Next Time Use The US Postal Service

[Omaha Steve]

http://nhlabornews.com/2014/01/next-time-use-the-us-postal-service/

By Matt Murray | January 1, 2014

It has been widely reported that many people did not get their Christmas presents delivered on time by UPS and FedEx. How did this happen?

“The volume of air packages in the UPS system did exceed capacity as demand was much greater than our forecast,” a UPS spokeswoman said.



Before all of my Teamster brothers and sister come down on me, let me say that I do not blame any of the drivers or people who process the packages, I am blaming the company for making promises they could not keep.

Both UPS and FedEx are world renowned for their overnight package delivery. They revolutionized the overnight package delivery with a huge fleet of airplanes and midnight processing in central US locations. However this did not help them avoid all of these late deliveries.

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About Matt Murray
Matt Murray is the creator and an author on the NH Labor News. He is a union member and advocate for labor and progressive politics. He also works with other unions and members to help spread our message. Follow him on Twitter @NHLabor_News



FULL story at link.

[KT2000]

1. The UPS truck

that delivers in my neighborhood used to have a driver and someone else to take the package to the porch during the holidays. This year it was just the driver. I never did see any UPS trucks with two people this year.

[Doctor_J]

2. We never use anything else

We send 50-100 PACKAGES per year and have never had a single one fail to arrive. Killing USPS is another anti-American, anti-labor initiative from the far right, that our alleged "Dem" representatives refuse to speak out against.

[RobinA]

3. Next Time

order presents before the last minute. We know NOW when we will be needing presents next Christmas.

[LiberalCatholic]

12. I ordered my cards WELL BEFORE the last minute

and ended getting them much later because UPS LOST them in their facility. UPS screwed up- not me!

[calimary]

14. Welcome to DU, LiberalCatholic!

Glad you're here! I'm one, myself! USPS performed admirably for me this year, too. And I like our mail guy. He's nice, always friendly, and likes the boys' music!

[Systematic Chaos]

4. No SHIT use the USPS!!

Unless you enjoy having your shit dropped off on your porch step in an un-gated apartment complex in a not-so-great part of town, even though you're home but just didn't hear the knock at the door by the UPS man who barely taps it before running off and leaving your package on the doorstep where any fucking loser can steal it.

And steal it they did. Medical supplies and fucking buckwheat pancake flour of all things.

Arguing with the V.A. and Amazon is sooooo much fun.

[Marie Marie]

13. This time of the year, people have been known to follow a UPS truck and

help themselves to packages not immediately retrieved by the homeowner. I always wondered, since UPS no longer requires a signature before turning over the package, who is responsible for the loss?

[Systematic Chaos]

20. You are, if you're not very lucky.

When our former roommate's huge box of gauze got left at our front door and carried off, the VA did agree to replace it, but it required requesting the replacement and then a month long investigation before he got a new box, which included the VA filing an insurance claim and who the hell knows what other back-and-forth between them and their supplier. Had our roommate's home health nurse not had extra gauze she carried with her, then he'd have been without any way to properly pad the wound on his leg.

When our pancake flour was taken, Amazon didn't give us any serious grief. However, it's worth noting that my wife's Kindle was also left on the front step, and was only discovered by us because she was impatient to get it and just happened to check the tracking only to find "Delivered -- Front Door" for a status. These fucking drivers would barely tap our door and then run off without waiting even 20 seconds, and the knocks couldn't even be heard from our bedroom which is where we spent 95% of our time. This was after a good dozen calls to UPS just to get them to finally take (most) of our packages to the apartment complex office if we didn't answer the door. Had we lost the Kindle, it's anyone's guess how that would have been treated seeing as how it cost 8 times what the buckwheat flour did.

I'm waiting for the reports to start coming up in the news about these drivers getting their brains bashed in by people pissed off completely beyond reason after having lost several packages to theft.

[Hepburn]

36. I have had at least one "lost" package

I live in a security, seniors development...and someone got my case of dog food!

LOL!

[yeoman6987]

26. USE USPS

I am sorry to hear that. It is so disappointing to not receive anticipated packages especially if they were stolen. UGH!

[Enthusiast]

5. Go, USPS!

[darkangel218]

16. +1

[TeamPooka]

6. i use USPS for all my personal and professional shipping. Go USPS! nt

[ScreamingMeemie]

7. I will put USPS right there next to UPS and FedEX.

Still waiting on a package sent USPS by my brother, that was supposed to arrive on December 24th. No one is a winner with crap service from all 3 of our main options. I've learned not to sweat it, but I am not impressed with the United States Postal service these days... especially after a torn sweater (due to shoving it into our keyed mailbox instead of a lower one) happened

[frogmarch]

8. Same here!

The package I sent 1st Class USPS from here in Nebraska to my sister in Hawaii on December 10th hasn't arrived, and I doubt it ever will.

The Priority Mail insured package I sent her arrived in about 4 days.

It's nothing new for things I send by USPS to vanish or arrive damaged.

[ScreamingMeemie]

17. It's annoying, but it is the way of the world. There is no superior

method of getting things there on time. I hope your stuff gets there.

[mckara]

9. I Use USPS Exclusively!

[Kennah]

10. USPS for me! Always!

The private carriers get to pick and choose whether they will deliver to you or not.

USPS delivers to EVERYONE. Public school educates EVERYONE. Universal healthcare covers EVERYONE.

[darkangel218]

18. +1

[frazzled]

11. I only use USPS Priority Mail when I ship something myself ... but

it is rarely an option when I order something online to be shipped.

That's the issue: online vendors, from Amazon to all the major department stores, etc. tend to use UPS and FedEx only. There's no choice to be had when you request a shipment. (Yes, I know Amazon had a limited contract with the Postal Service this year, for the first time, to deliver some packages on Sundays for the holiday season. That was limited and seasonal only.)

So if you've ordered things online from major retailers, it's unlikely you're "using" the USPS.

[pipi_k]

30. I was going to

mention the same thing.

Most places I order from online use either UPS or Fedex.

You don't get a choice.

We're lucky to have had some very good UPS drivers over the years.

Fedex, not so much, although the one who acted like a total jerk a few years ago (keeping my grandkids' Xmas presents on his damned truck more than two weeks, finally dumping them off at a neighbor's house the day after Xmas because he didn't want to come down the hill to my house) has been better lately.

Probably because I complained to the main office.

He had been known to falsify his record, claiming he tried to deliver things but we weren't home. We are here all the time except for limited forays a couple of times a month, and when a delivery is expected, we try NOT to be away from home.

Anyway, yeah...when I send things out I use USPS...receiving them depends on what company the vendor uses.

[quakerboy]

32. Actually, these days they are usually

Seeming to use the program where amazon delivers to ups, then ups flies it into town and turns it over to the USPS for the actual delivery.

I'm willing to bet that UPS makes more on that deal than USPS.

[Major Nikon]

15. UPS and FedEx are more poorly equipped to handle X-mas compared to the USPS

The USPS delivers to every household every day except holidays and Sunday. UPS and FedEx only deliver to households on an as needed basis. As such they have to bring in a lot more temp workers to handle the increased door to door delivery.

[blackspade]

19. I always use USPS.

[Skittles]

21. I have always used USPS

yes INDEED

[Hissyspit]

22. I always do.

[malaise]

23. Yes indeed

Go USPS!!!

[Kaleva]

24. USPS is all I use.

[madokie]

25. When I order online

and have a choice I go with USPS. Being an old navy postal clerk probably has something to do with that.

[yeoman6987]

27. Postal Clerk

Good for you for using USPS. Thank you for your service (I know some hate that, but I say it anyway. lol!)

[liberal N proud]

28. UPS blames a jump in online sales?

Online holiday sales up 10%, but running short of expectations:

According to the latest data from comScore, the final online shopping week before Christmas fell short of expectations, bringing the season total through Sunday to $42.8 billion from desktop devices. Though this is a 10 percent increase compared to the same 52-day period a year ago, the analytics firm had predicted all-digital holiday spending would reach $55.2 billion, and desktop would be $48.1 billion.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/101295639

What a bunch of bullshit!

[rdharma]

29. I rely on my rural USPS carriers.

They deliver packages that FedX doesn't want to deliver to my rural address.

I have two carriers (who I know by name).

When FedX and UPS chose to deliver a package to me, it's a different driver every time.

I support USPS workers and I make it a point to let them know I appreciate and support them.

[pipi_k]

31. Rural also and

sometimes what happens is that Fedex will drop off my package at the Post Office for them to deliver to me.

My UPS guy tries to get to my house, but sometimes it's just impossible in the wintertime with his big brown truck, so he'll drop packages off at a neighbor's business in town. The neighbor lives near us, so at the end of the day she will stop by to drop off whatever the UPS guy left with her. We've had this arrangement for years.

If I order through Amazon, I get text notification that a delivery has been made, and when I look it up on my computer, it will say it was signed for by my neighbor, so we know to expect her later in the day.

[sir pball]

33. USPS fucked up my packages just as badly as UPS, thanks

I had a gift card ship out via first-class mail on December 17th. It arrived just in time...for the New Year! Also had a FedEx package show up on Friday. The only boxes that came in on time were UPS, and I ordered those the 11th. I think it was an across-the-board overload, for ALL carriers.

Then again, I did make an Amazon Prime order on Friday that the USPS delivered on Sunday. Impeccable service, NO DAYS OFF FOR YOU.

[CoffeeCat]

34. I sent a package via UPS this holiday season...

I sent a friend a package--from Iowa to California. I mailed it at UPS the Friday before Christmas. I knew it wasn't going to arrive by Christmas. I didn't have misguided expectation. But I expected that she would get the package sometime later in that week. I mean...a week to deliver a package? That's reasonable, right?

Wrong.

When we dropped off the package and UPS, we were told that nothing was going out on Saturday. What? The Saturday before Christmas and UPS wasn't shipping that day?? It was explained to us that their overnight service was up and running on Saturday, but not their ground operations.

Can you frickin believe this??? I've heard no one else discuss this. It's gross incompetence that UPS was not operating their ground operation the Saturday before Christmas.

So, the package we dropped off on Friday night, wouldn't have gone out until Monday.

I just spoke with my friend in Cali. It's now Thurs 1/2--and she still hasn't received the package. That's 13 days and counting. Seriously...this is such an epic fail that it's silly.

For UPS to say that all of this was "unexpected" is bizarre. That's like a flower shop being surprised that Valentine's Day is busy. ...What's going on!? This is all so unexpected! LOL.

I appreciate the USPS now, more than ever. And they do their jobs, despite most politicians making fun of them and degrading their services--just so these politicians can dismantle the USPS and enrich their corporate overlords at UPS and FedEx.

'Merika! Fucked up now more than ever!

[loudsue]

35. AND, I might add, companies are making each employee do the work of 6 people

even during regular seasons, ..... gotta increase profits, don't you know.