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Why the USPS is going down…in flames

I really should have something else to post, however this is on the top of my mind so I’m starting with it.

As I stated in a previous post (probably my last one!) we ordered some dance shoes. They are shipping from China and I have the shipping code from none other than USPS.  On Tuesday I got this shipping code. Wednesday morning I logged in and checked.  Still only one update that the shoes had been excepted by USPS.  Check on Thursday.  Same thing. Check on Friday. Same thing.  Check this morning…they are clearing customs in Chicago.  Lets back up.  How long does it take to fly from China to Chicago.  I’m guessing that it doesn’t take 3 days.  Additionally, you only get updates from the USPS once a day.  Apparently they haven’t come up with the technology that FedEx, UPS or DHL have to track it whenever it gets to a spot.  And as trivial as it sounds to know where your package is, people pay attention to this stuff. This is probably one reason why the USPS keeps jacking up their postage rate every 6 months (okay it’s not that bad, but it seems like it).

But now onto more important things (not really!).

This was a LONG work week for some reason.  I spent one day on the road for work and it was still way longer than it should have been.  I’m glad it’s a long weekend.  Last night we went dancing.  It was pretty good.  We added a couple of new moves that we learned on Wedenesday.  Additionally we went with a couple of friends and had a blast. They don’t dance (yet!), but it was a lot of fun.  Tonight I think we are going to see Harry Potter at the IMAX, which will be awesome.  If you haven’t seen a regular movie at the IMAX, go and do it.  You are missing something if you haven’t.  The rest of the weekend will be spent sleeping most likely!  And hopefully another post or 2.

By: Chris | 2007/09/01 | General | Trackback | Comments [RSS 2.0]

6 Responses to Why the USPS is going down…in flames »»


Comments

  1. Chas
    Comment by Chas | 2007/09/01 at 23:05:54

    I’ve had good experiences w/ the USPS. Also, I’ve had the same problem w/ FedEx. I ordered some new cookware last week. I received an email that it had been shipped. Checked the tracking info…nothing…checked it a few hours later….and realized it had already been delivered…it was on my front porch the whole time and had been since 8 AM. So, it was already on my porch when I checked it the very first time.

  2. Chris
    Comment by Chris | 2007/09/02 at 06:59:19

    Chas - That does sound good. However I’ve not had the same experience. Wish I could say that I have, but I haven’t.

  3. illflux
    Comment by illflux | 2007/09/02 at 22:23:52

    I know exactly what you’re talking about with the USPS (at least the parcel service - the regular mail part seems fine). The speed at which they ship is not terrible, it’s just that their tracking SUCKS. Last time I ordered something from them, when my item (unexpectedly) arrived, the tracking on their site still said “We have been notified by this shipper to expect your item for shipping” (paraphrasing). So I’m sitting there with the item, and according to their site, they still hadn’t received the item to ship it yet. Nice. Add to that the fact that any time you need to talk to somebody about the shipped item, you have to deal with the surly government workers that know that they don’t have any obligation to give you a good customer service experience. If you’re not happy with their service, their attitude (in my experience) has been “What the hell you gonna do about it?!” Plus, I had a case where a fairly expensive item looked like it might have gotten lost in shipping, and they said I’d have to wait 6 weeks before I’d even be able to file a claim. It did end up showing up, but if it hadn’t, I would have “gone postal.”

    All that adds up to me cringing when I see that somebody I’m ordering something from is shipping USPS. And they probably wonder why they’re losing out to UPS, FedEx, DHL, etc.! Oh well, the USPS will never go away, because our tax dollars will always be there to prop them up!

  4. Chris
    Comment by Chris | 2007/09/03 at 08:02:39

    You hit the nail on the head with that one illflux.

  5. Raul
    Comment by Raul | 2007/09/05 at 13:43:49

    Yeah, we have that same problem. We ship stuff through USPS and you never know where it is or when it will get delivered. If UPS and FedEx can do it, I don’t see how it’s so hard for the USPS to do it. It just can’t be that hard to invest in a tracking software. But oh well…I feel your pain.

  6. Chris
    Comment by Chris | 2007/09/05 at 17:34:02

    Sorry to hear that you have to deal with the USPS. And i agree. I’m not 100% sure why they don’t have what better tracking software. Probably has something to do with the government.


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