5 ms·

> And don't get me started on the switch to USPS shipping. What did they use before and why is the change bad? (European curiosity)

jwmerrill 11y ago
FedEx and UPS. Maybe also DHL sometimes? I've had much better experiences with these than USPS. Package tracking with USPS is a fiction, and they have claimed to have attempted to deliver a package that they never attempted to deliver on multiple occasions.
- CPLX 11y ago
  I have sat in my office or home and watched a package go from "out for delivery" to "delivery attempted" while I'm there, have been there the whole time, and nobody ever attempted anything. Then once that happens they don't try again, you have to go to the post office to get it. And given that I live in NYC, going to the post office is invariably more time consuming than going to an actual store nearby that sells the thing I ordered, thus completely destroying the rationale for using Amazon in the first place. Amazon shopping used to be amazing, like magic awesome customer service. Things are very different in 2016.
- emilburzo 11y ago
  Ah, I see. On amazon.co.uk (ordering from outside the UK) the 'standard' shipping is always through each country's post office (similar to USPS, I think). Only expedited shipping brings the luxuries of UPS/DHL.
- aroch 11y ago
  Weekend delivery by USPS is the worst. Every damn time, it seems like they'll mark a package as "delivery attempted, business closed" even though I live in an apartment building with a separate mailroom USPS totally has access to.
  - pquerna 11y ago
    Just happened to us this weekend, exact same situation. I wonder if it is because USPS Weekend delivery isn't the normal "route" person, and they just don't try to get into multi-unit mailrooms?
    - koolba 11y ago
      > I wonder if it is because USPS Weekend delivery isn't the normal "route" person, and they just don't try to get into multi-unit mailrooms? I'm pretty sure they don't try to deliver anything at all. Every time I've had a Sunday order and everyone else that I know, it gets marked as either "Delivery Attempted" or sometimes "Delivered" without the package arriving. I've NEVER heard of anyone actually receiving a Sunday USPS delivery for an Amazon order on Sunday. Literally never! I think the Amazon/USPS deal has the latter paying a penalty for late/undelivered packages. It's possible that they don't have the resources to actually deliver the packages and lying (either from corporate or from the actual mail carriers) is the only way to cover their asses.
      - fmorel 11y ago
        I get some all the time, but I live in a house in the suburbs. Honestly, I prefer USPS over Lasership.
    - Spooky23 11y ago
      That's exactly it. The weekend delivery is optimized for traditional homes and is weak on multi-unit and many commercial environments. Your postman knows every nook and cranny -- the guy in the van doesn't. There's also variance between post office regions and quality. In some areas in NYC, historically they had lots of issues. Some outlying areas on rural delivery are a struggle as well, as they use contract drivers that are paid and scheduled based on how long the USPS thinks the routes should take. Parcels gum up the works and create a lot of problems.
    - CPLX 11y ago
      My suspicion lately has been that the guy with the truck full of boxes drives around the corner out of sight, takes a long nap, and drives back to the post office with a truck full of boxes and says yeah sorry nobody was home. But I'm cynical like that.
- anoother 11y ago
  Living in the UK, there's no courier I've had worse experience with than UPS, both for domestic and [inbound] international deliveries. When having goods shipped from America, I always prefer USPS. It's interesting to see how sentiment varies.
  - yock 11y ago
    Who delivers USPS packages the last mile in the UK? I don't imagine there are US letter carriers walking beats over there, so some other entity must be taking responsibility of your packages once they get off the airplane.
    - arprocter 11y ago
      Regular Royal Mail - similar to how Russiapost to the US will be delivered by the USPS

jwmerrill 11y ago

FedEx and UPS. Maybe also DHL sometimes? I've had much better experiences with these than USPS. Package tracking with USPS is a fiction, and they have claimed to have attempted to deliver a package that they never attempted to deliver on multiple occasions.

CPLX 11y ago
I have sat in my office or home and watched a package go from "out for delivery" to "delivery attempted" while I'm there, have been there the whole time, and nobody ever attempted anything. Then once that happens they don't try again, you have to go to the post office to get it. And given that I live in NYC, going to the post office is invariably more time consuming than going to an actual store nearby that sells the thing I ordered, thus completely destroying the rationale for using Amazon in the first place. Amazon shopping used to be amazing, like magic awesome customer service. Things are very different in 2016.
emilburzo 11y ago
Ah, I see. On amazon.co.uk (ordering from outside the UK) the 'standard' shipping is always through each country's post office (similar to USPS, I think). Only expedited shipping brings the luxuries of UPS/DHL.
aroch 11y ago
Weekend delivery by USPS is the worst. Every damn time, it seems like they'll mark a package as "delivery attempted, business closed" even though I live in an apartment building with a separate mailroom USPS totally has access to.
- pquerna 11y ago
  Just happened to us this weekend, exact same situation. I wonder if it is because USPS Weekend delivery isn't the normal "route" person, and they just don't try to get into multi-unit mailrooms?
  - koolba 11y ago
    > I wonder if it is because USPS Weekend delivery isn't the normal "route" person, and they just don't try to get into multi-unit mailrooms? I'm pretty sure they don't try to deliver anything at all. Every time I've had a Sunday order and everyone else that I know, it gets marked as either "Delivery Attempted" or sometimes "Delivered" without the package arriving. I've NEVER heard of anyone actually receiving a Sunday USPS delivery for an Amazon order on Sunday. Literally never! I think the Amazon/USPS deal has the latter paying a penalty for late/undelivered packages. It's possible that they don't have the resources to actually deliver the packages and lying (either from corporate or from the actual mail carriers) is the only way to cover their asses.
    - fmorel 11y ago
      I get some all the time, but I live in a house in the suburbs. Honestly, I prefer USPS over Lasership.
  - Spooky23 11y ago
    That's exactly it. The weekend delivery is optimized for traditional homes and is weak on multi-unit and many commercial environments. Your postman knows every nook and cranny -- the guy in the van doesn't. There's also variance between post office regions and quality. In some areas in NYC, historically they had lots of issues. Some outlying areas on rural delivery are a struggle as well, as they use contract drivers that are paid and scheduled based on how long the USPS thinks the routes should take. Parcels gum up the works and create a lot of problems.
  - CPLX 11y ago
    My suspicion lately has been that the guy with the truck full of boxes drives around the corner out of sight, takes a long nap, and drives back to the post office with a truck full of boxes and says yeah sorry nobody was home. But I'm cynical like that.
anoother 11y ago
Living in the UK, there's no courier I've had worse experience with than UPS, both for domestic and [inbound] international deliveries. When having goods shipped from America, I always prefer USPS. It's interesting to see how sentiment varies.
- yock 11y ago
  Who delivers USPS packages the last mile in the UK? I don't imagine there are US letter carriers walking beats over there, so some other entity must be taking responsibility of your packages once they get off the airplane.
  - arprocter 11y ago
    Regular Royal Mail - similar to how Russiapost to the US will be delivered by the USPS