My previous employer shipped between 400 and 1700 packages per day. About 10% (give or take) were USPS. The rest were UPS. The USPS lost more total packages than UPS! I would sometimes go weeks without having to deal with a lost UPS package. USPS issues were a daily occurence. Plus, at least from a business perspective, UPS was much easier to deal with. Lost package situations were rectified within 8 days of the loss being reported. In many cases, especially with APO addresses, the USPS wouldn't even listen to complaints about lost packages until the package had been missing for at least 30 days. To this day, I avoid USPS shipments at all costs. If the business I'm ordering from has no other option, I'll look around for another supplier before placing the order. This is the primary reason I don't order from B&N anymore.
My latest horror story involved a DHL shipment from Philadelphia. This is a three hour drive. For those who may not know, residential deliveries from DHL are dropped at the local post office and then the USPS makes the actual delivery. This package took two days to make it the local (or so I thought) post office. In reality, the package was dropped at the wrong post office. Said post office sat on the package for four days before forwarding it to my local post office. By the time it arrived at my house it had taken eight days to go about 160 miles. Fun! On 9/1/05, Shel Belinkoff <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > The truth is that many people have had minor to severe problems with many > shippers. At one time the PO was the butt of many jokes, but it seems > they've pretty much gotten their act together, at least with parcel > shipments. I like using the PO because the items are delivered to my PO > Box, I don't have to be around to pick it up, it doesn't sit outside > waiting to be stolen, and everyone at my post office knows me, which allows > for fast, friendly service both for pick ups and for sending packages. > Still, sometimes a letter or a flat will take two weeks to arrive from > across town. My all time record was 11 months for a letter to travel 15 > miles - and that happened TWICE! <LOL> > > UPS - at least on my route - has been great as well. Sometimes - rarely - > a shipper will send an item UPS with my PO Box address on it. I guess UPS > "knows" me by now, and they just change the shipping label and the package > is delivered to my door. > > However, I think Godfrey is correct in that I'm a little cranky because I > want this camera NOW. I couldn't have used it anyway as the place I bought > the SD card from, who, on their web site says: "We guarantee same-day > shipping before 6:00PM CST." has just today put the card into their > shipping pipeline. I ordered it several days ago, on Sept 29 @ 7:00am. > That's The Flash Memory Store for those who care. > > Well, at least I've got a PDF version of the DS manual, thanks to Godfrey. > > Shel > > > > [Original Message] > > From: Graywolf > > > My sympathy. > > > > I have been having a problem with an item I ordered more than a month > ago. But I have to blame the sellers, I picked them because the said they > shipped via USPS, then the shipped it via Fed Ex Ground (The absolute worse > shipping service in the world) the other day after 8 days working its way > across the country it was marked as returned to shipper. What kind of idiot > would try to ship something to a PO Box address via Fed Ex Ground????? Oh > the seller does not answer email either. > > > > So, anyway, I figure I understand how you feel. > > > -- Scott Loveless http://www.twosixteen.com -- "You have to hold the button down" -Arnold Newman
