By imamailchick

October 24, 2010 10:49 PM | Link to this

If you compare USPS, Fedex, and UPS you will find that the USPS is the way to go. First of all, a mail carrier knows the names of the customers on their route (we are talking anywhere from 550 to 1000 adresses). They know their customers’childrens names and most times some of their relatives names. It is usually not a problem for them to redirect misaddressed mail to the correct destination. Alot of mail carriers look at the name on a parcel or piece of mail before they look at the address anyway. This insures higher accuracy of delivery. A mail carrier will go the extra mile, such as at the end of the day stopping by your house again to attempt to deliver a package that needs a signature. The USPS delivers packages for UPS and Fedex anyway, so your paying UPS and Fedex for the post office delivering your package to you. Mail carriers (for the most part) care about the customers and often take a minute to ask someone who has been ill how they are feeling. USPS is cheaper, by far, on parcel delivery and there are no “hidden fees or surcharges”. The only thing that the USPS needs to work on is the fact that they do not ship the heavier parcels. They need to expand on the parcel business and get their shipping business back.

By victor mickunas

October 15, 2010 9:57 AM | Link to this

OK, Jack~then what happened?

By Jack

October 14, 2010 8:21 PM | Link to this

A package that we ordered online was supposely scanned by USPS. We even received an e-mail them along with a tracking number, however the following message appeared on USPS website more than 24 hours later: “The U.S. Postal Service was electronically notified by the shipper on October 13, 2010 to expect your package for mailing. This does not indicate receipt by the USPS or the actual mailing date. Delivery status information will be provided if / when available. Information, if available, is updated periodically throughout the day. Please check again later.”

By j. smith

September 13, 2010 7:43 PM | Link to this

OK, here’s my story… I left a statistics calculator in a hotel. The hotel chose to return it to me via FedEx. They put my name and addy as both the sender and recipient so that FedEx would bill me. The calculator was shipped on Friday from VA Beach, VA and arrived in Fishersville, VA on Tuesday. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I got the bill for $28.15. Here’s the breakdown: 10.00 actual shipping charge (the bill says actual weight 1 lb., rated weight 2 lbs. what?), and the rest is service charges as follows: 2.50 residential delivery, 10.00 non-account billing, 4.00 courier pick up, and 1.65 fuel. I’m a postmaster, so let me show you what it would’ve cost through the USPS. Shipping charge: 4.95, residential delivery, 0.00, non-account billing (COD) 5.50, carrier pick up, 0.00, fuel service charge, 0.00. So,that’s a total of 10.45 and it would’ve been delivered Saturday or Monday. WOW. And folks are complaining about stamps going up a mere 2 cents. Looks to me like the USPS is still a pretty good deal!

By victor mickunas

September 5, 2010 6:45 AM | Link to this

OK, Page Turner, that’s a valid point. Of course the USPS carriers in towns where mail delivery is made to the doors get that service as well. You have a long country lane, right? And a mailbox on the road~just like I do. My UPS and FedEx come clear to my door, too. Here’s one more point of random comparison; every year I get a birthday card in my mail box at the post office. Every year. The postal clerks remember my birthday. Nobody else does that…

By Page Turner

September 4, 2010 10:15 AM | Link to this

FedEx and UPS actually deliver to my house. USPS won’t come any closer than the cluster of mailboxes a half-mile away.

By eric

September 2, 2010 6:47 PM | Link to this

Out delivering my route today when I noticed two packages left at the door of a house that has been vacant for some time. Upon further inspection I confirmed it to be a Fed/Ex delivery. Knowing the elderly lady who used to live here I called Fed/Ex on my time and informed them that the house was indeed vacant. The foreign individual that i spoke with said that if I didn’t provide a tracking # (I was at home at this time) that they couldn’t do anything about it. Well at least I tried……

By rob

September 1, 2010 8:14 PM | Link to this

Wow, don’t get me started.. I could go on forever. I’m a 31 year retired Postal Employee and I think I know every angle of the Postal Service, and a lot about FedEx & UPS. My short take on all this: Yes, I would constantly go out of my way for my customers, and found that most of my fellow employees would do the same.I got to know many FedEx & UPS employees over the years and found them to do outstanding jobs as well. We all agreed that the pressure to get the job done in 8 hours also meant delivering at a very fast pace and in an unsafe manner. As far as which company is the better one, well, they are all good if you are satisfied with the price you are paying. This is what most people want.. it’s all about money! I have found the Post Office is best at letter, large envelope, and most small packages. FedEx & UPS seem to beat Post Office prices most of the time on packages with free tracking & insurance included in the price. To check the best rate just use their website & compare. Also, what most citizen don’t know is that the Postal Service pays FedEx to fly international for them. In return FedEx gets money & the use of FedEx drop boxes put in front of many Post offices throughout the U.S. The Postal Service also pays UPS to fly to big city hubs for them, this is because of the small amount of planes owned by the Postal Service. Nothing new about Post Office, FedEx & UPS working together as they deliver for each other. I often saw many delivery companies backed up at the back door of the Post Office dropping items they can’t seem to deliver themselves. The Post Office seems to be the overall best of the three. If you recently hear stories that the Post Office is hurting, well that is correct, but, not by their fault. The U.S. Government (OPM) Office of Personnel Managment just overcharged them $75 Billion. So, if the Post Office raises postage rates again or threatens to eliminate 6-day delivery you can only blame the (OPM)..NOT, I repeat … NOT the Post Office. Who will survive of the three ? If the Post does not get the parcel business back they are in trouble. If FedEx & UPS merge.. goodbye Post Office. Final thought: Post Office was good for me. Management was questionable. Benefits, good. Delivery to customers: outstanding! …………I told you don’t get me started! bye

By A Postal Supervisor

September 1, 2010 4:38 PM | Link to this

Two weeks ago my wife ordered something that was only available to be shipped by UPS. While tracking this piece on the internet we learned something very valuable about the UPS scanning policy. Our package was scanned in South Carolina at the point of origin. The next day the tracking website showed a destination scan for Greensboro, NC where we live. I thought it was great that our package was actually going to be delivered a day early. Not true. The next day tracking showed a departure scan from Greensboro and an arrival scan for Raleigh, NC., 70 miles away. I told my wige they missent our package and it won’t show up early. She was so upset about their scans that she called UPS and asked to speak to a Supervisor. They told her someone would call her back in 10-15 minutes. After 2 hours and two more phone calls we finally heard from a supervisor. After explaining to the UPS Supervisor that I was a USPS Supervisor I was able to get the “true” story about our missent and scanned package. When you track your packages on their website, they use what they call “Virtual Scans” and “Physical SCans”. The reason for the two types of scans is caused by the way they load their trailers. UPS loads packages on their trailers by delivery commitment. In other words, all Ground packages are loaded first, followed by 2-3 day and then Express or Overnight packages are loaded on the tail of the trailer. This is completely opposite from the USPS. We load all trailers by destination. The last stop the truck will make is loaded first, and then each stop that precedes this stop is loaded until the first stop is placed on the tail. By loading trailers this way, all mail for each destination actually reaches the facility at the same time. The facility then processes all of the packages by committment. In the case of our package coming to our home, UPS put it in the nose of their truck in South Carolina per their policy. When the truck arrived in Greensboro, the website showed a destination scan or Virtual Scan. The Supervisor explained to me that this was actually a scan of the trailer, not our package. They unloaded all of the overnight packages and sent the truck on it’s way to Raleigh, where the same procedure was followed. Later that night the website showed a departure scan from Raleigh( another Virtual Scan). When the truck showed up in Greensboro the second time, the website showed another Virtual Scan and then finally an Arrival Scan or Physical Scan. According to the Supervisor this was the first time our package was actually touched by human hands and scanned. It was finally delivered the next day as originally scheduled. I tell this story to hopefully enlighten some people about how the shipping industry operates in so many different ways. The Postal Service drops all packages for a destination regardless of delivery committment. Anything going to the next destination is then loaded onto the trailer. This extends the time the trailer is at each facility by about 20 minutes but ultimately saves on shipping costs. Our package with UPS traveled an additional 140 miles roundtrip that would have been unnecessary if it had been shipped through the USPS. This is just one example of why UPS and Fedex charge more than the USPS. How many more reasons do you need.

By Cheryl

August 28, 2010 11:15 AM | Link to this

I live in a very rural area, 75 miles to the next town. My UPS driver tells me they can sit on a package for up to 2 days if he is running short of time and can’t make it to all of the deliveries before his 8 hr day is done. I am also a postal employee and he will drive right by the persons house he has a package for and bring it to the post office because it was contracted out to USPS. I always request my items be sent via USPS but not all companies will send them that way.

By vick

August 27, 2010 10:26 AM | Link to this

Wow, this post has elicited quite a response. And I’m thrilled that so many postal workers are reading this blog. Thank you.

By Snowshoe

August 26, 2010 8:50 PM | Link to this

I’m a rural carrier. This week I had an express from China for one of my customers. Since the express has to be attempted by noon, I deviated to make a pre-noon attempt on it. An hour later when I came down that street, I saw a truck in the driveway and a garage door open. I got out of my Jeep and went up to the door with the package and the man was home. He was so happy that I was willing to re-attempt delivery on his package. I didn’t have to do that, but I felt that it would be better service for him if I went ahead and tried to deliver it rather than waiting on him to sign the slip or making him come up to the post office. My route is too far from the post office for the customers to have to come up there, so I try to go an extra mile for them!

By BILL

August 26, 2010 6:38 PM | Link to this

I’m a letter carrier with 28 years experience. We deliver miss addressed mail daily. UPS sends us a post card with an incomplete address and an explanation that they have a parcel and are unable to deliver because of bad address information. We deliver it to the correct address so the customer can call UPS and tell them where they live. It happens all the time! I’m an internet shopper and buy things and am at the whim of the shipper as to who gets to deliver my purchases. A couple of experiences with UPS I stopped at my neighbors 1 street north to find my wifes new guitar and 3 other parcels I had coming UPS sitting on there porch. That was really awkward to have to deliver my own parcels. On another occassion I purchased a 2 carat tanzanite and diamond bracelet and a 2 carat tanzanite and diamond ring for our anniversary and both items came up missing in Texas on the same day by the tracking of the FEDEX shipping. FEDEX refunded my purchase but didn’t seem a bit concerned that 2 package with $4,000 worth of jewelry went missing on the same day at the same location? Just coincidence I suppose. Good old USPS has never ever lost or miss delivered any of my mail not even a darn bill!

By rrf

August 26, 2010 4:21 PM | Link to this

I HAVE ANOTHER SURPRISE FOR YOU. FEDEX ACTUALLY CONTRACTS OUT TO THE USPS, THATS RIGHT FEDEX TRUCKS DROP SHIPMENTS TO THE LOCAL USPS NDC AND THE PACKAGE GETS DELIVERED FROM THERE. I AM ALSO A USPS EMPLOYEE AND NO WE DO NOT SIT ON PACKAGES, WE HAVE A DELIVERY TIME OF 3 DAYS FOR PRIORITY AND FIRST CLASS MAIL.

By CD

August 26, 2010 10:45 AM | Link to this

I hope you all will remember this article when talk of privaitizing the USPS comes around. If the others aren’t delivering pkgs. to small towns now, do you think another private company is going to small town America? And for FREE!!!

By Jack

August 26, 2010 9:52 AM | Link to this

I’m a postal employee, but I wanted to add another tidbit to this: If you happen to live outside of a major metro area (I’m 45 miles away from the FedEX/UPS/USPS hubs), and you want it faster, go USPS. I’ve tracked packages through all 3, and though they all get to Ardmore Oklahoma around 4am, UPS gets here around 3pm, FedEx after 4 pm. If it comes by USPS, I have access to it at 8:30am, when my post office opens.

By wayne

August 26, 2010 9:35 AM | Link to this

As a usps employee we receive parcel from oops(UPS)they have the addresses & bar codes rubbed off. Call Ups and tell them their tracking number and ask where its to be delivered they’ll tell you to the Postmaster and the town,then tell them you need the finally address as you cann’t read it. They don’t have that info. I’ve ask them what I should do with it.Ups “Just hold it tell someone comes in for it” is what were told now that’s real customer service. Lately Ups is telling customer one or two days before it arrives in office that’s it at your local office. So they get the deliver monkey off their back and pass it on to USPS. and of course they come in after the carrier have left for the day,which delay it one more day also.

By David

August 26, 2010 9:20 AM | Link to this

After enjoying reading this article and the comments, I have a couple of my own to make. When compareing these three, you really can only compare on Parcels and overnight services as that is all they really have in common. These comparisons are fairly enlightening. A 3 pound package going from Kentucky to Oregon as of 8-25-10 at 09:00 am (used 3 pounds and distance as that is probably a fairly average size and distance people can relate to easily) NEXT DAY PRICES UPS wants $62.51, FEDEX wants $65.20 and USPS wants $33.10 WOW! For 2 to 3 day delivery (not 3 working days as UPS and FEDEX like to quote), UPS wants $29.83 to $45.96 depending if you want Saturday delivery, etc., Fedex wants $32.52 to $48.64, depending if you want Saturday or not, USPS wants $12.70 for a wrap it yourself and as little as $4.95 if you can get it in the small priority box (ROTF, If that doesn’t convince you to use USPS, you have more money to burn than I do). For Ground/Parcel Post UPS wants $11.33, Fedex want $12.51 and USPS wants $9.92…..I see no comparison already, now when you add that USPS’s on time delivery service scores are in the upper 90’s in every category, or when CONSUMER REPORTS mails 48 packages out between these three and proclaims that USPS was perfect on their shipping and “the prices were wildly different” (as we see above) and now we know that you pay extra money to FEDEX and UPS alot of times to have them give their packages to USPS anyway, IT’S a NO BRAINER I would think for anyone to figure out on their own.

By MJP

August 25, 2010 10:46 PM | Link to this

You can’t beat the Postal Services prices. I know people complain everytime they hear the price of stamps are going up, but think about it for a second - for 44 cents an actual human being comes to your house, without a service fee, and will pick up your letter and take it to the door of any house in America,six days a week, from the tip of Maine to Hawaii, to Guam and Puerto Rico, without a delivery charge, without a fuel surcharge. Just 44 cents. The average cup of coffee in the U.S. is $1.38. Consider the fuel used in transporting your letter on trucks and airplanes. Would 44 cents cover that? If there is a better deal than that in ANY industry in this country, I’d be surprised.

By Ron

August 25, 2010 9:05 PM | Link to this

I will have 30 years as a Letter Carrier this fall. To actually compare the USPS to either Fed-X or UPS is absurb. Along with those books you ordered the USPS also was required to deliver any Letter or flat mail. UPS drivers have their trucks loaded for them. I do not know the procedure for Fed-X. USPS Letter Carriers work residual Letters, Magazines, large envelopes and parcels each morning. Most Letters are worked by machine but there are still those that cannot be worked by machine and must be worked in by hand. The Carriers then deliver to each address on their route that has mail that day. Average coverage on any given day is around 90%. Full coverage days is 100%. Granted some, like myself have driving routes. yet there are still many who must walk off each and every delivery no matter the weather. I have talked with UPS and Fed-X drivers that cover my area and neither would do my job. JUst a side note. Several years ago I visited my parents and was looking at their Christmas cards. They had received a card from a Neice that had been addressed to their previous address of 15 yrs ago. It took an alert Letter Carrier to know where they moved. Derby is a town of 15,000 so they don’t just have one or two routes. I hope you enjoy your books and continue to use the USPS to meet your needs. Thank You.

By wwm

August 25, 2010 8:30 PM | Link to this

I’m a current postal worker who used to work for FedEx and can tell you that the situation related in the article is 100% accurate. With FedEx, if you pay for 3-day service it will arrive in 3 days - doesn’t matter if you send it a block away or across the continent. I can also tell you that most of the complaints people make about the postal service can be applied to FedEx as well - I used to handle a lot of customer service calls. The USPS provides a fantastic service, really, at a good price. If that weren’t so, FedEx (and UPS) would not use the USPS to deliver a large percentage of it’s packages. A lot is often made of FedEx tracking being so much better but, in my experience, a priority package sent via USPS is generally in my hands while I’d still be tracking the FedEx (or UPS) package. And, with USPS, I get my packages on Saturday - no extra charge!

By dgl

August 25, 2010 6:30 PM | Link to this

I have been a letter carrier for 25 years and I can tell you there is still no other service that has the personal touch like the USPS. I personally have delivered on more than one occasion, letters to Grandma, in the yellow house on 2nd street or packages to David (no last name)with a street name spelled wrong and an incorrect house number. Letter carriers take great pride in helping these kind of mail pieces get to their proper destination. I seriously doubt any other delivery service would do the same.

By Dave T.

August 25, 2010 6:12 PM | Link to this

Everybody loves the USPS and it’s dedicated workforce. Unfortunately our biggest enemy is Postal Service management….they are totally committed to running this great institution right out of business!!!!

By DLS

August 25, 2010 5:25 PM | Link to this

I am a 26+ year letter carrier with USPS. A little over a year ago, I was driving to a home about a fifth of a mile up a long narrow lane to obtain a signature for a letter. as I turned onto the lane, I saw something that looked out of place off into the brush. I got out of my truck to check it out and discovered it was a package for the very home I was going to. It was completely drenched. I scooped it up and brought it with me to the customer’s home. The customer opened it and discovered that it contained flowers sent to her upon the occasion of her husband’s death. The flowers were ruined. Well, it’s the thought that counts, she said. apparently the FEDEX driver would not drive or walk up the lane. I know there are lazy people in every business, but this was horrible service. P.S. we get a pallet of parcels from FEDEX everyday dropped at our small post office for our letter carriers to deliver. Save money. Go with USPS

By John

August 25, 2010 4:23 PM | Link to this

That’s right folks,the other shipping people charge you more,then turn around and pay a few bucks to the usps to deliver.Go to usps first and save

By mpe mech

August 25, 2010 2:42 PM | Link to this

I am a mechanic at USPS. Yes we do deliver the last mile for UPS and Fedex as well as a few other private shippers. We sleep with our competition!USPS has the same tecnology as the others so packages can be traced. USPS has spent enormous amts of money upgrading equipment. We can deliver Keep the Post Office alive Ship USPS

By Bull

August 25, 2010 2:28 PM | Link to this

I paid a bill by check, on 23 April 2010 sent in the mail fr Springfield to Dayton, I would like to know where it is, It has never been delivered or returned

By John

August 25, 2010 1:14 PM | Link to this

I received a FedEx 2-day package a few weeks ago. My package’s travels were something like this: Shipper -> FedEx hub -> FedEx regional office near my home -> Back to FedEx hub -> Back to my home area -> Delivered on schedule. So, I seem to have encountered the same behavior as the article’s author. I would have received the item in 1 day if not for the second trip to the FedEx hub.

By Snail Mail

August 25, 2010 12:27 PM | Link to this

US postal service owes you guys all $25.00 for salutary comments. However the difference between USPS and Fed/Ex or UPS is this: postal serice= volkswagen; Fed/Ex =corvette.

By stephenct

August 25, 2010 11:32 AM | Link to this

I have been a letter carrier with the postal service for over 30 years and would like to give my “unbiased” opinion that I do believe for the money, the post office does do a better job for the most part.It’s no fun though when I have to deliver a package that looks like it has been run over by a 18 wheeler more than once.

By ddp

August 25, 2010 10:39 AM | Link to this

My daughter had an experience with FEDEX a couple of years ago that makes me ask “who do you ship with ” when ordering.She ordered a couple of items for a wedding she was in and one showed up within about a week. The other took alomost two more weeks, or just before the wedding date. They were both shipped on the same day by the same company. The reason for the delay as explained by FEDEX was, they were seperated in the shipping process and we had a full load for the first one but had to wait for a full load to your area to send out the second one. Since that time, FEDEX has been dropping it’s country and out of the way items off for the USPS to deliever,at an additional cost to you. Why not go USPS in the first place and save the money and have the knowledge that the person deleivering it knows where you live and cares.

By vick

August 25, 2010 10:37 AM | Link to this

I see UPS delivering my local Post Office almost every weekday. I was aware that there is some kind of an arrangement between these 2 entities. I’m not clear on the particulars of how this came about, the price differentials, etc. Does anybody have that knowledge??

By Brian

August 25, 2010 8:22 AM | Link to this

I tracked packages through both Fedex and UPS and was shocked to learn they delivered them to the Post Office. I called UPS and Fedex and asked why they delivered them to the Post Office instead of my address. They informed me that the Post Office delivers them the “last mile”. so I called the Post Office and sure enough they had my packages. I asked them why and the USPS told me UPS basic and Fedex Smarpost are packages that the private carriers give to the Post Office for final deliver. I then asked how much my pakage would have been if the sender just sent it through the post office and was told $4.95. I paid close to $20 shipping to have these sent Fedex and UPS and they turned around and gave it to the Post Office and paid them to deliver it. Has anyone else seen this. I have a fealing Fedex and UPS don’t want anyone to know they pay have the USPS deliver packages for them.

By irishguy

August 24, 2010 11:45 PM | Link to this

Greg, I’ll cede that point. But there was a lot of pressure to get 20 to 30 Saturday NDA packages delivered before noon. Especially considering we left from West Carrollton and had to deliver to Centerville, Bellbrook and Spring Valley. (My usual route). It was rarely the same destinations week to week.

By Mark from St Paul

August 24, 2010 10:08 PM | Link to this

Opened my mail the other day and was astonished to see I’d ordered a DVD of The Mighty Ducks 2. Then I looked at the envelope and realized it had been sent to my across the hall neighbors. UPS and Fed Ex, otoh, carry the packages up to my third floor apartment. But for the money the USPS is way best.

By Greg

August 24, 2010 7:52 PM | Link to this

I have been a PO employee for over 20 years. I always enjoy these comparisons. One of the things that is not said, is that the average USPS carrier delivers several hundred deliveries a day. My local UPS driver said “if I have 150 deliveries, management better send me out some help.” Enough said.

By irishguy

August 24, 2010 4:59 PM | Link to this

Vick, I worked part time at UPS for a couple of years as a unloader and a preloader and I assure you they’d never sit on a package. I would “Brown Up” on Saturdays and the occasional week day to deliver Next Day Air packages and believe me they ran the tightest ship in the shipping business, just like the ads used to say.

By vick

August 24, 2010 12:46 PM | Link to this

That is a good one, LMJ. That reminds me of the time the Post Office delivered a letter to me with just my name and the town. No street. No zip code. That probably would not happen now. That was a few years ago…

By lmj

August 24, 2010 12:09 PM | Link to this

A few weeks ago the postal carrier delivered something to me, that was meant for me, but had and incorrect address - the address on the package doesn’t exist! Since the package was 3 books of poetry I was a judge for, I was VERY appreciative of the postal carrier’s intuitiveness. (The address error started with the person who started the books on the round robin.)