Anyone understand how the Post Office works?

I use a small rural post office in VA and everything goes to Richmond at the close of the day.  Typically items show up the way you describe overnight and are shipped out the following morning from the Richmond distribution center.

Likely it sat at your local Post Office awaiting transfer to the sorting facility. It may have been that the transfer trucks don't run on Saturdays.

Jeff for another example I just had a package go from wake forest, N.C. to  CA. to get to me in S.C. 

USPS does not guarantee that you will get point-by-point updates, they only promise to let you know when it arrives at its destination.  That's why their service is called "Delivery Confirmation" and not "Tracking" like USPS or Fedex.  Any updates you get along the way are just a bonus.  Sometimes after it arrives, THEN you see all the other places it hit along the way... or you might just get the "Accepted" and "Delivered" notifications.

scottydl posted:

USPS does not guarantee that you will get point-by-point updates, they only promise to let you know when it arrives at its destination.  That's why their service is called "Delivery Confirmation" and not "Tracking" like USPS or Fedex.  Any updates you get along the way are just a bonus.  Sometimes after it arrives, THEN you see all the other places it hit along the way... or you might just get the "Accepted" and "Delivered" notifications.

Scotty - Thanks for taking the time to comment, but you may have missed my question. I'm not worried about "Delivery Confirmation" but the 58 hour lag from when I dropped it at my local PO to the time they entered it into their system.

Good question without an answer. Have been trying to figure it out for years but can't. I think their operations from place to place changes at times.  I would just accept it as part of our life today.

First, I need to say 99% of my post office dealings are great.

Second, my wife's father worked for the post office.

Having said all that, I think it was last year at this time that I had 2 items coming to me that seemed to have disappeared off the tracking "radar." It seemed that facilities along the way did not always scan the items as they were received, so the whole tracking system was inaccurate/lagging behind at different stages. One of the sellers even mentioned he had noticed that before about a particular postal sorting facility. As you can guess, the volume they are dealing with at this time of year is through the roof.

Tom

Jeff T,

I know you live in the Chicago area as do I.  I have mailed bills and birthday cards from one suburb to another (which is only supposed to take two days at the most) that took a week or more to reach their destination.  Possible explanations are endless (left in bottom of bag, misrouted at first sort, misrouted at last sort, actually delivered to wrong address because "stuck" to someone else's similar size mail, etc.).  At this time of year, with many newly hired temps working, "incidents" as you describe surely increase.

And, I think you missed Scotty's point.  The "origin sort facility" info is not guaranteed to be accurate.  Heck, the facility that posted that info might have been on the west coast.  They only guarantee the "delivery confirmation" info to be accurate.

Chuck

PRR1950 posted:

Jeff T,

And, I think you missed Scotty's point.  The "origin sort facility" info is not guaranteed to be accurate.  Heck, the facility that posted that info might have been on the west coast.  They only guarantee the "delivery confirmation" info to be accurate.

Chuck

Point taken! Thanks Chuck!

 They only guarantee the "delivery confirmation" info to be accurate.

First, I have used one post office for decades, and have always gotten good service, including accepting UPS shipments, so they don't get hurled over the fence or "shoplifted" off the porch. Recently I got dunned for a bill I had paid a month before, through mail, recipient claimed not to have received....multiple phone calls ( in which at the recipient, a voice in the background said, "My mother got a letter saying USPS is investigating HER carrier for not delivering" and visits to PO resulted in stop payment and sending of certified letter, which carrier tried to deliver Friday after Thanksgiving to a business office.  DUH!  Nobody there to sign for it, and when I called dunner, nobody there would bother to go get it at PO.  A call to THAT PO resulted in a promise it would be delivered next day.  Have heard nothing since.  Where did FIRST letter go????   Maybe recipient problem and not PO's, but...????  And, of course, this time of year, phones were not exactly answered with alacrity at the two PO's.

Most of my stuff gets picked up from my front porch and scanned on the spot.  Here's a typical shipping track for a First Class package I labeled and shipped from the house.  This is usually what I see for any shipping with tracking.  I paid a grand total of $2.04 for this package to be shipped.  Occasionally, there's a glitch, but I've had UPS stuff disappear for two weeks and suddenly surface with no explanation of where it disappeared to.

the tracking website is usually lagging behind (at least for me). I've had an item shown to be states away show up at my door.

Steamer posted:

the tracking website is usually lagging behind (at least for me). I've had an item shown to be states away show up at my door.

I've just had the opposite - shows it was delivered but no sign of it anywhere.......

Probably stolen off my porch...

To the original question, I would guess the others are spot on with the tracking info provided lagging behind the actual movement of the package.  In addition, it's likely the package sat in the office where it was dropped till end of day on the Saturday when it was dropped off, then shipped to a sorting facility where it remained until Monday morning.  I do not believe USPS works on Sundays.   

Not directly related, but of note, the USPS is one of only a hand full of government services actually allowed, and directly provided for, in the Constitution, yet since 1971 the USPS receives no tax money and must sustain it's self only on the money it collects for services.  Perhaps, as a people, we should ask our congressmen to stop funding things that are not allowed, or forcing people to buy products they do not want to purchase, or bailing out private businesses, and instead cut the USPS a check for $1 trillion, and see how service improves.  

In addition John, the USPS is forced to pre-fund pension funds, which puts a major crimp in their cash flow, and of course, their level of service.

Unlike any other public or private entity, under a 2006 law, the U.S. Postal Service must pre-fund retiree health benefits. We must pay today for benefits that will not be paid out until some future date. Other federal agencies and most private sector companies use a “pay-as-you-go” system, by which the entity pays premiums as they are billed. Shifting to such a system would equate to an average of $5.65 billion in additional cash flow per year through 2016, and save the Postal Service an estimated $50 billion over the next ten years. With the announcement of our Action Plan in March, we began laying the foundation for change, requesting that Congress restructure this obligation.

Right, GRJ.  That slipped my mind there but tends to significantly handicap the USPS in hiring staff.  

JohnGaltLine posted:

I do not believe USPS works on Sundays.  

You'd be wrong.  The PO a few miles away opens on Sun. at 9 am and has clerks staffing the counters accepting mail.  The mail does not move, but you can put your items into the mail, and buy whatever supplies you might need then.

ya, its slow!!! Bought some tinplate trains from a forum member.

sent him a chck to Florida (I Live in new York State) two weeks or so went by and he received

nothing. So I sent him another chck, stopping payment on the first chck. about 3-4 days later

he receives both chcks in the mail. HA!

mwb posted:

JohnGaltLine posted:

I do not believe USPS works on Sundays.  

You'd be wrong.  The PO a few miles away opens on Sun. at 9 am and has clerks staffing the counters accepting mail.  The mail does not move, but you can put your items into the mail, and buy whatever supplies you might need then.

Fair enough, but putting things in a pile till first truck monday doesn't get the package there any sooner.  

Product & Tracking Information

mwb posted:

JohnGaltLine posted:

I do not believe USPS works on Sundays.  

You'd be wrong.  The PO a few miles away opens on Sun. at 9 am and has clerks staffing the counters accepting mail.  The mail does not move, but you can put your items into the mail, and buy whatever supplies you might need then.

They do during the Christmas season.

I saw a USPS truck making deliveries this past Sunday in Western Springs.  Last year, I received a package on Sunday a week before Christmas.

Rusty

In October, I ordered something from Amazon with the tracking showing it to be delivered on a Sunday. Thought it was a mistake until I saw a USPS delivery truck show up with my package on the day promised.

USPS has been delivering on Sundays for sometime around Chicago.  when I asked my mail lady about it, she kind of shrugged and sighed and said some people just can't wait.  I just got a package delivered by USPS yesterday that started out shipping via FedEx.  They delivered it to my local post office, who then shipped it to my home.  Personally, I think the USPS is a great institution that does an outstanding job day after day.

William 1 posted:

USPS has been delivering on Sundays for sometime around Chicago.  when I asked my mail lady about it, she kind of shrugged and sighed and said some people just can't wait.  I just got a package delivered by USPS yesterday that started out shipping via FedEx.  They delivered it to my local post office, who then shipped it to my home.  Personally, I think the USPS is a great institution that does an outstanding job day after day.

The USPS is the "last mile" carrier for UPS and FedEx in many cases.  I think it's dependent on the weight or size of the package.

Rusty

I've gotten some shipments on Sunday as well, coincidentally, it was from Amazon as well.  Maybe they have a special deal.

One thing that may make a difference in delivery speed is if one uses only the standard 5-digit zip code or the +4 zip code. Used to mail letters to a friend across the state line using the standard 5-digit zip code and it took over a week. When I started using the +4 (nine digits total) zip code it took 2, maybe 3 days which is a big difference in transit time. If you have the street address plus city/state or standard 5-digit zip code can look up what the +4 zip is on USPS's website.

Rusty Traque posted:

William 1 posted:

USPS has been delivering on Sundays for sometime around Chicago.  when I asked my mail lady about it, she kind of shrugged and sighed and said some people just can't wait.  I just got a package delivered by USPS yesterday that started out shipping via FedEx.  They delivered it to my local post office, who then shipped it to my home.  Personally, I think the USPS is a great institution that does an outstanding job day after day.

The USPS is the "last mile" carrier for UPS and FedEx in many cases.  I think it's dependent on the weight or size of the package.

Rusty

Both UPS and FedEx have a shipping option for etailers where the package companies pick up the delivery and take it to the destination post office to complete the delivery.  It is a cheaper shipping option, and cheaper means slower.  It can take a package 7-10 days to make the same trip UPS does in 3-4.  UPS calls it Surepost

UPS actually moves a massive amount of USPS work that the general public never knows about.