USPS follies

**crewl1** · 12-02-2012, 10:03 PM

So I guess it is no wonder that the USPS is $15 billion in the hole, as evidenced by their inability to route packages efficiently.

I ordered a $10 item, shipping included, from a seller that showed location in Southern California, not too far from me.

Looking at the USPS tracking log, the package was
-submitted to the post office in Orange, CA (approx 30 miles away)
-sent to the sorting facility in Anaheim, CA (approx 27 miles away)
-next sent to the sorting facility in Atlanta, GA (approx 2150 miles away)

Where it currently sits awaiting its next flight.

Someone needs to debug the sorting software? I wonder how much of that $15 B deficit could be reduced by auditing for these types of errors.

Anyone have similar stories?

**boriscleto** · 12-02-2012, 10:06 PM

The USPS' problems are entirely due to the fact that they, unlike any other organization in the country, have to fund the retirement benefits of workers who haven't even been born yet.

Medium FormatPro · 12-03-2012, 02:09 AM

Not to downgrade the importance of having mail service available in places such as Alaska, but…

You would not believe how much the post office spends to keep it's route open in places such as that. Quite the fleet of trucks - unlike anything anywhere else in the world, and even enough to fund literally the best private aircraft fleet in the state of Alaska. Ironically law enforcement in the state has major issues getting around anywhere near as effectively, but… Try sending a letter of package - and it will actually get there better and more effectively. But then again there are truly massive costs involved in getting it there.

It's unfortunate that one somehow get an individual state breakdown on the costs of operating the postal service, because by far - nothing comes close to the costs in Alaska

jogiba · 12-03-2012, 07:41 AM

UPS and FedEx would not last more than 30 days if they had to operate under the Postal Rate Commission, Board of Governors of the United States Postal Service and other regulations like funding future retired workers health care and have to deliver to every address in the US six days a week. If you order stuff from Amazon like books, movies, memory cards etc with free shipping most of it is delivered by the USPS even if UPS gets it at the start.

Not a Number · 12-03-2012, 08:04 AM

Why don't you tell us about every time pieces of mail were delivered "correctly"? The server would probably run out of space if you did.

And the USPS subcontracts some of their Express and Priority Mail to carriers like FedEx. Often the screw ups and odd routings are due to these 3rd parties.

USPS system is geared more for delivery confirmation rather than tracking. Not to long ago the only information you would get was acceptance and delivery time. While the USPS is not part of the Federal Government it is Federally regulated as Not-For-Profit so that they can't raise rates or even spend money in ways without Congressional approval.

**crewl1** · 12-03-2012, 10:01 AM

I don't have any issues with the stuff getting there, I prefer USPS Priority myself for shipping as it is quite reliable.

It just seems wasteful to not have adequate controls to reduce costs due to misrouting.

**boriscleto** · 12-03-2012, 11:46 AM

UPS Reports Troubling Drop In Residents Answering Doors In Lingerie | The Onion - America's Finest News Source

condor27596 · 12-03-2012, 12:08 PM

When I was little I wanted to be a mailman or an astronaut. But neither worked out.

Docrwm · 12-05-2012, 06:33 AM

Originally posted by condor27596

When I was little I wanted to be a mailman or an astronaut. But neither worked out.

Both worked out for me, but then I got bored and moved on.

redrockcoulee · 12-05-2012, 08:04 PM

Originally posted by crewl1

I don't have any issues with the stuff getting there, I prefer USPS Priority myself for shipping as it is quite reliable.

It just seems wasteful to not have adequate controls to reduce costs due to misrouting.

Unless the cost of implementing those controls exceeded the cost of the misrouting.

**crewl1** · 12-05-2012, 10:24 PM

Originally posted by redrockcoulee

Unless the cost of implementing those controls exceeded the cost of the misrouting.

Yes, that is true. The plane was going to Atlanta anyway, right?

redrockcoulee · 12-06-2012, 07:43 AM

Originally posted by crewl1

Yes, that is true. The plane was going to Atlanta anyway, right?

No not really what I mean

I work for the government and our department works so hard to make sure that people cannot take advantage of stuff for their own personal use like batteries or pens that I believe the system for preventing this is more expensive then the batteries and pens that would end up at home. So if it requires extra personal to prevent 10% of the packages from going to the wrong place it might be worth it but if the same extra personel is needed but the number of misdirected parcels is less then 1% perhaps it is false econonmy. Errors will be made whenever either machines or humans are involved, If the error rate is low then the cost of bringing it down is one of diminishing returns. It is the same as all the missing bagage on airlines, no matter how bad it seems the percentage is very low. My wife on two trips to New York City and one Greyhound trip to Seattle but myself who travels more than her never other than the one flight to Santa Fe but it was a very small plane that was carrying the luggage for the people on the previous flight and mine came on the next one (this was not a government run airline for sure)

The letter carrier seems to always drop off letters at our place that are meant for the person on the next street, both starting with a B. But if I really think about it the frequency is more like once every couple of months, if that. What would it take to be able to double check the sorting, another hour per day for each letter carrier perhaps to prevent these few errors? Is the low number worth it?

Docrwm · 12-06-2012, 09:37 AM

Well I just got an envelop from Brooklyn that is postmarked 11/21/12. 15 days from Brooklyn to Atlanta......ah well.

**crewl1** · 12-06-2012, 09:51 AM

Originally posted by redrockcoulee

What would it take to be able to double check the sorting, another hour per day for each letter carrier perhaps to prevent these few errors?

I was just kidding, I do understand what you are saying.

My response would be would be that since the sorting is done by machine, especially on these bulk packages with pre-printed labels either the machine is not well maintained, or the software has a bug, so the cost would be one-time vs an ongoing one.

Just to update, after my package made its trip to Atlanta, it flew back to Anaheim, then took a ride over to my local post office for delivery to me, Probably just added one extra day, but possibly was delivered at a loss.
I'm sure the post office margins are very slim if they are there at all.

Julie · 12-06-2012, 05:51 PM

I don't understand these "sorting facilities"...
I ordered two items from the same Ebay seller, they were rather large, so they went in separate boxes. The seller shipped them together, same day, same time, same post office.
One package arrived to me in 2 days, while the other, was rerouted to some sorting facility halfway across the country before it came to my doorstep 2 days after the first package came.

12-02-2012, 10:03 PM	#1
crewl1 Site Supporter Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Los Angeles, CA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 9,807	USPS follies So I guess it is no wonder that the USPS is $15 billion in the hole, as evidenced by their inability to route packages efficiently. I ordered a $10 item, shipping included, from a seller that showed location in Southern California, not too far from me. Looking at the USPS tracking log, the package was -submitted to the post office in Orange, CA (approx 30 miles away) -sent to the sorting facility in Anaheim, CA (approx 27 miles away) -next sent to the sorting facility in Atlanta, GA (approx 2150 miles away) Where it currently sits awaiting its next flight. Someone needs to debug the sorting software? I wonder how much of that $15 B deficit could be reduced by auditing for these types of errors. Anyone have similar stories?

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12-02-2012, 10:06 PM	#2
boriscleto Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: North Syracuse, NY Photos: Gallery Posts: 16,475	The USPS' problems are entirely due to the fact that they, unlike any other organization in the country, have to fund the retirement benefits of workers who haven't even been born yet.

12-03-2012, 02:09 AM	#3
Medium FormatPro Banned Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Charleston & Pittsburgh Photos: Albums Posts: 1,668	Not to downgrade the importance of having mail service available in places such as Alaska, but… You would not believe how much the post office spends to keep it's route open in places such as that. Quite the fleet of trucks - unlike anything anywhere else in the world, and even enough to fund literally the best private aircraft fleet in the state of Alaska. Ironically law enforcement in the state has major issues getting around anywhere near as effectively, but… Try sending a letter of package - and it will actually get there better and more effectively. But then again there are truly massive costs involved in getting it there. It's unfortunate that one somehow get an individual state breakdown on the costs of operating the postal service, because by far - nothing comes close to the costs in Alaska

12-03-2012, 07:41 AM	#4
jogiba Banned Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Millstone,NJ Posts: 6,491	UPS and FedEx would not last more than 30 days if they had to operate under the Postal Rate Commission, Board of Governors of the United States Postal Service and other regulations like funding future retired workers health care and have to deliver to every address in the US six days a week. If you order stuff from Amazon like books, movies, memory cards etc with free shipping most of it is delivered by the USPS even if UPS gets it at the start.

12-03-2012, 08:04 AM	#5
Not a Number Moderator Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Venice, CA Posts: 10,526	Why don't you tell us about every time pieces of mail were delivered "correctly"? The server would probably run out of space if you did. And the USPS subcontracts some of their Express and Priority Mail to carriers like FedEx. Often the screw ups and odd routings are due to these 3rd parties. USPS system is geared more for delivery confirmation rather than tracking. Not to long ago the only information you would get was acceptance and delivery time. While the USPS is not part of the Federal Government it is Federally regulated as Not-For-Profit so that they can't raise rates or even spend money in ways without Congressional approval.

12-03-2012, 10:01 AM	#6
crewl1 Site Supporter Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Los Angeles, CA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 9,807 Original Poster	I don't have any issues with the stuff getting there, I prefer USPS Priority myself for shipping as it is quite reliable. It just seems wasteful to not have adequate controls to reduce costs due to misrouting.

12-03-2012, 11:46 AM	#7
boriscleto Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: North Syracuse, NY Photos: Gallery Posts: 16,475	UPS Reports Troubling Drop In Residents Answering Doors In Lingerie \| The Onion - America's Finest News Source

12-03-2012, 12:08 PM	#8
condor27596 Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Raleigh, NC, USA Posts: 870	When I was little I wanted to be a mailman or an astronaut. But neither worked out.

12-05-2012, 06:33 AM	#9
Docrwm Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Somewhere in the Southern US Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 12,285	Originally posted by condor27596 When I was little I wanted to be a mailman or an astronaut. But neither worked out. Both worked out for me, but then I got bored and moved on.

12-05-2012, 08:04 PM	#10
redrockcoulee Pentaxian Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Medicine Hat Posts: 2,306	Originally posted by crewl1 I don't have any issues with the stuff getting there, I prefer USPS Priority myself for shipping as it is quite reliable. It just seems wasteful to not have adequate controls to reduce costs due to misrouting. Unless the cost of implementing those controls exceeded the cost of the misrouting.

12-05-2012, 10:24 PM	#11
crewl1 Site Supporter Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Los Angeles, CA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 9,807 Original Poster	Originally posted by redrockcoulee Unless the cost of implementing those controls exceeded the cost of the misrouting. Yes, that is true. The plane was going to Atlanta anyway, right?

12-06-2012, 07:43 AM	#12
redrockcoulee Pentaxian Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Medicine Hat Posts: 2,306	Originally posted by crewl1 Yes, that is true. The plane was going to Atlanta anyway, right? No not really what I mean I work for the government and our department works so hard to make sure that people cannot take advantage of stuff for their own personal use like batteries or pens that I believe the system for preventing this is more expensive then the batteries and pens that would end up at home. So if it requires extra personal to prevent 10% of the packages from going to the wrong place it might be worth it but if the same extra personel is needed but the number of misdirected parcels is less then 1% perhaps it is false econonmy. Errors will be made whenever either machines or humans are involved, If the error rate is low then the cost of bringing it down is one of diminishing returns. It is the same as all the missing bagage on airlines, no matter how bad it seems the percentage is very low. My wife on two trips to New York City and one Greyhound trip to Seattle but myself who travels more than her never other than the one flight to Santa Fe but it was a very small plane that was carrying the luggage for the people on the previous flight and mine came on the next one (this was not a government run airline for sure) The letter carrier seems to always drop off letters at our place that are meant for the person on the next street, both starting with a B. But if I really think about it the frequency is more like once every couple of months, if that. What would it take to be able to double check the sorting, another hour per day for each letter carrier perhaps to prevent these few errors? Is the low number worth it?

12-06-2012, 09:37 AM	#13
Docrwm Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Somewhere in the Southern US Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 12,285	Well I just got an envelop from Brooklyn that is postmarked 11/21/12. 15 days from Brooklyn to Atlanta......ah well.

12-06-2012, 09:51 AM	#14
crewl1 Site Supporter Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Los Angeles, CA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 9,807 Original Poster	Originally posted by redrockcoulee What would it take to be able to double check the sorting, another hour per day for each letter carrier perhaps to prevent these few errors? I was just kidding, I do understand what you are saying. My response would be would be that since the sorting is done by machine, especially on these bulk packages with pre-printed labels either the machine is not well maintained, or the software has a bug, so the cost would be one-time vs an ongoing one. Just to update, after my package made its trip to Atlanta, it flew back to Anaheim, then took a ride over to my local post office for delivery to me, Probably just added one extra day, but possibly was delivered at a loss. I'm sure the post office margins are very slim if they are there at all.

12-06-2012, 05:51 PM	#15
Julie Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Illinois Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,069	I don't understand these "sorting facilities"... I ordered two items from the same Ebay seller, they were rather large, so they went in separate boxes. The seller shipped them together, same day, same time, same post office. One package arrived to me in 2 days, while the other, was rerouted to some sorting facility halfway across the country before it came to my doorstep 2 days after the first package came.