New USPS issues

We did just have a Fed holiday which delayed my package to my granddaughter - a distance of 250 miles away - but otherwise, not really seeing what you are describing. Maybe someone not doing it right the first time???

Fun thing to watch when it’s not something you really want quickly. Frustrating when it is. I recently bought something, and I don’t even recall what it was, but it originated in Virginia and was being sent to Tennessee. It made its rounds through Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama, and Kentucky before finally getting to me. At least I could track the package though, other carriers can’t figure out if you have a package. UPS is probably the best, then USPS, DHL, and lastly fedex. I always get several emails from fedex within minutes stating all of the updates to my shipment, usually the day after I get the item. It really makes my wife mad, but I’m to a point that I just laugh about it. They did that with a replacement stock for my chipmunk hunter pistol though, and she laughed at me when I was the one who was mad.

Last year I watched a package addressed to me go from Springfield MA to North Carolina to Worcester MA (I live in NH). Springfield & Worcester are about 2 inches apart on a road map. It happens.

I know it is not USPS but I sent a package via FEDEX to a gun manufacturer on Saturday and was assured it was overnight expressed and they signed for the package Tuesday. I knew there was a Federal Holiday but I guess overnight express is a term now we can identify as "it gets there when it does".

It's an issue with parcels and mail in general. I'm sure it's not contents specific. Our mail here in Birmingham got so bad it made the national news, and though the Christmas package backlog cleared after enough pressure to hire temps. Missing and delayed or undelivered items are very common pretty much all of 2020.

When I spoke with a postmaster (the only one of several who answered a phone), he was polite but could definitely tell they are strained. Like most businesses they are working with reduced staff due to covid. Employees who express they think they might have been exposed are told to stay out for 14 days, during which time they get regular pay and are not charged sick or personal time off. After the period you need a negative test to return to work. Testing is a hassle and can be scary - you are going to a place where you know infected people are at, so for those who don't come down with illness during a quarantined period it's not top of the list to go to a testing center.

A lot of government people are taking the time off under these terms. The local school system is having big staffing problems for the same reasons, too.

My company gets hundreds of packages a day. Yes, USPS is having major issues. We are on the receiving end. Not the outgoing end. Have been having more problems since late October. At this point I'll pay for UPS expedited shipping on items I don't need ASAP. Just to be assured ill get them. Fed-ex seemed to be a day or so slower for a bit. UPS was sometimes a day slow. But ive seen more packages lost or delayed (by weeks not by a day. Im not nit-picking here) by USPS since early 2020 than in the past 19 years. FedEx and UPS are far more likely to deliver a box that looks like it was dragged cross country though. Lol.

And no it's not content specific. We get mostly Parts.... even small parts like springs or general supplies.

gnappi said:

I'm in the middle of a couple of builds and there's a REALLY disturbing trend I am seeing in tracking packages.

I do a fair amount of purchases online and I NEVER saw a "MISSHIPPED" entry and just this week I saw THREE, add to this I'm seeing up to six scans in the SAME location, with Arrived, processed, arrived, processed, sent, received, sent over two days.

I've seen packages go to five locations within 50 miles of me over three or four days and when they finally get here the label on my package (which was computer generated) and the barcode as well as the printed address were legible, clear and pristine.

I've even had packages go from the Northeast west coast, to Florida, back to the originating location and finally to Florida.

This can't be routing errors, what it looks like to me is packages are being deliberately manually scanned over and over, this "possibly" to show / magnify throughput for some type of passive resistance while packages pile up.

Anyone else seeing this type of foolishness?

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Yes. If you really need something to get to you or wherever on time and undamaged, Fedex is the way to go.

And remember the head man ordered a slowdown of the mail and had the automated machines destroyed.

Off topic, I will remind you that General is not a chat forum.