I Need to Vent!!!

[Gary]

I'm going to assume you know the latest Fiscal Report of USPS, no, well they lost approx.8.9 BILLION. That however isn't what I need to vent about. Earlier this year I had a dealing with USPS in the form of a Postal Money Order. Mailed it to pay for a purchase and it was never found; I lost out on the purchase and THEN had to wait for almost 90 days to get a refund. Fast forward to two weeks ago. Again I tried my luck with a USPS money order and the same thing happens, never got to the seller (MY 22 NOSLER UPPER) and I have had to go to the P.O. and file a 6401 which is a "USPS money order Inquiry. The form states that if the M.O. HASN'T been cashed I can get all or some of my money back AFTER waiting a minimum of 60 days. They COULDN'T explain what happens if the M.O. HAS BEEN CASHED.
This Bureaucratic "public service" needs reformed; dismantled or something in between. When the local office tells me that their computers are over 10 years old and not all that reliable, WHERE DID THE 8.9 BILLION GO?
Rant off.

 

[Bohica]

WHERE DID THE 8.9 BILLION GO?

A pseudo government agency run as a union jobs program and you have to ask this question?

 

[KeithB]

A few years ago the government required the USPS to have enough money on hand to pay pensions into perpetuity. no other government/semi-government agency has that mandate. It put them into deep debt almost instantly. Any comment I might make beyond that would veer into political territory forbidden here. But I don't blame the USPS, the fault lies elsewhere.

 

[Gary]

I suppose somewhere in there is why Franklin was quoted as saying about our republic; "you have a Republic, if you can keep it".

 

[462]

Overall the USPS does an excellent job, it's just that its customer service is non-existent. If anyone doubts that, they have never had to endure waiting in a post office line.

I bought a rifle from out-of-state and the USPS seemingly dropped it from a rather high altitude that caused the stock to break into six or severn pieces, seriously bent the front sight hood, and knocked the main spring askew. The rifle was wrapped with several layers of bubble-wrap, with plenty of added paper padding. I really think that someone purposely did his best to damage the rifle.
Though insured for the selling price, it took almost all of the 90-days prescribed timeframe to get compensated for the repair, but that was only after my initial claim, which included pictures and a receipt for the cost of repair, was denied.

To complicate matter even more, damage claims can only be filed on-line, so talking to a live (and understanding?) person is impossible.

My wife place an Amazon order November 17th, and it has been sitting in a Sacramento facility since November 19th.

 

[fiver]

there was a federal mandate that company's competing with USPS had to charge double for competing services.
now the UPS is also Union, has to charge double and pays it's employee's pretty darn good plus decent insurance.
they manage to show a profit.

I'm not saying the usps should show a profit,,, but they should be able to provide the service they are designed to provide at break even prices.

 

[462]

The USPS looses $3 (I think it is) per each Amazon package it delivers.

If states and cities would fully fund their retirement programs they wouldn't be in such financial dire straits. One local city had to share a chief-of-police with a near-by city, and still shares its fire department with the neighboring city, all because the state keeps asking for more money to help fund its (the state's) woefully underfunded public employees pension that the city participates in.

 

[oscarflytyer]

Must admit, not a huge fan of USPS. Having said that, HAVE had decent LUCK with their shipping and MOs. However, I am lucky in that I have a good friend that I go see (only) when I buy MOs and ship my 'gun' stuff.

 

[KeithB]

I'd like to see where the $3 per package loss figure comes from. Everything I've been able to find shows that they actually make money off of Amazon, their losses basically come from reduction in revenue in first class mail the last few years. That is a functiom of technology (email). Also, I was wrong about the retirement issue, it was a mandate to fully fund retiree's health care for a ten year period that caused their instant debt issue. No other govt agency has to do that. Amazon may not pay the same price per package to deliver as you or I, but what I've been able to find out is that Amazon's stuff is turned over to the USPS close to its destination and sorted/organized in the way the USPS wants it to make it easy to deliver. It doesn't go through the whole system. Maybe Amazon pays $3 LESS per package than you or I do, but they might also only use 10-20% of their resources and provide a large steady money stream.

My wife is a USPS retiree, worked there her whole working life, we are both well aware of the warts and flaws of the postal service system. But I also know where 99% of the blame lies, and most of the time it ain't the window clerk or even the local postmaster.

Why do businesses get a break? Why do I use Stamps.com and print my own postage and get a reduced rate when I do? Cuz (a) I don't take up the time of the window clerk, and (b) the postage I print HAS TO MEET certain addressing standards. And those standards make it easier for the system to work. A hell of a lot of the problems in getting a package somewhere is trying to make out somebody's handwriting. Want to guarantee your letter won't get somewhere? Write the address in cursive using red ink on a festive red Christmas envelope. Don't use the right state abbreviation. Forget or use the wrong zip code.

 

[462]

Going by memory, I misspoke. To paraphrase an old commercial, The memory is a terrible thing to loose.
The USPS doesn't loose $3 per delivered Amazon package . . . it should charge $1.46 more.

 

[Gary]

Keith; points all well taken. I purposely use my computer to print ALL my envelopes AND use the address given to me ( I copy and paste to get it right). I live in a rural town that only has two employees in the Post Office at any one time and I am familiar with both and have a good friendly relationship. Kinda hard to bust their nads when you need to vent. I purchased my M.O. from the Postmaster, filled it out, and placed it into a pre-addressed envelope and placed it in the Postmaster's hand. I'm confident it was processed correctly locally, after that only GOD knows where it went.

 

[Tomme boy]

Talked to our regular mail guys about a month ago. They have had so many people take the early retirements and still get paid till they would normally retire, they are hiring all kinds of people. And they don't want to work the turn over is very high according to him. He also says that all new hires are on a 2 tier pay scale. They new people will top out at about 1/2 of what the people there now make.

Also, when the amazon truck comes in they have to stop whatever they are doing and tend to that truck first.

 

[Walks]

Cost of all Gov't services keep going up because of the Pension Funds and Full Benefits. My City pays out more for just Pensions then it does for Salaries.
And they want to raise our sales tax to the state max to fund the shortage.

The feds take 36% and the state takes 10.00% plus sales tax of 10% and add'l gasoline taxes and fees. Plus Property taxes.

So you end up paying more then half of what you make to our Gov't.

And for what ?
So half our "elected" representatives can become millionaires while "serving" in public office.

The rest of the U. S. population only has 4% millionaires. And that's just half the lucky folks in New York City and California that are lucky enough to own their own homes.

 

[Bret4207]

Hmmm. This thread is going to disappear shortly....

 

[Brad]

Hmmm. This thread is going to disappear shortly....

If it isn’t careful it most certainly could.

 

[Rally]

I use USPS a bunch, shipping snares all over the country. I've had boxes lost, and one that went from Duluth to MSP three times, according to their tracking system. I can tell you for sure, if a package has to go through Chicago, it takes an extra two days, and arrives in rough shape, externally. I use Spee Dee when I can, but they are a mid states business only. UPS is the fastest for me but they are pricing their self out of business since they went public. IMO I've had to make claims online with USPS, and if it's value is under $50.00 and you can show proof of that, I've received refunds in under 10 days.

 

[Walks]

I have problems buying lead/alloy though the P.O. It's usually a packing problem. Raw Linotype or WW's "dribbles" out the corners of a poorly packaged box.
Had a mold I bought on fleabay go missing. I paid for Priority Sm Box. The seller Did Not send it Priority Mail. Tried to save a few bucks and lost the gamble.

And I warned the cheapskate about the address problem we have here.
Numbered street names.
For most numbered streets there is a STREET and a PLACE.

1000 136th STREET and 1000 136th PLACE.

I live on PLACE. If something goes to the STREET, the non-American Born people at STREET will not put it back out with the address correction.

Fleabay got my full refund for me.

Don't get me started on Fedex.

And the Lead ?
There is a guy on Cast Boolits that I buy COWW's from. He puts the cupcake ingots into the small boxes and then into the medium boxes. Best packing job I've ever seen.

 

[Bret4207]

I just bought 2 track tension springs for my JD 420 crawler from a guy in Maine. These are roughly 35lbs each. He built a box out of 1/4" plywood and 1x6's. Real nice little box. Both ends smashed out, the box had obviously been thrown at least a couple times or maybe down a flight of stairs. The gent would have been better off just wrapping the whole shebang in heavy bubble wrap and duct tape and it would have saved me the $20 he charged for crating it up. I'm sure being a package handler is a boring, unrewarding, go nowhere job, but sometimes it seems as if they intentionally try to bust stuff.

 

[RBHarter]

I've sent 5 packages in the last year and a half and both that went through Memphis had their guts spilled . One was some auction stuff I had bought at $50 to get 3-4 reamers and a couple of other things and I sent the rest of it that included several new unused end mills etc . The receiver got the box in a bag that was wrapped end over end 2+ in wide and 3 around 2"+ on each on a sfrb .......
The other was a tight wadded tube with cups wrapped end over end 3 different ways 3 laps on a tube just barely big enough to get a Seaco mould in with handles 1 lap of bubble wrap around the mould and the handles in a bubble pack envelope was stuffed tight ......lost both the mould and handles , empty tube delivered beat to hello . Prior to that I lost a box of lead that looks like it made it in tact to the last PO in Alaska before it was spread around . The other 2-3 were my fault . That mould was a big deal the others not so much .
I've shipped probably 100+ boxes and received that many more only one arrived in a baggie and it fortunately was all there .

I once mailed my rent check a week early and apparently didn't address it or put a return address on it . The MO was delivered , alibi 3 weeks later , to the addressee after a trip to the dead letter office in Savannah GA from Reno and sent back to Reno .

Overall I'd say the USPS doesn't do a bad job for a goobment operation . Even in light of the IRS being able to bankrupt a 4 million dollar a year after taxes and expenses business for a 7 million dollar back owed in just 6 months . I mean really how do you bankrupt a brothel ? It's all 2-400% mark up booze and $3-600/hr ....... Times as many as 20 , often 6 hr/day , 7 days/week . 3000×20×7×52= A LOT . House take is 60% on services but that covers room , board , laundry , security , medical , as needed transportation , legal services , etc , etc . It comes out 40/40/20 girls/expenses/owner .

The PO looks even better next to ........ nevermind . I've probably gone too far already .

 

[462]

Thread drift to the Mustang Ranch?