4 ms·

This post is from (2013) but I doubt there has been any change in the past 3 years. It is concerning that there is any difference at all in shipping times when

by daveguy 10y ago

This post is from (2013) but I doubt there has been any change in the past 3 years. It is concerning that there is any difference at all in shipping times when tape with the word "atheist" on it is used. The difference was significant (p<0.001). I would love to see a similar study with a variety of packing tape ("Atheist", "Christian", "Muslim", etc).

Declanomous 10y ago
I'd be interested in trying "Happy Holidays" vs. "Merry Christmas". I assume this only happens with hand-sorted mail as well. I'd be interested in breaking it down by zip code too. I have a related anecdote. I live in Chicago, which has the slowest mail delivery in the country. I've lived in a number of zip codes, and I've never found the mail to get lost, merely delayed. However, I recently moved to a new place, and I've started losing mail. I've generally liked my mail people, but I'm convinced that the mail people at my new place are lazy. I've had issues with mail getting rained on because they never shut the top of the mailbox, I've had mail go missing. They have "signed" for certified mail for me. They'll leave a package on my steps, but they won't close the gate on the way out. They ignore the name printed on the mailbox and deliver mail for old tenants, despite mail regulations forbidding them to do so. Plus, I've tried talking to my mailperson, and she is always on the phone and refuses to talk to me. I know delivering mail isn't the most glamorous job, but have some pride.
- acomjean 10y ago
  They're generally good and I like to use them to ship since they have keys to my building and can drop boxes in the lobby. However a few weeks ago they marked a package "delivered" when it wasn't (I got a text saying it was delivered which was nice). It came a 2 days later marked 3 minutes after the delivery was due. I figured it was stolen but the shipper indicated that this happens frequently and they wouldn't consider it missing for a couple days. A relative works for the postal service, its a good gig, good benefits etc.. but they have to realize that for packages at least, the competition is formidable.
- LeifCarrotson 10y ago
  >Plus, I've tried talking to my mailperson, and she is always on the phone and refuses to talk to me. As much as we like to try to fix problems systemically, and place blame or praise on organizations as a whole, an awful lot comes down to the bottom of the pyramid/the top of the tree. I would blame most of those complaints on the one person who actually brings the mail to your house when the giant machine spits it all out. I am fortunate to have a great relationship with our mail carrier. If you're reading this, Patricia, thank you!
  - Declanomous 10y ago
    > I am fortunate to have a great relationship with our mail carrier. In all fairness, this is the first time I've had problems with my mail carrier. Normally I've found my mail carriers friendly, helpful and conscientious. I appreciate how hard the job can be, especially in Chicago, where the weather is all over the place, and the traffic is a nightmare.
- int_19h 10y ago
  Post offices certainly vary widely in terms of quality of service. The recurring problem that we have is that the delivery person won't actually attempt to deliver, even if you're at home and the package requires signature - they don't even knock on the door, just leave a sticker outside saying that you weren't there to sign, so please go pick it up. I don't know if there's a good system in place to deal with it. So far, complaining, either directly to the supervisor over the phone and in person, or filing complaints on the USPS website, have resulted in no improvement. I think it's because they have a shortage of applicants for those jobs, and so are very reluctant to fire anyone; and reprimands just aren't working.
  - alasdair_ 10y ago
    I have a camera on my front door with a mobile app to view it. I recently had out mailman do exactly this (while I was home and only a few feet from the door). I had to chase him down and he told me flat out that he had knocked, waited and I wasn't home. I showed him the camera footage and I've never had a problem since (and I'd have weekly problems with this beforehand ).
Anechoic 10y ago
This post is from (2013) [..] The difference was significant (p<0.001) Just as an FYI, USPS closed and consulted a bunch of distribution centers from 2011 through early 2013. These closures were (according to postal employees I spoke with) the cause of lots of delivery problems. At that time, my business was shipping many hundreds of packages annually domestically and internationally and we would have problems with maybe 2 or 3 every year (which were promptly resolved by the USPS claims process). During the period of around 2012-2013, we were dealing with 3 or 4 delivery problems per month. Things have subsequently improved dramatically. There may very well have been a discrimination problem (it certainly doesn't seem random and I can imagine a scenario where consolidating a distribution center might allow an employee to have a greater affect at disrupting traffic) but I just want to point out that was an especially problematic time for USPS so I wouldn't be surprised if it was a symptom of another problem.
LeifCarrotson 10y ago
I would like to see a study with a comparison with non-religious, ostensibly non-discriminatory words. How about just "Shoes"? Then compare that to a few other packages. One plain brown cardboard with clear tape and a large, crisp shipping label. I expect that will sail straight through all the automatic sorters. A few with various words (some, perhaps, more likely to be found offensive than "atheist", some less) on tape in high-contrast black and white. In addition to "Shoes", you could write "Merry Christmas" (in mid-January, of course), "Green", "Cleveland" (note: the box doesn't need to go to Cleveland), "Dildos", "FedEx" (sending the box by USPS, of course), "Kittens", "Kidneys" (the box shouldn't contain kittens or kidneys, just have the word on it). Then one with a complete coverage of wrapping paper with a variety of words, fonts, barcodes, receipts, invoices, and colors all over the box, and a little smudged shipping label on the bottom of the box. It would be like a Where's Waldo for postal workers: Find the one complete shipping label. See how long that takes to get through!
- tropo 10y ago
  Some more: Anthrax, Plutonium, Guns, Gasoline, Cocaine, Cobras, Ivory
- ourmandave 10y ago
  Like when Puzzle Magazine would feature envelopes from letters they received where their address was in the form of a puzzle for the post office to solve.
ourmandave 10y ago
In Chicago, maybe 10 years ago, they found a warehouse full of undelivered mail that the mailman was just dumping there. And recently, 22,000 pcs were not delivered because the mailman was unhappy about a transfer or something. http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/mail-carrier-charged-not-delivering-22-000-items-article-1.2302367 http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/mail-carrier-charged-n...
- Shivetya 10y ago
  well what most people don't realize is that unless its first class it really never has to get there. My mother used to publish a dog breed magazine for the national club. So they used the special rates reserved for magazines and such. there were times where the bins she brought to the PO were left on the loading docks. Once an entire bin was waterlogged so the PO just tossed it. Let alone no guarantee what state the magazines arrive in, hence its why you find some plastic wrapped or with a brown paper wrapper. even your local distribution centers and individual post offices can affect the timeliness of deliveries. even most two day mail is not really a guarantee. You are more likely to get an Amazon package delivered by the PO on a Sunday than two day priority or similar.
tjr 10y ago
Not directly related, but I am reminded of this fun classic: http://www.improbable.com/airchives/paperair/volume6/v6i4/postal-6-4.html http://www.improbable.com/airchives/paperair/volume6/v6i4/po...

by daveguy 10y ago

Declanomous 10y ago

I'd be interested in trying "Happy Holidays" vs. "Merry Christmas". I assume this only happens with hand-sorted mail as well. I'd be interested in breaking it down by zip code too. I have a related anecdote. I live in Chicago, which has the slowest mail delivery in the country. I've lived in a number of zip codes, and I've never found the mail to get lost, merely delayed. However, I recently moved to a new place, and I've started losing mail. I've generally liked my mail people, but I'm convinced that the mail people at my new place are lazy. I've had issues with mail getting rained on because they never shut the top of the mailbox, I've had mail go missing. They have "signed" for certified mail for me. They'll leave a package on my steps, but they won't close the gate on the way out. They ignore the name printed on the mailbox and deliver mail for old tenants, despite mail regulations forbidding them to do so. Plus, I've tried talking to my mailperson, and she is always on the phone and refuses to talk to me. I know delivering mail isn't the most glamorous job, but have some pride.

acomjean 10y ago
They're generally good and I like to use them to ship since they have keys to my building and can drop boxes in the lobby. However a few weeks ago they marked a package "delivered" when it wasn't (I got a text saying it was delivered which was nice). It came a 2 days later marked 3 minutes after the delivery was due. I figured it was stolen but the shipper indicated that this happens frequently and they wouldn't consider it missing for a couple days. A relative works for the postal service, its a good gig, good benefits etc.. but they have to realize that for packages at least, the competition is formidable.
LeifCarrotson 10y ago
>Plus, I've tried talking to my mailperson, and she is always on the phone and refuses to talk to me. As much as we like to try to fix problems systemically, and place blame or praise on organizations as a whole, an awful lot comes down to the bottom of the pyramid/the top of the tree. I would blame most of those complaints on the one person who actually brings the mail to your house when the giant machine spits it all out. I am fortunate to have a great relationship with our mail carrier. If you're reading this, Patricia, thank you!
- Declanomous 10y ago
  > I am fortunate to have a great relationship with our mail carrier. In all fairness, this is the first time I've had problems with my mail carrier. Normally I've found my mail carriers friendly, helpful and conscientious. I appreciate how hard the job can be, especially in Chicago, where the weather is all over the place, and the traffic is a nightmare.
int_19h 10y ago
Post offices certainly vary widely in terms of quality of service. The recurring problem that we have is that the delivery person won't actually attempt to deliver, even if you're at home and the package requires signature - they don't even knock on the door, just leave a sticker outside saying that you weren't there to sign, so please go pick it up. I don't know if there's a good system in place to deal with it. So far, complaining, either directly to the supervisor over the phone and in person, or filing complaints on the USPS website, have resulted in no improvement. I think it's because they have a shortage of applicants for those jobs, and so are very reluctant to fire anyone; and reprimands just aren't working.
- alasdair_ 10y ago
  I have a camera on my front door with a mobile app to view it. I recently had out mailman do exactly this (while I was home and only a few feet from the door). I had to chase him down and he told me flat out that he had knocked, waited and I wasn't home. I showed him the camera footage and I've never had a problem since (and I'd have weekly problems with this beforehand ).

Anechoic 10y ago

This post is from (2013) [..] The difference was significant (p<0.001) Just as an FYI, USPS closed and consulted a bunch of distribution centers from 2011 through early 2013. These closures were (according to postal employees I spoke with) the cause of lots of delivery problems. At that time, my business was shipping many hundreds of packages annually domestically and internationally and we would have problems with maybe 2 or 3 every year (which were promptly resolved by the USPS claims process). During the period of around 2012-2013, we were dealing with 3 or 4 delivery problems per month. Things have subsequently improved dramatically. There may very well have been a discrimination problem (it certainly doesn't seem random and I can imagine a scenario where consolidating a distribution center might allow an employee to have a greater affect at disrupting traffic) but I just want to point out that was an especially problematic time for USPS so I wouldn't be surprised if it was a symptom of another problem.

LeifCarrotson 10y ago

I would like to see a study with a comparison with non-religious, ostensibly non-discriminatory words. How about just "Shoes"? Then compare that to a few other packages. One plain brown cardboard with clear tape and a large, crisp shipping label. I expect that will sail straight through all the automatic sorters. A few with various words (some, perhaps, more likely to be found offensive than "atheist", some less) on tape in high-contrast black and white. In addition to "Shoes", you could write "Merry Christmas" (in mid-January, of course), "Green", "Cleveland" (note: the box doesn't need to go to Cleveland), "Dildos", "FedEx" (sending the box by USPS, of course), "Kittens", "Kidneys" (the box shouldn't contain kittens or kidneys, just have the word on it). Then one with a complete coverage of wrapping paper with a variety of words, fonts, barcodes, receipts, invoices, and colors all over the box, and a little smudged shipping label on the bottom of the box. It would be like a Where's Waldo for postal workers: Find the one complete shipping label. See how long that takes to get through!

tropo 10y ago
Some more: Anthrax, Plutonium, Guns, Gasoline, Cocaine, Cobras, Ivory
ourmandave 10y ago
Like when Puzzle Magazine would feature envelopes from letters they received where their address was in the form of a puzzle for the post office to solve.

ourmandave 10y ago

In Chicago, maybe 10 years ago, they found a warehouse full of undelivered mail that the mailman was just dumping there. And recently, 22,000 pcs were not delivered because the mailman was unhappy about a transfer or something. http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/mail-carrier-charged-not-delivering-22-000-items-article-1.2302367 http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/mail-carrier-charged-n...

Shivetya 10y ago
well what most people don't realize is that unless its first class it really never has to get there. My mother used to publish a dog breed magazine for the national club. So they used the special rates reserved for magazines and such. there were times where the bins she brought to the PO were left on the loading docks. Once an entire bin was waterlogged so the PO just tossed it. Let alone no guarantee what state the magazines arrive in, hence its why you find some plastic wrapped or with a brown paper wrapper. even your local distribution centers and individual post offices can affect the timeliness of deliveries. even most two day mail is not really a guarantee. You are more likely to get an Amazon package delivered by the PO on a Sunday than two day priority or similar.

tjr 10y ago

Not directly related, but I am reminded of this fun classic: http://www.improbable.com/airchives/paperair/volume6/v6i4/postal-6-4.html http://www.improbable.com/airchives/paperair/volume6/v6i4/po...