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(64 posts)

Terrible mail service

Started 5 months ago by terravia
Latest reply from JanS

terravia
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Anyone know what's going on with the mail service lately? It's almost 2:30pm and our mailbox is still empty (I've got 3 packages stating "out for delivery" since 8am this morning). I always thought W Seattle mail was a little lacking since everywhere else we've lived we had mail by 10am - but at least until recently it's been consistent (had it by noon). What on earth is going on?

Posted 5 months ago #
KatherineL
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I know my mail time varies according to which mailperson I have. I think different people run the routes differently. One mailman always comes at noon. There's one who comes mid-afternoon. And for a while, one came about 5:00 PM. I must have been right at the tail end of his route.

Posted 5 months ago #
JanS
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it's the holidays...more mail, more junk mail...more people. Depends on the driver and which route they take. We get our mail consistently at 3pm-ish...whatever are you going to do when they do away with Saturday delivery because of budget problems? :)

Posted 5 months ago #
terravia
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JanS - are they seriously doing that? :'(

Posted 5 months ago #
terravia
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Just read this on Wiki: "...USPS has not directly received taxpayer-dollars since the early 1980s with the minor exception of subsidies for costs associated with the disabled and overseas voters. Revenue in the 2000s has been dropping sharply due to declining mail volume, prompting the postal service to look to other sources of revenue while cutting costs to reduce its budget deficit.". While the no tax dollars thing is news to me, I don't understand why they're having a hard time. Every time I go the post office it's got at least 10 people in line. And, they keep raising shipping prices. UPS and FedEx seem to be doing okay, shouldn't USPS just focus on staying competitive (offering more services rather than less)?

Posted 5 months ago #
JanS
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yes, rumored right now...not a done deal...but has been discussed at length..

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/21/panel-approves-ending-sat_n_974952.html

Posted 5 months ago #
terravia
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Thanks for the link. Bad move in my opinion. People will start opting for USPS service less...

Posted 5 months ago #
The Velvet Bulldog
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My issue is that we just moved and our mail isn't being forwarded. It WAS, for like three days, and now they aren't bothering. Both the old and new homes are serviced by the Westwood Village P.O., so I suppose I should go over there and rattle a cage or two?

Posted 5 months ago #
terravia
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That's terrible. Everyone at USPS acts as if it's someone elses fault any time there's a problem. Call the 800 number and ask to speak with a manager. You should get your mail...everyday...

Posted 5 months ago #
JanS
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more than one person has had problems with the Westwood location...me included, once upon a time when my office was located in their area :(

Posted 5 months ago #
datamuse
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Our mail hasn't arrived before 2pm in years.

Posted 5 months ago #
Betty T
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Our mail delivery in High Point veries with the deliverer. I think it goes smoother and faster with the older persons doing it. Always slower around first of the month and now the holiday.Many have quit sending cards because of cost. Used to really slow it down when people sent bundles of cards.

Posted 5 months ago #
anonyme
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I've had problems with the Westwood branch for years. The regular carriers are great, but the subs are ridiculously incompetent. I once found the mailbox of an empty house stuffed with mail belonging to me (including a package) that was more than 3 weeks old. If your branch is Westwood, and there are extra workers over the holidays, you will have problems - guaranteed.

Posted 5 months ago #
JoB
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terravia..

should doesn't always work out the way it should
if those who want to privatize our mail service get their way..
you can kiss your regular mail service goodbye...

Posted 5 months ago #
terravia
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Isn't dependable mail service a vital part of any civilized democracy?

Posted 5 months ago #
kootchman
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There is a dependable post service.. UPS and fed Ex ..... they work great. In fact THEY carry all the USPS Priority Mail and all the air mail.... once in the hands of USPS...well... forget it! Junk Mail delivery service is all they are. 3rd class crap mail.

Posted 5 months ago #
terravia
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Sigh... I was hoping for some reassurances but it looks like the majority feel the same way I do! I guess I'm going to start sending my business elsewhere. It's a shame since I rely so heavily on mail for my job and I always told myself giving USPS my business was helping them.

Posted 5 months ago #
JanS
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I think that one has to figure it out themselves. USPS is NOT just a carrier of 3rd class junk mail, and we all know that. Good luck with timely delivery this time of year with UPS or FedEx..and expecting them to do it every day by 10am? Dream world !

Posted 5 months ago #
datamuse
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Our house is hard to find if you don't know the area; at this time of year, when UPS hires holiday drivers, we've had cases where they can't find the house. Then they send us a postcard--through USPS!--to come pick up whatever it is.

Posted 5 months ago #
terravia
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datamuse - Wow... Can't make that stuff up!

Posted 5 months ago #
ZD
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Have had four occasions in the last few months when we've received another resident's mail.

Posted 5 months ago #
c@lbob
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When UPS or FedEx will deliver ANYTHING for 44 cents, let me know.

Posted 5 months ago #
anonyme
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It appears to me that the USPS operates the same way as Metro. Provide really lousy service, forcing people to use alternatives; then reduce service even further, due to "lack of use". It's a catch-22.

Posted 5 months ago #
JoB
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kootch...

while it may be true that UPS and FedEX planes carry US Postal Service priority mail (this is something i haven't checked out for myself) .. they don't collect it and deliver it the next day...

and if you want them to deliver your next day mail..
you had best be prepared to pay more than the USPS.

Posted 5 months ago #
jwd
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Kootchman, What evidence do you have that USPS uses Fed Ex and UPS to deliver the mail? Or did you just pull that out of your butt? Everything I have heard is just the opposite: Fed Ex and UPS use USPS to deliver some of their stuff, and at higher rates. The United States Post Office delivers anywhere, every little podunk town. UPS and Fed Ex do not.

Posted 5 months ago #
2 Much Whine
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Once again I am astonished at what we choose to complain about. Try living in another country for awhile and you'll appreciate what we've got. The postal service may not be perfect but it sure is a heck of a lot cheaper and better than some European countries. You'd be astonished at the cost and inefficiency (and theft by postal employees) in many other countries around the world.

Posted 5 months ago #
JoB
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if we hadn't made the postal service cut it's staff to the bone in an attempt to cut costs to cover an unprecedented pension mandate from congress...
they wouldn't have to rely on temporaries and our service would be even better...

Posted 5 months ago #
amalia
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Wow. I put $0.44 on an envelope and it shows up anywhere in Seattle I want it to the next day, or across the country in a few days, just steps from the recipient's door. I have no problem with that. My mail comes at 4:30 in the afternoon but since I am rarely home before 7 PM, I don't care. I could do without the junk mail and the jacka$$es who steal stuff from my mailbox... but happy the USPS is still around.

Posted 5 months ago #
kootchman
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jwd.... ru kidding me? Are you that unaware of the world around you? Well here ya go... USPS couldn't even contemplate First Class mail or Priority Mail without the infrastructure of FedEx and UPS... the "amazing" service is not because of USPS ....it because they use private carrier que/routing, efficiency models.

"The U.S. Postal Service June 28 awarded a contract to UPS Inc., significantly enhancing a business relationship involving the domestic air transportation of mail."

or

TESS VIGELAND: Today UPS announced it's won a contract to fly priority and firstclass mail on its airplanes. The Post Office is no stranger to the "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" philosophy. Fed Ex has been hauling US mail going on five years now and making more than a billion dollars a year doing it. But the new deal with "Brown" could spell trouble for more than Fed Ex.

or

WASHINGTON, DC — The U.S. Postal Service and FedEx Express have renewed their alliance for Global Express Guaranteed (GXG), the Postal Service's premier, date-certain international delivery service to more than 190 countries and territories.

or

"In 2001, the first phase of a business alliance between the USPS and FedEx Express began with the installment of FedEx drop boxes at post office facilities. With those installments, FedEx agreed to pay the USPS between $126 million and $232 million in fees over the next seven years. In the second part of the agreement, the Postal Service began paying FedEx approximately $6.3 billion over seven years for shared access to the FedEx Express national air transportation network. FedEx transports Express Mail, Priority Mail, First-Class Mail and a portion of some international mail. This enabled the USPS to improve its service without increasing its costs.

"The USPS made a similar agreement with UPS Inc. in 2003 that was expanded in 2006. UPS began transporting First Class and Priority mail between 98 U.S. cities. UPS often delivers USPS mail to more distant outposts, and the USPS has delivered UPS packages to rural areas."

Hows that for a pull? And as you know...it is against the law for UPS or FedEx to price below USPS prices. The only thing left in the USPS arsenal is the mail carrier ... heavily unionized, Democratic vote delivering special interest group who denies the US consumer the lowest possible prices. JoB is so upset that they are required to pay for their pension funds....?? Just like FedEx and UPS are required to do... fully fund their pension plans? Horror of horrors!

Posted 5 months ago #
JanS
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wow..some people are so condescending...no need for that anywhere. We all have opinions..some are better than others. Condescention does not make for a positive conversation.l Guess some people simply love the controversy :-/

Posted 5 months ago #
JanS
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we all know that USPS contracts with others to get their mail across country, etc..but...I think that we all also understand that it's not exactly correct that UPS and Fed Ex can deliver mail on a daily basis to your home or work place...

Posted 5 months ago #
datamuse
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2 Much Whine, I'm definitely aware of how bad mail service can get in other countries; I used to work for Amazon's customer service. Whenever anything sent to Brazil, Italy, or India even arrived, never mind on time, it was a minor miracle.

Posted 5 months ago #
2 Much Whine
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I was specifically referring to Italy and we were lucky to have our mail delivered once every 3 months. Took a week to get across town and sometimes months to go a couple hours drive away. The thought of putting a euro or anything of value in an envelope and sending it through the government-run postal service was preposterous. It would disappear. I recall having to pay about 45 Euros to send a registered letter from southern Italy to Rome (about a 5 hour drive). I also remember a co-worker that received another person's mail (names were not even close and they lived across town from each other) just because he had a "non-Italian" name. Fortunately Kalani happened to work with Chris, (the other person) so the mail eventually made it into the right hands. At least if I get the wrong person's mail it's usually due to a human error, not blatant laziness. . . .

Posted 5 months ago #
terravia
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Didn't mean to start a war in here! Sorry for the complaining. We are absolutely fortunate in the quality of life we all have... Wanting more is just part of our nature.

Posted 5 months ago #
datamuse
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Well, the Italian postal system (if it can be called that) is legendarily bad. I'm not sure it makes a justifiable basis for comparison. ;)

On the upside, during the same period at Amazon I remember getting a phone call from the worldwide courier service we used at the time for express international delivery, to the effect that they didn't deliver to the remote Siberian research outpost that had ordered some books from us. (This was so long ago that books were all Amazon sold!) They handed the delivery over to--you guessed it--the postal system. Mail service in Russia is very hit or miss but the delivery did get there!

Posted 5 months ago #
365Stairs
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Great...now I HAVE to watch that 3 hour epic - The Postman...to remind myself how good we have it. ;)

Posted 5 months ago #
2 Much Whine
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It's not a war and you are certainly entitled to your opinion. I was merely trying to provide a different perspective. Our mail person is courteous and a nice guy. I never know when the mail will show up; could be 11:00 and could be 4:30 but that doesn't bother me. At least it usually makes it and if it doesn't I wouldn't even think of my postal carrier as the potential thief (unlike Italy). I have been frustrated, however, when told that our outgoing mail wasn't picked up because that particular day we didn't have any incoming junk mail or bills. It was explained to me that mail pickup is merely offered as a courtesy. In the words of a famous (departed) late night talk show host, "I did not know that!"

Posted 5 months ago #
The Velvet Bulldog
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Went to the Westwood P.O. to inquire about mail not being forwarded to new addy. I went in with a smile, good attitude and the introduction: "I have a mystery that needs to be solved!" Both folks I interacted with were super courteous, and now we'll see if I get my mail!

Posted 5 months ago #
singularname
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Man is this a nasty board ...

Posted 5 months ago #
Kevin
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Over in Arbor Heights, we are blessed to have Julie as our mail carrier. Our mail arrives almost the same time every day. Joe is another great carrier that we have had at times.

Posted 5 months ago #
JoB
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kootch..

the US postal service has bargaining power with UPS that individuals will never be able to meet ...

without them we lose the rates we currently enjoy.

why would any thinking person want to do that to themselves?

Posted 5 months ago #
anonyme
Member Profile

Kevin, we must be neighbors - more or less. I'm also in Arbor Heights, and I agree that Julie is fabulous and so is Becky. They even understand my secret code for mail pickup. It's always obvious when they have time off.

Posted 5 months ago #
kootchman
Member Profile

yea cel@bob... obviously USPS CAN"T deliver anything anywhere for .44 ... if they could, they wouldn't be broke would they? JoB if they have such great bargaining skills... and a protected franchise...how come they can't meet operating costs?

Gosh... and for once, Congress did the right thing... instead of heaping all the healthcare costs on the taxpayer.. they have to pre-pay for their health care.. just like the rest of us!

The U.S. Postal Service reported a $3.5 billion loss in its most recent quarter Thursday, as mail volume plummets and retiree health care costs mount.

Making the problem worse is a federal law passed in 2006 that requires the Post Office to pay between $5.4 and $5.8 billion into its prepaid retiree health benefits each year"

http://money.cnn.com/2010/08/05/news/companies/US_postal_service_earnings/index.htm

Jan,this is their business model..... it's their plan. To be the pre-eminent junk mail hauler... bty... only 5% of USPS first class mail goes from consumer to consumer...

http://money.cnn.com/2010/08/05/news/companies/US_postal_service_earnings/index.htm

"So far the post office has kept its head above water by improving efficiency, cutting costs, and concentrating on growth in advertising mail. So-called standard mail -- advertisements, catalogs, and circulars"

A paper and wood wasting, natural resource consuming, landfill filling, business model that deserves a burial.

Posted 5 months ago #
JoB
Member Profile

kootch..
bargaining skills have nothing to do with the post office being able to meet costs..
the simple truth is that they do meet costs...

what they can't meet is the burden for current funding of future pensions that our congress saddled them with.

their competitors have the economic advantage and still can't deliver the same service for the same cost.

oh.. and they don't have to...
so it's not too likely they ever will.

but hey..
ranting and raving and pulling the postal house down sounds good
right up to the point that you discover you have destroyed the US postal service ...

when you build your empire on selling goods
delivery matters

Posted 5 months ago #
DBP
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http://tinyurl.com/8y6dy4f

Posted 5 months ago #
kootchman
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Paying your pension fund obligations is a cost of doing business. Unless you are suggesting taxpayers should pay it. I pay FedEx and UPS pension funds... it's in the price of the services I contract for. If they are not fully funding their pensions they have contracted with their unions to provide... they ain't meeting costs. Their competitors... ARE delivering it cheaper... the competitors are hauling it for them... ya think FedEx and UPS are doing it for free? We are paying twice... once for UPS/FedEx and once for USPS... cut ome of them out of the middle. Oh I do send out critical, time sensitive, work product. FedEx every time.

Posted 5 months ago #
cadbury
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Posted 5 months ago #
cadbury
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So what about the millions that can't afford to spend $10 every time they want to mail in a bill payment or receive a social security check or other things that people rely on the USPS for?
FedEx and UPS will certainly not be willing to do it. Because it's not profitable. But there are things such as this that are crucial to the country and its citizens that maybe don't need to be profitable. Don't you think?

Posted 5 months ago #
JanS
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cadbury...there are some people whose bottom line is profit for themselves no matter what you argue...I think we all need to pay more attention to DBP's post # 45 :)

Posted 5 months ago #
Bonnie
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We have a great carrier here in Fauntlee Hills. I've only had problems when he's on vacation or someone fills in.

Posted 5 months ago #

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