My recent experience with USPS

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AfterBurners

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Today I had an unpleasant experience with a USPS employee at one of the local branches. I went in to ship a package which contained laser cut balsa parts. I had a good size box with plenty pf Styrofoam peanuts and securely taped.

So the cost was $5.95 for Priority Mail. He asked me if the package contained any that was fragile and I said Yes. I would consider balsa wood fragile. As he was weighing it I asked him if he would stamp fragile on the package. He ignored me. As I was paying the shipping fees, he placed the package on the other table to be picked up. I asked him again if he would stamp it. He got the package and proceeded to stamp it with the fragile stamp. He went on to say to me that " You know you can write fragile on the package yourself" I'm thinking yeah I know that but I didn't do it...so what's your point? OK whatever right?

He then asked me what was in the package that was so fragile and I told him balsa wood. He replied " I don't consider wood fragile. I'm thinking to myself "Yeah the way you idiots handle packages by throwing them around everything is fragile....I'm sure all of you had at some point your package damaged. I just told him why don't you just stamp the package and not argue with me. He said "If you have a problem I can get my supervisor" I said go ahead. He never did so I went outside to my truck, but still steaming I came back in and there was a supervisor and I explained what happened. He said he would take care of it.

Not satisfied I called the corporate office and filed a formal complaint. If I don't hear anything the girl that I filed the complaint with said to contact Consumer Affairs.

It was his whole demeanor and how he talked down to me. Like what I asked him to do was an inconvenience for him. I was so pissed that I refused to take my receipt. I was having a good morning until this happened. I think he was out of line
 
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Everyone has off days.
Not saying he was right in being rude.
Or you wrong for filing a complaint
Everyone needs a little understanding sometime.

I work as a contractor in IT if I ever treated an end user like that I would be fired! In most cases Woody I would agree with you, but I witness his behavior before in the way he treats other customers. Maybe I'll just ship UPS or go to another branch
 
That stinks. Customer service people should never be rude to customers who are making reasonable requests.

True story. In high school I used to work at a drug store owned by my best friend's dad. My best friend also worked there. One day my friend wrote on one package going out in the mail, "Fragile, please throw underhand only" and on another, "Fragile, drop kick only". He kinda forgot that we lived in a small town and that the Postmaster knew his dad. With each package clearly marked, "Wilson's Drugs" (not the real name), it didn't take long for the Postmaster to make a call to Mr. Wilson and then Mr. Wilson to have a "little talk" with his son. Mr. Wilson was a pretty cool guy and liked a good joke, so I always wondered if he managed to keep a straight face while chewing out his son over the messages on the packages.
 
I am sorry to hear about your bad experience. For the most part, the postal employees I encounter are pleasant and there are a few that are exceptional. The grumpy ones have been few and far between.

I like to use click and ship and avoid the lines.
 
Afterburners,,,
Please go back and objectively read what you wrote...
You weren't angry,, you didn't fly off the handle,, you didn't scream and shout...
That read like you were calm through the whole thing...
Sometimes that's easy,,, this occasion it sounded like it wasn't,, it sounded like it took a bit of restraint...
It is very important that you be cognizant of the fact that everything that he said and did is a reflection on him,, not you...

Your reaction to it is a reflection on you......

My compliments......

Teddy
 
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Afterburners,,,
Please go back and objectively read what you wrote...
You weren't angry,, you didn't fly off the handle,, you didn't scream and shout...
That read like you were calm through the whole thing...
Sometimes that's easy,,, this occasion it sounded like it wasn't,, it sounded like it took a bit of restraint...
It is very important that you be cognizant of the fact that everything that he said and did is a reflection on him,, not you...

Your reaction to it is a refection on you......

My compliments......

Teddy

Thanks Teddy I was pretty cool and it took a lot to constrain myself and even when I spoke with his supervisor I explained to him nicely that they offer a service and we bring them the business...I said I felt that the way his employee acted was out of line and I would appreciate it if he would say something to him. Oddly enough as I was talking to his supervisor he had a note pad but didn't bother to write anything down? That's why I filed a formal complaint because felt he wouldn't really confront him or didn't care?
 
I am sorry to hear about your bad experience. For the most part, the postal employees I encounter are pleasant and there are a few that are exceptional. The grumpy ones have been few and far between.

I like to use click and ship and avoid the lines.

I agree with you 100%!! I had some very pleasant encounters with other postal workers. In fact the postal worker that delivers or mail is very nice. Its been hot here the last couple weeks so every time I see him come up the driveway I always offer him a cold bottle of water...and he is very thankful. It doesn't anything to be nice and kind to someone. It fact I feel good when I can do something for someone else even if its just a bottle of water
 
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While I haven't personally dealt with any rude USPS employees, I have however dealt with some that were just a tad on the ditsy side. For example, I had one ask me if my package had an address on it which of course it did. I'm sure they've seen some that didn't. I just thought to myself, duh, I wouldn't be here mailing it if it didn't.

However, I have a job interview with the USPS on Wednesday afternoon. I took and passed the 473 postal exam about 3 weeks ago. We'll see what happens.
 
In my RC activities, I work with and am sponsored by a well-liked airplane manufacturer. In chatting with one of the guys at an event, he related an experiment they tried with their kits. These are large aerobatic aircraft that are tough as nails in the air but easily damaged by clumsy ground handling. Therefore, they are well-packaged and double-boxed for shipment. The experiment was that they put a "Fragile" label on half of the kits they shipped out and took note of who reported shipping damage when they received their kit. As you can probably guess where this story is going, the boxes labeled "Fragile" had a higher rate of damage than the boxes that were unmarked. Go figure.

One time after moving across the country to the east coast, I came home to my folks' place where I packed up my prized large RC airplane and shipped it to myself at my new location. Despite many "Fragile" markings and arrows showing which end goes up, I watched in amusement while receiving it at the other end as the delivery guy was throwing the box around like a rag doll. I wish I could be so horrible at my job and still get paid.
 
In my RC activities, I work with and am sponsored by a well-liked airplane manufacturer. In chatting with one of the guys at an event, he related an experiment they tried with their kits. These are large aerobatic aircraft that are tough as nails in the air but easily damaged by clumsy ground handling. Therefore, they are well-packaged and double-boxed for shipment. The experiment was that they put a "Fragile" label on half of the kits they shipped out and took note of who reported shipping damage when they received their kit. As you can probably guess where this story is going, the boxes labeled "Fragile" had a higher rate of damage than the boxes that were unmarked. Go figure.

One time after moving across the country to the east coast, I came home to my folks' place where I packed up my prized large RC airplane and shipped it to myself at my new location. Despite many "Fragile" markings and arrows showing which end goes up, I watched in amusement while receiving it at the other end as the delivery guy was throwing the box around like a rag doll. I wish I could be so horrible at my job and still get paid.

Good point....half those guys shouldn't even have a job...or should be so lucky to have one
 
.... Therefore, they are well-packaged and double-boxed for shipment. The experiment was that they put a "Fragile" label on half of the kits they shipped out and took note of who reported shipping damage when they received their kit. As you can probably guess where this story is going, the boxes labeled "Fragile" had a higher rate of damage than the boxes that were unmarked. Go figure....
regardless of the service you use, employees handle all kinds of packages. So do machines.

No one has time to handle the packages differently.

And when machines are sorting the packages, there is absolutely no difference.

I don't bother placing fragile stickers on. Just make sure you package the contents properly.
 
As a follow up to what Angelo said, a "Fragile" sticker on a package means little to the USPS. Some (most?) of the USPS employees will treat the package with care, but not really any differently than other packages. I have read that labeling a package as "Fragile" might make an insurance claim more difficult if something does happen to the package, but I don't know if that's really a valid concern.

You can pay extra for "Special Handling," but that is only needed for mailing unusual things like live animals.

Anyway, none of this is an excuse for being mistreated by a postal employee.

-- Roger
 
I once read an article from a former UPS employee (he loaded/unloaded trucks) that raised my eyebrows several times. The biggest takeaway from that piece was that the "FRAGILE" tag is pretty much ignored by the loaders. A few of his coworkers had even heaped extra abuse on packages marked as fragile. He noted that if you REALLY want a package to be handled with care, the best thing you can do is get a big felt tip marker and write something like, "Happy Birthday, Uncle Joey! Love, Billy" and make it look like it was written by a 6 or 7 year old. And THEN put a fragile stamp on it. Apparently even the angry, bitter truck loaders take pity on packages sent by little kids. :)

I would imagine the same might work for the USPS, too.
 
My USPS service is as incompetent as you can get.:mad: I know my neighbors very well because our deliverer delivers to the wrong house.So we meet each other to exchange mail:facepalm: When I was out of work, the mail came through the door slot, I went to the door, and when I picked it up I noticed it was for my next door neighbor. I ran outside and tried to flag him down. He had on his headphones so he could not hear me. When I made eye contact with him from about 30 feet away he just waved back at me like I was waving hello:eyeroll: I finally caught up to him and he removed his head phones. I told him in a stern voice that "Again, you delivered the wrong mail to my house" He angrily snatched the mail from my hand and walked to my neighbors door and dropped the mail through the door slot. I asked him about my mail. I knew I would have to wait for my neighbor to come home, but I asked him how do I get my mail if the neighbor is out of town. At this point he started putting on his head phones and walked away from me without ever saying a wood to me.:dark:
During the same time I was out of work, I expected some packages (at 3 different dates). The first time I was home, but did not go & pick up the mail until 30 minutes later. I found the notice stating that I was not at home and to go to the Post Office to pick it up!:mad: I thought, well maybe I didn't hear the doorbell. The second time (package from Semroc, so I knew it was "out for delivery"), I went to the door the minute the mail came through the slot. Again the same notice!:dark: When I went outside he took the notice, went to his vehicle & brought back the package, AGAIN not one word from this lazy SOB! I didn't say a word, because it wouldn't be nice. The third incident was exactly like the last, only I did say something, cursing and all in English, Italian & a little Spanish:facepalm: I am not proud that I did it, but enough is enough. Again he never said a word.
I have constantly complained to the local Post Office and the Fed HQ, with no improvement. If I was King I would abolish the USPS. Who needs it with email, FedEX & UPS!
 
I think that everyone has had bad experiences with all the carriers. I have experienced the same problem of the delivery guy leaving a notice instead of the package when we where home and expecting the package. I had to track down a UPS driver for my package once. But, considering the millions of parcels and letters being shipped everyday these companies do a good job.

I just bought something on eBay on Friday and I received it on Monday. It was a package sent first class mail from Maryland to Washington state. That is pretty good turn around.

On the other hand I shipped a package using parcel select from Honolulu to Oregon; it took two months. What the postal service does is begin loading a container for ocean shipment. When the container is full it is shipped. So the container can fill up in day, a week, or a month. Unless you get lucky and the container is nearly full you may wait a long time before it even leaves the island. It was not worth it to save the few dollars in shipping using priority mail.
 
I've filed the complaint forms at the post office. I think they go in the round file. Coincidently, they're the same forms that you use to report that the carrier is doing well. I've sent some of those in, too. Those seem to make it to the employee file.

My street is VERY narrow, has curb side delivery boxes, and mostly on-street parking. The post office demands 30 FEET on either side of the box, which leaves about 4 1/2 feet between box zones to park. Not happening. Mostly, we all work so the street is empty on the mailbox side during the week. On the rare occasion on the weekends when cars are parked in tight and spill over onto the mailbox side of the street, our mail carrier WON'T get out of the truck that extra 3 or 4 feet to deliver mail, but he WILL walk the entire street and hand place nasty notes under the windshield wiper of every vehicle that offends him. What sense does that make?

Government, where else could you fail constantly and continue to use the power of lethal force to compel your clients to pay you for your failure!

At least with private carriers you can vote with your wallet and take your business elsewhere.
 
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Today I had an unpleasant experience with a USPS employee at one of the local branches. I went in to ship a package which contained laser cut balsa parts. I had a good size box with plenty pf Styrofoam peanuts and securely taped.

So the cost was $5.95 for Priority Mail. He asked me if the package contained any that was fragile and I said Yes. I would consider balsa wood fragile. As he was weighing it I asked him if he would stamp fragile on the package. He ignored me. As I was paying the shipping fees, he placed the package on the other table to be picked up. I asked him again if he would stamp it. He got the package and proceeded to stamp it with the fragile stamp. He went on to say to me that " You know you can write fragile on the package yourself" I'm thinking yeah I know that but I didn't do it...so what's your point? OK whatever right?

He then asked me what was in the package that was so fragile and I told him balsa wood. He replied " I don't consider wood fragile. I'm thinking to myself "Yeah the way you idiots handle packages by throwing them around everything is fragile....I'm sure all of you had at some point your package damaged. I just told him why don't you just stamp the package and not argue with me. He said "If you have a problem I can get my supervisor" I said go ahead. He never did so I went outside to my truck, but still steaming I came back in and there was a supervisor and I explained what happened. He said he would take care of it.

Not satisfied I called the corporate office and filed a formal complaint. If I don't hear anything the girl that I filed the complaint with said to contact Consumer Affairs.

It was his whole demeanor and how he talked down to me. Like what I asked him to do was an inconvenience for him. I was so pissed that I refused to take my receipt. I was having a good morning until this happened. I think he was out of line
Well brother, I feel kinda bad being the (indirect) cause of this, but the bright side is it arrived intact and unscathed. Plus you packed it for the Apocalyse. I am so stoked and you are a true friend for including me in with your order. We'll talk later today-I'm at work at 0:dark30.
 
People who take a "service" job should ask themselves if they really want to "serve" people before accepting the job. It takes humility, and sometimes a lot of tolerance, to be a servant. Waiters, postal workers, clerks, etc. ... at no point should they ever feel like they are the ones in charge and the customers are beneath them. Just the opposite.
 
I once read an article from a former UPS employee (he loaded/unloaded trucks) that raised my eyebrows several times. The biggest takeaway from that piece was that the "FRAGILE" tag is pretty much ignored by the loaders. A few of his coworkers had even heaped extra abuse on packages marked as fragile. He noted that if you REALLY want a package to be handled with care, the best thing you can do is get a big felt tip marker and write something like, "Happy Birthday, Uncle Joey! Love, Billy" and make it look like it was written by a 6 or 7 year old. And THEN put a fragile stamp on it. Apparently even the angry, bitter truck loaders take pity on packages sent by little kids. :)

I would imagine the same might work for the USPS, too.

That's probably a good point to be taken and I will seriously consider it
 
Well brother, I feel kinda bad being the (indirect) cause of this, but the bright side is it arrived intact and unscathed. Plus you packed it for the Apocalyse. I am so stoked and you are a true friend for including me in with your order. We'll talk later today-I'm at work at 0:dark30.

No problem.. I'm so happy it arrived safely! We'll catch up later.
 
Current Update: As I mentioned above I did in fact file a formal compliant with the Corporate HQ. Well today I received a phone call from the supervisor of the branch that I shipped the package from. He informed me that they did in fact speak with the employee and discussed what happened and informed him if it happens again he will be dismissed from his job.

That's all I wanted. To let this employee know that he will be accountable for his actions. I'm pretty certain that if I didn't file a compliant with the USPS HQ that no action would have been taken.

I thanked the supervisor for handling the situation.

And the good news as Dave mentioned above the package arrived intact and undamaged!:)
 
I would avoid that employee for future shipments, or else you just might find that a lot of your packages are getting "lost in the mail."
 
Today I had an unpleasant experience with a USPS employee at one of the local branches. I went in to ship a package which contained laser cut balsa parts. I had a good size box with plenty pf Styrofoam peanuts and securely taped.

So the cost was $5.95 for Priority Mail. He asked me if the package contained any that was fragile and I said Yes. I would consider balsa wood fragile. As he was weighing it I asked him if he would stamp fragile on the package. He ignored me. As I was paying the shipping fees, he placed the package on the other table to be picked up. I asked him again if he would stamp it. He got the package and proceeded to stamp it with the fragile stamp. He went on to say to me that " You know you can write fragile on the package yourself" I'm thinking yeah I know that but I didn't do it...so what's your point? OK whatever right?

He then asked me what was in the package that was so fragile and I told him balsa wood. He replied " I don't consider wood fragile. I'm thinking to myself "Yeah the way you idiots handle packages by throwing them around everything is fragile....I'm sure all of you had at some point your package damaged. I just told him why don't you just stamp the package and not argue with me. He said "If you have a problem I can get my supervisor" I said go ahead. He never did so I went outside to my truck, but still steaming I came back in and there was a supervisor and I explained what happened. He said he would take care of it.

Not satisfied I called the corporate office and filed a formal complaint. If I don't hear anything the girl that I filed the complaint with said to contact Consumer Affairs.

It was his whole demeanor and how he talked down to me. Like what I asked him to do was an inconvenience for him. I was so pissed that I refused to take my receipt. I was having a good morning until this happened. I think he was out of line

Ah, our government at work. And I know they aren't technically "government" but a subsidized "private" entity. And we wonder why they are billions of $ in the red. You are right to complain and I'd use UPS or Fedex from now on.
 
Ah, our government at work. And I know they aren't technically "government" but a subsidized "private" entity. And we wonder why they are billions of $ in the red. You are right to complain and I'd use UPS or Fedex from now on.

I don't think that they are a private entity. It is considered an independent establishment of the executive branch of the Government of the United States. They are not privately owned.
 
I don't think that they are a private entity. It is considered an independent establishment of the executive branch of the Government of the United States. They are not privately owned.

Sorry, my tongue in cheek quotes did not express my sarcasm and surprise (more sarcasm) as well as I had hoped. I know they are federal and not private. In the red, due mainly to extravagant Union benefits. But I digress...it should be privatized or done away with. Not the service that Ben Franklin envisioned....
 
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