Seeking assistance in Phoenix Post Office

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Bill Shields
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Re: Seeking assistance in Phoenix Post Office

Post by Bill Shields »

40+ years ago, Gene Allen literally air-mailed me 150#s of castings for a loco..wrapped in paper, taped up -> stuffed into a burlap bag...from wherever he was to where I was living in Saudi Arabia (literally out in the middle of nowhere).

I got better service then than what you are describing today...
Too many things going on to bother listing them.
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liveaboard
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Re: Seeking assistance in Phoenix Post Office

Post by liveaboard »

Well, my brother and sister in law are both USPS employees; and I say if you drop a heavy piece of jagged valuable iron in a cardboard box and the box fails, it's not the fault of the mail handlers.
What, you don't have time to make a box? or pack it properly?

Hats off to the post office who did the extra work to decipher the address and get it to you.
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NP317
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Re: Seeking assistance in Phoenix Post Office

Post by NP317 »

Glenn:
You are one of the Smart Ones, as are the rest of the Chaski participants.
You learn from your experiences!!
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Glenn Brooks
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Re: Seeking assistance in Phoenix Post Office

Post by Glenn Brooks »

Liveaboard, yes you are absolutely correct, there are a great many fine and dedicated people working in the portal service.
I am very appreciative these folks managed to get this part delivered to my doorstep.
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Harold_V
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Re: Seeking assistance in Phoenix Post Office

Post by Harold_V »

In my many years of precious metal refining, I mailed a large number of packages containing precious metals (several of my customers were outside of my resident state). They were sent first class, registered. It's a little trouble, but that guarantees that the package will not be molested. Each time it is transferred, a signature is required of the handler. I never had a single issue.

I'm not suggesting that items of lower value be sent that way--just commenting that in the US, a package can be sent reliably. That's not necessarily true in some countries.

H
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Greg_Lewis
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Re: Seeking assistance in Phoenix Post Office

Post by Greg_Lewis »

I'll second the suggestion of "signature required." If the package is tracked as delivered, it's delivered whether you got it nor not. The shipper and the P.O. are off the hook. I had a telescope eyepiece so marked and never got it. The carrier sheepishly implied that he put it in the wrong mailbox. He had marked it as delivered when he loaded his truck at the p.o. dock. A recent newspaper article reported that some post offices scan things as delivered when they are not due to pressure from higher ups. I don't fault those who work hard to get the job done. It's the suits up above that are the problem.

I also once followed a shipment tracking from one city to another but the highway was closed due to snow and there was no way it could have made the trip. So forget tracking. It's for entertainment value only.
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liveaboard
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Re: Seeking assistance in Phoenix Post Office

Post by liveaboard »

Here in Portugal, the many courier firms seem to use US systems for tracking.
The problem is that they don't use GPS here, so it simply doesn't work.

Someone sent me an important document, they said the address wasn't found.
Tracking showed a list of places and times; the delivery vehicle would have gone through town at 50 mph without stopping.

Other deliveries were marked as "signed for" that I never received.
Tracked one that was received by "Joao Oliveira", that's like John Smith.

The post office was stripped of it's monopoly (like most countries), so now there are a dozen competing courier companies, none of which has the infrastructure to deliver in rural areas, except the original post office.

Still, most items get here a day or two after being marked as "delivered".
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