Never Again Having a Cue / Shaft / Case Shipped USPS

CLAUD

CLAUD

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Unless it is something that qualifies for media mail rates, or first class mail, I use UPS. I've sent around 2000 shipments by UPS in the last 30 years, about 75% of them second day air, the other 25% ground. I have only had one second day air package that arrived 8 days late. Never had an issue with ground. Hope I haven't jinxed myself.
 
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garczar

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
All shipping/mailing is screwed-up due to covid. A lot of transfer ctrs are working with smaller staffs. Granted service is sketchy even in best of times but right now its really bad. IMO Amazon should take over a lot of USPS shipping. Stuff i buy there gets here QUICK.
 
Maxx

Maxx

AzB Platinum Member
Gold Member
Silver Member
No problems with USPS

Even during the pandemic USPS priority mail has been fine for me. The only problem I’ve ever had is it’ll get hung up at a stop for a couple of days, but that is very rare.
 
poolhustler

poolhustler

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I have had issues with all the carriers ... DHL, FedEx, UPS, USPS.

But overall i primarily use the USPS, have shipped thousands of items over the years and they have been great.

Lately they have been slower at deliveries ... welcome the the new "normal".
 
alstl

alstl

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
ChrisinNC said:
I get numerous orders from Seyberts. Cues and shafts are normally shipped UPS or Fedex ground, and I always without fail get them in 2 days (not including Saturday/Sunday), Michigan to North Carolina. When I order small stuff which can be sent out in a mailer, I normally select USPS Priority to save significant shipping fees, and I normally still get them in 3-4 days (not including Sunday).

I ordered a break cue and a Revo shaft for a customer of mine through my Seyberts online account on Thursday, September 10. As he wasn't in a huge hurry for it, to save roughly $10 I chose USPS Priority delivery for the shipping method. Was that ever a huge mistake.

Checking the tracking information, the shipment was scanned in at the USPS Grand Rapids, Michigan distribution center the next day, Friday, September 11. It is now Tuesday, September 22, and there hasn't been any additional scanning update as to where the shipment might be or when it can be expected. The only updated notation was on Friday, September 18, indicating the shipment will arrive later than expected but is still on it's way in transit to the next facility, but no tracking to indicate where the shipment is.

I called my Seyberts account rep today and they said this is not unusual for USPS Priority shipments, and that I needed to wait at least another week before considering re-ordering the cue and/or reporting a claim to USPS. Fortunately my customer has been very understanding as to my situation, but this has put me in a very embarrassing situation, as I'd virtually assured them I'd have the cue no later than late last week.

Very frustrating and I've learned my lesson - I will never order or send out another cue or shaft via USPS again!
Click to expand...

Ask about registered mail next time.
 
fastone371

fastone371

Certifiable
Silver Member
I have either worked for businesses or for myself that ships/receives daily from UPS or FedEx for the last 30 years, have had little trouble with either. There was the UPS strike back in the 90's crippled the shipping industry, I had customers and my wife driving to Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan to pick up parts, I was in the middle of assembling and completing 2 race cars at the time. There have been some damaged product, red label shipments that were an hour or so late, and 1 large lost package that weighed 50# and was insured for $1k which were all handled promptly but other than that I have had no issues with either. On the whole I think they do their job well, USPS I cant speak for.
 
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ChrisSjoblom

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
alstl said:
Ask about registered mail next time.
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Registered mail is definitely not the answer for quick delivery. Last week I needed to send a form to the US Immigration Service on Monday, and it needed to be there by Friday or my daughter-in-law (who is Thai) would have to start the 3-year process of getting a permanent visa all over again. (BTW, our INS system and State Department in general are far more broken than the postal service.)

Anyway, I explained the need for speed to the clerk and asked if registered mail was the fastest method. She said, "Absolutely not! Average delivery times for registered mail are running between 18 and 21 days. It's the surest way to make sure something arrives for sure, but it is going to take a while"

She had me send it overnight express with signature and return receipt required. It cost a little over $30, but it did arrive the next day. She told me to keep my receipt and tracking number because if it didn't arrive by noon the following day I could get a refund on the postage. Felt like I had a ticket in the lottery overnight, but alas, it was signed for at 11:39am.
 
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ChrisSjoblom

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
fastone371 said:
I have either worked for businesses or for myself that ships/receives daily from UPS or FedEx for the last 30 years, have had little trouble with either. There was the UPS strike back in the 90's crippled the shipping industry, I had customers and my wife driving to Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan to pick up parts, I was in the middle of assembling and completing 2 race cars at the time. There have been some damaged product, red label shipments that were an hour or so late, and 1 large lost package that weighed 50# and was insured for $1k which were all handled promptly but other than that I have had no issues with either. On the whole I think they do their job well, USPS I cant speak for.
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I sell a lot on eBay, craigslist, and FB, shipping to most of my customers. My experience has been fine with USPS in general. For example my ebay sales records show that I have shipped 134 packages within the past 90 days. Of those shipments I have had 8 late deliveries and 1 damaged item. Only one of the late deliveries was significantly late - most were 1-4 days late. This rate of lateness is a bit higher than it has been in previous times, but not bad in my opinion.

That's not to say that there isn't trouble in the postal service. I know several postal service employees in my town, three of them being on one of my pool teams. I've asked them about the conditions at the PO and all of them say it's terrible. They are running super-high absenteeism daily. Some of it is due to the pandemic response, but most is due to many years of horrific HR policy decisions that allow workers to not show up for literally years at a time without being terminated as long as a doctor says that depression or anxiety make it impossible for them to do their job. You would think that they could be released on long term disability, but no, not without the employee's consent. As it is, all of my friends there are required to work very long hours to try to offset the labor shortfall, but it takes its toll on them.

This isn't something that can be blamed on the new Postmaster General as it has gone on for years, steadily getting worse.
 
Rico

Rico

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I would like to know what post office has people out for a year on on depression and cant do their job .********.In the last 2 months i received 2 cues one in 2 days and 1 in3 days. Both were out of state .Everyone has the right to not like somthing but do we have to factcheck on here?
 
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ChrisinNC

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
ChrisinNC said:
Update - Shipment finally scanned in Greensboro, NC USPS distribution center as having arrived and sent out to destination late last night, 11 days since leaving the Michigan USPS distribution center. Hopeful it will arrive this week!
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I finally received my shipment today. It took one day to get the 120 miles from Seyberts in Coldwater, Michigan to the Grand Rapids, Michigan USPS distribution center and one day to get the 140 miles from the Greensboro, NC USPS distriution center to my door. In between it took 10 days to get the 700 miles from Grand Rapids to Greensboro, although it likely had to only change trucks 2 or 3 times at the most.
 
iusedtoberich

iusedtoberich

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Yeah my friend works at post office for past 25 years. She said it’s Xmas every day. She’s working 12 hr shifts daily. AND attendance of workers is down. There are lots of bums in the system that abuse it. Especially now with corona workers have protection from being fired and can stay home for months, claiming no one else is home to care for their little kids. She talks to fedex and ups drivers all the time. It’s bad for them too. But they told her everyone is still showing up for work.

This isn’t recent political crap. It’s regular govt post office policies for decades, now stressed to the max, with corona.
 
NINEBALLART

NINEBALLART

NINEBALLART
Silver Member
We have two players that work at post office in our league...One has 37 years and the other 43 years....They both said it's the Post Master..Period..
 
Bavafongoul

Bavafongoul

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
It is the Postmaster General, Louis DeJoy, who is a political hack totally unqualified for the position.

The proof is incontrovertible that the changes he unilaterally made, without authorization, are the reasons
that mail service is atrocious in so many different regions and cities. Not a single change was intended
to improve mail service. The Post Office has the stupid funding requirement created in 2006, PAEA,
(Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act) that requires USPS to prefund 75 years worth of future
retiree health benefits in a span of ten years - a cost of $110 billion dollars. No other Federal Agency has
the requirement of prefunding retiree health benefits on a comparable timetable which is the sole reason
that the USPS loses money annually. Eliminate this absurd requirement and USPS becomes profitable. So
that’s the hard core facts why the Post Office gets criticized for losing money due to the absurd law PAEA.
 
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Keith E.

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
ideologist said:
The fact that you're expecting normal business during a pandemic is something to behold.

Pay for Express or be caught between crippled sorting centers and practice patience. Fedex and UPS have jacked up prices and they won't refund for delays anymore.
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The fact that you think for someone to expect an entity to do what they were paid to do is "something to behold" is something to behold unto itself.

Keith
 
ideologist

ideologist

I don't never exaggerate
Silver Member
Keith E. said:
The fact that you think for someone to expect an entity to do what they were paid to do is "something to behold" is something to behold unto itself.

Keith
Click to expand...

They have made it very clear in numerous press releases that all priority mail delivery windows are pushed out.

If you walk into a restaurant and they tell you there is an abnormally long wait for a table, and you wait it out, it's not really fair to be mad at them since they set proper expectations. If someone yells at the waitress and refuse to tip after that, they're just an asshole.

The fact that you're aiming to split this hair is the real sight to behold.
 
TATE

TATE

AzB Gold Mensch
Silver Member
ChrisinNC said:
Update - Shipment finally scanned in Greensboro, NC USPS distribution center as having arrived and sent out to destination late last night, 11 days since leaving the Michigan USPS distribution center. Hopeful it will arrive this week!
Click to expand...

I had always used FedEx but their prices are sky high. Now I've been using UPS, USPS and FedEx. All three have had delays and errors in scanning. It's been pretty bad. I'm using USPS for cheaper stuff now and UPS for more costly items. Shipping costs are going through the roof.

As a side note, Amazon prime is the best deal on the planet. The 'free' shipping is almost too good to be true.
 
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Keith E.

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
ideologist said:
They have made it very clear in numerous press releases that all priority mail delivery windows are pushed out.

If you walk into a restaurant and they tell you there is an abnormally long wait for a table, and you wait it out, it's not really fair to be mad at them since they set proper expectations. If someone yells at the waitress and refuse to tip after that, they're just an asshole.

The fact that you're aiming to split this hair is the real sight to behold.
Click to expand...

The fact that some people can't seem to field a differing opinion is always a sight to behold.

Keith
 
alstl

alstl

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
ChrisSjoblom said:
Registered mail is definitely not the answer for quick delivery. Last week I needed to send a form to the US Immigration Service on Monday, and it needed to be there by Friday or my daughter-in-law (who is Thai) would have to start the 3-year process of getting a permanent visa all over again. (BTW, our INS system and State Department in general are far more broken than the postal service.)

Anyway, I explained the need for speed to the clerk and asked if registered mail was the fastest method. She said, "Absolutely not! Average delivery times for registered mail are running between 18 and 21 days. It's the surest way to make sure something arrives for sure, but it is going to take a while"

She had me send it overnight express with signature and return receipt required. It cost a little over $30, but it did arrive the next day. She told me to keep my receipt and tracking number because if it didn't arrive by noon the following day I could get a refund on the postage. Felt like I had a ticket in the lottery overnight, but alas, it was signed for at 11:39am.
Click to expand...

Express mail is the fastest method. Registered mail is the most reliable method if you are sending a pool cue. No clerk is going to sit on a piece of registered mail because everybody in the system has to sign for it when it changes hands and they want to hand it off to the next person asap.

The other key to registered mail is it doesn't get tossed into a bulk mail container with 30 other parcels. It gets set aside because the clerk, truck driver of letter carrier isn't going to sign for it unless he or she can put their hands on it and examine it to make sure it hasn't been tampered with.

Express mail is the quickest. Registered mail is the safest. Of all the horror stories on here about a pool cue I've never heard of one sent via registered mail having an issue.

Right now with the covid I'm sure the system is under a lot of stress.
 
jimmyco

jimmyco

NRA4Life
Silver Member
OP should have mentioned in his correspondence with the PO just who he is.

Nothing sails through the system faster than Priority for a proprietor. Nothing!
 
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ChrisSjoblom

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Rico said:
I would like to know what post office has people out for a year on on depression and cant do their job .********.In the last 2 months i received 2 cues one in 2 days and 1 in3 days. Both were out of state .Everyone has the right to not like somthing but do we have to factcheck on here?
Click to expand...

Beloit, WI
 
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