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I've had my bad experiences with the United States Postal Service for a while now, but it's mostly been limited to local idiots (wrong home delivery, opening my packages, leaving them on the truck for weeks at a time, folding packages to make them fit a mailbox, chucking packages into snow drifts, etc.). However, now is the first time that I've had to deal with national level idiocy.

Apparently the USPS hires private 3rd party "shipping partners" for some of their package delivery. This is find with me in theory, but it seems that they don't exactly want to hold them to any kind of standard. I religiously track my packages online (mostly to avoid the local idiot mailman). One of their "Delivery Partners" took custody of my package (A bunch of FW Custodes) on April 19. It has since disappeared into the void. Tracking ends at the shipping partner's holding facility. I've been told by USPS that I need to contact them directly, which seems a bit BS to me. I called...6 times this morning. I got hung up on, put on perpetual hold, transferred to a line no longer in service, and redirected back to the USPS twice. I finally got ahold of someone that basically said "it gets to you when it gets to you".

Now, I know we are in a pandemic, and that slows down deliveries. However, more than a month in their custody without any kind of answers is ridiculous.

Are you sure it was actually a shipping partner that took possession and not customs?

 Kanluwen wrote:
Are you sure it was actually a shipping partner that took possession and not customs?

Shipping partner confirms they took possession. USPS says they are waiting to be given the package, shipping partner blames USPS for not picking it up yet.

It's not much better with some others. FedEx has earned my ire a couple of times recently, before the pandemic hit actually, and getting hold of anyone who could do anything there was similarly impossible even with what would seemingly have been a high priority (a missing firearms shipment). The USPS at least has the excuse of being forced to engage in huge amounts of completely unprofitable work

Unfortunately they all have their foibles as Vaktathi notes. It is hardly confined to the U.S. either (for some reason artwork going from the U.K. to the U.S. always sits for weeks, not the end of the world but really weird to see it happen consistently as opposed to anything else coming from there).

On the plus side even if there are odd frustrations actual lost packages is something that I only really experienced with Amazon back when they started delivering themselves. Their first batch of drivers thought the solution to a locked apartment complex door was leaving something on the outside and hoping for the best.

If it gets really bad you could try your local congressperson's office. Constituent services is what they live for and I did use them once to resolve a USPS problem (the local post office refused to recognize Finland's postage paid stamp and wanted to charge me again).

USPS tracking is pretty bad, so you can't really be sure it disappeared where it did.

I still have a MIA package from a year ago that just disappeared.

I’ve had some trouble with USPS sending international packages back to sender without even telling me they were at the local branch. Why, they’re almost as bad as UPS and Fed-Ex. DHL is in a whole other world of suck, though. Never use DHL.

Did it happen to an Opa-locka shipping location? Because the same thing happened for an Amazon package I ordered last week. It got there and seemingly got lost.

But it wasn't expensive and Amazon refunded me pretty much immediately.

For me, UPS is great, USPS is OK*, and Fedex is a nightmare. It really does vary highly depending on your local staffing.


*One irritating note is that since I live >1 mile of the post office, they don't deliver mail to my house, and I have to get a PO box and go get my mail, very annoying.

Cut your postal service some slack. I work for Canada Post in the country's biggest city and we're absolutely slammed. Waiting over a month for your stuff is terrible I know, but the situation is unprecedented. I hope you get your package soon!

Hey guys, I'm going to lock and clean up this thread here and remove the politics, lets try and stay on topic

EDIT: Ok, I'm going to open it back up, let's keep it on topic about missing packages and delivery frustration, lets avoid talk of politics

On topic, I too have a bone to pick with USPS, they say they delivered a book last thursday to my mailbox, but ah...if they did it certainly wasn't my mailbox. I have a claim in, but am not expecting much.

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:
I’ve had some trouble with USPS sending international packages back to sender without even telling me they were at the local branch. Why, they’re almost as bad as UPS and Fed-Ex. DHL is in a whole other world of suck, though. Never use DHL.

Hmm wonder if they are different based on country/countries involved. Amazon(japan) sent me packet on last friday by DHL. It was pickable at my home town(finland) on monday. Basically every delivery by DL is about that speed.

DHL is pretty respectable. 1-2 years ago the vice director of the local branch called me to apologize about a delivery snafu when my package was marked "unable to deliver" while I was waiting for it at home. Turns out the delivery boy mistyped my phone number.

(In Slovenia, delivery boys call to check if we'll be home when they're loading the truck for the day, and then a few minutes before they arrive. There is no nonsense like leaving stuff on the porch here.)


GLS and DPD are staffed exclusively by morons.

Here you get in advance message asking how to deliver. My favourite is pickup lockers. There's one in multiple places so I just set the store I use for food shopping and pick it up there. No attempts to deliver, no leaving somewhere in open, no need to be at home at specific time. Just pick up at your leisure. If I don't happen to have need for food...well does <1km trip just for packet kill me?-)

Used to hate couriers. Now they are my favourite. Fast and even more convenient than picking up from post office which a) is further b) requires queuing often.

Only issue has been when store for some bizarre reason splits order to multiple packets. Really you order at once 6 books and it gets split to 1+2+3 books? When box that had 3 could fit all 6? WHY? That just takes more time for me.

 Vaktathi wrote:
Hey guys, I'm going to lock and clean up this thread here and remove the politics, lets try and stay on topic

EDIT: Ok, I'm going to open it back up, let's keep it on topic about missing packages and delivery frustration, lets avoid talk of politics

On topic, I too have a bone to pick with USPS, they say they delivered a book last thursday to my mailbox, but ah...if they did it certainly wasn't my mailbox. I have a claim in, but am not expecting much.

Sorry, with the USPS everything about it IS political.



On the other hand, my local Postie's are pretty cool!

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't intentionally NOT delivering mail a federal crime? It is after all interfering with mail delivery, and as far as I can tell mail carriers have no immunity to this.

My local delivery person (numerous problems with them) has a habit where if they don't want to get out of the vehicle (raining, cold, windy, etc.) and if a package is too large for the mailbox they will leave a note saying no one was home to accept delivery, then drive on to the next home. They will do this many days in a row, and have even sent packages back to the sender. As I have stated previously, I religiously watch my tracking information. I know when the mail carrier will be at my home (plus or minus 10 minutes) and can hear them coming up the street. They have done this with me CLEARLY standing in the doorway waiting for them.

The worst part, their supervisor literally doesn't care.

I'm not a lawyer, however I do know that mail carriers have been prosecuted for doing things like dumping mail they don't want to deliver and the like.

 Vaktathi wrote:
I'm not a lawyer, however I do know that mail carriers have been prosecuted for doing things like dumping mail they don't want to deliver and the like.

There is the famous dumpster case (which of course can begin with the words "Florida Man") where a postal worker decided dumping mail into the garbage was easier than delivering it.

You may want to contact your local postmaster and begin to create a paper trail. it is pretty easy to do.

 LordofHats wrote:

 Vaktathi wrote:
I'm not a lawyer, however I do know that mail carriers have been prosecuted for doing things like dumping mail they don't want to deliver and the like.

There is the famous dumpster case (which of course can begin with the words "Florida Man") where a postal worker decided dumping mail into the garbage was easier than delivering it.

Holy gak. I would be instantly fired on the spot for doing that. USPS is certainly not Canada Post, but I would imagine ad mail is probably just as important a money maker for them as it is for us.

Also, in response to the story about the USPS postman driving by someone's house with their parcel for days on end... I'm genuinely surprised USPS doesn't just leave a card letting you know where to pick up your package after the initial delivery attempt. Is that how USPS runs all over the country? Do they just hold onto it until they can reach you at the door? That sounds crazy to me. Up here in Canada, we make a single attempt to deliver and if you're not home we leave a notice card telling you which postal outlet your package is being held. It'll stay there for a month before it gets returned to sender.

For me, the problem delivery service is really UPS. . . where I live, I'd say 90% of my packages get me an email message saying "delivered" when in reality, they delivered to my local post office, and then the PO will deliver the next day.

At my work, we have or professional deliveries through fedex and ups. . Our main fedex Express lady is pretty awesome, the UPS guy is cool, but the fedex ground guy is fething weird as heck and frankly, not the best (like, routinely does not pick up packages we've scheduled pickup for)


@creeping-death. . . yes, typically in the case of parcels that were shipped requiring signature, or if they are particularly heavy/awkward, or of high value, and the delivery person is supposed to leave a tan-ish tag on the door saying they "delivered" it (or the green ones for attempted delivery). . . I will say, the adhesive used on those things is absolute dog gak bad, and I have on occasion had them come off of where they were stuck to (thankfully in my case, they just moved spots on the porch)

 Ensis Ferrae wrote:



@creeping-death. . . yes, typically in the case of parcels that were shipped requiring signature, or if they are particularly heavy/awkward, or of high value, and the delivery person is supposed to leave a tan-ish tag on the door saying they "delivered" it (or the green ones for attempted delivery). . . I will say, the adhesive used on those things is absolute dog gak bad, and I have on occasion had them come off of where they were stuck to (thankfully in my case, they just moved spots on the porch)

Around here they just chuck those tags in your mailbox.

 Ensis Ferrae wrote:
Our main fedex Express lady is pretty awesome, the UPS guy is cool, but the fedex ground guy is fething weird as heck and frankly, not the best

You know, I haven't thought about this in maybe 20 years, but - when I used to work at a pet shop, we banned the fedex guy for life for what he did in the bathroom when we let him use it once.

I dread to ask what warranted that course of action.

He "delivered a package" that wasn't completely in the mailbox, shall we say.

Lol, every time I hear a story or see the effect in person I wonder how it's possible to do that.

Reminds me of this little picture

https://i.imgur.com/iLB0atXh.jpg

 Ouze wrote:
He "delivered a package" that wasn't completely in the mailbox, shall we say.

Ahh, retail. Every surface has a story to tell. A story of bodily fluids. And solids.

A lot of people seem ignorant of how some of the partner services actually work, like Fedex SmartPost. This is commonly used by companies as it is cheap. A lot of the big third party gaming companies use it as ‘free’ shipping, too. Basically, FedEx brings the package to your local post office, and then USPS brings it the rest of the way to you. The problem is you get indifferent service from both Fedex and USPS - they’re not getting paid a lot to handle this package, and both treat it as though it were diseased roadkill. It’s a case of getting what you paid for with the ‘free’ shipping, as opposed to any inherent flaws of the delivery companies, per se.

The Last Week Tonight segment on the postal service comes to mind.

Fear not cuda, the mail always goes through

But yeah, hope your parcel turns up soon.