jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Underhanded?

MDI Mainer

My experience has been that the unionized drivers from UPS are uniformly competent, whereas the "independent contractor" FedEx Home Delivery drivers are hit or miss.

AndyH Loc: Massachusetts and New Hampshire

I always, always choose USPS if I have a choice. Their employees are generally long term and our letter carrier(s), even the relief ones, know our name and where to leave packages safely (on our rear deck, 300 feet from the street) if they don't fit into our large RFD type mail box. If something requires a signature (like everything I've ever ordered from former Soviet Union countries) USPS leaves a note in the mailbox and I can pick it up as early as 7 AM at the post office. Add how much cheaper USPS is than the alternatives and there really is no choice.

I have had UPS and FedEx people deliver outside in the rain without any attempt at waterproofing, leave them at the neighbor's house, and once, on the ground below our mailbox - in plain sight and only about twenty feet from the street. In a puddle.

If I don't have a choice of carrier, such as getting something from B&H or several other major, reputable sellers, I have it delivered to my office.

Andy

joer Loc: Colorado/Illinois

Many years ago I witnessed this myself at a USP terminal when picking up a camera. I wandered into the work area and saw a driver unloading a truck by tossing packages into canvas bins positioned at various distances. He seemed to hit the target at least while I was watching.

Don't know if my camera was among the flying packages but there was no obvious damage to the box or camera. It would not surprise me if this was common.

wrangler5 Loc: Missouri

My college roommate worked for USPS in Denver during several summer breaks in the early '60s. He said the packages that came in had to be sorted into large hanging bags along a wall, and the practice was to do free throws with any package that was marked or obviously contained something Fragile. If you missed the correct bag you walked over to where the package ended up, came back to the free throw "line" and shot again until it ended up in the right bag.

His regular job was a walking mail carrier. His first day on the route alone he got done several hours faster than the allotted time, as you might expect from a healthy 19-20 year old. (He was from Denver, and so was used to the altitude.) When he got back to the PO early he was taken aside and told if he ever came back before the end of shift again they'd break one of his legs. After that he got a lot of reading done in one of the city parks.

I suspect not much has changed in 50+ years, certainly not as far as average gubmint worker attitudes go. (I know there are exceptions - our mail carrier had our route for 30+ years and went beyond the call when appropriate. But she retired last summer and her replacements are much closer to stereotype.)

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

In the 60's through the 80's my Dad was a ground crew foreman for Eastern Airlines in St Louis and union official in the Airline Workers Union. The most common reason for termination of ground crew was mistreatment of baggage and freight - it cost the airline money to pay for broken stuff. In those days all but the last conveyor belt and turn table was done by hand. Only toward the end did they have the pre-loaded pods that were put into the plane with a forklift.

wsa111 Loc: Goose Creek, South Carolina

Fedex sucks. They don't even ring the doorbell. At least UPS always either knocks on the door or ring the doorbell.

PH CIB

On any expensive item, not due to delivery problems but due to potential porch theft which I have never experienced so far, I ask the Business I bought it from to have their Delivery Service keep the item at their Terminal in Des Moines and then I go and pick it up there, however I have no idea how the item was handled during delivery from where I bought it from online to the Delivery Service outlet here in Des Moines....and I do not know how many Retail Stores will do this...

Bill_de Loc: US

I now get a lot of direct Amazon deliveries. They must be doing a lot since my mail carrier gets here a couple of hours earlier, which she credits to not handling many Amazon packages. Their vans are everywhere and the service has been pretty good.

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Harry0 Loc: Gardena, Cal

I live in an apartment in a sketchy part of LA.
I find Amazon boxes left in front of the front door regularly.

cameranut Loc: North Carolina

He didn't gain anything or save any time by throwing it since he walked back to the door anyway.
So, why throw it in the first place? He didn't look any brighter than a 15 watt bulb.

sloscheider Loc: Minnesota

As folks have stated it’s packaged to take some abuse BUT what about the VR mechanism inside the lens? Does VR “park” itself in a safe position when powered off?

DAN Phillips Loc: Graysville, GA

It can't be any worse than USPS losing a 3' x 4' box of books on the way to Memphis, TN from Graysville, GA. It contained old Peterson Field Guide books, many of them were first edition and sent as a gift to my daughter. I'm glad I insured them. have never forgiven them and will not; I hope they go out of business today!

mas24 Loc: Southern CA

As much as people criticize the USPS, I have to admit they may be the most efficient delivery agency. Notice, I said efficient, not fast. UPS is good, generally because they pay good wages to their workers. Happy pay, happy worker. FedEx is the worst of the three agencies. Also, beware of Porch Pirates, they take your packages after they have been thrown on your property. They are in full force during the Christmas holidays.

Wanda Krack Loc: Tennessee, USA

I had a personal experience with a damaged lens that UPS had left in a precarious place on my back porch. This was several years ago and have had no such experiences since then. The driver left the packaged lens (returned from B&H for repair) on the top shelf and the cats must have knocked it off in my absence. I had to turn around and return it. I don't know who paid for the second repair, but it wasn't me. After that happened, I fixed a large lidded box with a sign on it and placed it on the front porch, with a sign at the back door where to leave packages. This has worked well, and in the years since, UPS drivers have changed several times so I no longer have the problem of someone leaving a package where it is not safe.