Should I Complain?

[Deleted]

I ramp up my eBaying just a tiny bit and now it seems I have a new issue to sort out every day.

A few weeks ago I had reason to check tracking on a package. I had dropped it in a blue box late on a Friday night with a collection time Saturday.  Anytime I mail on Saturday it goes out of our main PO Saturday night and is usually at least halfway to its destination on Monday. So I was surprised to see that it wasn't accepted into the system and didn't leave the main PO until Monday night. As if it were just picked up that day.

I've used that box since they took one out of my neighborhood 2 years ago; never had a problem. So I thought maybe they weren't doing a Saturday PU at that box anymore, although it would be pretty unusual that they hadn't changed the posted collection times.

Monday I had a buyer ask if she could pay extra shipping to have a swimsuit mailed to her in time to receive it by June 8. I have a 4 day handling time but had planned to ship Tuesday, so I told her I could get it right out on the 31st and the FC mail she paid for would be fine barring any unusual problems on the part of the PO. She insisted on paying extra for Priority. Tuesday, the 31st, I send the package off with a family member who used the blue collection box that hadn't been picked up on Saturday a few weeks prior. That box has TWO collection times on week days and he got there before the earliest one. I checked that package today. It was scanned in and left our main PO just last night, the 1st. Not the 31st as it should have. She'll get it in plenty of time, but that's not the point. She paid me extra to get it out the 31st and the sooner she gets it that's one less day she'll worry about not getting it.

Now I really think there's a carrier out there who isn't always picking up that box when he's supposed to. In order to complain I'm going to have to make it known that my mail has tracking and that's how I'm able to know that these packages aren't being accepted into the system on the day they're being mailed. But I might be the only one who uses that box for packages w/tracking, which could put a target on my future packages. Depending on how they resolve the problem and how the carrier accepts the criticism. I have a feeling this could end up being like complaining in a restaurant. You never know what will be in your food when you get it back.

There are times when I really do need to use that box due to a later collection time. So it's a question of continuing to use it most days and hope for the best, taking packages more time sensitive to other locations when I can. Or complain to get it fixed and see what happens. Almost all my packages ship FC, so they're not even insured.

I guess what I want to hear are stories of people who have complained about their carrier and not suffered any consequences.

[kritter]

No stories but your experience is why I don't trust the blue boxes.

Even if I only have one package, I go to the post office because of my blue box phobia and my mail route doesn't have a designated carrier so I don't trust carrier pickup at my house.

I don't even put bill payments in blue boxes.

[val2525]

I'd call and report. It could be that a contracted service is handling pickup at that box and not USPS directly.

I've called about pickup from my tax office and the postmaster at the PO thanked me. They'd been having issues from other businesses on the route, and that's who told me to always call due to contractors.

I called about pickup from my house and found out the relief route person is too short to unlock my patio gate. I rarely do home pickup now, but if I do, I leave the gate unlatched.

[sunsetpainter]

I won't use the blue boxes for anything either. Too paranoid. I take everything to the counter and get a receipt. But ours is a small town PO and I rarely have to wait in line, except around Christmas,

[Deleted]

It took me a while to trust blue boxes. For far longer than I needed to, I didn't trust anyone but a counter person to do anything with my packages. Including myself. I don't think I started printing my own postage for almost a year even though I knew that I could. But I've been using blue boxes almost exclusively for 7 years now and this is the first issue.

I might e-mail first without identifying myself as the (possibly only) person who puts mail w/tracking in that box. Maybe if I just say my mail isn't being processed on the day it's supposed to be collected they'll assume I know this by postmark.

[val2525]

If the po box is near business buildings, you aren't the only one using trackable services.

[labbypaws]

I got jammed once on an Express Mail sale of Eagles-Dallas tickets that I put in the Express box. They did not get scanned and the Eagles lost the gMe that weekend. It got scanned Monday. The buyer bought them to flip and since the Eagles lost they weren't as valuable. They came back to me. After that, I now stand in line for an acceptance scan on anything I ship.

and when I complain d to the postal worker, he said they get a message each day telling them to empty the box at the time it is supposed to be emptied so "there is no way it sat in the box over the weekend".  Yeah right.

[Deleted]

The box is in front of a small shopping center. No matter what time of day I drop my packages in, I hear a thunk when they hit bottom. The same cavernous sound I heard from the blue box on my block; the box they removed about 2 years ago. I'm expecting the same fate for this one.

[val2525]

Is there a box near you that serves offices instead of retail? Those boxes fill up faster and usually get emptied per schedule (or so it's been my experience). I have a box down the street like yours, Elly In a shopping center and seems empty every time I use it. I've never watched the tracking though since I try to drop off at the PO (I'm close to 2).

[Deleted]

I do carrier pick up with anything over a certain price point. My carrier brings his scan gun to the door when I have a PU scheduled. But mailing at 9 AM isn't always convenient, or even possible. I don't leave packages on the porch unattended and there's not always someone home at 9. I also use boxes so I can get things out a day quicker. If I have a sale at 3, and I'm going to the grocery store at 4, I pack that item up and take it with me. The last collection on the box in front of the market is 5.

[Deleted]

If I lose the box I'm using now, or it continues to have inconsistent pick up, then I may as well go to the PO. It would be about the same distance as going to the next further box, just a different direction. The boxes in front of the PO sometimes get too full though. I'm not the only one using those for packages. I actually jammed one of those boxes up once with a tyvek envelope a long time ago. I had no idea the mail inside was nearly at the top. I think that might have been a Sunday night though, and last PU there on Saturday is noon.

[Deleted]

Jun 2, 2016 20:14:34 GMT @elly said:

If I lose the box I'm using now, or it continues to have inconsistent pick up, then I may as well go to the PO. It would be about the same distance as going to the next further box, just a different direction. The boxes in front of the PO sometimes get too full though. I'm not the only one using those for packages. I actually jammed one of those boxes up once with a tyvek envelope a long time ago. I had no idea the mail inside was nearly at the top. I think that might have been a Sunday night though, and last PU there on Saturday is noon.

Hahaha, I did that once too. The PO was open though and I had to go in and appeal to the somewhat socially awkward counter rep to help me. I was so embarrassed but who knew they had so much traffic out there.

[val2525]

The 3 blue boxes outside of my regular PO fill up by about 3:00 on Sunday. I can go inside, but I have to drop off before about 6 on Sunday or all those drops inside are full too.

[Emerald_Door]

If you don't complain, it's likely that you'll continue to get poor service and you won't want to use that box, so I think it's worth complaining about it.

[Deleted]

I made a general complaint about mail dropped in that box before last posted collection time not being processed the same day. I said if the collection days and times have changed, they need to post that. And since I have a 4 day handling time and I ship within 1-2 days I'll keep using that box and monitoring it. I have one specific date now, the other being a vague '2-3 Saturdays ago', so if it does happen again I'll have two detailed examples that may give the complaint more weight.

[jesmelric]

I drop my packages in the bin next to the APC. Last summer they weren't getting scanned until they actually left the state. I had buyer complaints (in fact one package went from Houston to Oklahoma to Dallas?!!) I called and was basically told they are short handed and didn't have enough people to scan them in as accepted and too bad that's the way it was

[chapeaunoir]

I complained about our relief carrier leaving packages out by the side of the road if they didn't fit in our mail box - it stopped immediately. A year later I saw him at his dirty work again and complained again. I don't understand why someone would NOT complain about neglect of mail? It's a federal trust.

[SA]

I would complain, wait a week, then give it another shot.

But I've never had success with my complaints. I refuse to do carrier pick up. I got burned twice by them scanning as delivered vs. picked up. So I adjust and trek my butt to the PO. I use the blue box in the parking lot of our PO if they'll fit. If not, I use the drop box inside.

[Deleted]

I thought I was going to have to complain yesterday. I got to the PO at 12:30. The counter doesn't close until 12:45. Girls went in with their arm loads of packages from the weekend and there was a different lady in there and she was already pulling the metal shade down closing the counter. She had it almost all the way down as they walked up to it and put the packages down. Finally she said, if they are ready push them under. I assume if they weren't she was going to refuse them even though the PO counter was open for another 15 minutes. Girls pushed them under and came out and told me. I was worried she wouldn't scan them in and they wouldn't go out until today's run but I see they got scanned and left yesterday.

For petes sake our PO is only open 4 hours a day and 2 hours on Saturday now they are putting people in there that can't even keep it open until the end of their 4 hour shift? That's ridiculous.

[Deleted]

I would deliberately try to catch her closing early and show up at 12:30-12:40 when I could, since you can't report her until she actually is closed. But I have a 4 day handling and generally ship in 1, so I could afford for the counter to be closed. If you have 1 day handling you can't.

If they're only open for 4/2 hours do they at least finish with anyone waiting in line when they're busy? We have one PO that almost always has a line to the lobby when they're supposed to close at noon on Saturday. But they finish with every customer who was in line by noon. They just don't allow anyone new in line after that.

[val2525]

Jun 28, 2016 12:48:59 GMT peek said:

I thought I was going to have to complain yesterday. I got to the PO at 12:30. The counter doesn't close until 12:45. Girls went in with their arm loads of packages from the weekend and there was a different lady in there and she was already pulling the metal shade down closing the counter. She had it almost all the way down as they walked up to it and put the packages down. Finally she said, if they are ready push them under. I assume if they weren't she was going to refuse them even though the PO counter was open for another 15 minutes. Girls pushed them under and came out and told me. I was worried she wouldn't scan them in and they wouldn't go out until today's run but I see they got scanned and left yesterday.

For petes sake our PO is only open 4 hours a day and 2 hours on Saturday now they are putting people in there that can't even keep it open until the end of their 4 hour shift? That's ridiculous.

I would complain to the postmaster of that location. Or higher.