Administrator CGC Mike Posted May 3 Administrator Share Posted May 3 On 5/3/2024 at 11:26 AM, CitrusZ28 said: will they let you open up a PO Box? I believe so. However, I have a box at my residence. If we go away and they hold my mail, I can't pick it up when I get back. There have been a few other times when I needed to pick up my mail and was denied by the postal rep. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CitrusZ28 Posted May 3 Share Posted May 3 On 5/3/2024 at 9:21 AM, CGC Mike said: I believe so. However, I have a box at my residence. If we go away and they hold my mail, I can't pick it up when I get back. There have been a few other times when I needed to pick up my mail and was denied by the postal rep. That's weird. My wife works at the post office, whenever we go on vacation she puts a hold on our mail and when we return we go to a local distribution site (not a retail P.O.) and pick it up. Have you checked to see if your local P.O. offers this service? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator CGC Mike Posted May 3 Administrator Share Posted May 3 On 5/3/2024 at 12:28 PM, CitrusZ28 said: That's weird. My wife works at the post office, whenever we go on vacation she puts a hold on our mail and when we return we go to a local distribution site (not a retail P.O.) and pick it up. Have you checked to see if your local P.O. offers this service? No. We just wait until they bring it to us. It just seems ridiculous to have this rule that I believe goes against the rules of the USPS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CitrusZ28 Posted May 3 Share Posted May 3 That does seem ridiculous. Sounds like your local postmaster operates with an Iron Fist, or is Ham-Handed. Kramerica, ttfitz and newshane 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trademarkcomics Posted May 3 Share Posted May 3 They tell you not to tape over the barcodes, but ever since we started taping over just the very bottom of the barcode(so they can still scan if the laser printed barcode gets rubbed off), we haven't had anything go off tracking or get "lost". We used to use USPS insurance, and high value items invariably got delayed. Once we started using ShipCover insurance, packages seem to go right through. newshane and Darwination 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post the blob Posted May 3 Popular Post Share Posted May 3 The Postmaster General, who has not yet been removed, was appointed with the purpose of him dismantling and destroying the USPS so that we ultimately use private shipping services. This is all according to plan. grendel013, bronze_rules, 1950's war comics and 6 others 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadroch Posted May 3 Share Posted May 3 The closest PO to me is a nightmare. It's divided into multiple bullet-proof enclosures, and the clerk buzzes you in after the previous customer is out of it via a different exit. You ca't hear the clerk behind the glass, and the employee is apathetic on her best day. A couple more miles will take me to a sub-PO inside an Ace Hardware, where there is rarely a line, and the Ace workers couldn't be more helpful. That is a model I hope they expand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darwination Posted May 3 Share Posted May 3 I use a business drop-off which is totally awesome. They then go to the local PO and then out through Memphis. I talked with a supervisor in person at my local PO today which was exactly zero help. She was unfamiliar with claims rules and the like and was only happy I had some case numbers she could forward to the next person. The only assurance I could get is that the packages had been sent to Memphis where the tracking ghosts out. I like the U.S. Mail and want to support what I think is a key institution, but three package losses in a month from my small volume has me ready just to shutter my eBay listings and reconsider my approach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doctor Dositheus Posted May 3 Share Posted May 3 I sent out a Priority box this week and it arrived in the usual 2-3 days. Maybe I'm just lucky. I did have to wait behind 9 other people in line to send it, though. Darwination 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flchris Posted May 3 Share Posted May 3 (edited) I’ve been having “issues” with packages coming in and out going slower than what I’m normally seeing. Also noticing tracking for packages isn’t as precise as it had been and all I get now is “moving through network” vs the location where it was last scanned lately. My outgoing packages haven’t been getting scanned until it arrives to the destination branch. Thought it was just me or the region, but seems to be a broader thing. Whatever that thing may be. Edited May 4 by flchris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tnexus Posted May 4 Share Posted May 4 (edited) On 5/3/2024 at 4:52 PM, flchris said: I’ve been having “issues” with packages coming in and out going slower than what I’m normally seeing. Also noticing tracking for packages isn’t as precise as it had been and all I get now is “moving through network” vs the location where it was last scanned lately. My outgoing packages haven’t been getting scanned until it arrives to the destination branch. Thought it was just me or the region, but seems to be a broader thing. Whatever that thing may be. A lot of it is because it's coming in on trucks versus air. If a truck is going from PA to CA, you won't see a scan for 2-3 days at least. Priority is usually air so it's moving between distribution hubs where scanning is more frequent. Edited May 4 by Tnexus flchris 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trademarkcomics Posted May 4 Share Posted May 4 (edited) Just had a Ground Advantage package to Houston that showed "out for delivery" yesterday suddenly change to "return to sender", and that it could not be delivered "as addressed". I'm sure it's some fluke. I looked on Google Maps and the house is easily accessible and is not in a gated community or anything. I reassured my customer that we would just resend it out at our charge when it gets back to us. Weird. EDIT: Customer just notified me he went to his local PO to ask about this and they had the package there. Probably just entered incorrectly into the system by the driver. *WHEW* Edited May 4 by trademarkcomics Update Point Five 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
workingdog Posted May 4 Share Posted May 4 On 5/4/2024 at 8:35 AM, trademarkcomics said: Just had a Ground Advantage package to Houston that showed "out for delivery" yesterday suddenly change to "return to sender", and that it could not be delivered "as addressed". I'm sure it's some fluke. I looked on Google Maps and the house is easily accessible and is not in a gated community or anything. I reassured my customer that we would just resend it out at our charge when it gets back to us. Weird. Hi! I don't know if you've been watching the news but the Houston area is currently undergoing severe flooding and residents are being told to evacuate. They showed an 18 Wheeler just going underwater as it progressed forward. Tons of clean-up going on. Darwination, ADAMANTIUM and trademarkcomics 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trademarkcomics Posted May 4 Share Posted May 4 On 5/4/2024 at 7:44 AM, workingdog said: Hi! I don't know if you've been watching the news but the Houston area is currently undergoing severe flooding and residents are being told to evacuate. They showed an 18 Wheeler just going underwater as it progressed forward. Tons of clean-up going on. He said there was crazy weather, but he didn't say he was flooded. Still...mother nature... workingdog and ADAMANTIUM 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kramerica Posted May 4 Share Posted May 4 On 5/3/2024 at 9:39 AM, CitrusZ28 said: Sounds like your local postmaster operates with an Iron Fist, or is Ham-Handed. Or Turkey-Breasted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kramerica Posted May 4 Share Posted May 4 Seriously, it's tax time, they have cut positions, increased prices. I read an interview with the new Postmaster General Lewis DeJoy and he sounded like a real Joy to deal with. He basically said prices are going to go up, transit times may or may not stink and this is the way it's going to be if you want to continue to have the Postal Service. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post evilskip Posted May 5 Popular Post Share Posted May 5 A new Postmaster is needed. GeeksAreMyPeeps, crazyhips, namisgr and 5 others 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
batman_fan Posted May 5 Share Posted May 5 I had a packaged recently (last week) shipped to me that never showed it going from a 3rd party shipper to the post office but showed up at my house anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Darwination Posted May 5 Popular Post Share Posted May 5 So, an update to posts here since I'd hopped in on the current state of USPS. Three packages lost last month, but since the last post I received personal phone calls from Beverly Hills, Enumclaw (WA), and my local PO, as well as an email from VA. One of my packages was found but two seem lost (for which I've refunded the customers, absolutely not their problem) and files have been noted for the (not super easy) claims process. Mind you, two packages are still lost (one being a not super expensive but super rare magazine), but I have to give kudos for the surprising and completely unexpected reach out from all these locales. The common denominator amongst all the packages seem to be a sad state of affairs in the Memphis regional facility. Do I feel better about sending more packages out via Ground Advantage? Nope. But I guess the occasional lost package is the cost of doing business unless I want to go with a costlier service which doesn't exactly make much sense for the lower cost items I tend to be selling. P.S. I agree wholeheartedly a new Postmaster is needed. Installing a bureaucrat that is opposed to the agency they run?? Ridiculous no matter what your political affiliations may be The USPS may be inefficient and full of issues, but it also acts as competitor/price balance to the other shipping services. My wife works in pricing for one of these competitors, and I can fairly say they price to match each other (not in collusion - it's just how these things work). The USPS helps keep the private shipper's prices down (and in fact ends up doing a lot of the end mile footwork for both companies anyways). royaluglydudes, ttfitz, Point Five and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Topnotchman Posted May 5 Share Posted May 5 The ground advantage I’m sure is done by the post office themselves . But large amounts of express and priority have been done by Fed Ex for decades. Ups just got the new contract starting in September. Maybe it’s fed ex who is prioritizing with their own clients now that their long term PO deal is ending. Point Five 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
