UHHHG USPS Stinks!

[Caradoc]

Any man who judges by the group is a pea-wit.

I see. So, the Nazi party under Hitler was just a bunch of really cool people hanging out together, but they had a few bad eggs?

I'm sorry, but when a member of a particular group behaves badly, and the group takes no action whatsoever to distance themselves from that poor behavior, it's going to reflect badly on the group.

In the public sector, an employee who did something awful would be fired.

In the USPS, they're not fired. From all evidence, they're not even reprimanded.

Anyway, the letter carrier who pepper-sprayed my dog isn't the only problem with the local PO. We regularly find other people's mail in our box, packages are delivered with severe damage, and occasionally we find our mail (or our neighbor's mail) scattered across the lawn.

And the good old boys down at L'Enfant Plaza don't even reply to mail.

[macwilkin]

I see. So, the Nazi party under Hitler was just a bunch of really cool people hanging out together, but they had a few bad eggs?

I'm sorry, but when a member of a particular group behaves badly, and the group takes no action whatsoever to distance themselves from that poor behavior, it's going to reflect badly on the group.

In the public sector, an employee who did something awful would be fired.

In the USPS, they're not fired. From all evidence, they're not even reprimanded.

Anyway, the letter carrier who pepper-sprayed my dog isn't the only problem with the local PO. We regularly find other people's mail in our box, packages are delivered with severe damage, and occasionally we find our mail (or our neighbor's mail) scattered across the lawn.

And the good old boys down at L'Enfant Plaza don't even reply to mail.

Sir,

Your analogy of the Nazi party is way out-of-line. I removed my quote because in hindsight, it might offend. My apologies.

I'm sorry about your dog; that wasn't right. I agree, people should take responsibility for their actions, regardless of where they work.

Regards,

Todd

[Caradoc]

I'm sorry about your dog; that wasn't right. I agree, people should take responsibility for their actions, regardless of where they work.

As has been my point throughout - not only did the individual carrier fail to take responsibility for his actions, so did his supervisor, the local Postmaster, and every person in the chain of command all the way up to L'Enfant Plaza.

Which group would have been a more appropriate analogy, by the way? I'll grant that the Nazi party was an extreme case, but there are and always will be groups of people who will be judged by the actions of their own members, and their failure to curtail the problem.

[Mike1]

As has been my point throughout - not only did the individual carrier fail to take responsibility for his actions, so did his supervisor, the local Postmaster, and every person in the chain of command all the way up to L'Enfant Plaza.

Let me share a little something with you. Just my personal observation, after witnessing your behavior on this forum for several months.

If you approached the USPS carrier, his supervisor, the local Postmaster and every person in the chain of command all the way up to L'Enfant Plaza with the same degree of charm and tact that you demonstrate to others on this forum, I'm surprised someone didn't laugh in your face and toss you out on your ear.

I've been in sales and customer service for 34 years this very week. I absolutely hate it when a customer gets less than the very best in service. I hate having to be the ear that gets bent over someone else's failures and shortcomings.

Unfortunately, that is part of my job responsibility. So, if something goes wrong, tell me what went wrong and let me do my best to make it right. If something goes wrong and you want to b*tch for the sake of b*tching, then there's nothing in this world that will make you smile. And I'm certainly not going to waste my time trying. People like that aren't really looking for the problem to be rectified, they're just looking for someone that is willing to listen to them howl.

My employer has the opinion that there are 20% of the people we deal with that we are not going to be able to please, not matter how hard we try and no matter what we offer them.

Did you ever stop to think you just might be in that 20% category?

And I will stand by my earlier comment - my job for the last 22+ years has involved dealing on a daily basis with USPS, FedEx, UPS and DHL. Of those companies, USPS has the best service record. Are they perfect? Nope, but who amongst us is perfect?

If this thread continues to deteriorate, it will be closed.

[Woodsheal]

Hear, hear, Mike! As a letter carrier for 27 years, I've refrained from posting in this thread, other than to offer the technical info above.

Personally, I care most about good service to my customers, even if that has at times run contrary to management's positions and desires (their numbers crunching occasionally does not jive with "service first"). The vast majority of my fellow carriers share this dedication to their customers, though there are always "bad eggs", especially in a work force that numbers into the hundreds of thousands.

The USPS is the highest rated postal service in the world in terms of customer satisfaction, and on time/accurate delivery, over 95% or higher. But, as much as a I try, I still have customers who will always be pissed off about something. It's part of dealing with the public....

[Mike1]

Hi Brian, how have you been?

I like dealing with the Postal Service, because I know the odds of the system actually working are going to be much better. Sure, there are quirks in the system, but there are quirks in all systems. I could certainly tell you a few about FedEx and UPS, too.

Ah, well, I've made a mistake or two in my own time. Yeah, I know it is hard to believe, but it is true.

How goes the old line? When we do right, no one remembers. When we do wrong, no one forgets.

[Caradoc]

Personally, I care most about good service to my customers, even if that has at times run contrary to management's positions and desires (their numbers crunching occasionally does not jive with "service first"). The vast majority of my fellow carriers share this dedication to their customers, though there are always "bad eggs", especially in a work force that numbers into the hundreds of thousands.

Related question for you, Woodsheal:

Why is it so darned difficult to weed out the bad eggs in the USPS? I've never encountered such resistance to "improving the customer experience" in any other company, corporation, or organization as I've seen there (except possibly AT&T Wireless "Customer Service," but that's a different can of worms.)

[Caradoc]

If you approached the USPS carrier, his supervisor, the local Postmaster and every person in the chain of command all the way up to L'Enfant Plaza with the same degree of charm and tact that you demonstrate to others on this forum, I'm surprised someone didn't laugh in your face and toss you out on your ear.

It took over a month of trying to get any answers at all from the USPS before I reached critical mass on my issues with them.

Will letters occasionally be misplaced or misdelivered? Certainly. Once a week? That's a bit much.

Will letters occasionally be dropped along a route while a carrier is walking? Certainly. Three times just this month. That's a bit much.

Will letter carriers need to pepper-spray loose animals? Absolutely. Pepper-spraying a dog that's in a locked back yard, well away from the route? Inexcusable.

Check this out: The Summit City Mailbag - a publication of a National Association of Letter Carriers branch (Summit City, #116). The cartoons on page four and on the back page seem to be fairly indicative of their general attitude toward their customers.

That particular branch is in your neck of the woods, Mike.

I do find it just a little odd that an organization that represents employees of an ostensibly customer-service-based service like the USPS would post such things in public.

Granted, I've only been in sales, customer service, et cetera for about eighteen years, and I only have awards from three different employers for the levels of customer service that I've demonstrated.

I *do* know customer service. It appears that our local USPS representatives don't. So, whenever I possibly can, I choose FedEx over UPS or the USPS - I've had many, many poor experiences with the latter two, and very few poor experiences with FedEx. Your own mileage may vary, of course.

I also make an effort to publicize those vendors and providers who've done right by me. If you care to check my posting history, I am pretty sure I've defended more vendors than I've said anything bad about.