The Postmaster of the USPS has stepped down. In September, the post office endured a cyber
attack. Information about employees was
breached but the employees didn’t know about that until November. At a local post office, I was asking about
the threatened closure of Duluth, Minnesota’s mail processing center when I learned about the cyber attack. Ever since the advent of email, the post
office’s financial woes have worsened.
I visit a post office on an average of four times a week. My ebay score says that I’ve sent out at
least 4000 packages but that’s probably half of it since the numbers refer to
feedback. Many of my packages are sent
book rate.
Although it sounds bad for the post office, I want to
encourage people to use USPS for packages, especially now at
Christmastime. In all of these years, I
have had only one domestic package lost.
That was a small package containing a sulfide marble and it was
insured. The marble was a little treasure
however the value of it was returned in full.
I’ve had a few things break but that was early on and my packaging could
have been part of the blame – sending a large print with a heavy frame and
having the glass break. I have had books
sent media rate eaten by machinery, arriving with grease on the package and
damaged. That’s happened twice, I
think. What was insured was efficiently
processed and the money came back. Of
course, media mail is inexpensive and that is the risk.
Considering those issues in 8000 cases, I think the USPS is
an excellent service.
I had to complain about UPS.
Recently, I had a very large package ordered, and it weighed almost a
hundred pounds. To my shock, one UPS
employee had to deliver that from the truck and up steps in our steep
neighborhood. I actually helped
him. The package had some outer damage
by the time we accomplished this.
My recent conversation at the post office was leading to
that. The postal clerk informed that the
USPS has a maximum weight of 70 pounds.
The UPS maximum is 150 but I would never have expected one person to
deliver a parcel weighing more than 70 pounds.
I’ve long been frustrated with UPS. That service was originally for businesses
and for international package shipping.
UPS employees are not so familiar with particular buildings and
houses. They are not given keys to
apartment buildings. They deliver when
people are at work and then they leave a note saying that you should be present
to sign for your package. They come back
when you have to be at work. Sometimes
they don’t return during the time frame that they schedule. I used
to have UPS packages delivered to my workplace which solved everything – if it
was okay with the workplace. I even had
a computer and monitor delivered there when I wasn’t quite sure that the boss
would like that.
In my experience, USPS is totally adequate. If I want to send something fragile or
expensive, I insure it. If the sender
wants to know definitely that the receiver was the one to take the package,
they can just fill out a slip to be signed.
I haven’t found much reason to switch to UPS, especially as it is
usually more expensive.
Just a heads-up to share that although the USPS is having
troubles, they are still very reliable.
~~~~~
The
Wide Awake Loons is re-published and with illustration
inside. Silver Knight Publishing endured
a crippling phishing attack last April, and since then, they have worked with
reduced staff and offered authors a contract reverting rights to them. I have re-published The Wide Awake Loons with my imprint Couchgrass Books. The book is the same except for some minor editing. Now it has illustration inside.
The book is available again in paperback at Amazon. It is also a Kindle
book. It will be soon be available from Barnes & Noble and at Ingram's by January 15, besides other book sites.
Here are a few illustrations. More are on the blog page Middle Grade.
%2Bfr.jpg){kind=link}
