First Fed Up Express now Ups!

[doug hodder]

I used to deliver for UPS back in the mid 80's....if you haven't delivered for them...well, you can't imagine the pressure that they dump on you. Always trying to make numbers, they got you programmed down to a few minutes per day, the UPS dicks checking up on you daily, teamster officials telling you not to worry...etc.....300+stops a day during "peak" season...having to chain up every day....well, It gets old really fast. I'm not saying what the UPS driver did wasn't wrong...it was, big time.

I got my butt chewed out for delivering a Hickory Farms package to a house...and their dog ate a 3 pound beef log and a block of cheese off the front porch. After I tore the ligaments in a leg and was out with a foot that turned black from the blood that pooled in it....I quit....It's a machine!

My favorite were the guys that would get high/drunk one night and then order up a bunch of music or other crap...then were sober when it all showed up and played like they didn't know what it was. Same thing happens with all the shopping network crap now. I had to try 3 times to deliver it. Another favorite was the guys that would order up go kart parts knowing that that there was a race on Sat...and would string me along so they didn't have to cough up the COD dough till the last minute. I would change my delivery times...they wouldn't get the parts in time...took care of that...

Based on the millions of packages that UPS handles it's not that bad of a deal. I can come up with a whole lot of complaints on people that never have to handle that kind of volume regularly,

[eamarquardt]

I may be a little prejudiced here as my husband is a rural mail carrier.

He makes a decent living, not a great one. After 30 years, he has a decent retirement, not a great one. He works hard for his customers. He's spent many 10-12 hour days around this time of year slogging through snow and bad roads, coping with breakdowns, etc., and there's no unauthorized overtime paid. Pay is based on a biannual mail count.

The USPS is throttled because it cannot act on its own to run a profitable business. It requires the action of congress to allow an increase in postage rates. (Don't get me started on THIS incompetent congress! Talk about a waste of taxpayer money, and we'll be paying them far more than the hardworking people in the USPS) The USPS is a government agency created to provide a service to all people with an address in this country.
Millions of pieces of mail are, for under 50 cents, delivered from one house/business to another 3 miles, 30 miles, 300 miles or 3000 miles away.

Give them a break. And, like Rebapuck, be careful what you wish for.

OK, off my soapbox.

The USPS does have hard working folks particularly at the lower levels.

I am also aware of how hard the UPS folks are driven. My comment about the package throwing was more in regards to ensure folks pack fragile items well than faulting the driver.

However, try and find a phone number for someone in charge at the USPS. Impossible.

Try and get them to followup with the service that they claim to offer: "Address correction requested" and learn where your former tenant, that skipped out on you, is having their mail forwarded to. Impossible. Try and get a straight answer if they will ever provide you the address as per the "service" they say they offer: Impossible.

The route my package took was circuitous at best. It sat for 11 days in Florida not going anywhere at all. They then sent it up the coast to a relatively remote city that was nowhere near the eventual destination. It seems that the system is broken if this is happening.

Try and get a straight answer from the USPS on how you should mail your tax return. What is good enough? Return receipt, certified, proof of mailing. You simply can't get a clear straight answer.

They need to get their problems and issues out in the open, embarrass the politicians, and get the authority and accountability to fix the system. I, for one, think that mail delivery every other day ought to be sufficient. Really important stuff can be overnight ed at additional expense. With the internet, bills can be received and paid with no paper mail at all. EMail and faxes can get documents anywhere in the world in near "real time". Make up for the reduced number of deliveries by improving the routing and the transit time. Provide real tracking data like UPS and Fed Ex for items with tracking numbers. Provide some real straight answers to simple straight questions.

The times have changed and they need to adapt. If folks want to live in the hinterlands perhaps they ought to have to subscribe to some "rural delivery service" and pay a realistic portion of the cost of the services they receive. Or perhaps they have a "box" in town and eliminate the rural deliveries altogether. They have to get groceries and gas in town, why not their mail. My uncle drove a route in Montana for years and I doubt the postage covered the real cost of delivering the mail there.

The USPS does provide a service but to survive they must change and adapt. Currently they are not doing either at the pace they need to to survive.

They are not evil like some corporations (AT&T to be specific) but they're gonna fail if they don't change and telling em/us what a good job they're doing isn't gonna drive the change required.

Cheers,

Gus

[rebapuck]

The USPS is going to fail because volume is down. Businesses are encouraging bill paying online. Statements online. Order online. Send greetings online..... And the public is following through.

Not much the Post Office can do about that. But virtually every home and business in the country gets something in the mail everyday. That means a carrier comes to your mailbox everyday. Even if you don't get anything today, your neighbors do and the carrier drives by your box.

Non postal people generally don't understand the volume that the USPS handles. The last figure I heard (and it's been a few years) was 680 million pieces. Think about that. 680 million pieces of mail...every day. Too many think the PO only has to worry about the three envelopes they dropped in the box today.

Saving your bank 34 cents on postage is going to put 700,00 postal employees out of work. Then printers, paper mills, truck drivers, loggers.... And the bank is not going to pass that 34 cent savings on to you.

[eamarquardt]

The USPS is going to fail because volume is down. True Businesses are encouraging bill paying online. True Statements online. Order online. True Send greetings online..... True And the public is following through. True, so accept it, deal with it, and get over it!

Not much the Post Office can do about that. Wrong! They could join the "revolution" and offer internet mailboxes, automatic tracking and reporting of status, and far more online services. As I understand it, some European countries are doing exactly that and making money. But virtually every home and business in the country gets something in the mail everyday. And getting mail every day is a waste of money. Every other day would be fine with me and the money saved could be used to shorten transit time and perhaps make shipping intervals shorter in spite of the every other day delivery. That means a carrier comes to your mailbox everyday. Even if you don't get anything today, your neighbors do and the carrier drives by your box. So don't do it!!! Require people that are "off the grid" so to speak to either pay for the additional cost of living where they choose or to find more cost effective solutions. Create on line programs that allow one to ACCURATELY determine the shipping costs, print a "smart" label, and set up drop sites where all the USPS has to do is pick up the mail (like a mailbox, seen one of those lately?). Create a bar coded mailing label that can allow the USPS to automatically detect the weight, assess postage due and charge the customer's credit card, Paypal account, or bank account making the transaction far less complicated.

Non postal people generally don't understand the volume that the USPS handles. The last figure I heard (and it's been a few years) was 680 million pieces. Think about that. 680 million pieces of mail...every day. Too many think the PO only has to worry about the three envelopes they dropped in the box today. And the three envelopes usually get tossed w/o even being opened as they are junk mail. As I understand it FedEx and UPS deliver about 70% of packages. That's where the real money is. The USPS should go for a larger share of that money. Drop the mass mailings. If the "junk mail" must go through, charge more or let businesses find alternate means to deliver their advertisements.

Saving your bank 34 cents on postage is going to put 700,00 postal employees out of work. Ah, come on now. That is 15,000 more employees than they have according to: http://postal-news-network.blogspot.com ... anent.html If delivering the junk mail is so critical, then other means will be developed and they just might be more cost effective. I don't see how maintaining an inefficient operation is good for the economy. Then printers, paper mills, truck drivers, loggers.... And the bank is not going to pass that 34 cent savings on to you. Banks are competing with one another. The public is beginning to fight back at unreasonable charges. And I think, eventually, 34 cents will be not leave my pocket in the first place.

I don't really care if the USPS goes under or not as I can meet my needs any number of ways that don't involve them (fax, email, phone call (I have unlimited long distance) or other carriers). However, if they want to survive, they're gonna have to change and adapt to the ever changing nature of the world. Defending them, making excuses, and continuing with the status quo is guaranteed to lead to the demise of the USPS. Fed Ex delivered a package from the East coast in 4 days. The USPS took 17 days for a similar package for a similar cost. The USPS in its current mode is not viable in today's environment. Deal with it.

I also understand that a big part of the problem is Congress and the contributions (in excess of what is really needed) to government pension and healthcare funds. Make the USPS totally independent of government as in NO MINGLING OF FUNDS. That would, as I understand it, solve a lot of the problems.

What do you suggest we do?

Cheers,

Gus

[CarlLaFong]

The USPS will, eventually go belly up or will, radically alter it's entire structure. I worked for the Sheriffs dept before retiring and saw, firsthand, the waste, incompetence and idiocy that is Civil Service. There is no reason to do a good job, or to, even do your job at all. You can't be fired, you can't be reprimanded, no one can even suggest that you aren't of extreme value. There are unfunded pensions that are at or near 100% of your salary, unless you arrange to go out on disability towards the end. Then you will collect more than your old salary. Think no one does it? Think again. The stunts that I witnessed would make you sick, knowing that your tax dollars are paying some of these nitwits and funding their boondoggle projects.
I believe civil service should be phased out and privatized. There are companies that are doing the same jobs and turning a nice profit for their owners and stockholders. Many of them pay their workers well, are union signatory, have health and retirement plans, etc. Their workers can, also, be fired if they don't produce, malinger, show incompetence, are thieves, etc.
I was not civil service. I was a union carpenter that was hired as a temp. I ended up working 12 years for Los Angeles County. I could have been fired at the drop of a hat the entire time. They needed me, and the 8-10 others to do the work that their own facilities maintenance people wouldn't/couldn't do. People that were hired due to nepotism, favoritism, cronyism, etc. People who were promoted to positions that they were not qualified for, because they helped our crooked undersheriff get elected mayor of the city where he lives. Go out and stick some signs on peoples lawns and get a nice fat managers position even though you never even worked as a supervisor.
Am I beginning to rant............? Guess so
Rant over, LaFong

[rebapuck]

I'm sorry. I am wrong. Apparently UPS has never delivered a package late, incorrectly or damaged. I didn't know that.

[eamarquardt]

I'm sorry. I am wrong. Apparently UPS has never delivered a package late, incorrectly or damaged. I didn't know that.

You seen to be in denial. The USPS is losing billions of dollars each year. Their service level is way behind the competition. The times are radically changing and the USPS is not changing to meet the new challenges.

Clicking our heels together three times and repeating "I wish it wasn't so" three times isn't gonna help. The last time I told an incompetent USPS manager that she didn't didn't know her job (and her supervisor agreed and required her to apologize for her performance) the other patrons in line CHEERED.

They need to address their issues if they're gonna stay in business.

You have never commented on the circuitous route my package took from Florida to Simi Valley, California or provided your thoughts on how they could improve. You've also not commented on how FedEx can make a similar delivery in 1/4 the time and make a profit. If they go under nearly 700,000 jobs disappear. If they fix it some and perhaps all the jobs will be saved and some new jobs might even be created.

Gus, out.

[Lesbest]

With the USPS, ANY service you pay extra for is a ripoff. You get NO benefit from it at all.

The tracking number on your receipt is only good IF the item gets to the location.

You pay EXTRA for a service, and if that service is NOT met, what do you get? NOTHING!

You don't get your fee back, you don't get a first class stamp, you don't get an apology, and you don't get notified if it did or didn't make it, at least not by the USPS.

As in ALL government jobs they are full of incompetency, sprinkled with a few who are wonderful.

Happy New Year,
Les