I've attached part of the tracking for a package on its way to me. It appears to have gone back and forth between 2 locations--now on its way to me with any luck.

I've seen this on tracking before -- I always wonder what's going on.

hj

 

That's the inefficient USPS for you. I had a package a couple years ago coming from TX to IA. It made it thru the main hubs in Kansas City and Des Moines, then somehow ended up in Atlanta. Goes from there to Chicago, back to KC and Des Moines again! Then finally to me. Simply unreal.

 

It's the Millions of Junk Mail that keeps it afloat. The Mailbox fills with junk mail when you are on vacation, they have no real room to store your stuff. You ask them
to keep it in house for 2 or 3 weeks nope they say. Thus your 4 bills end up on a cabinet somewhere and the Mail man has to search for it when you go to the Post office demanding your 4 bills all because not keeping the junk mail in house and delivering your true mail is not what they get paid for.
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That's ment comical / joking stuff but my experiences. Full Mailbox of Junk mail, bills missing. Several times & Postmaster complaining about my request to hold my junk mail.

 

it is because computers do the sorting, not people.

 

If your package is looping around like this then it's likely an issue with the address or some other number string on the package.

WOW! Two years ago you had an issue and for that he entire USPS is inefficient?

 

Never said that was the only time. It was just the worst. It happens daily with ALL my mail. When packages go from Des Moines to Cedar Rapids to Ottumwa then to me, that is inefficient. When I actually lived in Ottumwa, my mail came directly from the Des Moines hub. Approximately 283 miles vs 105 miles and an extra day handling. So no reason to send to Cedar Rapids when there is already a direct delivery route. So yes, I stand by my claim that the USPS is inefficient.

I see that you work for USPS. No wonder I struck a nerve. I will say this. The people that deliver my mail to my house are amazing and so is most of the staff at my local post office. This is more to do with the 3rd party trucking system and the higher-up USPS decision makers. It's all USPS and a lot can be done to make improvements.

 

Find another delivery service for ANY product that's typically reliable and as affordable as the USPS---they'll be glad to take your money.

And NOT I do NOT work for the USPS, just someone who appreciates what they do most days!

 

You didn't strike a nerve sir and yes, I am a letter carrier and soon to retire on Oct 31st.

The USPS has stood up some 25 centers called S&DC's which stands for sorting and distribution centers. On paper it's a sound move as UPS and FedEx work from a similar model. What the USPS has done is stop delivering from many of the neighborhood post offices and moved those carriers and clerks into those mega facilities in an effort to reduce truck routes and bulk distribution times. That decision has backfired in their faces at nearly every S&DC they've built and commissioned all the while the customer is waiting longer and longer for their mail and we're keeping the carriers out on the streets later and later with no regard for their personal safety.

The USPS is a manpower intense employer, there's only so much automation that can happen when setting mail up for delivery and actually delivering said mail. There's a time when it was a great job and we had the time to actually give excellent customer service but now it's so profit driven and with the additional duties placed on the carriers along with added stops make it so we barely have time to stop for a lunch.

In closing, please be kind to your carrier, they can only bring you what they get.

 

I have noticed very little reason to doubt the UPS, FedEx or Amazing. The USPS is total Rapolla. lives off junky mailing and the mailbox is full of nothing but printed advertising.
even stuffing a box into the thing and leaving the mail to get wet cause its open and raining a bucket. I could fire the whole bunch, our Teenagers would do a better job. Given the chance to get paid.

 

Don't blame the PO for the junk mail, blame yourself for the internet search that generates it OR the blanket ads that cover multiple zip codes. USPS is required by law to deliver everything. As for wet mail, check your box regularly and lastly, if it fits in your box, that's where it goes as it's more secure in your box than anywhere else until you retrieve said items.

USPS and it's carriers make plenty of mistakes but stuffing mail into full boxes isn't one of them. Then again, if you lived on my route and your box was full repeatedly, I'd empty it and place a vacant tag in your box and make you go to the PO to get your mail.

Still counting down to the 31st.

 

No doubt the USPS has historically been a real workhorse. I don't doubt the letter carriers are doing their best to take the instructions and deliver people's mail.

That said, if we want the best in any service, a financial bottom line is the first thing that will be needed. Without it, there will be a degree of waste, fraud and abuse (WFA).

Also, whenever economic centralization is the trend (such as it is right now), then under the cover of WFA centralized services get used for political purposes. We are not immune to this in the US.

I love the rich history of the USPS but I'm not blinded by that emotion. Honest persons inside the organization probably are aware some improvements are needed, to say the least.

 

Well said sir. USPS top management is working tirelessly to create a UPS type of delivery and distribution model and the sad part is, the decades of failures still haven't rung the bells of failure. USPS and UPS are two very different delivery organizations, each having a niche product.

UPS works well with a more central warehousing and processing system where they can support over one hundred delivery routes and easily blanket a metro or rural area quite efficiently.

USPS is consolidating smaller neighborhood post offices to create a similar delivery model without taking into consideration the added travel times to the routes, the added wear and tear on old vehicles and the millions in OT payments. USPS was advised by their IG people and the unions to adjust the routes accordingly and add more if needed so as not to affect service or quality of life. But, as usual, no one tells the PO what to do.

I retired Oct 31st with 19 years and a couple months of service. I was planning to work till the time next year but my wife had a pretty severe accident that required 100% of my attention. She's fine now and I'm fully retired and happy as hell. On a given year, OPM processes about 20,000 applications for retirement from the USPS, this year, that number has doubled. Toxic, toxic, toxic and very poorly managed, that's the government way.

 

My experience is that Fedex is the worst. I order a gift online for my nephew and family that was to be delivered yesterday (Dec .16th) checked with him about 9:30 last nite ; no package . Checked this morning reads it will be delivered today . This is the latest instance of them failing to deliver on time .

 

Fed ex sucks. Delivery 11-17 .
update to 11-24. Then 11-30.
them package lost.
Then package returned to sender address not found..
Finally delivered on 12-13 by ups.
I get this every time delivery by fed ex or DHL because they change my address and try to deliver to an empty lot 5 miles away

 

That shows that the package may have been mis sorted, damaged, or a machine is down and they are hand sorting.