Worst Postal services youve encounterd

[JellE]

I have been real lucky with USPS... I live in a small town so even if it has the wrong address, it always gets to me. UPS, DHL and FedEx are pretty much the same. I have, however, shipped things to Canada, which have taken a month to get there. So, I guess, bar none... Canada is the worst I have ever dealt with. I have received things from Asia and places like Costa Rica in a week to a week and a half.

[dinosaur]

I just sent a motherboard from the US to Quebec Canada by USPS Airmail

and the guy received it (in good condition )in six days.

[Uzumaki]

I bought 2 different items on almost the same day and both were shipped air mail.

 

One from Thiland, one from Windsor, Canada (next to Michigan, no less).

 

Guess which arrived first?

 

3 weeks from Thiland to me, 2 more days later from Canada to me.

 

One of these day Canadians are going to start crossing border just to ship packages and avoid those Canadian customs.

[Rik]

I bought 2 different items on almost the same day and both were shipped air mail.

 

One from Thiland, one from Windsor, Canada (next to Michigan, no less).

 

Guess which arrived first?

 

3 weeks from Thiland to me, 2 more days later from Canada to me.

 

One of these day Canadians are going to start crossing border just to ship packages and avoid those Canadian customs.

Yeah,but dont let them catch you with parcels,or you'll be sitting in the customs waiting room with smugglers and other undesirables,and they'll break them open to look for drugs.SORRY FOR MULTIPLE POSTS,SEEM TO BE HAVING PROBLEMSWITH BROWSER

Edited December 17, 2006 by Rik

[Zwackery]

Here's something USPS dropped off at my apartment door yesterday. The carrier knocked once and then literally ran out of the building (I saw him hustling up the stairs and out the front door as I stepped onto the landing). Fortunately the interior packaging saved the goods.

But that's usually a rare case, most of the time USPS is just fine. In my area you definitely do not want anything handled by FedEx - worst service record ever.

[Chris-in-NJ]

I order lots of DVDs from the UK, and Royal Mail is superb -- stuff gets to me in New Jersey from London in four days! Australia takes longer always, usually two weeks. One thing I've noticed about Australia is that they don't put dates on lots of postmarks, so if the sender doesn't e-mail me to tell me the items have shipped, I don't know how long they've taken!

 

I happen to work for the USPS (and I hate it) and one reason lots of international letters and flats take longer than the should is the abhorrant practice of mixing incoming foreign mail into standard mail, ie catalogs and all those pre-approved notices you tear up and throw away. I see it happen way too often...

 

The funniest incident happened with UPS, though. I happen to live in the basement apartment of a three-story house, in apartment 7. Now, I have my own front door completely seperate from the main front door that the other six apartments use. The building supervisor placed a large notice in the entrance hallway near the mailboxes of the other six apartments saying that apartment 7 is around the corner, and to please not leave mail lying in front of the mail boxes.

 

What does UPS do? They completely ignore the sign, their carrier also apparently climbed up to the third floor looking for an apartment 7, couldn't find it, so didn't deliver the package. A few days later I get one of their little postcards, saying my package couldn't be delivered because the address on it was incomplete, and that an apartment number was required for delivery.

 

Guess what? The postcard had my complete address, with the proper apartment number.

[Almost Rice]

I'm not going to break my arm patting myself on the back, but I do try to pack most items so they could survive bad handling. But my shipping kung-fu is no match for zen master package destroyers at UPS. United Package Smashers Inc.

 

The reason the packaged gets smashed is because the damn supervisors override the safety off at the conveyor belt. that just pushes boxes upon boxes on a huge slide about 100 feet wide. I was the one working under that slide grabbing boxes off of it. Does not take much to see jamming it all together like that does not speed us up. and yes small packages would basically get crushed when next box is a solid 50 lb hunk of steel.

[Rik]

I'm not going to break my arm patting myself on the back, but I do try to pack most items so they could survive bad handling. But my shipping kung-fu is no match for zen master package destroyers at UPS. United Package Smashers Inc.

 

The reason the packaged gets smashed is because the damn supervisors override the safety off at the conveyor belt. that just pushes boxes upon boxes on a huge slide about 100 feet wide. I was the one working under that slide grabbing boxes off of it. Does not take much to see jamming it all together like that does not speed us up. and yes small packages would basically get crushed when next box is a solid 50 lb hunk of steel.

That really sucks,i mean if you're paying to get stuff sent away,the least they can do is take better care of peoples packages,it doesnt matter how much you pay,money paid is money paid!

[Almost Rice]

That really sucks,i mean if you're paying to get stuff sent away,the least they can do is take better care of peoples packages,it doesnt matter how much you pay,money paid is money paid!

 

The supervisor gets incentive to reduce labor cost and no disincentive for crushed boxes. You dont have to wonder if I use UPS or not.

[Shannon]

Luckily I've never had any problems with anything I received from Canada. Probably the two worst postal experiences I had was something I ordered from Germany took about 2-3 months and something I sent to hawaii by USPS got completely demolished. Luckily with the latter the product came thru intact.

[Rik]

Oh about 10 years ago,i worked putting up the structural steel and conveyor systems for a huge central post station(CANADA).I was there long enough to see packages on the conveyor.Its pretty funny,(their change in ATTITUDE)actually,the new workers on their first couple weeks or so,handled the packages with loving care.AFTER THOSE TWO WEEKS,they were throwing them around like it was their last day of work before retirement!i couldt believe my eyes how they THREW those boxes around,so with that being said,id say the best protection you can have is to GENEROUSLY pack your items being sent with LOTS,AND I MEAN LOTS of padding,i wouldnt want to see a nice classic gaming console go through that punishment without good packaging.But id say the same can be said of rough handling to about any postal station worldwide really,as its in their interest to get those parcels MOVING,not TLC,which means MONEY!

Edited December 30, 2006 by Rik

[dinosaur]

Oh about 10 years ago,i worked putting up the structural steel and conveyor systems for a huge central post station(CANADA).I was there long enough to see packages on the conveyor.Its pretty funny,(their change in ATTITUDE)actually,the new workers on their first couple weeks or so,handled the packages with loving care.AFTER THOSE TWO WEEKS,they were throwing them around like it was their last day of work before retirement!i couldt believe my eyes how they THREW those boxes around,so with that being said,id say the best protection you can have is to GENEROUSLY pack your items being sent with LOTS,AND I MEAN LOTS of padding,i wouldnt want to see a nice classic gaming console go through that punishment without good packaging.But id say the same can be said of rough handling to about any postal station worldwide really,as its in their interest to get those parcels MOVING,not TLC,which means MONEY!

 

They bloody well ought to use some TLC,they certainly charge enough!!!

 

Perhaps it might be a good idea that,along with posting here,each member with a

 

complaint could E-mail the organization guilty of poor service.If it is the USPS at fault,

 

E-mail BOTH of your U S Senators with the particulars of each offense.

 

After all,the USPS is a government organization and our politicians ARE supposed

to be watchdogs.

 

The squeaking wheel gets the grease!

[Starhopper]

Woo... Lots of love in this room

 

Seriously, though, I've had bad experiences with everyone, from delayed USPS shipments, to Canada Post screw-ups, to UPS wanting to charge me an extra $135 American because the package was ONE QUARTER OF AN INCH too large in one dimension.

 

USPS priority took three weeks to get a shipment from me to a buyer in Kansas last December.

 

As it was explained to me, Canada post's, problem isn't with customs (at least, the sum total of the problem, anyway), the largest problem is that inbound packages are sorted and directed by civilians, not Canada Post employees. This bottleneck is the main cause of misshipment and damage. Hands down, the best method, if not the cheapest, to Mapleleaf Central is UPS. It still has to go through customs, but at least it's insured and fast.

[zeropolis79]

I got a videotape in a trade from the US back in 2000 - by air, it took two weeks to get here and spent a further week in customs (they opened it because they suspected I was having hardcore porn sent to me (they probably suspected me because I used to trade in lots of videotapes) which I wasn't)

 

Parcel Force here in the UK is lousy - they've damaged a lot of our packages and even lost a few.

[revsdr]

my last 3 catrs that were delivered by usps in a bubble mailer

were smashed.......i took the boards out and trashed the carts.

[+orpheuswaking]

I would say for general damage and mishandling FedEx wins hands down here in Indianapolis. I purchased a bicycle from Ebay that came from Wisconsin. It was left on my porch as I was at work, my girlfriend dragged it in the house. The Bike had been professionaly packaged at a bike shop and was very padded and in a box designed for it. However there were four huge tears in the box allowing the frame to be exposed (not good as this was my GF's birthday gift and now she knew what it was - the box had no marking outside showing it was for a bike). But the best part was that when I took it out a realized that the front forks had been crushed together and then bent to the left. Not an easy task when this was a vintage Schwinn that had steel forks. Luckily a mile from my house is a place called the bicycle hospital and they fixed it up good as new (for $80.00)

 

Ok I thought, a one off, but no... I was shipped a replacement mouse for my computer by the manufacturer and they shipped it FedEx, Lets just say it was a very flat mouse when I got it, I didn't even know a mouse came in 26 different pieces (that's how many I counted it had been crushed into)... I refuse to this day to use FedEx for anything.

 

For the tardiness I have to say USPS. My Mom lives in the UK so she sends me stuff all the time and it's always sent with tracking so we know at what point it enters the USPS system... Usually takes 2 days to get to Chicago and then from Chicago to Indianapolis it goes missing and I receive it a month later (happened four times so far) the worst one was A birthday gift that she sent April 1st and I got in OCTOBER... I called USPS and they said they had shipped it to Indy but when I went to my post office that delivers to me they didn't have it (oh but they did, apparently they tried contacting me three times to pick it up) luckily I finally received a letter saying this was the last time they would try me before sending it back (had been at the post office the whole time)

 

Can't say I've had any complaints with UPS though, usually expedient and everything via them has been in good shape

[+poobah]

I ordered a video card once via UPS, took 41 days to go from Cleveland OH to Utica, NY (you could make the drive in 6 hours).

 

I've gotten more than one piece (literally) of mail shredded inside a ziploc bag with a USPS "we're sorry" sticker on the outside.

[AussieAtari]

I ordered a video card once via UPS, took 41 days to go from Cleveland OH to Utica, NY (you could make the drive in 6 hours).

 

I've gotten more than one piece (literally) of mail shredded inside a ziploc bag with a USPS "we're sorry" sticker on the outside.

 

You're kidding; they were "sorry" that they opened your mail, tore it up and then sent it on to you as some sort of joke?

 

The fact that they have printed "We're Sorry" stickers is enough cause for concern. I gather that USPS are not all that interested in constant improvement or any sort of quality improvement program then?

[misspent_youth]

I live in Canada, so I certainly relate to the odd way that Canada Post just sometimes takes a hell of a long time to deliver stuff outside of Canada.

 

But for me, the postal devil is UPS, because they charge a fee to import any goods from the US or anywhere else. Basically it's $30 to fill out a form with 2-3 lines.

 

Most recently I bought something from a US online store for $85 and had UPS charge me another $40 upon delivery.

 

Delivery times and everyting else I've had no trouble with, but I've easily paid 40% of the total value of anything that UPS delivers in fees upon pick up, and this never happens when sent to Canada via USPS. I'd rather wait an extra 2 weeks than fork out minimum 30 bucks extra.

[Albert]

As I've shipped thousands of packages over the last few years, I'll add my experiences here. Off the top of my head, I can think of only one or two times that packages have gone missing domestically via the USPS. Very rarely have I had anyone tell me a package arrived damaged, and nothing inside a package has ever been damaged. I have had packages take longer to arrive than they should have, especially for Priority Mail (which is really a coin toss as far as arriving within their "2-3" advertised time).

 

Internationally, well, that's been more interesting. Not sure how many international packages I've sent out, but it has to number in the many hundreds by now. Mostly to Canada and Europe, but I've shipped to many countries, excluding the continents of Africa and Antarctica. I can count on one hand the number of packages that people have claimed never to arrive:

 

- Canada (once)

- Brazil (twice)

- Germany (once)

 

There's no real way to know if those packages arrived and I was taken for a ride, or if they were genuinely lost. As far as delivery times, Canada is wildly unpredictable, although I think it's gotten better in the last year. It would often take a month for an airmail package from Texas to arrive. Which is pretty ridiculous, considering packages to Europe and Australia would usually arrive much faster. Packages to Europe generally arrive in a week. To Australia between one to two weeks, usually the latter.

 

For its part, the USPS does a decent job given the HUGE volume of mail they handle every day. That doesn't mean I'm terribly fond of them--the rates for Priority Mail are expensive (and go up substantially with each rate increase), their tracking sucks, the Priority Mail boxes keep getting thinner and thinner, postal clerk knowledge varies wildly from post office to post office, and post offices are usually understaffed and god forbid you have to go to the counter to mail something. And if they do lose a package, you can pretty much kiss it goodbye forever. But for the volume of packages I've sent and received, I've had few problems.

 

Having said that, if I need to send something expensive or bulky, and I want to be confident that it'll arrive safely, I will use UPS or Fedex. I don't really trust the USPS with large packages, or packages of substantial value. They are more geared to handle letters and small packages (like the type I usually send). I think large packages just gum up the works, and I bet postal carriers hate them. Not that UPS and FedEx treat packages well, but that's the bulk of their business. And if they do screw something up, as long as you have insurance on it you should be able to get your money back. I had to ship a $3,000 laptop via FedEX back to Dell (some time ago) and it disappeared in Dallas on its way to Dell (I believe I was in California at the time). Took them a bit of time (two months?) but they did cut a check for the full amount. Good thing I had copied everything off the hard drive and wiped it first!

 

..Al

[gambler172]

Hi Guys

The german post is really bad and the customs in germany too.I had many problems with them,in the last weeks.

But sometimes,when i get a package from USA,the american service is really slow too.Best service is USPS,when shipped from California.Takes only a few days.

greetings Gambler

[+LS650]

My experience here with MexiPost is pretty terrible. I've bought and sold maybe 40 items on eBay. Most items were from/to the US, with a couple from Europe.

 

All the items I sent were mailed with registration, and they all arrived (perhaps ten items.) On the other hand, of the 30 items coming into Mexico, three have gone 'missing'.

 

My guess is that postal workers on this side of the border have seen "videogames" written on the Customs declaration sticker, swiped the items, and are now holding onto Jaguar carts that won't fit into their Playstation or XBox...

[Albert]

My experience here with MexiPost is pretty terrible. I've bought and sold maybe 40 items on eBay. Most items were from/to the US, with a couple from Europe.

 

All the items I sent were mailed with registration, and they all arrived (perhaps ten items.) On the other hand, of the 30 items coming into Mexico, three have gone 'missing'.

 

My guess is that postal workers on this side of the border have seen "videogames" written on the Customs declaration sticker, swiped the items, and are now holding onto Jaguar carts that won't fit into their Playstation or XBox...

Yeah, Mexico is one of those countries I'm reluctant to ship to (as well as anywhere in South America). I haven't shipped too many packages down there and what I have shipped has fortunately arrived. However, the first time a friend of mine sent a package to Mexico (an eBay auction), the buyer claimed it never arrived. Having 10% of your non-registered packages go missing really sucks!!

 

..Al

[+orpheuswaking]

Well what do you know? after my earlier rant about FedEx guess what? I was supposed to have a package delivered Friday(yesterday), but it's still sitting in Champaign Illinois since 5.45 am Friday morning... I mean I would have expected it to at least go on a truck to Indy by now? So I guess I'll be getting that on Tuesday...

 

I'm going out tomorrow to ship something to Texas, was actually thinking of hitting up the FedEx place as it has lower shipping, but now I'm just going to use the prepaid Priority shipping box that will work from USPS (bigger box than I need, better buy bubble wrap )

[Prodos8]

F'in Canada Post took 3 weeks to get four CV carts to me from Brantford, ON to Dallas, TX that were packed in a small envelope. Is that service with a smile I suppose? I could have driven there myself and back, several times, in the time span. What, do they F'in sit on the thing for weeks before handing it over the the USPS? I mean the tracking number didn't do any good either, it just showed up one day.

 

I didn't blame the sender, but I now have reservation about dealing with people in Canada.