How is the USPS still in business ?
 

I hadn't had the (dis)pleasure of frequenting a postal office in a while, but wanted to send 2 magazines to a friend in Canada...

Waited in line >15 min (1/3 counter open, the other 2 are at their desk not helping, visibly doing crossword puzzles or something), only to be told in broken english that you need a customs form to send a damn magazine to Canada.. North Korea I get, but Canada ? a magazine ?

Back to the line I go.... 10 more minutes.... They want $32 something !!! Hell no...

I paypal-ed my buddy to have him download them on his Ipad instead for 1/6th that amount... How are these overpaid over pensioned clowns still in business? I wonder if they can afford to read US magazines in the great white north at this price...

The customs rules are not the post office rules. That is Canada that requires it.

I go to the post office as little as possible. There is almost always a line of people mailing stuff or picking up a package.

Maybe so, no idea, but that makes as much sense as requiring a customs form for a postcard ;-) Used to be printed matter was form free.. Still, $32+ ? insane...

Every time I see my brother-in-law, a USPS carrier, he makes sure to remind me that he's retiring at age 55, and will be making more with his pension then he makes now working full time.

The USPS is in business because of junk mail, but I will say lately I have been mailing stuff from the PO and have been pleased with the price and the delivery.

How is the USPS in business still?



Propped up by a rich uncle.

Here's a good one for ya. I had a small package delivered to the house via USPS. I have a security, locking box with a slot.
I get a note that they tried to deliver the package and will deliver the next day if I check a box saying "leave at front door". OK, I do this and tape it to the slot so the mailperson can see it.
Get a note the next day, unable to deliver, come to post office to pick it up tomorrow.

I go down to the post office to get the package and ask why it wasn't delivered as per my request to leave it at the front door. The response...

Them>The package was small enough to fit into a normal mailbox, since yours is just a slot we couldn't put it in there.

Me>I checked the box to have it placed at the front door.

Them>The driver doesn't get paid to deliver to the front door.

Me> They deliver packages to the front door all the time, when did this change?

Them>If the package is small enough to fit in a normal mailbox they don't have to deliver to your front door.

Me>speechless

I would much rather use USPS as opposed to UPS

I so wish there was a "do not mail" list...99% is crap that goes straight into the trash. Same old stuff over and over. If I could just stop the three Internet providers from sending crap eleventy times a week it would help :(.

Yea, don't get me started on UPS. The totally destroyed a package I sent($2500), losing some of the contents and won't reimburse me as they say the box wasn't sturdy enough. I used a freakin Honda outboard motor box for crying out loud...it was sturdy and well packaged.

I live in a pretty rural area and don't have a mail box at my house. I get all of my mail at my PO box. I like to be able to throw the trash mail directly into the recycle bin in the post office. Since the area only has around 1,400 people, there is seldom a line and the people working there know most of the people using the post office. I feel like it's one of the last vestiges of small town environment around.

I bought a Rolex from a store in Dallas to be overnighted, It didn't show when the ups guy came by, he said it was still in route. The store called me and told me it had been stolen at the airport/ups in Dallas. They refunded my money. Three days later ups was still telling me it was in route. never again with ups

PO, FedEx, DHL, Pony Express....anything but ups!

I don't have a problem with the postal service.

That said - I avoid using the P.O. building itself as much as possible.

BTW, they operate in the red every year, don't they?

This for me. No issues whatsoever with USPS, however, I seldom go into the post office. I loathe UPS.

Meh, I have had trouble with all of them. I honestly think USPS has gotten better in the last 5 years.

All of them are actually great delivering packages here.

My only complaint with the post office is that my carrier is lazy and that their tracking is absolute garbage. There is no reason they can't have tracking like FedEx or UPS.

I set up an account with USPS, it is easy and they pickup the boxes at the front door if they don’t fit in box. If you provide email address, every time their system reads the bar code, you get an email stating location and operation.
Never have to go the Post Office to ship.
Been very successful so far, nothing lost or destroyed.
You always must super pack things if you expect them to arrive undamaged, no matter how you ship

As a foreigner I love USPS. their fixed rate boxes are the answer for me.

UPS would bankrupt me.