for a friend of mine, and he went to fedex to ship the items (Warhammer, so the boxes were on the larger side). One of them was going to Denmark, so fedex wanted to to charge $160.00. He refused, so i told him to take it to the USPS. $35.00 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marquis de Carabas Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 yeah I don't think i've ever had a decent or even acceptable experience with the usps. whether it be actually going TO the post office, dealing with the oh-so-reasonable rays of sunshine behind the counter, or even sending or receiving a package in general. I think out of the total 20 or so packages i've sent in my day, I think 2 or 3 simply have not arrived at their destination. which is wholly unacceptable. I don't care how many packages I don't get due do their incompetence (at least 15 in my lifetime), but when they start losing packages I am sending is where I lose my patience. it makes you look bad, like you wanted it there, but you didn't care enough to go to ups or fedex. all of which especially sucks considering all the aforementioned garbage you went to just to send the blasted thing!!! huff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karamazov80 Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 (edited) Well kcd, I have probably shipped 500+ packages via USPS, both domestically and internationally, and have never had something get lost. Also, though USPS can misplace stuff from time to time (which delays things), I have received just about everything shipped to me or supposedly shipped to me. Further, the guys at my local officer are incredibly helpful and friendly, especially considering that I ship out huge packages every month and typically receive multiple packages in a day, which I wouldn't blame them for being a bit pissy about. So, you probably just had a bad experience. I wouldn't condemn all of USPS in the way that I personally would Fed-Ex (had about 10 experiences last year, and half of them were very bad). Edited April 30, 2009 by karamazov80 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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