bummed: postal mail

[Irulan]

Wanna hear the most tragic story ever? A friend of mine lost her husband (he was only in his mid-30s) to cancer on Christmas day a few years back. The married at the JP <2 weeks earlier, on their way to the hospital. Her wedding/engagement ring was a gorgeous Tiffany platinum setting. The diamond had fallen out and she miraculously found it where she had filled up her gas tank.

So she takes it to Tiffany and they ship it back to her. When the UPS guy hands her the box she discovers that a hole had been carefully cut in the bottom of the box and the small ring box inside removed. The shipping box in no way identified it as having come from Tiffany, so someone within UPS was aware of who the shipper was and managed to remove the contents.

It was insured, so the ring was replaced--but it wasn't the ring and stone that her late husband had purchased for her so shortly before passing. It was insult added to injury.

I had this happen iwth a FedEx package containing a custom backpack. I shipped it from the Fedex facility and it was opened enroute and resealed with a new label and (less) weight over the original label. I don't know how anyone would have known what was in it, but it did happen. They paid the claim but the pack was irrepelaceable.

No shipper is 100% infallible. I ship anywhere from 30-100 packages a month with my business.

With the USPS though... they make it so difficult.
- The recent rate change: you cannot download a PDF chart off the web. It doesn't exist.( The web support people said, Oh we should have that, what a good idea!!) You have to drive to the post office and stand in line to get one. It still doesn't make sense to the average layperson. They keep telling me, you can use the online calculator. Sorry folks but that takes 10x longer to fill in a web page than is does to put something on the scale and look at a chart on the wall.
-making labels on the USPS website takes 10x longer than doing it on the UPS website.
-You can't put a signature release on file for deliveries that require a signature. You can do this with Fedex/UPS; you can also sign the tag and the guy will bring the item back the next day. USPS? If you miss the guy with the signature tag, you have to go to the post office and stand in line.
-OMG, the lines at the counter. The glacial pace at which they consistently move.
-overall complexity. I had a packaged returned to me because, although it was the same size/color/font/logo as a "flat rate box" it was some other kind of USPS box. Jeez louweez, can't they just send it on already?

And here's the one that really gets me. The USPS makes most of its money processing junk mail. Therefore, a constant deluge of junk mail is important so people don't lose their jobs. I've read many quotes to that effect. Sorry, I don't get that. I should have to sort my mail over the recycling bin or throw it away to keep someone in a job? Surely there's another way to do it....

[Koronin]

If a thief every stole one of the packages I get they'd be highly dissappointed as most of the packages I get are for work and typically contain ads that get put up in grocery, drug, or dollar stores. Nothing they could sell or anything else.

[NbyNW]

I am not certain what hold mail service is. But I've had packages that were held at the local postal office free, for a limited number of days after they attempted delivery. Then I pick it up, etc.

Say you were going to be out of town for a week or two, or a month, or as is often the case in Alberta, 6 months. And you don't have someone to check your mailbox for you, or for whatever reason you don't want to inconvenience a friend by asking them to empty your mailbox every day. You can fill out a request with the postal service to automatically hold ALL of your mail at whatever postal location normally serves your address. It's a great alternative to having your postal carrier stuff and overflow your box and then leave a pissy note about how your box is full, and having your mail spilling out of your box while you are away, alerting any passing opportunists that you are out of town and no one is looking in on your home.

And then you can opt to pick it up or have it delivered when you return.

So, CP charges for this service; USPS does not.

[shootingstar]

Say you were going to be out of town for a week or two, or a month, or as is often the case in Alberta, 6 months. And you don't have someone to check your mailbox for you, or for whatever reason you don't want to inconvenience a friend by asking them to empty your mailbox every day. You can fill out a request with the postal service to automatically hold ALL of your mail at whatever postal location normally serves your address. It's a great alternative to having your postal carrier stuff and overflow your box and then leave a pissy note about how your box is full, and having your mail spilling out of your box while you are away, alerting any passing opportunists that you are out of town and no one is looking in on your home.

And then you can opt to pick it up or have it delivered when you return.

So, CP charges for this service; USPS does not.

I'm actually not surprised there is a charge. As long it's a small charge. Pile up of mail takes up (leased commercial) space. Multiply that.. by number of customers. But hey, you no longer need to worry in the U.S. now.

That's really sad about the ring.

[ny biker]

And here's the one that really gets me. The USPS makes most of its money processing junk mail. Therefore, a constant deluge of junk mail is important so people don't lose their jobs. I've read many quotes to that effect. Sorry, I don't get that. I should have to sort my mail over the recycling bin or throw it away to keep someone in a job? Surely there's another way to do it....

Actually I think they make more money with First-Class mail, or at least they used to until recent years when the volume declined so much.

The Postal Service does not create the advertising mail. The companies that are trying to sell stuff use it because they make money with it. Honestly, many of them dislike the Postal Service. If advertising mail went away, most of the people who would lose their jobs would be the people who work for the companies that are selling the stuff (and the printers, data processors and fulfillment companies that work for them).

You can sign up with the Direct Marketing Association's Mail Preference Service and their member organizations will stop sending you mail.

https://www.dmachoice.org/dma/static/learn_more.jsp

As for the USPS, they have been cutting jobs for years now, and are trying to cut more and to close processing facilities that they no longer need. But Congress needs to approve their plans and they're whining about it.

[Irulan]

been there, done that for mass marketing mails, catalog removal requests...

I guess its split for junk mail revenue/first class, found this at first glance
http://stateimpact.npr.org/new-hamps...ostal-service/

[ny biker]

been there, done that for mass marketing mails, catalog removal requests...

I guess its split for junk mail revenue/first class, found this at first glance
http://stateimpact.npr.org/new-hamps...ostal-service/

It's split on number of pieces, but First-Class still accounts for more revenue because Standard Mail rates are lower.

And this is most important statement in that article, although the author was bound and determined to ignore it and keep focusing on the point she wanted to prove regardless of the facts:

“Mail is about the most economical way of advertising. You can get it in more hands at less cost than virtually any other form of advertising."

[NbyNW]

I'm actually not surprised there is a charge. As long it's a small charge. Pile up of mail takes up (leased commercial) space. Multiply that.. by number of customers. But hey, you no longer need to worry in the U.S. now.

Here's what they charge:

• $20 for the first 10 weekdays.
• $8.50 per additional week (5 weekdays).

You're right, it probably does make sense to charge. But I guess I was surprised, and thought that it was a lot, given that I'm accustomed to having this service for free in the U.S.

[Koronin]

IMO, that seems excessively expensive to hold you mail.
In the US they don't charge to change your address or to hold mail. I should know, have had to do both recently. Changed addresses twice in the past two years and have mail held for the minimum 3 delivery days twice a year when we go to the races.

[badger]

my mother had her mail re-directed to my brother's place when she was out of the country for 3 months. When she returned 3 months later, she assumed that her mail would resume, but she realized she wasn't getting a lot of regular mail like bills and stuff.

Turns out the post office assumed that she had moved and was returning all the mail to the sender. It was a lot of hassle for her to get the post office to resume her regular mail.