Shippers and tracking...arrgh

[Rick Moyer]

My gripe is with USPS and their tracking info. Anything I've ever received from FedEx or UPS is extremely well tracked and delivered exactly when they say it will be. Not so with USPS. Here are the latest examples.
1. Tracking says expected delivery 12/19/2013 (yesterday), however last tracking update shows it left WI on the 17th...that's it...??.Didn't show up today either.
2. Tracking says expected delivery 12/19/2013 (yesterday), however last tracking update shows it left OH on the 18th... Didn't get this yet either
3. Tracking says expected delivery 12/20/2013 (today), didn't come. At least this one did get to PA (Harrisburg) so far.

I suspect USPS is just overwhelmed with Christmas, but their tracking info cannot be relied upon. I need one of these for Christmas present completion! I think I'm going to request UPS or FedEx from now on.

[Harry Hagan]

USPS is a "Four Letter Word" at our house.

[Mac McQuinn]

Rick,
Have you telephoned the USPS 800 # and spoke to customer service regarding your dissatisfaction?


Mac

[Jason Roehl]

I've noticed this with USPS, too--no updates after "left shipper facility" or some such, then the next update will be the morning of delivery, several hours after it's "out for delivery". UPS and FedEx are much better--more waypoints, and more timely as well.

[Brian Elfert]

Once something is loaded on a truck it won't get scanned again until it gets taken off the truck. Some of the trucks travel pretty long distances. I see this all the time with UPS ground shipments from California. It will get loaded onto a trailer in California and I won't get another tracking updates until a few days later when the trailer finally arrives at a depot to get unloaded.

If it was shipped regular USPS (not Priority) there is no guarantee on delivery dates.

[Ed Aumiller]

On USPS, Brian is correct... there may be a number, but if it is regular postage and not Priority, it is simply for a delivery confirmation...

On UPS and Fedex, a lot depends on your local driver.... we live in country and if we have a sub UPS driver, it will probably be a day late...
If it is FEDEX, heaven knows when... have had fedex packages on the truck every day for a week and it was not delivered because "Security Gate Locked" and there is no gate on my road....

Prefer USPS first, UPS second and FEDEX never if it was my choice...

[Mac McQuinn]

Brian,
I don't believe USPS Priority is actually a guaranteed service in regards to delivery dates.
Mac


.

If it was shipped regular USPS (not Priority) there is no guarantee on delivery dates.

[Brian Libby]

Some UPS and FEDX packages are delivered to the local USPS for final delivery. I have recently received several deliveries that way.

[Rick Moyer]

Once something is loaded on a truck it won't get scanned again until it gets taken off the truck. Some of the trucks travel pretty long distances. I see this all the time with UPS ground shipments from California. It will get loaded onto a trailer in California and I won't get another tracking updates until a few days later when the trailer finally arrives at a depot to get unloaded.

If it was shipped regular USPS (not Priority) there is no guarantee on delivery dates.

Yeah I get that. But with UPS or FedEx you get a delivery date that is accurate regardless of the in-transit time. But with USPS their delivery dates are useless. You may as well guess when your package will arrive. That's my beef. Don't tell me it should be delivered Thursday 19th, and it doesn't show up til Tuesday 24th.

edit: one was 1st class, other two were priority 2-day; not that any of that seems to matter

[Brian Elfert]

Brian,
I don't believe USPS Priority is actually a guaranteed service in regards to delivery dates.


I shouldn't have used the word guaranteed. Priority mail has a stated delivery goal of two to three days. My Priority Mail packages almost always arrive in two days. I think one package in five years took three days.

Parcel post and first class mail has no real delivery expectations. A few years ago during the holiday season I ordered some Priority Mail boxes from the USPS. They shipped them parcel post and it took three weeks for them to arrive!

[Val Kosmider]

Funny this should com up.

I sent two packages out on the 18th.

They were sent Priority, which I was told by the USPS would result in two day delivery. For the benefit of doubt, let's say it was two "business" days. The PO is open and makes delivery on Saturday. The packages were going to 'major' towns....Phoenix and Syracuse.

Both packages were delivered today. By my reckoning that is three or four 'business' days, and five calendar days.

I don't mind.....except I paid $13.00 and change for a medium sized PO Box.

My thought is to go ask for a price adjustment as they didn't come close to the two day delivery they promised, and for which I paid. Aside from the 'yeah, good luck with that--don't waste your breath' response, should I go pitch a fit with "management'?

[Brian Elfert]

Priority mail is actually two to three day, and yes, Saturday is counted as one of those days. Priority Mail isn't guaranteed so you're not likely to get anything if you go complain. Your stuff should have been delivered on Friday or Saturday at latest.

[Steve Peterson]

Some UPS and FEDX packages are delivered to the local USPS for final delivery. I have recently received several deliveries that way.
I get those as well. Everything moves fast until the last stop at the USPS. My last Rockler order took 2-3 days to make it to the local post office, then a week to get one box to the house and 2 weeks for them to find the second box.

Steve

[Kieran Kammerer]

I am not sure if anyone else has figured this out yet. The USPS is now doing "internal" tracking on akll their packages so if you would like to "track" any package you have mailed, even if you didn't pay the tracking fee, you can punch in the long number on your receipt and still effectively track your package. When I told the local PO folks about this (after I asked them if they could help me see if a package had arrived using their internal tracking sytem and was told emphativcally no), they said I must have gotten lucky. Well it appears I have gotten lucky on everyother package I have mailed.

[Mike Chance in Iowa]

I found this USPS "Priority Mail Delivery Map" page over the weekend. https://www.usps.com/priority-mail/map/

This certainly explains why my shipments to certain states can take 1 day while other customers in that same state take 5 days. (I know. Their 1-3 day quote is far from accurate!)

Priority Mail now includes free insurance valued up to $50. For those of you shipping products, take a close look at what needs to be done in order to be covered. I sent an item last Monday to a customer via Priority Mail (2-day). She received it 5 days later on Saturday - in several broken pieces. While looking at the paperwork this weekend to file a claim against USPS, I can see this will probably be a losing battle.

In the last 10 years of shipping via Priority Mail, the only times my customer have received damaged items have been during the x-mas holiday season. I really suspect it's the extra temporary holiday employees they hire on who do not care what happens to the packages. <grrr>

I have discovered more and more shipments are being sent via UPS SurePost and FedEx SmartPost. There is a cost savings to the shipper, but it certainly adds extra days to the delivery schedule. If you do an internet search on UPS SurePost or FedEx SmartPost you will find lots of articles explaining what happens and why so many customers are frustrated with that method of shipping.

[Howard Garner]

I have discovered more and more shipments are being sent via UPS SurePost and FedEx SmartPost. There is a cost savings to the shipper, but it certainly adds extra days to the delivery schedule. If you do an internet search on UPS SurePost or FedEx SmartPost you will find lots of articles explaining what happens and why so many customers are frustrated with that method of shipping.

Yah, and my big gripe about this.
The company will not ship to a PO Box. Give them the street address. Then they ship it via SurePost or SmartPost. The USPS does not deliver to my street address, only my PO Box.
A couple times this has gotten the item returned to the vendor.
If your going to do this, at least left me know so I can provide an appropriate address

Howard Garner

[Rick Moyer]

UPDATE
One package came Saturday 21st. Ironically, it was the last one scheduled (20th). The other two (projected for the 19th) I fully expect today, as the tracking finally showed they got to Harrisburg (sort) the other day. So I suspect they will arrive today, albeit about one hour before I have to go to the family Christmas gathering, which one of the packages is for. Also ironic is the fact that the pc that arrived Saturday and one of the yet-to-be-delivered ones came from the same place within 24 hrs. One gets here on the 21st one day late and the other (hopefully) on the 24th five days late.
Anyway, my complaint is more about the inaccuracies in the tracking than the delivery. If the projection/tracking info were better I could have made different arrangements.

Regardless, have a Merry Christmas everyone!

[Mac McQuinn]

A tool I purchased was shipped last Friday from Maryland via Priority USPS and send to Michigan. I received it this Monday. Tracking included 9 inputs for every step of the way. This is the experience I've receive 99% of the time from the USPS. My wife ordered something for Christmas in which delivery was running a couple days late, it was delivered Sunday.

Merry Christmas,
Mac

[Rich Engelhardt]

My wife is still waiting for a package that was delivered (according to the tracking info) on the expected date - which was the 21st.

The problem is, we live in Ohio and the package was delivered to Tucson Arizona....

Thankfully - one of the things is a present for a nephew that was born two weeks ago. I doubt he'll miss nit getting it on time ;)

[Brian Elfert]

I have put in one insurance claim with USPS for an item stolen out of the shipping envelope. (Envelope was obviously cut open and re-taped.) I filed online at usps.com with photos and had a postal money order in under 10 days. I was amazed. They didn't even contact me at all and the money order just showed up.

I looked at the Priority Mail map and the 3 day areas are really rural and not based on distance since I can get something in two days from Los Angeles which is about as far as it gets from Minneapolis.

[Mike Chance in Iowa]

That's good to hear that your USPS claim went so smooth Brian. Hopefully mine will too. I don't want to have to make that customer present the damaged item & package material to a local post office like the paperwork says may happen...

I discovered another nifty package tracking program online. I bought a battery for my laptop and the vendor used this link to send me a link to my tracking info. Once again, it's only as good as the service that updates data, but this is a handy tool for tracking all your shipments from different carriers. It's also nice to have the visual map of where the package is. http://www.packagetrackr.com/

[Dave Lehnert]

Have a package from USPS that was estimated to be delivered this past Monday. Still in transit as of Tuesday. So much for getting it in time for Christmas day.

[Matt Meiser]

My gripe is with USPS and their tracking info. Anything I've ever received from FedEx or UPS is extremely well tracked and delivered exactly when they say it will be.

Tell that to everyone that UPS and Fedex didn't deliver to yesterday even with guaranteed deliveries accepted after the weather they are blaming for the trouble. The response. so far is essential "oops."