Which came first?
Posted on 11/16/2021 12:21:27 PM PST by nickcarraway
USPS Test: We mailed 4 packages with GPS trackers to see how quickly they got there
Which came first?
It’s a regional thing.
If you look around the internet there are a lot of people with horror stories about the USPS, UPS, and FedEx that just don’t exist where I am.
Since the “pandemic” began, there have been more deliveries showing up a day late than previously, but the packages always make it here. Nothing is ever stolen or disappears.
Living in a rural area probably helps, versus an apartment building in a city. When they drop packages inside the door of our garage they stay there. Nobody sees them or knows they’re there until we get home.
government is just another welfare program for those who cannot work on their own.
Based on the condition of way too many of the packages I've received, UPS folks also like to drive their 'Big Brown Trucks' right over people's boxes. And they charge too much for the "service".
In my experience, USPS generally provides faster, cheaper, more reliable service - but not always. About 5 years ago, I mailed two engineering text books, from Denver to a college student in Los Angeles. Because they were books, I sent them book rate. On the plus side, the postage was cheap, and tracking showed that the books arrived in L.A. in just three days. How cool is that?! On the minus side, some USPS employee then decided that taking the books the last couple of miles to the destination was too much work - and sent them all the way to Ohio, instead. It took USPS over two weeks to get that corrected, and actually deliver the package all of the way back in L.A. Tracking packages can be downright entertaining at times...
;>)
You are wrong. The hub and spoke route design is a lot more cost effective than a fully networked route that conveys directly from every point to every other point.
The founders of FedEx realized this when they founded the company and they were severely criticized for it. I believe their prof at grad school even gave their paper on this topic a failing grade.
Airlines used to fly planes between every point, then they learned to route all passengers to a hub and adopted hub and spoke route design. Sure you have to go to a hub and often change planes, but that small inconvenience is one of the factors that made flying affordable to everyman.
Your lucky they did not disappear for ever.
I think I've used USPS more than most folks, but I only remember one package completely disappearing: a Priority flat rate box that made it to a USPS facility in Chicago, and then apparently dropped off the face of the earth. It took a while, but the insurance did cover it...
;>)
I lived and worked in Ottawa, Ontario for a year. Great city….. A number of times, I had priority mails going both ways, north to south and south to north. Both government post offices and FedEx were used.
Priority mail via government post offices (USPS and Canada Post) had completely different results depending on if the US or Canada was the starting point. If the US was the starting point, tracking number followed the delivery well and it took 2 or 3 days. If Canada was the starting point, all bets were off on how long delivery would take. Tracking would follow the priority mail from Canada then over the border to a USPS customs facility in New York. At this point, tracking was canceled and delivery would be 7-14 days. This sucked and caused me some problems. So, I switched to FedEx and all was well. Always 2-day delivery and functional tracking.
One time in Canada, I needed some replacement parts for industrial equipment and the only stocking was in California. My purchasing told me delivery would be 2 weeks. Not acceptable. I spoke with the CA company directly and verified that if the order was placed by 3pm west coast time they could package and have it to FedEx for next day delivery to Ottawa. Kicked my purchasing in the knee to get them working and had the material early enough in the day to get it installed and the production unit back online.
Was tracking something from the mainland to Hawaii, and saw it go to Puerto Rico before getting back in the right direction. Took a couple weeks.
My father used to work at the Post Office and he said NEVER send a package through the USPS unless it’s insured. Otherwise, it may very well be stolen.
I foolishly forgot ONE time. That package, sent to a judge at the Orange County, Florida courthouse did arrive, but it had been opened and the contents destroyed - probably when the thief didn’t want a model railway car. I had to refund the judge his money.
They closed a lot of local processing centers in favor of huge regional ones.
Doesn’t seem to be working well for them.
“Try mailing anything from or to Memphis. Theft is incredible. Nobody does anything about it. Thugs just earnin.”
Neighbor got a birthday card from his son and DIL a couple years ago.
She asked him what he was going to use the gift card for.
“Gift Card? There was no gift card in there.”
Yes, came from just outside Memphis through their sorting center
Don’t rely on “media mail” or book rate for fast service. USPS says up front 2-10 days for delivery. Also, such packages may be opened for inspection if they suspect regular merchandise is inside. If you don’t want to risk tampering, then don’t use book rate.
The last media mail package I shipped arrived in 7 days, PA to Utah.
For small light packages, USPS can’t be beat on price (1st class package rate).
Exactly - which is why I was surprised when the box of books made it 99% of the way to the destination in just 3 days (I was figuring a week mimimum). Of course, USPS then added an extra couple of weeks to the transit time by sending the box half way across the country in the wrong direction, so my estimate of one week minimum turned into almost three weeks.
For small light packages, USPS can’t be beat on price (1st class package rate).
Absolutely. I hate to say it, but some businesses insist on using UPS for shipping even small, light items, and I've therefore seen situations where shipping a $2 item would cost $15 (UPS is not cheap). I refuse to do business with companies like that, unless I have no choice...
I have a neighbor who works for the post office in Memphis. She says never send cards in holiday type envelopes or checks without several layers of paper folded over them. They just take the contents. The mail fallen from trucks just piles knee deep at the loading docks until they use a bobcat to scoop it all up into the dumpster.
That's why they are called "forever" stamps.
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