C'mon USPS!

[Ace-Garageguy]

Knowing very well that it's often easy to criticize from the comfort of one's living room, I honestly try to see both sides of most things...eventually.

Considering the USPS moves approximately 506 MILLION pieces of mail DAILY, their system must obviously be working pretty well overall.

Sure there may be the occasional odd routing, or misplaced package, or some other problem that seems of vital importance to the individual who's personally inconvenienced, but in the larger scheme of things, the percentages are probably so small that a large-scale look at ultra-fine-tuning just isn't justified. When something is really working pretty well, it's often smarter to leave it alone.

It's popular these days to perform endless tinkering with systems that work quite well, and in the process, make messes of things that were just fine and functional as they were. Ebay is guilty of that, as anyone who actually pays attention to some of the stupid of their online experience and has a critical kind of mind will notice. A lot of functionality from previous versions of that particular site has become glitchy due to mindless "making it better" just to be doing something.

Here are some other numbers that kinda prove to me that the USPS is really doing a very good job, much better than a lot of organizations, and certainly a lot better than many people give them credit for.

Just one day in the life of the

U.S. Postal Service... by the numbers

Each day, the Postal Service picks up, processes and delivers millions of letters and packages. No single operation in the world comes close to this level of connectivity to so many households and businesses. Here’s just one day in the life of the U.S. Postal Service. (Figures are averages.)

• 235.2 million — revenue received in dollars
• 160.2 million  — dollars paid to postal employees in salaries and benefits
• 506.4 million  — number of mailpieces processed and delivered each day
• 21.1 million — average number of mailpieces processed each hour
• 351,656 — average number of mailpieces processed each minute
• 5,861 — average number of mailpieces processed each second
• 200.4 million  — pieces of First-Class Mail processed and delivered
• 7,131 —  number of letter carriers who deliver mail entirely on foot — The USPS Fleet of Feet
• 54,490 — number of address changes processed
• 3,748 — number of addresses added to our delivery network
• 4.6 million — number of people who visit usps.com
• $2.7 million —  dollar amount of online stamp and retail sales at usps.com
• 1.5 million — number of Click-N-Ship labels printed
• 297,004  — number of money orders issued
• 0 — tax dollars received for operating the Postal Service

[slusher]

I have had packages go from our sorting station in Memphis, go west by mistake only to be sent back to Memphis and then to me. Steve this may be what happen to yours...

 

[niteowl7710]

The other "amazing" thing about the USPS logistics model is that other than the local mail carriers and time spent on FedEx planes, about 99.5% of the entire ball of wax is coordinated through an army of private government contractors like myself. Dirty secret, unless you have 23 years in as a "Federal" Postal employee, we make more than they do. 

But we're also some of the most experienced and motivated drivers you'll come across. The mail has to go regardless of the weather. The two drivers and myself that operate our little contract have over 70 years of combined accident free operations. 

[StevenGuthmiller]

Knowing very well that it's often easy to criticize from the comfort of one's living room, I honestly try to see both sides of most things...eventually.

Considering the USPS moves approximately 506 MILLION pieces of mail DAILY, their system must obviously be working pretty well overall.

Sure there may be the occasional odd routing, or misplaced package, or some other problem that seems of vital importance to the individual who's personally inconvenienced, but in the larger scheme of things, the percentages are probably so small that a large-scale look at ultra-fine-tuning just isn't justified. When something is really working pretty well, it's often smarter to leave it alone.

It's popular these days to perform endless tinkering with systems that work quite well, and in the process, make messes of things that were just fine and functional as they were. Ebay is guilty of that, as anyone who actually pays attention to some of the stupid of their online experience and has a critical kind of mind will notice. A lot of functionality from previous versions of that particular site has become glitchy due to mindless "making it better" just to be doing something.

Here are some other numbers that kinda prove to me that the USPS is really doing a very good job, much better than a lot of organizations, and certainly a lot better than many people give them credit for.

Just one day in the life of the

U.S. Postal Service... by the numbers

Each day, the Postal Service picks up, processes and delivers millions of letters and packages. No single operation in the world comes close to this level of connectivity to so many households and businesses. Here’s just one day in the life of the U.S. Postal Service. (Figures are averages.)

• 235.2 million — revenue received in dollars
• 160.2 million  — dollars paid to postal employees in salaries and benefits
• 506.4 million  — number of mailpieces processed and delivered each day
• 21.1 million — average number of mailpieces processed each hour
• 351,656 — average number of mailpieces processed each minute
• 5,861 — average number of mailpieces processed each second
• 200.4 million  — pieces of First-Class Mail processed and delivered
• 7,131 —  number of letter carriers who deliver mail entirely on foot — The USPS Fleet of Feet
• 54,490 — number of address changes processed
• 3,748 — number of addresses added to our delivery network
• 4.6 million — number of people who visit usps.com
• $2.7 million —  dollar amount of online stamp and retail sales at usps.com
• 1.5 million — number of Click-N-Ship labels printed
• 297,004  — number of money orders issued
• 0 — tax dollars received for operating the Postal Service

I agree with Bill.

In general, I have very few complaints with the USPS.

Overall, they do a pretty good job.

I just thought that it was a little odd that my package would basically take a tour of the entire Northeastern quarter of the country to travel 300 miles.

I realize that it was most likely just some sort of mistake & I'm in no hurry to receive the package, so all in all, no harm, no foul.

On my last check I noticed that my package has arrived in Rochester & will most likely be in my mail box tomorrow afternoon.

 

Steve

[niteowl7710]

We have a little bin at the dock doors of the local MPC for mis-sent packages that make it past the Warrendale Plant down to County Level.  Last night it had a package from Amazon sent from China going to Massachusetts that the correct city/state but did not have the "0" for a Mass Zip and instead the remaining digits - which were printed offset and in bold no less - which sorted it to our 15x Zip 3 service center.  Dunno if the person in China thought the zero was a place holder, or forgot it, but that package took a really circuitous route.

[djflyer]

As bad (or dumb) as some of this sounds with USPS - I will take them ANY DAY over UPS or FedEx.  I get lots of things shipped to me by all three and to date every package on UPS or FedEx has arrived damaged - some severely.  How do you punch in the END of a heavy duty poster tube with out the tube being damaged in any way??  (unless someone did it on purpose).

UPS also has been part of the biggest rip-off I have ever seen.  I won two die-casts from the Barrett-Jackson Scotsdale auction, both items in the original boxes with the extra-thick styrofoam liner.  They had to be shipped through the local UPS Store.  If shipped by weight the cost would have been a couple dollars, but noooo they had to ship based on the size of the box, not the weight at a cost of $55.00.  The pictures show how it arrived:

 

 

[935k3]

I use to think bad of th USPS but for the most part they have been very good with stuff I order. I get stuff quicker from them than UPS, I actually prefer the post office these days. I get stuff from a company in Ohio and it takes 4 days to get it to me in south central PA. It takes First Class mail 2 days.

Edited May 24, 2017 by 935k3

[Xingu]

As bad (or dumb) as some of this sounds with USPS - I will take them ANY DAY over UPS or FedEx.  I get lots of things shipped to me by all three and to date every package on UPS or FedEx has arrived damaged - some severely.  How do you punch in the END of a heavy duty poster tube with out the tube being damaged in any way??  (unless someone did it on purpose).

UPS also has been part of the biggest rip-off I have ever seen.  I won two die-casts from the Barrett-Jackson Scotsdale auction, both items in the original boxes with the extra-thick styrofoam liner.  They had to be shipped through the local UPS Store.  If shipped by weight the cost would have been a couple dollars, but noooo they had to ship based on the size of the box, not the weight at a cost of $55.00.  The pictures show how it arrived:

In this case, it isn't the fault of USPS, it is the shipper that boxed them up. To be fair, they boxed these as they should have been boxed. They were also, more than likely, following the shipping guidelines that their company uses. Imagine receiving a fragile item that was broken because they were not packaged securely. Your argument would be, why did they ship these in such a small box with no padding. I get items shipped from Amazon that I am amazed are not broken when I receive them. Small box in a larger box with a single air bag to cushion it, everything just slides around in the box.

[Mike999]

I often order from an online vendor who offers UPS SurePost delivery.  It's about half the price of other shipping methods and very fast.  I think it means that UPS trucks the package to my local Post Office, which delivers it.  I know it's always delivered by my usual fe-mail carrier in her Jeep.

That fe-mail carrier is probably about ready to clobber me.  I'm getting ready for an eBay sale and ordered 4 different bunches of free shipping boxes from USPS. They came in 3 different shipments, all pretty big and heavy, and she had to drive down my driveway and leave them on the porch.  I was either gone or didn't hear her all 3 times.

[djflyer]

In this case, it isn't the fault of USPS, it is the shipper that boxed them up. To be fair, they boxed these as they should have been boxed. They were also, more than likely, following the shipping guidelines that their company uses. Imagine receiving a fragile item that was broken because they were not packaged securely. Your argument would be, why did they ship these in such a small box with no padding. I get items shipped from Amazon that I am amazed are not broken when I receive them. Small box in a larger box with a single air bag to cushion it, everything just slides around in the box.

That might be true for other items but not for die casts like these. They are securely packed within their own boxes, unable to move as they are attached to, and surrounded by a solid block of form-fit styrofoam at least an inch thick (see photo).  Separate boxes with a couple of inches of pellets would have cost less than 25% of what I was charged.

That much additional packing was not required, especially if UPS knows how to handle items.  So is it the UPS Store is protecting me from the careless UPS shipping?

[peteski]

UPS stores (at least the ones around my area) are not part of UPS - they are their own entities.  So whatever they did (packing-wise) it is their doing (not UPS). But since UPS now charges per volume (not weight) of a package, maybe the UPS store is in collusion with the UPS mothership to maximize their profit?

[Tom Geiger]

UPS stores (at least the ones around my area) are not part of UPS - they are their own entities.  So whatever they did (packing-wise) it is their doing (not UPS). But since UPS now charges per volume (not weight) of a package, maybe the UPS store is in collusion with the UPS mothership to maximize their profit?

UPS bought a mailbox chain (I forget the name of it) and the stores are all franchises.  I was told by an employee at the UPS depot that the stores can charge whatever they want for UPS rates!  I just received a few large packages from Salt Lake City, that were packed by one of those stores.  They looked exactly like the package pictured.  So I bet this packing technique is in that chain's training and standards.

On the other hand, when I get a shipment from most online merchants, it's just the product slammed into a box, banging around with maybe a few of those large air filled bubbles 

[crazyjim]

Bought a Comet Cyclone GT off ebay.  It was coming from TX to FL and supposed to be delivered Friday.  Got it yesterday.  Pretty quick.