RobbieTunes

I want them to succeed, I really do. This thread is for compliments only, OK?

1-I like the counter folks. Mr. Robert is dignified and quiet. Wanda is feisty and funny, and the blonde, well, I don't know her name because she has these blue eyes.... The postmaster has tracked my sales into Taiwan and Shanghai.

2-The Parcel rates just came down. Shipped a 60cm frame to Boston from here, insured, for $18.

3-They match up perfectly with stamps.com. No more PayPal/eBay labeling for me, period.

4-My delivery guy (rural) knows to leave the slip and not the package.
It could blow off the porch and not be found until June.

5-I just paid major k'ching for a grail bike. 12/15/12 It was shipped Parcel Post with Delivery Confirmation. No packing of any kind. The seller removed the front wheel, removed the $420 TT/Tri bars and tucked them in next to the frame. Minimal taping with no flaps on the top (you could see in there). Arrived about 3 weeks later, no damage whatsoever. It's obvious they knew and recognized the issue, didn't toss it around. Arrived 1/12/13, box in tatters.

5a-The grail bike arrived with no front wheel. Cautious communications, a little more money changed hands to "help." Wheel shipped Parcel Post, arrived today. The box had no top, no packing, just a wheel and tire rattling around inside. No damage whatsoever. Again, it was obvious they took care of it, from CA to NC.

qcpmsame 

Agreed 100%, my dealings with the USPS have been all positive. The Priority shipping boxes and envelopes are a good deal. My wife also uses them exclusively for business.

Bill

cyclotoine

I always ask if people are willing to ship USPS when I buy anything from the states. No courier "tax" i.e. brokerage fee and generally no extra duties or tax on anything under $100. I realize that is canadian customs and has nothing to do with USPS... I have been shipping canada post to the US for over 5 years and everything arrives quickly and have never lost a package. Parcels go to the states much quicker than they come here which means the USPS side is WAY more efficient than Canada Post. Props to USPS.

ftwelder

While my local precinct is a bit quirky they have handled my bicycles with the greatest of care. I had an extremely rare frame arrive with a label taped on the frame and nothing else. The box had gotten wet and dissolved. They hand carried the frame with no damage to the post office from a long way away. I just wish they would take a 120" box.

*deleted negative UPS remark pending source*

T-Mar

A USPS truck have never me in the back of the head with their rear view mirror, unlike that other delivery service, which has one less 'S'. That's as close as I come to compliment, given that I live in another country.

norskagent

I have a question about the pending "no saturday delivery" - does that include saturday transit of letters and parcels to post offices? With saturday transit, maybe at least my item will be closer to me, and then delivered on monday, or does everything everywhere freeze on saturday and resume on monday?

wrk101

I've always had good luck with USPS, can drop off at any post office (or they will pick up at my home), cheap rates, what's not to like?

UPS has been a freakin disaster, and Fed Ex pulled one of those "the box grew in transit" surcharges.

thinktubes 

I'll give a shout out to the main branch in Skokie. Great group, especially Linda, who calls everyone young man (or lady) even if they're well into their 90's.

Fast shipping and great service from this bunch.

Chicago Al 

thinktubes...you're in Skokie?? Have to get you in on our group rides.

I have a horrible local PO. Just horrible. I will pull up the Yelp page about it, which is quite funny.

That said...the rates are good and the service is reliable and in general I don't have a problem with the USPS. Also agree about UPS and FedEx, which can get a bit creative with the auditing, it seems.

We use Netflix for DVDs and usually if I drop one in a local mailbox Netflix reports they received it the next day. Okay, that's Netflix, a huge PO customer. But regular mail seems to be one-day delivery for a pretty wide area from here.

Also, not to be political but the 'crisis' the USPS is facing is because of a requirement that they fully fund their pensions out of operating revenues; this was required by Congress, specifically Congresscritters (of both parties) who seem to be heavily influenced by USPS' competitors. And they don't provide the regular service the USPS does either, just skim off the most lucrative part.

Michael Angelo 

Yes I do like the USPS, also glad the rates came down.

auchencrow

Who wouldn't like the Merry Mailman?
Besides, USPS provides stellar service, and delivers to places that no one else would go to.

BTW- I shipped a part today and discovered they now give Free Tracking for your Priority Mail packages.

JohnDThompson 

Not to mention the huge millstone around USPS's neck in having to pre-fund pensions 75 years in advance before 2016. In 2006, Congress made them fund pensions for employees who haven't even been born yet, much less hired by the Post Office, to the tune of about $5Billion/year. No wonder they're struggling!

Italuminium

LOLwut? I thought lobbyists are bad here, with the privatization of the post - bad deliveries, huge management bonuses and awful coverage for remote areas. Because, ya know, the invisible hand.... it works! three non-competing competitors, no pensions, worse delivery times. Luckily they have unemployed people now running the mail in their private vehicles, paid for the unit so those poor slobs can just about pay for gas, insurance and payments on the cars they bought in the boom. It's a wonderful thing, progress.

djkashuba 

My delivery guys place packages carefully on my front porch so the packages cannot be seen from the street. Very nice.

-D

IthaDan 

Print the label at home for a flat rate box? 100% sold on that one. Everything but wheels or a frame gets put in a flat rate box if it's coming from me.

robatsu

My local mail delivery blows, they get the houses mixed up a lot.

But it is night and day on the package stuff. The utter convenience/reliability/economy of shipping packages with them is hard to believe. And they bring you all the boxes, for free, that you could possibly want.

I've really been in awe of them for some years now. I never have to leave the house or even change out of my pajamas for any aspect of shipping/receiving other than occasionally stocking up on clear packing tape and paper for labels every now and then.

photogravity

In thirty years of using the USPS, I have only had one piece of mail lost - my water bill - and it was only going about 4 blocks from the post office to city hall... Frankly, I'm not even sure the post office was the issue. In any case, folks that work for USPS are some of the most dedicated workers I have ever known. The service is first rate, prices reasonable and they deliver on time. As a fellow Federal civil servant, my hat is off to the good men and women of the USPS.

brandon98

I can say I am generally impressed with the macro service of the USPS. Things get from one side of the country to another with a quickness and at a reasonable price.

I have no issues with letter carriers nor the counterfolks' attitude. I do wish that the counter service speed and manning would improve. My time is limited and why does every post office seem to have six or seven positions and only one or two manned, usually by a cheerful clerk who moves at the speed of plate tectonics?

I do think the Congressionally mandated prefunding of pensions has definitely bloodied the Post Offices' books, but the overall decline in first class mail (online billing did that) and subsidized junk mail (thanks Direct Marketing Association) are also contributors.

B

curbtender

My P-man goes beyond his job ...I think He's working me for a bike

anixi

"2-The Parcel rates just came down. Shipped a 60cm frame to Boston from here, insured, for $18."

You're kidding!!!!!!! I love USPS!!!!!!!!!

anixi

You should be able to hold your "delivery engineer" accountable. I'm surprised that this has become such a huge problem for you. Shame on the local USPS management...

buldogge

I have zero issues with the USPS. I use them 99% of the time. I find it amazing how quickly Priority Mail/packages make it across the country...props from me.

As far as I'm concerned a centralized mail system should not necessarily be a for-profit venture (if it is, great)...I put it right alongside healthcare and mass transit...another two things this country takes very little interest in, unfortunately.

RobbieTunes

+1

Shimagnolo

Some time back the local USPS just 2 miles away installed a self-serve machine which is accessible 24x7 with no standing in line. You can ship anything with any shipping options, as long as it does not exceed 12" in length. I *love* it!

Velognome 

small packets from England to NJ in about week.....perfect