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Comment by flavor8 | Hacker News Reader

Well as long as they ditch USPS I'll be happy. I really want to support the idea of a federal postal service, but it consistently sucks in comparison to UPS.

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USPS could do a few things to improve and they really aren't that big. For the following examples consider this: I live on a "no outlet" road. Meaning 100% of traffic is for the 20 houses on the street and not through traffic. And of the local traffic it is extremely minimal, we have more kids playing on the street than we have cars.

1) Stop being lazy. For example, I ordered something from Amazon and even though I have Prime, I paid for next day delivery. It was something I really needed. I rushed home that day excited to finish a project. Looking out the window I watched the USPS guy drive right past my house. A short while later I got a notice from Amazon that my package wasn't delivered due to an obstruction blocking my mailbox. I go out to the mailbox and look around trying to figure out what the obstruction was. The only thing I could figure out that would be possibly considered an obstruction was the trash cans I had just taken out that were about 5 feet to the left of the mailbox.

2) Consider somethings could possibly be fragile and take that into account when handling. For example, earlier this week I had 2 "large" flat envelopes delivered that were clearly way too large for my mailbox. Instead of considering that the contents may be fragile the USPS guy just jammed the envelopes into the mailbox the best he could making them into a crumpled mess.

Your #1 is my main complaint. I live at the end of a long gravel driveway which is admittedly not always in the best of shape, especially in the winter. UPS (and other non-USPS) carriers still have no choice but to come down the driveway. USPS will often do things like hang boxes of the mailbox (where they've been stolen from time to time) or jam them into the mailbox. (The situation has gotten somewhat better since I got a huge mailbox that can accommodate most packages.)

It's not about laziness. Fedex and UP ruthlessly measures the efficiency of their drivers by timing their every single activity. This information is displayed in real-time to managers back at the warehouse, who can see, for instance, if a particular delivery is taking longer than average.

This is why many drivers game the system by skipping deliveries that they think will take too long, or (for packages that require signature) wait for only ~5 seconds after knocking on the door before deciding that you must not be home.

Wouldn't that then imply that you would get worse service from Fedex and UPS, where the drivers have more to gain by cutting corners? But the reality is really the exact opposite.

I don't know what the criterion is for not leaving a package, but it typically seems that UPS or FedEx will leave a package whereas USPS will not. Even for trivial, cheap packages like a roll of posters, USPS will leave a dreaded pink slip requiring me to visit the post office. While I have had that happen with UPS, those incidents are few and far in between. For me leaving the package is often the difference between getting it or not.

I will say, I usually work from home if I'm expecting something important and that UPS often does not seem to knock or if they do they've hired the world's quietest knockers. Perhaps they think I'm not home since I have a concealed driveway and just don't bother, but it definitely seems their high expectations do have some drawbacks.

If UPS does not meet it's promise, sometimes the paying customer is reimbursed ( first hand experience with Farnell delivering to me, while speaking with UPS service personnel ).

It's highly dependent on where you live and the individual driver assigned to your route.

I used to absolutely wonder in confusion why people complained about the USPS - where I grew up it was always cheaper and generally more reliable than UPS or Fedex. Plus if you ever had to go into the Post Office the people were downright pleasant and competent.

Then I moved to Chicago, and I instantly realized the reputation was deserved. It was essentially two entirely different postal systems, you would simply not recognize them as the same "company".

UPS and Fedex I've both had utterly fail for me living in different locations, just lazy worthless drivers happened to be assigned to me.

I will say all the complaining about "leaving packages to get stolen" needs to stop - if you're concerned get a box to put them in. Otherwise it's not reasonable to have these guys wait on you to come to to door. Sure it's only 30 seconds, but that's 30 seconds multiplied by 200 each day. Sure there will be some shrink just like a retail store, but it's still overall much more efficient.

My USPS drivers are so shiftless I have no reason to believe they would put packages in a box if I had one. They have left boxes on the driveway in the rain even though there is a covered porch a few feet away. I routinely get my neighbors' mail. USPS is so bad that I do everything I can to not receive mail.

> Otherwise it's not reasonable to have these guys wait on you to come to to door. Sure it's only 30 seconds, but that's 30 seconds multiplied by 200 each day

The only place I've had packages left outside is in the US. In every other country, every package that doesn't fit in the mailbox requires you to come to the door (or in many cases, it will require you to pick it up at a local postal pickup point, usually a nearby supermarket/convenience store/gas station)

> even though I have Prime, I paid for next day delivery

I thought the entire point of Prime was that it was next day delivery?

Prime is and started as 2 day delivery. Some items have "next day" or even "same day" included now, but not most.

Huh I get next-day included on every Prime purchase I make and always have done. If I order something at 11pm at night it's usually at my door by around 10am the next day. That's on standard Prime, and I don't live in a major metropolitan area.

Prime would be a pretty poor deal if I had to wait two days for anything to turn up!

Weird, i've never seen that. Wonder if it is due to your proximity to a Amazon center or something.

Fwiw, i (not OP) still feel 2 day is plenty fast and i get my moneys worth. Ordering 2 day on non-Prime items reminds me how expensive that crap is normally.

Here are the shipping benefits:

* FREE Two-Day Shipping on eligible items to addresses in the contiguous U.S. and other shipping benefits. For more information, go to Amazon Prime Shipping Benefits. * FREE Same-Day Delivery in eligible zip codes. For more information, go to Order with Prime FREE Same-Day Delivery.

I'm guessing you live in an eligible zip code?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=...

No I don't, but I do live in the UK. I think the whole country is eligible for one-day delivery here.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeI...

I still think two-day delivery is pretty rubbish. The great thing about Amazon Prime is it's faster than finding time to go to the shops and pick it up. If I have to wait literally days for it to arrive it's not the case any more.

Yeah this is all attributable to the relative size/shipping distances involved in the UK vs. the US.

1-day shipping in the U.S. outside of major metro areas is basically impossible at that $100 price point (or whatever Prime is these days). 2 days is pretty remarkable when you really think about it.

Call your local USPS office tell them you are going to file a formal complaint/grievance to Amazon about the delivery. The driver can get reprimanded for it. Amazon Prime deliveries are not a joke to them.

Source: both my parents just retired from the USPS.

My limited experiences with the USPS have been quite positive. The two times I've called to inquire about packages they routed first to the manager and then to the actual postman who delivers my mail. He remembered details about my building's entrance like the location of a small basket, and explained where the mail in question had been left.

I ordered an item from Amazon and was initially happy that it was being sent USPS. I live in an apartment building without a doorman. UPS and FedEx can't get inside the building but USPS has a key in order to get into the lobby with the mailboxes. But somehow the package delivery arm of the USPS is different from the ordinary mail delivery arm and I got a notification that they couldn't deliver the package.

Something like having agreements with all the landlords to get keys to all the buildings is a major advantage that the USPS has over its rivals. It should take advantage of that.

Two suggestions.

Tip your mailman. Not 20 or 50 but 100 or more.

Put a deck box for parcels by your mailbox.[1]

1 https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0030GG2GC/ref=mp_s_a_1_8?ie=...

Letter carriers can tell you the amount each patron gave each year. Year after year.

Edit: also your phone number is in the Amazon shipping label. With friendly customers I text if there is a delivery problem.

Comparing US Postal Service to UPS is not fair. USPS doesn't have all the flexibility that UPS has with regards to price and whom they will service. The US Postal service has to pickup and deliver mail to all Americans, UPS doesn't.

People don't complain about USPS because they suck at delivering to my "island" home in the middle of a swamp. They complain about USPS because somehow they seem to get a lot of employees who just don't try.

In my experience, Fedex and UPS deliver when they say they will. USPS "attempts" deliver all the time only for the package to fail to arrive. I live in the urban part of a small city/big town. There is essentially never a reason a package can't be delivered.

My latest gripe concerns the USPS person that delivers my daily mail. She loves to catch me outside and let me know that she doesn't "legally" have to deliver my mail if there is snow on my steps. I live in New England. Everyone has fucking snow on their steps.

I live in New England too, back when I lived in a suburb the first thing we did when it snowed (and even while it snowed) was clear a path and the steps for deliveries. I could understand not being home a few times to clear them, but I also know I wouldn't want risk walking on snow covered steps if I could avoid it...

Snow can and will cover up ice. That makes walking those steps inherently dangerous. She's being a bit of a jerk about it, but really she just wants her safety to be assured.

"Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds"

(Written above the postal HQ in Manhatta)

What about broken hips?

Ive had this issue to.. I live in RI. In 2013 there were a bunch of huge snow storms and my roommates and I were lazy college kids and dont go the extra mile shoveling out the front of the house where the mailbox was. We dint get mail for a month, until the post office told us that we had mail waiting at their location.

She walks up and down snow covered steps all day every winter. She can't do her job if she slips and injures herself. The policy makes good sense.

Huh? Where does UPS not ship to? I'm pretty sure they ship everywhere.

I am confident UPS does not ship to certain countries where they have no presence. No web sources at the moment, but heard this from my shipment broker.

edit: and they charge more for hard to reach places. really.

Yeah, I think only DHL services North Korea for example.

I mostly agree. I would actually pay UPS a monthly fee to takeover my mail delivery if it were an option.

Do you live in a city? In my (albeit very anecdotal) experience, folks in cities HATE the USPS, while in the suburbs they seem to be great. I live in Philadelphia but work in a small suburb just across the bridge in New Jersey, and it's like night and day. I absolutely hate dealing with USPS in the city. Service is slow, they are miserable, say they leave packages when they don't. They "attempt" delivery so I ALWAYS have to go to the post office to pick up my packages (which takes usually an hour or two of my time). Then you have to worry about things like packages being stolen. But in the suburbs it's the complete opposite. The woman (it's always the same woman) at the post office is super friendly, very nice, service is fast, there's never a long line.

Incidentally, I have the exact same experience with liquor stores in PA (which are state run).

My small town post office is actually great but I tried to go to one in Pittsburgh and wanted to off myself. So inefficient and slow. The employees clearly hate their jobs but know they can do the bare minimum and not be fired.

Same is true of my local DMV vs the regional one.

I live on a mountain half a mile up an unpaved road (there are a half dozen or so houses on the road, not just us).

UPS will drive to our door. Fedex will drive halfway up and leave packages by the side of the road (there is a gate and a turnaround there.)

USPS won't even bother putting packages on the delivery truck; instead I need to drive 15 minutes to the post office to pick them up. The most infuriating thing is that when they put a slip in our mailbox, it generates a "Sorry we missed you, delivery attempted" email which is utter and clear BS.

This might be a relatively extreme situation, but they have also sucked in the prior suburban and urban places I've lived.

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