Rant about the USPS

[Cake O' Maple]

Part of it is my fault, but I think most of it is theirs...
I mailed my sister 11 bottles (the flat syrup bottles w/ little handles) of syrup in a flat rate box, bagged in ziplock bags and labelled on all sides that it contained liquid, per their requirements for shipping liquids. The were packed in so tightly I had to squeeze the box together both directions to tape it shut and have it level, so figured the bottles were fine without being padded.

Yup. 5 bottles broke, and apparently cut the bags as well, as she said it was dripping and delivered in a garbage bag.

I can only imagine someone threw it. I hope whoever did, got it all over their shoes, including dripping inside, so they have sticky shoes forever! And they step in dog s*** every day for the next month.

[jmayerl]

Just wondering, do you think that one person gingerly hand delivered that package from your hands to your sisters hands? Flat rate boxes provide NO padding. And glass is very fragile(full, or empty). I have shipped both glass syrup and a glass bender releaser across the country in flat rate boxes. I can tell you before padding with bubble wrap that you need 50% more room than the product for padding.

[Dennis H.]

1st question I have for you is, did you put any kind of padding in there?
To me you went the cheap route and got a box that was too small for what you wanted to ship safely. I know shipping fees are high and you try to save where ever you can.
Glass is one of the toughest things to ship. One route to go is a box with in a box. The inside box it isolated from the outside box by foam. DO NOT use packing peanuts and what ever you do, do not use newspaper. Either one of these once crushed flat will allow the contents to move and once there is movement in the box damage is bond to happen.

Everything in the shipping worild now is sorted by machines. There is still a few people who touch the box but once it leaves your local postoffice it won't get touched by another person until it arrives at the other local post office.

By the way the package wouldn't have faired much better with UPS or Fedex. So go easy on the post office.

[Cake O' Maple]

I know that damage is bound to happen if there is movement in the box, which is why I packed it so tightly. My sister didn't care how much I sent her, so I packed and re-packed until the box was as tight as it could get.

No, of course I don't expect one person to gingerly deliver it from my post office to my sister, but I have shipped the same way before, and the syrup arrived just fine.

I have a strong hunch that someone decided to be contrary and do what they could to damage the box. Some people think it's fun. Or funny. Or whatever.

[buck3m]

I know how frustrating and disappointing something like that can be.

Syrup SHOULD be packed in tight, but with plenty of padding around the outside and between the bottles; not doing so will result in broken bottles very often with just about any shipper. I ship in plastic to hedge my bets even more.

[TerryEspo]

Very sad Cake,,,,,,,I feel for you and your sis !!

Terry

[wnybassman]

I don't think I'd pin that one on the USPS. I pack one of those bottles in a 7x7x7 Priority box FULL of padding and I still worry about it. lol Glass stacked on glass has zero crush resistance.

Sucks though......

[maplefrank]

we have had trouble with usps too...... shipping in plastic....... our postmaster, or should i say postmistress......helped us alot!!!!! 1 labeled as liquid or fragile doesnt help, all packages are dropped3 feet regardless what the package says...... so after mailing several replacements..... :mad: we tape the cap on, make a box around the jug then put 2 1/2 gal in a med flat rate..... so far we have had good luck:)

[Cake O' Maple]

Thanks for all they sympathy and advice! I'll try padding the heck out of it next time.

[earthsaver77]

Oh man, can I tell some stories.

I used to work in the sorting warehouse of one of the two top express shipping companies. Don't expect anything to be handled with care. Time is money, so the employees are expected to keep a fast pace. The goal is to move freight as fast as possible in those places, and an employee will get fired if they move too slow.

If you want any shipment of breakable or extremely heavy items to reach their destination in one piece, then expect the worst to happen to your box. If you don't want to take the effort, then pay the extra costs and insure the shipment.

Pack any box so that it can survive being thrown onto a concrete floor from at least a 10' elevation. Your box may end up on the bottom of a stack in a truck and be subject to hundreds of pounds stacked on top of it. If your box ends up at the top of the stack, it will be thrown down to ground level where it will go onto a conveyor belt.

If you have something super heavy, be sure to have a good cushion on the bottom, and keep the weight centered and low in the box. It's always better to use a larger box than the bare minimum, and definitely don't leave any wiggle room. Use air bags, bubble wrap, or whatever necessary to keep your items firmly in place in the box.

There's nothing like seeing a square box roll down an inclined conveyor belt for so long that all the corners get rounded off. That happens when heavy items flop around inside the box.

[maplefrank]

insurance doesnt work either!!!!!! had that happen.......said it was improperly packed:mad: but if you want to goo through all the forms you could get it

[maplecrest]

i ship syrup all over the world. have had my problems.last week is the first box that never made it to the customer.lost and we track every package.when shipping glass i use the padded envelopes that usps provides and put each one in a padded envelope.then put in flat rate box. and i do not mark fragile.any box ever marked fragile never makes it. i just write maple syrup on lable. have sent packages for years with no problems. till last week.i still say you get the best service out of usps.

[Dave Y]

I my mind the USPS is the worst parcel company in the US. It is no wonder they are broke. Poor business practices, poor customer service and poor service period. I have shipped package that NEVER made the destination. Packages that where smashed, letter tore open,letters that took six months to be delivered and the were mail to me from my home post office and i could go on but I wont. Cake O' Maple I feel for you.

[Darkhollow Sugar Bush]

usps sucks!! they ruin more sh** than they deliver...go with fed ex, they are cheaper and will pick up at your door. never had a problem with fed ex.

[Dennis H.]

Sad to hear that so many of you all are miss informed about the USPS.

Dark Hallow can you explain to me how you can ship something cheaper with Fedex?

One thing that you guys do not understand is that there is a lot of packages that are being shipped by UPS and Fedex that end up in the local post offices because they just do not want to travel to that lonely single house way out there in the country. They will drop off huge bags of packages at the post office and then let the rural carrier to deliever then to you r house. How is that for customer service We take care of your package so well that we hand it off to some other company to deal with and deliever???

Every shipping company has it goods and bads. I do not care how big or small they may be. You will always hear more bad happenings than you will hear good. It is just the nature of people, they like to complain, just to pass the blame onto someone else, they do not want to look like they did something wrong.

Dave Y, you are like a lot of others out there that dislike the USPS, but it does sound like that you do not know the entire story about the USPS. The stuff that the media is putting out there is not the entire story. If you had the entire story you would understand why the USPS is in the situation that they are in.

[Darkhollow Sugar Bush]

just set up an account and pay for postage and they pick it up the next day..i dont believe that they dump it of at the post office for them to deliver because they wont deliver to anyone with a po box number

[wnybassman]

just set up an account and pay for postage and they pick it up the next day..i dont believe that they dump it of at the post office for them to deliver because they wont deliver to anyone with a po box number

I have an account with the USPS and they pick it up the next day also. Buying the postage online is cheaper also.

On a couple occasions over the years I have had a Fex-Ex package delivered by the USPS. Not sure of those circumstances as to why though.

[jake22si]

You could always deliver it yourself, instead of bashing a company because you did not pack it well enough.

[Dennis H.]

The USPS does in fact deliever packages for both UPS and Fedex.
Back when DHL was around that is how they worked. They would drop almost every package off at a local post office and have the post office do the last mile as to say.

It is actaully a good thing. The Post office already has the infrastructure in place to go by every persons home each day. UPS and Fedex has the infrastructure inplace to move large amounts of packages over long distances. So what better way to save some money than to let the USPS help in delievering some of the packages. You still see the brown trcucks out there delievering stuff but when they need to they use the post office.
The Post office benifits by getting money from UPS and Fedex for doing that last mile and UPS and Fedex benefit by saving time and money by letting the USPS do the last mile.

Sorry for getting this off topic sort of.


Another thought about shipping fragile stuff. Try taking the stuff to the UPS store and see how or what they do to ship the stuff. I bet you will be surprised what they need to do to safely ship your stuff.

[maplefrank]

I was told NEVER write maple syrup on the package!!!!!!! I have heard of cases where it arrived empty and 1 that was filled with water. DON'T let anyone know what it is..........we recently sent a case of quarts it never made it, we tracked it as far as leaving our local P.O. i went and told them, they said from here it goes to Pa, thats all I ever heard, someone is enjoying pancakes and maple syrup!!!!!!

[Cake O' Maple]

You could always deliver it yourself, instead of bashing a company because you did not pack it well enough.

Thanks, Jake, but your advice is not helpful nor practical. I packed it according to what their poster in the post office stated their requirements were. I did not know the routine abuse that boxes go through. I have moved many, many times and packed it according to moving criteria plus what the USPS said.

Thanks to many informative and helpful comments, I now know what to do next time.

Nobody needs snarky responses when they're upset.

[lastwoodsman]

Yea insurance is a joke with them. You need photos from the receiver and good luck with that. I sent some and taped the covers on with scotch tape(bad idea) 4 quarts bubbles wrapped and I thought over protected. Well the tape came off two and the box crushed when delivered in a garbage bag. Next time I taped lids with duct tape and that box did not get crushed.
Never have I had issues with private carriers.
Just another gov. operation as far as I am concerned and I will not use them any longer.

Woodsman

[Mark]

I switched over to the Sugarhill induction bonded seals and that took care of the breakage during shipment. I think the USPS does a drop kick test. The Bacon jugs could not handle the test.

[Greenwich Maple Man]

I switched over to the Sugarhill induction bonded seals and that took care of the breakage during shipment. I think the USPS does a drop kick test. The Bacon jugs could not handle the test.

I've shipped syrup through UPS, Fed Ex and USPS. All companys broke and smashed the packages time and time again. Have double and triple boxed, bubble wrap , newspaper , you name it I have done it and tried it. Ins. is a money maker for them. They break it and then when you file the claim they tell you that it was not packed right. Even when it is packed by the letter to there standards.I have come to the point that I really don't ship any amount of syrup because it dosn't arrive to the customer without being broken. The storie of them delivering in the plastic trash bag is exactly what has happened to me. It is sad to say but unless it is unbreakable or a letter you will loose money shipping syrup.

[dschultz]

I have shipped with UPS,and I have not got one good word to say about them or there driver's.