The U.S. Postal Service stikes again!

[Big Frank]

And the U.S. Postal Service strikes again! I have a package coming that went from Virginia to D.C. on the 14th, then went to Indianapolis, IN, 140 miles too far west, on the afternoon on the 15th. It was expected to be here on the 17th. But on the 18th it was still "In Transit to Next Facility", and now they're saying "Arriving Late" and Delivery Date Unknown. It only takes about 4 hours, 20 minutes to drive from Indianapolis to Flint, like a trip from my house to the U.P., but it takes the post office several days, not hours, to get a package that far. And they have freakin' jets! From the time it hit Indianapolis on the 15th until it was in transit on the 18th, where the heck was it? I hope it doesn't take an extra 2 week city to city tour across the country like the package I had landed in Detroit before its nearly coast to coast adventure.

My package from Canada left Los Angeles yesterday, so at least that one is moving and accounted for. UPS would have it here in 3 or 4 days with the cheapest ground delivery, but we'll see what the post office is capable of. UPS and FedEx both deliver my packages on time if not early, and 95% of the bring take them to the back door like I ask, like these 2. They're usually somewhere between the edge of the porch and storm door, but occasionally make it onto the table, usually if it's pouring rain and it's the only dry spot.

[Big Frank]

My package from Vancouver landed in Chicago at 1 am. Maybe it will be here in a few days. The other package, which arrived in Indianapolis last Tuesday afternoon is still "In Transit to Next Facility, Arriving Late Delivery Date Unknown". I don't know where the next facility is, maybe Sioux Falls, South Dakota. But it shouldn't take 6 days or more to get from one facility to another one, somewhere along the way. I think they lost my sold-out, limited-edition Stonewashed Titanium Gears Olight Arkfeld Pro. It wouldn't be the first time one of my packages with something irreplaceable disappeared for several days, or longer.

[Big Frank]

My package from Canada made it here today. But the other one arrived in Indianapolis 9 days ago and was in transit to next facility 5 days ago. Google maps says it takes 108 hours to walk from Indianapolis to Flint. If you walked 12 hours a day it would take 9 days, which it's already been, and there's still no telling where in the world it is.

[MikeBjerum]

USPS tracking is worthless. I have learned that they scan the packages when they are assigned to a truck. The packages are put in carts that are for a designated final destination. As the truck moves across country, at each stop some carts will come off and more will be added. Those coming off will either be at their final PO, at which point the scan is entered in a way it is accessible. If the cart is moving on the scan is not accessible. Because of this, what I call a flaw in the system, you see when your package leaves the origination point and next when it arrives at the final point before going out for delivery. Another flaw is that often times the scan for when the package goes out for delivery is not accessible until after the delivery is verified.

I don't know who designed this software, but with the little I know about programing I am certain that it took more work to create a system that hides certain points of contact than to be fully transparent with every scan point.

[Big Frank]

The good news is the didn't lose the sold-out titanium gears Olight I ordered on pre-sale. They're expected to start shipping in early June. They've only lost regular stuff that can be replaced. I just checked again and nothing has been updated.

[Sponsor]

[alfsauve]

I don't know who designed this software, but with the little I know about programing I am certain that it took more work to create a system that hides certain points of contact than to be fully transparent with every scan point.

Two examples about government management.  One was they foreclosured on the Chicken Ranch and ran it for a period of time until they could find a buyer.  In that intervening time it went bankrupt.  The feds couldn’t turn a profit running a house of prostitution.  The other is Obamacare.  Obama said that if you couldn’t get the website to work you could always sign up by mail.  Think about that.  The government developed a web site slower than the post office.

[MikeBjerum]

I know that I am chasing a rabbit down a different hole, so I will start with USPS.

With the USPS you get what you pay for. Regardless of how the department reached the point it now occupies, you get what you pay for and what it is. USPS is not designed to be fast or customer friendly. They move items from point A to point B within a structured and inflexible system. Their current customer base, bulk mailers and last mile for UPS and FedEx, are utilizing what USPS has morphed to.

USPS is suffering from an all-too-common illness within our society. I can't remember the technical name, but it is when you are given a directive to do something, so you agree to comply and in doing so you go overboard. It reared its ugly head with school libraries. When told control access to certain literature for appropriateness, librarians said "Sure, I'll do that" and then they removed all the literature from the shelves and screamed "book bans" and "censorship." The directive was to say what is valuable information for high school students isn't for the consumption of fifth graders.

In that mindset, the USPS has been told "no overtime," so they limited to eight-hour days. However, instead of stagering shifts they went full 8 - 5 for everyone. They complied with the directive.

Another common issue in government, and many presidents have pulled their hair out over it. Now Musk is trying to make a dent in it in his brief four month term. "I have a budget of one million dollars, so I must use it." A department does their job under budget, but under fear of losing budget money for next year the over purchase supplies, do make work jobs, anything that will burn the surplus. Workers  do "make work jobs" to justify their position. This is part of making systems and programs far more complex than necessary. They create multiple levels of repetition, or spread the work out over four clerks rather than one stop, to create positions and fulfill promises and give paybacks.

Guess what. In ranting over what I see in USPS I just explained and justified what Musk is advising and implementing for Pres. Trump. It is what every company does when they merge, purchase, change leadership, or just hold an internal audit on operations.

[PegLeg45]

The sad part is when you have no choice.
Last week I ordered items from two places. Both had no other shipping option than USPS.
One item (thankfully it was the time-sensitive one) arrived on time and intact. The other was due to arrive the same day, but took an extra seven days due to being re-routed to different hubs multiple times.....and all it had to do was go fro SC to GA.