I was reading an article recently about the USPS being inundated with Amazon packages, to the detriment of other services. What a dilemma.
I placed another Rock Auto order and had more goofy Package Tracking data. The day after I placed the order, the USPS system showed the package at the facility in our state capital (Richmond, Virginia) 50 or so miles away. I assumed that this Rock Auto shipping point must be local. The next day the package showed up in Greensboro NC, just like last time. The only difference is that this package only took a few days to get to my house versus the 8 days it took before. As with last time, I have no idea if the stuff actually made that journey or if the system was doing goofy things.
There is some requirement in the service agreement that says the USPS will give "priority" to the Amazon stuff, so some mail carriers are having to deliver packages instead of people's mail. I can see how this would be an issue, but whoever negotiated that agreement needs to be taken to task.
That's interesting that someone other than Congress did something that may compromise its charter. And of course Amazon can go pound sand. No one can price compete with USPS in these remote regions. Of course, now they almost exclusively use their own contract drivers (we have 2 Amazon warehouses in my county.) As an aside, I wonder if the IRS will go after their Independent Contractor status. It's funny, I used to see my UPS guy all the time. (He's from Ukraine. His wife also has a Mazda CX-5. I gave him an air filter that will fit her car but not mine.) I've not seen him since last March when he delivered tires for my car.
I found the article... https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/11/28/amazon-missed-mail-rural-towns/
Rather than start a new thread, I'll chuck a whine about FedEx here. I place a Walmart order a few days ago. Fed Ex website said it would be delivered today. This morning their Tracking Status said it would be delivered by 3PM. Same thing all day long. It's not shown up. It's been sitting in Hagerstown MD (140 miles away) since 1AM, rendering the "By 3PM" status questionable. "No Scheduled Delivery Date Available At This Time." ¿Et tu, Mister Absolutely Positively? I don't really care. I'm in no rush. It's just another broken system.
I have some things coming from Amazon. The final delivery could be by USPS but I don't know yet. I gave them a week to deliver it because it was scheduled right after Christmas and I thought that was me being nice. I would wait and let them clean out the leftovers and mine could come later. Yesterday was the scheduled day and there was a blizzard. Ok, I get that. Now it's scheduled for tomorrow and we will see. If they know where it is they aren't saying, just that they are sorry and if it doesn't come by tomorrow they will give me a refund. It's probably on a truck somewhere in Kansas in a snow bank. On the topic of USPS there were some burglaries from community mailboxes around here in December. Seems someone had a master key to open the boxes and clean out all of them.
We had a roadside mailbox for a number of years, but they began to be raided on a regular basis, so we contracted with a private mailbox company and have been satisfied with them, but they are expensive.
I started a purchasing career in the 70s. Back then--before the days of cheap air freight--you knew to add a couple of weeks to your lead time starting in October for anything that originated west of the Rockies because of snow delays. I hope your package shows up. And a pox on the mailbox thief.
Thanks for the good wishes, John, they worked. Amazon found my package and brought it yesterday afternoon. Now I need to order cat food. It will be ahead of schedule so if they lose this one the cats won’t run out. We’re expecting a little snow with below zero temps over the weekend. I hope your packages arrive soon, Hedi.
Now all they gotta do is go after the mailbox thief. I wonder if they changed the locks. I wonder if they went through the list of USPS ex-employees.
We hear about mailboxes being broken into every now and then, usually on the NextDoor app from someone who had mail stolen, but apparently it’s a bigger problem than I realized. I’ve thought about getting a post office box but mail is already inconvenient and I don’t get anything important. Nearly all of what I do get goes straight into the trash unopened. Maybe it’s time to do away with snail mail. Thieves attack, rob Colorado postal worker for master key to mailboxes https://www.9news.com/article/news/...acked/73-f99a6aba-f7ef-4784-a5ed-8758bd18786b