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After getting screwed up by the post office and a mistaken understanding of the one day shipping policy, I’m finally TRS again!
It took a very concerted effort on my part to make it happen. I had to be very aggressive with my post office; they were habitually leaving my packages behind when delivering my mail. One or two times I can understand, but it happened like a dozen times. After speaking to a supervisor, my pickups became regular…until last week. They left them again, and then again yesterday! Luckily I got someone on the phone, and they had a carrier out very quickly. The delivery supervisor assured me she would address the problem. I hope so, as my late shipping rate is at exactly 3%, which leaves no margin of error.
I’m hoping my TRS status and the auction experiment will help ease the Summer Slowdown.
*Paul*
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The best way to get packages picked up from your house is to use the “schedule a pickup” service available on USPS.gov You can put an order in as late as 1am. The carrier for your route will get a print out in the morning for the pick up. This form later has to be turned in to the carriers supervisor, so its highly unlikely the carrier would skip your house on purpose.
IF you happen to see a USPS carrier any where and you have packages or letters you can hand them to him/her. Carriers are required to accept mail even if its not on their route.
Lastly, if a package pick up was missed call the post office and ask if you can drop off those packages at the Post Office “after hours” at the back door. Even though the post office closes at 5pm, the mail truck(s) usually don’t leave until 6pm or later. IF you live in a big city like NYC this probably won’t work, but if you’re in a suburban area it probably will.
When I was in between jobs I worked at the USPS as a carrier so I have inside knowledge on how the organization works.
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Gompers, I don’t get mail delivery to my house. We collect our mail from a series of post boxes mounted on poles on the main road two miles away from us.
I’ve not managed to get a straight answer from an USPS employee on whether or not the Schedule a Pickup would work for me. Would you know?
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Have you tried to schedule a pick up? That’s the first thing I would do to see if it works.
This is a great question and it sounds like you are on what the USPS calls a “rural route.” I worked in a city office which didn’t have rural routes so I’m not that familiar with those.
I would imagine if your delivery box is large enough you can place outgoing packages in there, I would attach a note that says something like “outgoing” or “please pick up” to make sure its not overlooked.
I would also call the post office and speak with the post master that serves your route. They should have an answer. If they do not you can call the district manager for your area and that most likely will get it fixed. If you can not find out who the district manager is or get no help there call the toll free number 1-800-ASK-USPS
IF you are doing significant postal business the USPS wants your business believe me.
Carriers are not the best source for answers so I would take whatever they say with a grain of salt. The post master has all the power for the most part. USPS employees are unionized and that can cause friction between the mgmt and the rank and file. Sometimes that friction follows them onto the street unfortunately.
Postal routes and post offices are graded/evaluated on a number of metrics and picking up packages is one of them. That is why we here people like Jay & Ryanne say that their carrier loves to pick up packages at their house. It benefits the carrier(s) & post office(s) in the long run.
Another thing that the general public doesn’t know about the USPS is that Postal Mgmt gets “bonuses” based on their post offices performance. Picking up packages is one of those metrics. Under the best of circumstances increased package volume could actually lead to more employees being hired.
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Thanks Gompers.
My turnover is still fairly low, but when it picks up to the point where I’m doing parcels every day, I’ll go in and tolk to my PM. We are rural and I know they’re hurting to be able to show they cover “businesses” because there are so few businesses in town. Perhaps I can request scheduled pick ups based on volume when I have volume.
The idea to leave my parcels in the post box is not good. There’s no security there, it’s a row of boxes in the middle of nowhere on a main road. I’m just asking for my boxes to go walkabout.
Appreciate your quick response!
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When I had trouble, I used the USPS website to send my postmaster a message. That got their attention because it was visible to officials over the whole system, not just local. The postmaster later followed up with me by phone and was very helpful. She told me that if my pickup was missed again, to call her directly and she would send a truck out to me. You said you spoke to a supervisor, but if it wasn’t the local postmaster, you might think about trying that.
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What Wbird said is the way to go. If you submit a compliant thru the 1-800 number or the website everyone sees it. That will light a fire under their butts.
I would suggest talking to the post master first. To at least give them the opportunity to fix the problem. If that gets no where go to step two.
Speaking to supervisors won’t necessarily help at all.
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Thank you Jay and Ryanne! Just trying to be like you two!
Thanks Gompers and WBird for the insight. I have been scheduling pickups online since last summer, but my packages were getting skipped at every week or two. When I first asked about it at the post office, they said I live on an auxiliary route (strange since I’m nowhere near a rural area), so I have a different carrier every day, usually the new recruits. After it happened a few more times, I called the USPS help line and filed a complaint. A supervisor called me the next day and assured me it wouldn’t happen again. But it did. Called again and spoke to a different supervisor, this time with a firmer tone. They were good for a couple of months, then it happened last week. I was ok with letting that one go, but this past Monday they left them again…23 packages! I knew that would deepen the TRS hole they dug they dug for me, so I called and got the delivery supervisor. She sent a carrier right over after I gave her an earful. If it happens again, I’m going down there and talk to the postmaster in person. Like Jay said, I shouldn’t have to ride them to do their job, but I’ll do what I have to for this business to grow.
*Paul*
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Rydell,
Auxiliary route is an internal designation by the USPS and doesn’t really mean anything to the consumer/customer. All it means is you are on a route that takes less than 8 hours to complete.
Most likely you don’t have a regular carrier either. Who ever has free time or the temps will get that route. Not sure why the supervisor would tell you this other than to maybe make it sound like an excuse.If you ship a lot of packages daily I believe you can have a standing order with the USPS to stop at your house every day. For example, when I delivered mail there were pawn shops on my route and I would stop there every day and pick up packages.
The USPS wants your business trust me. 1st class mail volume has been down every year I believe since 2006 and they are bleeding cash. Most of the carries know this too and recognize that if they want to be employed in the long run they need to be picking up packages. Despite this there are still curmudgeons, temps, and post masters that don’t give a toss. Hopefully, you don’t have one of these people in your post office.
AS you found out though, if a lot of packages are missed you can call the post office and they will most likely send someone out to pick up. If you live close to the post office and its after 5pm you can call and ask if you can drop them off at the back door. Don’t show up unannounced though. In the office I worked in the mail truck didn’t leave until 6:30-7:00pm.
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Gompers, I am in shock. They didn’t pick up my packages again yesterday! Not even a week after I was assured the problem would be resolved. I’m calling the postmaster on Tuesday. I also found the district manager’s contact info in case she doesn’t help. I thought about calling the 1-800 number AND making a complaint on the website, but as you suggested, I’d like to give the postmaster a chance. Hell, I might do all three. I’m ready to make a whole lot of noise until this is fixed permanently.
*Paul*
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