US Postal Service recovers from poor holiday showing in 2020

[George II]

Source: Associated Press

By DAVID SHARP an hour ago

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The U.S Postal Service pulled out all the stops to avoid a repeat of the 2020 holiday shipping disaster, and it worked.

The Postal Service and several other private shippers reported that holiday season deliveries went smoothly for the most part.

ShipMatrix, which analyzes shipping package data, reported that 96.9% of the Postal Service’s shipments were on time during a two-week period in December. Overall, it was a major improvement across the board compared with last year, when more than a third of first-class mail was late by the time Christmas arrived.

“We’re happy to have brought all of the good holiday cheer that we could,” said Mark Dimondstein, president of the American Postal Workers Union, which represents more than 200,000 postal workers.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-business-health-maine-postal-service-36f1364ff548b56a89c8210a9f30e3bf

[Lovie777]

1. Say what? . ......

So President Biden and administration and Democrats saved Christmas huh.

[rockfordfile]

29. yes they fucking did

[gab13by13]

2. When does the Postal Board fire DeJoy?

I marked down the date but I lost it.

[CurtEastPoint]

3. Way overdue. THAT would be a wonderful present for the new year.

[VarryOn]

4. Now maybe they can focus on their counter service...

at the post offices. I regularly use three. Not enough windows open, and invariably, I get behind people whose transaction takes 10 minutes. They have the need, apparently, to ask about every conceivable way a package can be mailed, all to save $.20 and slow up the line!

I walk up with my properly addressed package with all necessary forms, they weigh it, I pay. 30 seconds I’m done!

[gab13by13]

5. My new thing since I retired in 2010

is letting people ahead of me in line. I would gladly let you ahead of me good sir/maam. I learned not to wait, I enjoy the moment.

[Rebl2]

12. The problem with

our post office is we have one clerk helping customers and the other one always seems to be doing passport applications. Wish there was somewhere else those wanting passports to go get them. We too have those customers that come in with packages that take forever to get done. I believe they are people who sell stuff on eBay or Etsy. Why can’t they just get the packages ready at home-and by that I mean invest in a scale to weigh the package and print postage at home. Then they could just put them in the drop box for packages inside the post office. It’s so annoying.

[TexasBushwhacker]

23. Our post office has a big scale and a bin

Basically, if you can fit your package into the bin (one of those big pull down things) you're free to weigh your own package, pay and print your own postage sticker, and put your package in the bin. That part of the PO is open 24/7.

[Rebl2]

24. Our PO has

the same thing, but there are people that would rather take their multiple packages inside and tie up the line and have the clerks do it for them. I understand if they have an oversized box why they would go in.

[VarryOn]

26. We are in complete agreement...I've decided there are certain people who are just...

Speed bumps for the rest of us. The speed bump at the post office is the same guy that uses the drive thru at the pharmacy even though he knows there's an issue with his prescription...that it's going to need the pharmacy to call the doctor, insurance or both. Meanwhile, I'm right behind him, and there are four cars behind me, and I can't just back up, park, and walk in to get mine. I'm stuck until he's done. Grrrrr!

[Chainfire]

6. I do a lot of online shopping and receive a lot of postal packages.

Through the holiday season I thought that delivery times were excellent and perhaps better than normal. That doesn't mean that I wouldn't like to se DeJoy dropped, bent, folded, stapled and canceled.

[Historic NY]

7. Also Amazon has taken to doing their own deliveries in some markets.

not sending business to the USPS.

[IthinkThereforeIAM]

13. Amazon deliveries are the ones getting the biggest complaints here...

... in the Sioux Falls metro area. Amazon packages missing/delivered one block away/reported delivered but not there, and show up a day or two later...according to the local "connection" page on FB.

I have seen very few complaints for USPS deliveries. And the ones I have seen that allude to, "the post office", later the person(s) admit it was an Amazon delivery that messed up. And Amazon is in the process of finishing building a new multimillion$ warehouse in Sioux Falls.

PS: The local post office staff keeps begging me to put in to return to working for the USPS as a PTF clerk. I put in 12 years at the Sioux Falls USPS, but, "retired", long ago. I hate to blow my horn but I guess some folks remember me, ha.

[Historic NY]

22. I had the package thing happen, once I complained

they responded immediately that a new employee misunderstood out for delivery as delivery. It was there the following day at the exact time. We also have a million sq ft warehouse under completion and the delivery hub took over a very large warehouse. As I understand the delivery service is similar to the old Fed EX arrangement with independents, here at least one person owns that contracting.

[Rebl2]

27. I always used to have Amazon

packages sent to my PO BOX, but since the pandemic I have them sent to the house so don’t have to wait in a line to pick up an Amazon package.

[Auggie]

8. I sent a large package regular mail and it was delivered the next day

Blew me away. Thanks, Post Office!

[IthinkThereforeIAM]

14. I had a two day Priority Mail delivery...

... from Wisconsin to Sioux Falls a few weeks ago on an eBay purchase. PERFECT!

[Rebl2]

25. Good for them!

My sister however sent a small package to me on the 15th of December and I got it on the 27th. She is in a small town in northern CA and I am in a suburb of KCMO. It took the scenic route to get here. For some reason when it left Sacramento, CA it’s next stop was Nashville, TN and eventually made its way to KC, then my town. That was a first.

[Marthe48]

9. Note to self

if dejoy is still ruining USPS in Nov 2022, can we disguise our mail-in ballots as Christmas cards?

[IthinkThereforeIAM]

15. That is something I am wondering about, too...

... if it is now, "OK", to get mail and parcels delivered on time or timely manner, being that it is not an election season this year. First thing that came to mind when I hit this thread.

[NCjack]

10. DeJoy lied. He said USPS couldn't performed and sabotaged it as proof. Now,

he shows that USPS can perform, and he will want credit for restoring it.

FIRE him now!!!

[Hoyt]

11. Sounds like dismantling all those unused flat mail sorters was a smart move.

And vaccines prevented absences.

[llashram]

16. thank you for this

and while the USPS will always have their detractors I like this poster am not one. Americans always want service right now and without delay. So if the USPS is late on some delivery they will complain about it. I just wish Americans would leave that service that provides a service to ALL of us and is always under scrutiny for the smallest misstep alone. I know for a fact that postal workers are some of the most unappreciated government workers there are. Long hours and sometimes overbearing management cause unnecessary stress for all levels of delivery personnel in the trenches. Yet in a majority of deliveries, they are on time as noted in this post above.

Everyone calls them lazy, overpaid and not worth that pay. Nothing could be farther from the truth. On-time delivery is better than a majority of countries on this planet as noted in the post above. Despite attacks by Congresspeople looking to gorge themselves on the funds needed to run the USPS and the MSM, not a friend also, 99.9% of the days of our lives, WE GET OUR MAIL AND PACKAGES.

We may have delays, have to wait in line for service-business purposes, yet, the USPS delivers.

I, after 73 years on this planet, love their unappreciated sacrifice to make sure when one looks in their post box, their mail is there.

Yes, I love the USPS.

[hlthe2b]

18. Criticism lodged at USPS here was towards DeJoy and his corrupt cronies trying to dismantle it--

following up and expanding on a privatization wet dream from R's for decades--not the USPS workers nor actual local and regional management. Big difference. And over the past decade and a half, I have signed now more than 30 petitions, written letters, and called congressional representation multiple times to try to get this sorted out. So, I'm hardly new to the issues.

[llashram]

28. I'm on your side

Dejoy must go...and I took no negatives from your post. Forgive me if I get a little passionate in my defence of USPS.

[Midnight Writer]

17. Didn't they change the service standards? On time delivery does not necessarily mean faster.

If the standard was two delivery via Priority Mail, and now it is three to four days, then an on time delivery does not mean improvement. It just means they moved the goal posts.

[Grins]

19. So, not an election year...? NM

[AverageOldGuy]

20. Who should get credit for this???

I vote that ALL credit for this performance goes to the people who walk up to each mailbox or front door in the country and leave the mail.

Sadly, it will be the supervisors and managers and executives who will get the bonusses.

I live in rural VA; most of our USPS folks are African-American. A couple of us went to our little PO before Christmas and handed out $50 bills to everyone. Our letter carrier got another one.

They EARN it.

[bucolic_frolic]

21. Really? I beg to disagree

My PO has been closed for a week. The postmaster is on medical leave. There are no retail hours. They are unable to find backup employees. You can't pickup packages, I have no idea if or when the mail goes out. No matter how much they advertise for employees, they don't find any. I blame the complex and convoluted hiring practices - apply online, must meet such and such requirements, take a test, of course a background check. All for backup retail personnel that any cashier could fill with 4 hours of training. Can't they find a way to deputize temporaries?