Don't expect things to get better anytime soon at the PO

agentjim007

I was mailing today and heard the teller telling the lady ahead of me that the PO is hiring. They are paying 15 bucks an hour and no benefits. I missed part of what she said pretty sure it had to do with these are temporary positions. About half of what I mail lately gets misdirected. Today a package sent to Heritage made it to Dallas then misdirected. Temp workers won 't even do that good IMO. Does a worker making 15 an hour get more tempted to stick that small insured package in his pocket?

CoinRaritiesOnline

<< <i>About half of what I mail lately gets misdirected. >>



I mail a lot of boxes, and perhaps one or two have been misdirected in the last 5 years. You must be very, very unlucky.

CoinBuyer12

<< <i>I was mailing today and heard the teller telling the lady ahead of me that the PO is hiring. They are paying 15 bucks an hour and no benefits. I missed part of what she said pretty sure it had to do with these are temporary positions. About half of what I mail lately gets misdirected. Today a package sent to Heritage made it to Dallas then misdirected. Temp workers won 't even do that good IMO. Does a worker making 15 an hour get more tempted to stick that small insured package in his pocket? >>



Getting paid less should not tempt anyone more to steal. If it does, then they are a low person. A person making 50 cents an hour shouldn't steal.

agentjim007

I agree hopefully they hire honorable people. I guess I'm unlucky with I high percentage of misdirected but lucky because they all eventually make it.

LindeDad

<< <i>I agree hopefully they hire honorable people. I guess I'm unlucky with I high percentage of misdirected but lucky because they all eventually make it. >>



You do know that about 80% of the sorting is not done by people now don't you.

BaseballAbs

I would go to the PO in the next town over if I were you.

agentjim007

I didn't know that but I don't feel any better knowing that the machines are misdirecting my mail.

mrearlygold

<< <i>

<< <i>About half of what I mail lately gets misdirected. >>



I mail a lot of boxes, and perhaps one or two have been misdirected in the last 5 years. You must be very, very unlucky. >>

Senex

Either I am very lucky or the PO is doing a satisfactory job because in over 50 years of sending and receiving packages very few have been misdirected.

Baley

About half of what I mail lately gets misdirected

If that is not an exaggeration, then something is definitely going, particularly if what you're mailing is in different parts of the country, so it cannot be traced to a single branch.

How's your penmanship?

blu62vette

I have had a couple mis-routed recently so hopefully my run of mis-routes is over. I had an overnight from CA to MA spend 2 days in Puerto Rico. Made no sense.

mrearlygold

Never lost a single package. The closet I can was a fed ex was late and my customer in sunnyvale called them and found the package sitting on the runway. Once the post office left a 1794 silver dollar on a snow bank ( last winter ) up north but miraculously have never lost a single package and it's been decades.

BAJJERFAN

Talk about misdirecting, did you know that every PO also has a forwarding PO? Mine here in Ames is in Wichita, KS. If I get my neighbor's mail by accident and choose to forward it to him, the computerized postal system first sends it to Wichita which then forwards it on back to him. GO FIGGER!!!

Bochiman

I use a printer to print out the majority of the labels. I hand deliver to the local post office to have it directly dropped there, even if I buy the postage online.
I have a good relationship with many of the workers there. I tape (paper tape) all seams and sides of the boxes. On the envelopes, I do the same to the flaps and areas on the back of the envelopes where someone may cut a small slit (happened to me one time, so I learned).

I haven't had a problem yet, doing the above.

Only 2 problems I have had have, aside from slow mail going out sometimes, has been on the receiving end....once a coin was stolen (slit cut in rear of envelope and removed...almost unnoticeable) and once when the Chris Farley wanna-be and lookalike (temp worker or something) gave my "must be signed for express package" to a completely different address/person (where you have to show ID to pick it up). That worked out, in the end, once I got his management involved (told them that they were on the hook for irreplaceable collectibles insured for ~$4000.......had my package within 90 minutes after that...)

agentjim007

Misdirected doesn't mean lost and I pay online so my writing isn't the problem. Within the last month a registered from Chicago to Kentucky first went to New York. I don't know why I have so many misdirects. It's not my PO because the issues are always down the road. I am surprised to hear you guys don't have the same problem. A package sent to a forum member recently left the same PO 3 times before getting to his PO. That's not really a misdirect but it added an extra day to a priority.

yellowkid

<< <i>I was mailing today and heard the teller telling the lady ahead of me that the PO is hiring. They are paying 15 bucks an hour and no benefits. I missed part of what she said pretty sure it had to do with these are temporary positions. About half of what I mail lately gets misdirected. Today a package sent to Heritage made it to Dallas then misdirected. Temp workers won 't even do that good IMO. Does a worker making 15 an hour get more tempted to stick that small insured package in his pocket? >>



Which postal serice do you use? In ten years of mailing, sometimes a couple hundred things in a year, I've never had any problems.

DaveG

agentjim007:

Just because the Post Office doesn't ship boxes in what we would consider the most efficient routes doesn't mean your shipments are being mis-directed.

Sending a shipment from Kansas to California via New York is like the airlines having you fly from Dallas to New York via Atlanta - it doesn't make sense to us, but it must to them.

agentjim007

Tracking actually says misdirected, I didn't make it up.

MacCrimmon

I've had a Registered shipment sitting at the sorting facility since 1/12. The location is less than 5 miles from my house. If I get time before closing tomorrow I'm going over to kick someone's behind.

segoja

Maybe their tracking system doesn't work well. I ship about 100 packages a week, and haven't had one lost or mis directed in over 5 years. A couple of slow reggies, but they all made it.

DaveG

Mac Crimmon:

Frequently, registered packages will wait at a sorting facility until there are several other registered packages going to the same post office and then they'll be shipped together in a secure truck.

That's one of the reasons why registered mail is frequently slower than regular mail

notwilight

I shipped a golf club to Dallas. The buyer contacted me and said it got to his post office, showed out to delivery, and then was "missent" to the other side of Dallas. The buyer just wanted to alert me in case it was returned. The straightened it out the next day and he got it. First time I've ever seen the "missent" designation on one of my shipments. --Jerry

mozin

Affirmative Action and similar preferential hiring ideas do not affect postal mail handling machines, only human workers. We should hire workers without considering anything to do with their sex, age, race or religion. Another obstacle to having the most qualified workers is the unions. You get hired for life, no matter how bad a worker you are, or become.

jt88

I think USPS got lots of missent recently. I got couple miscent recently and express delay as well.

CoinBuyer12

<< <i>. Another obstacle to having the most qualified workers is the unions. You get hired for life, no matter how bad a worker you are, or become. >>



As the son of a union employee, that statement is not true.

To give you an example, the state I live in, you can be fired for no reason. You have no guarantee of a job, whatsoever, unless your in the union.

Also, a lot of non-union employees get paid minimum wage. Even at 40 hours a week, you cannot suffice on minimum wage.

If your a union worker, and slack off, you WILL loose your job.



<< <i>Union members in the United States earn significantly more than non-union workers. Over the four-year period between 2004 and 2007, unionized workers’ wages were on average 11.3 percent higher than non-union workers with similar characteristics. That means that, all else equal, American workers that join a union will earn 11.3 percent more—or $2.26 more per hour in 2008 dollars—than their otherwise identical non-union counterparts. >>



Anyway, anyone against a union is either a communist, or loves slaving away for $8.25 an hour.

mrpotatoheadd

<< <i>To give you an example, the state I live in, you can be fired for no reason. >>

And you can quit your job (read: fire your employer) for no reason, too. Seems fair to me.

<< <i>You have no guarantee of a job, whatsoever... >>

Why should your job be guaranteed?

<< <i>Also, a lot of non-union employees get paid minimum wage. Even at 40 hours a week, you cannot suffice on minimum wage. >>

Most minimum wage jobs are entry level jobs, not the kind of jobs people make a career of.

<< <i>If your a union worker, and slack off, you WILL loose your job. >>

Sure you will. That's a good one.

sniocsu

For the most part my PO doesn't misdirect much of my mail. I have probably had it happen twice in the last 2 years

g048406

<< <i>I've had a Registered shipment sitting at the sorting facility since 1/12. The location is less than 5 miles from my house. If I get time before closing tomorrow I'm going over to kick someone's behind. >>



I got you beat.....I've got (3) Registered packages, all going to different locations, sitting at the sortiung facility since 1/14. I went to my local PO today, they called the sorting PO, they said they're ALL still sitting there in their safe.

LochNESS

This is an old debate, yes? Each USPS branch is independent in terms of accountability and reliability. They all ship OK it's the receiving that occasionally goes South.

For example the branch nearest my house sucks at receiving and yet every single package I've ever SENT has arrived at its destination both domestic and international.

Now it's my turn to vent
When I say my branch "sucks at receiving," I have a PO Box to which I've had at least three envelopes (properly addressed [to me]) get returned to sender even though my name is clearly on the Box. Meanwhile I continue to get mail in my box that is addressed to someone else / other box numbers.
I've also had packages that my carrier scanned "delivered" to my house even though I never got them. When I inquired to my postmaster, they could not locate the packages anywhere. Miraculously these very same boxes showed up a month later. One time the box arrived three months after it had been "delivered" by which time I'd already received a secondary shipment (luckily it was supplies; easily substituted). But I still have faith in my branch's ability to send packages.

Wingsrule

If your a union worker, and slack off, you WILL loose your job.

Sure. Just like the Chrysler workers filmed by a local TV crew drinking and smoking during lunch in a public park. Reinstated with full back pay.

gonzer

<< <i>I was mailing today and heard the teller telling the lady ahead of me that the PO is hiring. They are paying 15 bucks an hour and no benefits. I missed part of what she said pretty sure it had to do with these are temporary positions. About half of what I mail lately gets misdirected. Today a package sent to Heritage made it to Dallas then misdirected. Temp workers won 't even do that good IMO. Does a worker making 15 an hour get more tempted to stick that small insured package in his pocket? >>

Text

This often happens at the PO. The hiring is done in waves, it's not a constant activity. These workers are known as TE's; Transitional Employees and PTF's; Part time Flexibles. The testing to become qualified for a position is a helluva lot tougher than you think, I know since I was a PTF for 10 years. Although I qualified for full-time I always declined so's I could work graveyard and surf all day. These workers are not your run-of-the-mill Burger King patty tossers. In all fairness to the employees, the majority of problems at the PO's around the country center around the constant changing of floor supervisors.

1tommy

1st Package stolen in anaheim po in November, last week another member mailed me a coin set and on Friday it showed out for delivery, I saw my mailman and asked about the package and he said they had alot come in late and he will come back out after he finished his route. So 4:20 friday night I hear the truck go by and watch as he goes to another house than leaves. So I go back on line and sure enough it shows package delivered and signed for at a Walgreens 7o miles away. I call the 800 number to see whats up and the guy checks and than tells me to notify the sender to file a claim. Now I said can't you call danville and ask? He said No , I insisted than for him to give me the phone number for that office. I called danville and asked and was told no worries just a computer glitch and my package will show or file a claim. Saturday I see my postman again and he tells me the package is now at the bloomington office and if I wanted to I could go pickup.....I Did........Tuesday my package from the Mint showed as delivered and signed for in another town, didn't even bother to call and sure enough Wensday the package showed up. I don't know whats going on but it has put a damper on me sending any coins to our host..........Enjoy

ambro51

So many complaints.....So few solutions.

DeliaBug

Wow I must be really, really lucky. In 20 years and countless packages I've only had one problem, ever, and they paid out on the amount it was insured for without any problems. They've done an excellent job for me.

However in disclosure, I don't track things online either. So this may have happened to me hundreds of times and I just don't know about it. My theory is when it gets here, it gets here.

dantheman984

The only time I ran into problems with the PO was for short periods at a time. My packages were just totally gone. No tracking, no nothing. This happened when I use to go to the PO to send them off. Come to find out it was workers at my PO stealing my packages. People that smiled at me and had great conversations with too. I could not believe it. I found out because I was pretty close with someone that worked there. To my amazement, the people that did this were people that were transferred to my PO for doing the same thing somewhere else. Now, I am told they have cameras everywhere. I have not had this problem for quite some time now.

AngryTurtle

Heres my latest USPS journey. They threw in an extra trip cross country to Springfield at no extra charge.

Notice Left
January 03, 2013, 9:23 am
BOULDER, CO 80301
Out for Delivery
January 03, 2013, 8:59 am
BOULDER, CO 80301
Sorting Complete
January 03, 2013, 8:49 am
BOULDER, CO 80301
Arrival at Post Office
January 03, 2013, 3:50 am
BOULDER, CO 80301
Processed through USPS Sort Facility
January 02, 2013, 10:34 pm
DENVER, CO 80217
Depart USPS Sort Facility
January 02, 2013
SPRINGFIELD, MA 01152
Processed through USPS Sort Facility
January 02, 2013, 1:48 am
SPRINGFIELD, MA 01152
Depart USPS Sort Facility
December 29, 2012
DENVER, CO 80217
Processed through USPS Sort Facility
December 29, 2012, 12:59 am
DENVER, CO 80217
Processed at USPS Origin Sort Facility
December 27, 2012, 7:00 pm
PHILADELPHIA, PA 19116
Accepted at USPS Origin Sort Facility
December 27, 2012, 5:45 pm
WALLINGFORD, PA 19086
Electronic Shipping Info Received
December 27, 2012

BAJJERFAN

<< <i>

<< <i>I've had a Registered shipment sitting at the sorting facility since 1/12. The location is less than 5 miles from my house. If I get time before closing tomorrow I'm going over to kick someone's behind. >>



I got you beat.....I've got (3) Registered packages, all going to different locations, sitting at the sortiung facility since 1/14. I went to my local PO today, they called the sorting PO, they said they're ALL still sitting there in their safe. >>



Did they say why they were just "sitting" there?

Unknown

This content has been removed.

mrpotatoheadd

<< <i>However in disclosure, I don't track things online either. So this may have happened to me hundreds of times and I just don't know about it. My theory is when it gets here, it gets here. >>

If your theory ever gains any popularity here, the number of threads that get started would decrease significantly.

yellowkid

<< <i>Affirmative Action and similar preferential hiring ideas do not affect postal mail handling machines, only human workers. We should hire workers without considering anything to do with their sex, age, race or religion. Another obstacle to having the most qualified workers is the unions. You get hired for life, no matter how bad a worker you are, or become. >>



I hate it when these things go political......

libertydude

<< <i>

<< <i>. Another obstacle to having the most qualified workers is the unions. You get hired for life, no matter how bad a worker you are, or become. >>



As the son of a union employee, that statement is not true.

To give you an example, the state I live in, you can be fired for no reason. You have no guarantee of a job, whatsoever, unless your in the union.

Also, a lot of non-union employees get paid minimum wage. Even at 40 hours a week, you cannot suffice on minimum wage.

If your a union worker, and slack off, you WILL loose your job.



<< <i>Union members in the United States earn significantly more than non-union workers. Over the four-year period between 2004 and 2007, unionized workers’ wages were on average 11.3 percent higher than non-union workers with similar characteristics. That means that, all else equal, American workers that join a union will earn 11.3 percent more—or $2.26 more per hour in 2008 dollars—than their otherwise identical non-union counterparts. >>



Anyway, anyone against a union is either a communist, or loves slaving away for $8.25 an hour. >>



I have a few friends in different unions. I've heard stories of boneheaded, life-threatening moves that result in no disciplinary action. Not saying that's common, just saying it does happen.

I find it disturbing union members, by de facto, get paid more than non-union members. If the quality of work is there, membership shouldn't matter. That, of course, leads to the question: Are union members being paid more than fair market wages? And that opens a bucket of worms!!!

BAJJERFAN

Do you folks who set up at coin shows have to get union electricians/laborers to plug in your viewing lamps?

CoinBuyer12

<< <i>I find it disturbing union members, by de facto, get paid more than non-union members. If the quality of work is there, membership shouldn't matter. That, of course, leads to the question: Are union members being paid more than fair market wages? And that opens a bucket of worms!!! >>



I have worked at 2 different companies related to manufacturing. I worked at United Facilities, which distributes for General Mills, I worked at Derby Industries, which makes parts for fridges, ice makers, and other appliance.

Both of these places, I was hired as a temporary worker.

Now if you get on normally at a company, you have 90 days "probation" before you start receiving benefits. With temps, you wait 90 days with the temp, and ANOTHER 90 days with the company.

That's an extra 90 days that the company gets to not pay any benefits. A lot of non-union places love using temps, so they can do that.

One girl, who had been working there over 10 years, was only making 14 dollars an hour.

Now, 14 dollars, in this day and age, is not very much money. When you consider taxes and other things, it's not even 22 grand a year. The average yearly salary in the US is about 44 grand per yer.

With unions, you usually don't start out at minimum wage. I don't even call it minimum wage, I call it insult wage, because it's impractical for anyone to try and live on that amount.

When my dad retired from a rubber company in the year 2000, which was unionized, he was making $14 an hour. Adjusting for inflation, that's almost $20 an hour.

With that salary, he built a new house in 2001. Today, some of the building materials uses have almost tripled in price.

The point is, without a union, many companies are inclined to only pay minimum wage, which doesn't cut it anymore.

mrpotatoheadd

<< <i>The point is, without a union, many companies are inclined to only pay minimum wage, which doesn't cut it anymore. >>

Companies pay what a job is worth to them. Some jobs do not add enough value to afford a company to pay more than minimum wage rates. And some jobs don't even add that much value, which means that nobody gets hired to do them even if there are people who would like to. So... even though this point often goes overlooked, minimun wage = guaranteed unemployment for some people.

g048406

<< I've had a Registered shipment sitting at the sorting facility since 1/12. The location is less than 5 miles from my house. If I get time before closing tomorrow I'm going over to kick someone's behind. >>



I got you beat.....I've got (3) Registered packages, all going to different locations, sitting at the sortiung facility since 1/14. I went to my local PO today, they called the sorting PO, they said they're ALL still sitting there in their safe. >>



"Did they say why they were just "sitting" there?"

No, but, today, 2 of the 3 packages were magically delivered. The squeaky wheel syndrome worked. Unfortunately, I had 2 "eBay note: Your action is required for item not received case by Jan 31, 2013" cases opened because of the PO's slowness. I can not risk sending anything by Registered again.

LochNESS

<< <i>... The average yearly salary in the US is about 44 grand per year... >>


I'm curious where forum users fall in regard to this statistic.

I'll start by admitting I make less than $44k annually. But I'm also a musician so ... big shocker! If you're retired, congrats to you

ldhair

<< <i>

<< <i>I find it disturbing union members, by de facto, get paid more than non-union members. If the quality of work is there, membership shouldn't matter. That, of course, leads to the question: Are union members being paid more than fair market wages? And that opens a bucket of worms!!! >>



I have worked at 2 different companies related to manufacturing. I worked at United Facilities, which distributes for General Mills, I worked at Derby Industries, which makes parts for fridges, ice makers, and other appliance.

Both of these places, I was hired as a temporary worker.

Now if you get on normally at a company, you have 90 days "probation" before you start receiving benefits. With temps, you wait 90 days with the temp, and ANOTHER 90 days with the company.

That's an extra 90 days that the company gets to not pay any benefits. A lot of non-union places love using temps, so they can do that.

One girl, who had been working there over 10 years, was only making 14 dollars an hour.

Now, 14 dollars, in this day and age, is not very much money. When you consider taxes and other things, it's not even 22 grand a year. The average yearly salary in the US is about 44 grand per yer.

With unions, you usually don't start out at minimum wage. I don't even call it minimum wage, I call it insult wage, because it's impractical for anyone to try and live on that amount.

When my dad retired from a rubber company in the year 2000, which was unionized, he was making $14 an hour. Adjusting for inflation, that's almost $20 an hour.

With that salary, he built a new house in 2001. Today, some of the building materials uses have almost tripled in price.

The point is, without a union, many companies are inclined to only pay minimum wage, which doesn't cut it anymore. >>


Tim. You are a bit young to understand but if every company had to pay $14 an hour, most would be out of business in less than a year. That cost has to be passed on to the customer. Every job has a price that it's worth. I would take most any job that would help be pay the bills. Anyone with any smarts would do the same.

Lakesammman

As much as I dislike the service on the front end, have never had a package lost.

dtkk49a

The only people who complain about union workers and thier benefits are the people who are not getting the same sweet deal.

Both of my parents were hard working union workers and retired with nice pensions. When she retired, my mother had health benefits for life. She was in the hospital for months before she passed and her medical bills were over a million dollars - all paid by her company. It allowed my father to keep the house and his money. And, you can say, it allowed the kids to inherit his estate, which would not be there if he was stuck with her medical bills.

In contrast, I am a non union worker and have been with my employer for over 25 years. I must admit that I do fairly well, but my company does not offer a reitrement fund or benefits for life. We are always worried about losing our jobs and just like everyone else, our investments have taken hits over the last 5 years. I will have to take care of my own health benefits when I retire. If I wind up in the hospital for months, it can have a big impact on my family.

So the bottom line is, if you are making serious money, you probably have no worries. But if you are like most non-union people, you need to be concerned about your retirement.

As far as the post office is concerned, I would rather see the postal rate go up 10 cents if it would fix all the issues. To me, sending a padded envelope accross the country for $4 is a good deal.

LochNESS

<< <i>... As far as the post office is concerned, I would rather see the postal rate go up 10 cents if it would fix all the issues. To me, sending a padded envelope accross the country for $4 is a good deal. >>


Ditto. I second that emotion Better to get there safely.