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how to take over 10 days to ship a package from Waterloo, IA to Fort Wayne
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Feb 26, 2021 11:47:08   #
AGO
 
LenCreate wrote:
Two days ago the Postmaster General told Senators who complained about the decline in postal service to get used to him because the president can’t fire him. Hopefully the president will appoint new members to the committee that can get rid of him and they will.


Agreed. USPS has hard-working, dedicated employees. But they can't undo what the Postmaster General has done.

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Feb 26, 2021 12:47:34   #
PhotogHobbyist Loc: Bradford, PA
 
robertjerl wrote:
Unless God hits them with a lightening bolt of change and efficiency my money is on Sat March 6 - maybe - 13th anyone?

Years ago when they first went to the "Hub" system I read a story about a guy in a small town in, I think it was, Michigan. Wrote two identical letters to a friend in a town a bit over 30 miles away but in the distribution area for a different hub. He put one in the mail and gave the other to a guy taking part in one of those "Frontier Days" re-enactments. He was driving a cart pulled by oxen going to the destination town for a camp out type event. This included camping overnight along the way - twice - Oxen are slow, strong and with great endurance but slow.
Want to guess which letter got to his friend first?
Unless God hits them with a lightening bolt of cha... (show quote)


Years ago, while in the military (I was honorably discharged in 1972) a good friend always referred to the USPS as "The Pony Express" because it was slow. I still refer to it as that, often.

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Feb 26, 2021 14:30:42   #
19dwayne39 Loc: Fort Worth, Texas
 
I think that most of the time they do fairly well, BUT, as the posts show they also fail in a spectacular manner all to often. For example in the month before Christmas I had one package that took 3.5 weeks from NJ to Denver. It returned to one town twice & saw enough miles wandering around to make 2+ trips to Denver. I received a package yesterday that had been projected to deliver Saturday, so 4 days to cover 1500 miles. In January they lost a package & I have never received it. Government efficiency!

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Feb 26, 2021 16:23:27   #
SteveFranz Loc: Durham, NC
 
I can honestly guarantee that it will be delivered on or before Saturday. I just won't make any commitment as to which Saturday - this month, next month...whatever month.

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Feb 26, 2021 17:12:35   #
domcomm Loc: Denver, CO
 
My bank does an automatic Bill Pay for my HOA fee each month. That's worked well in the past, but in recent months it has really gone sour. Last month it took 16 days to get there, and this month 15 days. Late fees applied each month!

When I was in high school, I worked at electronics factory in Indiana, and found out that any package going through the Chicago P.O. goes down a conveyor belt on the third floor, then drops into a bin on the bottom floor on top of all the other packages, regardless of size or weight. Whenever we came out with a new product, it was shipped to a man that lived west of Chicago, which he then returned to us. If it survived going through the Chicago P.O. twice, they figured the packaging was safe for shipment anywhere. If it came back damaged, they redesigned the packaging.

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Feb 26, 2021 20:23:25   #
wrangler5 Loc: Missouri
 
The UPS/USPS delivery service is always an unmitigated disaster, in my experience. I frequently order items from a vendor in the middle of the state. If I order something before about 4PM that cannot go by USPS, it is picked up by UPS that evening, is in their sorting center in my city on the eastern edge of the state, and on my front porch the next afternoon - less than 24 hour delivery at standard rates.

But if USPS can handle the item, then it gets picked up first by UPS and taken to their sorting center on the OTHER SIDE of the state. The next day it is driven to the UPS sorting center on my side of the state. It takes the following 1 to 4 days (no telling which, in any given case) to move from the UPS sorting center to the USPS sorting center, even though I undestand that they are both on the same giant parking lot. It takes another day to move from the USPS sorting center to my delivery post office, and shows up in my mailbox the following day. This always happens. It is never faster.

I no longer order items from this vendor that might end up in their UPS/USPS delivery system. If it's going to take 5-7 days, I might as well order from an out of state vendor (that will take just as long to get) and save the sales tax.

To be fair to the USPS, for the past 10 years I've made and sold a product that I have always shipped by Priority Mail. Until the disaster of the China Virus shutdowns (and employees getting paid if they wanted to stay home) last year, I always got reliable 2-3 day delivery from the USPS in the lower 48. Two days to or near major cities (except Philadelphia - it always takes an extra day if the package goes through Philadelphia) and 3 days to smaller towns and rural addresses. USPS service was an utter disaster around Christmas, with some deliveries taking 2 weeks, with inexplicable pauses (and occasional scenic detours halfway across the country and back) but I think it's returning to normal now.

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Feb 26, 2021 21:43:48   #
Bloke Loc: Waynesboro, Pennsylvania
 
BigDen wrote:
Quit ordering online. Every week someone on this forum has a rant over delivery delays. Go out and support your local retailer. He/she is likely suffering because of the on-going lockdowns and could really use the help. You are more likely to be killed driving to the store than by the Wuhan virus.


A lot of us live in areas where there *is* no alternative to ordering online. There are no photographic shops within a reasonable drive from me (maybe 50 miles?). Also electronics, and most other 'specialised' items.

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Feb 27, 2021 00:44:55   #
hookedupin2005 Loc: Northwestern New Mexico
 
BigDen wrote:
Quit ordering online. Every week someone on this forum has a rant over delivery delays. Go out and support your local retailer. He/she is likely suffering because of the on-going lockdowns and could really use the help. You are more likely to be killed driving to the store than by the Wuhan virus.


I would gladly support a local vendor....IF there were one here. I can go to Walmart, or BestBuy, or Target, but, guess what? They would have to order it! I am talking camera gear, of course.

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Feb 27, 2021 14:30:28   #
fantom Loc: Colorado
 
home brewer wrote:
Just to rant a little. I am not sure if the UPS or USPS is to blame for extremely slow delivery of a small package sent by a medical service company.
below is a summary of the tracking info as supplied by usps

Feb 12 9:12 pm UPS pickup Waterloo, IA. USPS awaiting item
Feb 12 9:12 pm arrived shipping partner Minneapolis, MN. USPS awaiting item. UPS must have teleporting equipment they are not telling us about. 214 miles in less than a minute
Feb 13 10:14 am USPS awaiting item. Bensenville, IL (Chicago) 253 miles east in about 12 hours
Feb 15 3:01 pm arrived a hub moline, Il 61205. 158 miles slightly south and west
Feb 17 8:16 am arrive a usps facility Des Moines Ia network distribution 352 miles west
Feb 17 8:34 am departed USPS facility Des Moines Ia. This is 129 miles from where the package started.
Feb 21 9:50 am Arrived USPS Detroit Designation Facility
Feb 24 In Transit to Next Facility. Your package is moving within the USPS network and is on track to be
delivered to its final destination. It is currently in transit to the next facility.
Anyone willing to bet I see it by Saturday.
Per google maps the package has traveled 1544 miles and with much back tracking. Fort Wayne is 448 miles from Waterloo Ia
Either the tracking info is a pack of lies or UPS and the usps are extremely inept.
The vendor blames the Wuhan virus.
Just to rant a little. I am not sure if the UPS ... (show quote)


You say Either the tracking info is a pack of lies or UPS and the usps are extremely inept." The answer is both.
I won't bore you with the personal experience details but both of your probable explanations are completely correct.

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Feb 28, 2021 01:32:36   #
the hiker Loc: San Diego
 
fantom wrote:
You say Either the tracking info is a pack of lies or UPS and the usps are extremely inept." The answer is both.
I won't bore you with the personal experience details but both of your probable explanations are completely correct.


I sent a package by first class mail from San Diego Ca. on the 11th of dec.2020 to Maryland and it still has not been delivered.I ended up reordering it in jan and was recd at the end of jan. The P.O still cannot tell me what happened to it and won't even ansewer my pnone calls about it.

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Feb 28, 2021 06:48:50   #
AGO
 
the hiker wrote:
I sent a package by first class mail from San Diego Ca. on the 11th of dec.2020 to Maryland and it still has not been delivered.I ended up reordering it in jan and was recd at the end of jan. The P.O still cannot tell me what happened to it and won't even ansewer my pnone calls about it.


I had a similar experience with a package that was sent to me in MA from IL on November 29th. It arrived in Springfield, MA on December 6th and seemed to get stuck there. When I contacted the USPS I got an email saying my question was being sent to an appropriate representative. A few days later I got a phone call from my local post office telling me they would look for it. After that I heard nothing and neither the USPS or local office responded to my emails. In January the package disappeared from the USPS tracking system. It finally arrived here in early February.

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Feb 28, 2021 16:36:20   #
robertjerl Loc: Corona, California
 
AGO wrote:
I had a similar experience with a package that was sent to me in MA from IL on November 29th. It arrived in Springfield, MA on December 6th and seemed to get stuck there. When I contacted the USPS I got an email saying my question was being sent to an appropriate representative. A few days later I got a phone call from my local post office telling me they would look for it. After that I heard nothing and neither the USPS or local office responded to my emails. In January the package disappeared from the USPS tracking system. It finally arrived here in early February.
I had a similar experience with a package that was... (show quote)


And did it have arrival and departure stamps for the post office in MAtamoros Mexico?

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Mar 1, 2021 09:51:49   #
marine73 Loc: Modesto California
 
I order coffee from the Black Rifle Coffee Company (veteran Owned) they send the order to a company to grind it fresh and from there it is shipped directly to me, a total of three days. Nevada to either Utah or Montana (don't remember which) then to CA. I occasionally order from MSC Industrial supply and it is here within two days depending on time of day I order. It comes from Sparks Nevada.

Last may I ordered a Nintendo switch for my grandson in OK from the Military exchange, it was shipped from French Camp Ca to Fairfax OK, It sat in Tracy CA for two weeks before any movement.

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Apr 10, 2021 05:10:29   #
F15emaddawg
 
You guys had best get used to, " the road to privatization" currently by #45's henchman , if 46 doesn't add new members to the Postal Board of Governors soon there won't be anything left to privatize.

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