i hate the Post Office
goodriddance189
Posts: 2,388 ✭✭
i finally got my first damaged PSA card in the mail (from andiehaley, so i know it was the PO's fault), a 1978 OPC Lafleur PSA 8. i was tipped off becasue the bubble mailer was torn and the card was partially hanging out. the bottom of the holder is totally cracked, it looks like someone took a Mitre Saw to it. the card itself is ruined. i took it to the post office and made a few choice comments about them doing their jobs like a bunch of f-ing monkeys, and got asked to leave.
if the USPS wasnt a government entity, the BBB would have shut their pathetic arses down long ago. ridiculous.
if the USPS wasnt a government entity, the BBB would have shut their pathetic arses down long ago. ridiculous.
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But if you go around to places of business referring to their employees as "a bunch of f-ing monkeys," expect to be asked to leave.
(Unless you are in a zoo.)
POTD = 09/03/2003
Ask the post office people about the special yellow tape the cops have for them - it says "CRIME SCENE. NOW HIRING."
Nick
Reap the whirlwind.
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While I can sympathize with your plight,I would like to ask you few questions.
1)Did you chastize a totally innocent employee who just came to work today to support his family or did you get the person who was responsible for destroying your card?
2)If you had to trade places with the postal person that you made a few choice comments toward,would you have been happy with the comments that were directed at you?
3)Since this was your first damaged card,Do you expect to never receive another one damaged?
4)If you receive another damaged card,will you react the same again?
5)Don't you think that this could happen with any company?
6)Do you really think that the postal employee deserved the choice words that you gave him(her)?
7)Does this employee deserve an apology?
As a postal employee of 26+ years,I too have been on the receiving end of a few choice words.I can't remember being guilty of breaking anything(although I am sure that I did somewhere along the line).Accidents do happen(fact of life).I do know however,that when I handle a broken or damaged package, I think that I hope it was not something important and that the person receiving the package will be forgiving.
I have had my share of ass chewings and always wonder if the givers of these choice comments ever stop to think that maybe I had no idea how the package was broken and that it bothers me that we damage stuff also.I also wonder if they think how their comments affect my day as someone that justs comes to work to put in a days work to support my family.
My last question is:
Did you wonder how your comments affected the one that received them ?
Vic
PS
I did not write this to judge you nor do I want to show any negativity towards you.Just a perspective from one who has been there.
Vic
Vargha, that is by far one of the funniest damn things you have said yet
AKA..
Ebay - mpn2gwvputty
Ratso of the Booze Junkies MC
<< <i>What doesn't make any f$#king sense to me is why we must pay extra for insurance just to make sure they don't destroy our mail. It's retarded, that'd be like our email companies asking us for .10 cents each email to guarantee it's delivery. What a ripoff. >>
hmm.. email is free though.. postage isnt.. maybe they should just give us free postage too..
I agree we have to buy insurance because of their mistakes. I have on the average year 5 packages missing. And about 5 damaged. One was insured and they would pay the claim.
Thanks for letting me vent.
James
<< <i>they probably found the "monkey" comment offensive >>
or racist
Vargha,
I am getting out next week.Maybe I will catch a ride out west (ala ConAir).Be looking for me!!
Vic
It never ceases to amaze me just how great a job the US postal service does.
I've been sending and receiving dozens of letters and packages per week for the last few years,
and lost or damaged stuff has been well under 1 in a thousand. Pretty dam good average in my book.
As for the pink slips, mine just leaves the packages and slips in my mail box,
and I sign them and put them back out for him to pick up the next day.
Talk to your carrier and see if he'll work with you, and also be nice to him at Christmas.
"How about a little fire Scarecrow ?"
I know Will to be a reasonable and intelligent poster and individual.
I understand your opinions that as a postal employee you would find it inappropriate to direct harsh rhetoric at workers that may have nothing to do with the particular damage incurred.
However, I literally call the Post Office "Hell On Earth". It is a deserved moniker because the term horror stories used above is so applicable that I can't recall any one episode, but dozens and dozens of occurrences that would not be tolerated in a business or corporate setting.
Whether its routine indifference which causes the carrier to stuff my apartment box beyond capacity mangling items that are clearly marked "Fragile" or "Photos..Do not bend", or laziness that causes them to leave a postcard when they never once attempted delivery ( see a pattern on this one ), it is unacceptable.
The workers at my local office handle the job like a person assured of a "patronage" position...there is no feeling of accountability or responsibility. There is no seasonal aspect to the lines which form routinely out the door because only half the windows are manned while workers walk casually back and forth with no understandable purpose. I have seen an old man collapse in line from an hour wait and the postal workers screaming obnoxiously for his name before they would call an ambulance. I cannot imagine the wasted hours I have spent for no reason watching people working as if in a sports slo-mo replay.
I can understand Will's intolerance and frustration , though maybe misdirected at an undeserving recipient because we have all been pushed to the limits by what we experience and encounter.
It has become so bad that I opened up a FEDEX account and am happy to absorb an extra $7- over what I charge for delivery on my high end auctions. Have you ever seen how FEDEX operates? Accountability, tracing, customer service, respect and assured on time delivery is how they operate...notwithstanding the fact of the millions of pieces they are responsible for. NO EXCUSES, unlike the postal service.
You ask for respect to postal workers...how about we see some from them first...we pay your salaries.
Excellent post! My post office routinely has lines out the door, our windows are generally only half open, inlcuding during lunch rush when there is a line out the door and one of the only TWO windows are closed so that they may enjoy lunch.
The insurance is a complaint I have regularly. Paying someone extra to guarantee they don't screw up, what a joke. Also a joke is the continually rising rates. Virtually every year, the post office makes profits in the BILLIONS and continues to raise rates on everything, including the aforementioned BOGUS insurance.
I will admit that the people that work with the public are generally nice people, it is the goons that handle it with enough force to BREAK something that should be able to withstand hundreds of pounds of pressure.
Now I have one more thing to worry about . . . geez!
1) The hours at the post office are generally very inflexible and inconvenient. My post office is open from 8:30-6:00 during the week. Like most people, I work during that time. Because of these hours, people have to go when they can - not when it's convenient. So. . .the post office is totally and completely flooded during lunch hours. And Saturday? What a nightmare. By contrast, my local UPS hub is open until 8pm on weekdays and FedEx is open until 9pm - with Next Day deliveries accepted until that time and still guaranteed.
2) The counter workers I experience tend to be completely indifferent. This tends to be true at the five or six area post offices where I regularly mail things, not just my local office. There will be lines out the door and - no new windows/tellers open up, there's no sense of urgency on the part of the tellers, and when problems are brought to their attention there's an attitude of "yeah, whatever". As someone previously said, my experience with the employees at the office locations is they treat their job as an entitlement. I don't interact with carriers or route delivery personnel so I can't speak to that end of the post office business.
3) Regardless of which post office I mail things from, the counter workers seem to be willing to treat my packages with a lack of respect. I mailed my latest PSA order on Saturday 2/7 (more on this later) and insured it for $200. When finished, the guy at the counter promptly flung it the 20 or so feet to the Priority Mail bin. I can only presume he did this because he was too lazy to walk that distance to set it in there - why else would he treat a $200 item so shabbily?
4) There seems to be a lack of real-time in-route tracking by the post office. With UPS or FedEx, each item is scanned at each stop along the way and that information is viewable on their respective web sites in real-time. This comes standard with even the most economical service from either carrier. What gets me is that my USPS shipments almost always cost me more than I would have paid through UPS.
5) USPS employees are generally not empowered to make a situation right with the customer. It's nearly always "you need to call this department" or "fill out a form on our web site" or "you need to talk to a manager/supervisor". Adding time and layers to problem resolution is never good customer service and relations. Sort of going along with the sense of entitlement mentioned in #2, the counter workers also seem quick to whip out a "not my job".
------
My latest problem with the post office is such. . .
* Mailed PSA order to Newport Beach from Chicago on Saturday 2/7 via Priority Mail with Delivery Confirmation and insured for $200
* February 9 (Monday), I check the signature confirmation and it says "Your item was processed and left our NEWPORT BEACH, CA facility on February 09, 2004." Oh good! My PSA order should be entered any time now.
* This morning, Feb 13 when I look at the tracking information on the web site IT SAYS THE EXACT SAME THING!!!!
* So I called the USPS on 2/13 and basically was told the package arrived at Newport Beach on 2/9 and is at the post office - FOR ZIP CODE 92660! So it's sitting at the wrong post office and has been since 2/9. Apparently it is still waiting to be delivered to the correct post office across town (PSA's box is at 92658). Obviously PSA can't pick it up until it gets to their box. I eventually asked for a supervisor at the call center and asked him "Why should I be willing to accept as good service the fact that this shipment has taken 5 days to move across town and is still not yet properly delivered?" I mean it took two days for it to go from Chicago to Newport Beach - and then five days to go from one end of Newport Beach to the other?!?!?! He basically said that was my choice (whether to accept it). WTF???? Basically he told me I could take it or leave it. What balls. When I asked to speak to his supervisor, he gave me the number for my local USPS consumer affairs office.
* Called the local consumer affairs office and spoke to a nice lady who seemed interested in helping me. She took down my info and told me that she would have to call CA and they are 2 hrs behind us (in Chicago). She said she would call me after she talked to them.
I'll be sure to edit the thread as I get more information from them later today. . .
Mike
Mike
<< <i>royalbrett> As soon as PSA allows me to send my submissions to them via UPS or FedEx, I fully intend to follow your advice.
Mike >>
Ahh....I didn't know that information.
I recently had a similar problem with USPS and a PSA order. Here is a copy of the tracking information from the USPS website. Keep in mind I paid for Priority mail (2-3 days supposedly) with confirmation and insurance.
Your item was delivered at 7:54 am on February 07, 2004 in NEWPORT BEACH, CA 92658.
Here is what happened earlier:
ARRIVAL AT UNIT, February 07, 2004, 6:19 am, NEWPORT BEACH, CA 92660
ENROUTE, February 07, 2004, 12:06 am, NEWPORT BEACH, CA 92660
ACCEPTANCE, February 05, 2004, 3:20 pm, BATTLE CREEK, MI 49016
After checking the PSA website for a couple of days I emailed PSA to see if they had it. They didn't recieve it until the 12th!!!
I asked if they could have recieved it and not put it in the system and they said regardless of what kind of grading service you pay for the packages get entered as recieved as soon as they get them. I fail to see how I recieved "priority" handling when it took a week to get from my house to PSA.
Here is a copy from the PSA submission status area on their site.
PSA Order Status for Submission # 4142625
Date Received: 02/12/2004
Date of Grades Posted: No Date Specified
Date Shipped: No Date Specified
Unfortunately the Post office has me by the balls. Since I don't mail much bulk stuff it's easier for me to mail bubble mailers and small boxes at the post office than go through Fed Ex and UPS.
I didn't know you "couldn't" use FEDEX...since when ?
They have a special FEDEX drop with hold at facility and these instructions are clearly on the submission invoices.
I also choose not to wait for the sloth-like "registered mail" and elect my own carrier where indicated and again use FEDEX for one day delivery.
The employees at each of the post offices I go to are all very courteous and professional. They are always genuinely helpful and move quickly.
The two carriers I've had have both been excellent. The one guy at my previous house was exceptionally nice - he always went the extra mile to make sure my packages were out of plain view (since I lived on a busy corner with a bus stop) and he was always in a great mood. He knew my home well enough to know when I was at home or not and knew when he could safely leave packages. And the guy we've got at my current house is just about as good.
So I guess it all just depends on where ya live.
Tabe
www.tabe.nu
An update to my USPS story. . .
When I left off, I had called my local consumer affairs office and they were supposed to get back to me.
I'd called the consumer affairs office at about 8am my time. By 1pm, I had not heard back from the lady I'd spoken with. I had to call back and found the lady I spoke with was on the phone. She did call me back and told me that the package was indeed delivered on 2/9. When I asked why the web site wasn't updated, she couldn't answer. When I asked her why this information couldn't have been provided to me when I called the main USPS 1-800 number, she couldn't answer. I pressed her a bit and asked her how long I would have waited to find out my item been delivered if I hadn't taken the initiative and not only called the basic 1-800 number, but pushed the issue further. Again, she couldn't answer, but she offered to transfer me to her contact at the Newport Beach post office.
I spoke to a very nice and understanding gentleman at the Newport Beach post office. From what he told me, on items requiring two scans - such as insured items with delivery confirmations - one of their new employees was scanning only the insurance tag. He assured me that corrective action was taken to bring that employee up to speed. Of all the people in this process, he was by far the most understanding and knowledgable. Obviously if that scan of delivery confirmation isn't done, the web site couldn't be updated. I called PSA and found out they received my order and got it entered today.
The biggest problem I have with this whole USPS adventure is - why was it so incredibly difficult to get accurate information on my shipment? I understand if a guy doesn't perform a scan properly, it will cause confusion. But when I called the main USPS 1-800 number on their web site, I spoke to one operator and then to a supervisor. It was never, let me check on it and I'll call you back. Instead, it was more of the "not my job/department" attitude. It was "here's the number for your local consumer affairs office you need to call them". There was never an inkling of anyone doing something proactive for the customer until I called consumer affairs into it.
Mistakes do indeed happen at UPS and FedEx - but I have never had to jump through so many hoops to find out what was up with my shipments. When things work as they're supposed to, everyone's happy regardless of which carrier is used. However, all delivery companies are going to drop the ball occasionally. The best ones give you timely and accurate information and proactive help with minimum hassle and their employees are empowered - which fosters a "whatever it takes for the customer" attitude. This is where I find the post office most severely lacking.
dbj77> If PSA is backed up, it may take them a while from the time they receive your package until they get your order entered. During slow times, that's only 1-2 days maybe. During busy times it's longer. As it turned out, PSA got my package on 2/9 and only entered it today. This isn't unusual during busy times.
Mike
Don't listen to Vic. He is not actually a postal carrier, but an inmate at a state mental facility. He has bought cards from me in the past and I know the delivery address.
Come on. Just admit that you know Vic's delivery address at the state mental facility is 4 doors down from yours.
Nick
Reap the whirlwind.
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<< <i>Beachbum> I knew that you could have your cards returned to you via FedEx, but never knew you could send your orders to PSA with FedEx. I don't remember seeing this as a possibility written on the invoices. I'll be sure to scour the invoice form when I get home. >>
Absolutely you can. It's the only way I submit cards as well. The address is printed on every invoice, but if you want the cards returned to you FedEx, you need your own account (it's free to open one, and highly recommended). USPS Registered Mail is about as fast as the Pony Express.
Nick,
How did you know??
I wont tell him that you are down the next hall.
Vic
LOTH
Have you been wandering again? Does your dosage need to be increased?
Nick
P.S. The last two questions were asked by the voices.
Reap the whirlwind.
Need to buy something for the wife or girlfriend? Check out Vintage Designer Clothing.
RobBob
Nick,
How quickly you forget!! I work for the post office.We always know where you are.Also,All those package deliveries gave your location away!!
1) Yes
2) Most Definately!!!
Vic