I do not understand the logistics software the USPS uses. It makes sense to send a package from Detroit down to Indianapolis, before sending it east. What makes no sense to me is sending a package from Maryland through Virginia, then up to New York, only to go back down to where I live. Nor does it make any sense to send a package from here to Maine by way of North Carolina.
Seems like I can get a package here from China faster than I can get one from Queens. Not quite true, but it’s not as much of an exaggeration as you might think. The one I’m expecting that was imported from Peru made it through customs in Queens three days ago. There’s no way it should take three days to travel ~180 miles, during the week. Are they using a mule train to move the mail? UPS and FedEx are far more efficient.
The upside, I suppose, is that every last postal employee I’ve ever dealt with, from the guy who drives the route that includes my house, to whoever is working the counter, to the supervisor who answers the phone when I call to inquire about where my supposedly delivered package was delivered, when it sure as shootin’ wasn’t at my house, has always been fantastic. Nobody from the USPS has ever “gone postal” on me. Still, it would be nice if the whole company was more efficient. Yes, it is a company, rather than a government entity. Your clue is that it has a .com address rather than a .gov one.
On another topic, we brought our dog in for his annual checkup and vaccinations this morning. Rabies isn’t annual, but he would have been due for it in April, so we had the vet do it today, after he got his annual combination shot. Saved us another trip, and probably another $35, because it just got tacked on as a line item, so we didn’t also get charged for a new visit/exam. I happened to have exact change in greenbacks for the visit, so that was good. I hate using a credit card, or writing a check, when I can avoid it. Not sure the vet cares all that much how I pay, as long as I do it before we leave. Fortunately, none of our cats are due for their visits until late summer.
I have the exact opposite experience. For me, UPS and FedEX have always been HORRIBLE. I do a LOT of mail-order and I hardly ever have any trouble with the USPS, but every time I’ve had to resort to UPS or FedEX it’s been a nightmare. In fact, the only time I have trouble with USPS is because a shipper (like Amazon) gets UPS to carry their stuff some of the way… and it always tangles up on the UPS’s end. Last year I had a package go back and forth between two towns for TWO MONTHS before it made it here. Last month I had one sit in a UPS truck for two weeks before they finally delivered it to the post office.
I deal with UPS personel a lot, and their delivery people are nice… but the company itself? I wish it’d burn to the ground.