I’ll tell my shipping story and try to make it quick. I've been a USPS shipper since the 70s, but now only use them for $300 shipments or less. 3 times in a row they stiffed me on insurance and were impossible to deal with. The last time a tube with a photograph arrived sliced nearly in half and they refused to pay out. So, that was it for USPS and big ticket items. But UPS is too expensive for smaller items, so we still have to “trust” the USPS for the small things.
For years my wife and I were probably the biggest shipper at our small town PO. We all knew each other. They would get right on the phone and follow something up. At one point we hired a retired post office manager from our USPS part-time and things were really smooth. Now, it seems our friends at the post office have no one to call higher up with any real connection or conviction. The old “rain and snow” dedication to the customer still exists at the local level, but doesn’t seem to exist at the top. One time we heard back that a higher-up said that tubes were now a problem for their scanning machines! Things went wrong when those high-end sorting machines were removed some years ago across the country. My sense of it at the time was that the USPS was being floundered with the intent for that utility to be sold to a private company. My guess is that will most likely still happen and public mailing will become even more "caveat emptor” for anything more than a letter. So, we began working with UPS since they were a private company and already up and running. We made friends with the people there and all shipments over $300 go through them. If something goes awry or we need any service at all, we get immediate response at the concierge level. You need a personal contact in shipping these days. We take them baskets of goodies at Christmas. At least our connections seem to have the interest and ability to find someone above them in their system to get answers or action when necessary. Networking within the system. UPS can be costly and we do not ship for free. We also require full insurance and adult sign-off. There have been times we had items shipped to a UPS hub and picked up there when we felt a particular delivery situation warranted it. I know we've lost some business since it’s expensive for the buyer, but with time I feel like the UPS network we’ve established gives us the most protection and best response of any shipper available to us. Nothing has been lost or damaged in a couple of years, so there’s still the final test of how they respond at that level of responsibility. From all the stories, it does feel a bit like Russian roulette when a package goes out, but we’ve at least found a relationship with UPS in our area that honestly cares and gives us support. So far we’ve been lucky. But it is probably different at every shipping station in the country. The personal connection is everything. Alan > On Feb 6, 2025, at 5:36 AM, Tony Calvert <[email protected]> wrote: > > That is exactly right. Several years ago it was hard to get the job, and if > you did you stayed and retired there. My 18 year old nephew was called in > for an interview right out of high school, and just decided not to go. > > On Thu, Feb 6, 2025 at 6:24 AM Bruce Hershenson <[email protected] > <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: >> I agree Tony. And I think it is ALL caused by two problems: >> 1) A lack of manpower. Working for a delivery company is hard work and there >> are a million easier jobs anyone can get, so they are VERY short of staff at >> all times. >> 2) A massive lack of GOOD employees. Most of the "old-timers" were career >> people who really tried their hardest. It does not seem that way at all with >> the younger employees, and many have not been there very long, so they are >> learning on the job, at our expense. >> >> What I most fear is when the last of the few older people who are good >> retire things will completely fall off a cliff. >> >> On Thu, Feb 6, 2025 at 6:04 AM Tony Calvert <[email protected] >> <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: >>> Bruce, I of course ship considerably less, but my thoughts exactly. One of >>> the bigger problems I see with all of them is the fact that a seller >>> without the accounts or any clout can't get in touch with a human at Fedex, >>> and likely UPS. About 3 months ago I was able to talk to someone at USPS >>> and they actually made an effort and kept me up to date, and likely found >>> the item and it started moving. When I called for the same process a few >>> days ago she told me to just file a claim and just basically told me to >>> piss off. It is a little hard to justify all the crap and time of a claim >>> on a very low end item. I would bet the volume of requests is so high they >>> just can't deal with it. >>> >>> On Thu, Feb 6, 2025 at 5:39 AM Bruce Hershenson <[email protected] >>> <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: >>>> For the past year, I’ve been wanting to start a thread like this, but >>>> since I didn’t see any comments about it, I figured maybe it was somehow >>>> just us. >>>> >>>> But you know we send 50 to 100 packages most days, and it is getting >>>> ridiculous. So often now a package just completely gets stuck in their >>>> system. No updates no nothing. Then a week or two later it suddenly starts >>>> moving again. >>>> >>>> So not only does their service suck, but they also have raised the prices >>>> sky high, and they damage packages they never were able to damage before. >>>> They even completely flatten our tubes, which never happened before they >>>> got their sorting machines. >>>> >>>> All of the above applies to the post office, but it mostly applies to UPS >>>> as well. We just had a visit from our UPS representative and I told them >>>> that the bad news was their service is worse and worse, but that the good >>>> news is they don’t do as bad as USPS. >>>> >>>> He joked about it and said that maybe they should start an ad campaign >>>> saying “ Our service sucks, but at least not as bad as the post office >>>> does”. >>>> >>>> For the last couple of years, I’ve been saying that the thing most likely >>>> to make me retire is the shipping situation. What is really funny is that >>>> now they tell everyone who asks about their late packages to call the >>>> shipper. >>>> >>>> That gets the person to leave or hang up, but then they think that there’s >>>> something we can do about it, and of course there isn’t. It is a bad >>>> situation getting worse all the time. >> >> >> >> -- >> > > To unsubscribe from the MoPo-L list, click the following link: > https://listserv.american.edu/scripts/wa-american.exe?SUBED1=MoPo-L&A=1 > Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: [email protected] In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content.
