posted on March 24, 2003 08:54:30 AM new
So I actually have a PO supervisor and that same mailman that refused to mail my Triangular Priority mailbox last week, out at my community mailbox right now, and I have another Triangular package with Endica postage out there to be mailed again...
I walked out there to make sure he was going to mail the package for me today and I wanted to point out that I had taped Priority Mail tape all over where it said Express Mail on that side of the box.
The Supervisor said they are not supposed to pick up any packages over 1 pound at the mailbox, that anything over a pound has to handed to a post office counter, but that they would do it for me today since they were headed right back over to the PO anyway.
He said that this "new rule" had been in effect since 9-11.
I said it sure saved a lot of gas money not having to drive to the PO.
posted on March 24, 2003 09:12:50 AM new...I wanted to point out that I had taped Priority Mail tape all over where it said Express Mail on that side of the box.
Just make sure your customer doesn't end up being charged Express Mail rates anyway. Something similar has happened to me and others.
posted on March 24, 2003 09:34:59 AM new
No the box is one the PO puts out. One side says Priority Mail, one side says Express Mail. Guess this is their way of "saving money". I had never even noticed one side said Express Mail, and I don't think the Supervisor had either, he did a double take when I was talking about it.
posted on March 24, 2003 11:12:13 AM new
Wait a minute. It had Endicia postage, right? I thought you didn't have to take it to the counter then?? Is this one of those "local" rules that they decide to impose themselves, even though they're not supposed to?
posted on March 24, 2003 11:56:42 AM new
The PO will pick them up if you pay like a special $12.00 pick up charge. Otherwise it is up to your Mailman to decide if they want to pick it up or not. Your best bet is to make a deal with your Mailman to pick them up. I do not recommend leaving packages out front for the mail person we did it for a while, but then had a bunch stolen. It was a bad situation, and had to refund a bunch of auctions.
"For I know the plans I have for you." says the Lord. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope." - Jeremiah 29:11
posted on March 24, 2003 11:59:38 AM new
No, this is not a local rule & I think it was probably written before 9/11 - but has become more enforced since that date. My personal opinion the rational behind the rule was to dissuade would be "mail bombers" from leaving packages to be mailed in unregulated areas.
The post office also charges for a pick-up service - perhaps they want to force that option on you.
posted on March 24, 2003 12:07:26 PM new
Email me directly and I can send you a JPEG image of a letter issued by the USPS VP Of Operations on July 31, 2002. This letter clearly states that PC postage package MUST be accepted by the carriers during their regular delivery and pickup duties.
Take this to your PostMaster and show it to him/her.
The "security rules" only apply to packages which have conventional stamps as postage, OR if the package is going to an International address AND is over 1 lb.
posted on March 24, 2003 12:18:49 PM new
THANK you Harry. I have emailed you for a copy of the letter. This is the first I've heard of this, and I could understand if I was mailing a bunch of packages everyday but I don't. This was a 2.5 pound package.
posted on March 24, 2003 06:28:42 PM new
I have had problems in recent months along the same lines.
(Warning:Rant on US Postal Service)
The Consumer Guide to Mailing DOES NOT HAVE the new rules in it. The rules are not part of the "official printed" PO rules, but was put into play (according to the PO district supervisor here) after demands were made on to Postal Service by the FAA after 9/11, since much of the mail gets flown.
My primary letter carrier just delivered yet ANOTHER copy of the "Consumer Guide to Mailing" to residents in my area this week. It is a joke, because it clearly states that you can leave any package under a pound with exact postage out for the letter carrier and he will pick it up, AND you can hand any of those over a pound to him when he comes by IF THEY HAVE EXACT POSTAGE. My carriers are absolutely refusing to take the handed-over packages! I have put the exact postage using postage stamps.
I have as many as 3 different letter carriers, and have shown them the printed rules & regulations until I'm blue in the face. If you use postage stamps and this hasn't happened to you yet, you are lucky.
I have very kindly and gently tried to develop a rapport with my postman that comes most often for many months, and although he is nice, he couldn't be bothered. I explained that I am partially disabled and can't drive to the PO and have to make arrangements to be driven. He is going to do only what he has to.
They were taking them sporadically though before Christmas, because I insisted, standing in front of them. I discovered they must personally cancel the postage when they return to the station and have been told by the station manager not to do it.
The final straw was a Priority package I handed to the letter carrier and he just dumped it when he arrived at the station. It was not hand-cancelled by him, so it was returned to me two days later as if I had dropped in in a mailbox. I had mailed it just in time to a customer to arrive for a special occasion. Obviously, she did not receive it in time. I was livid.
I called the ditrict supervisor and she backed up my local P.O.
So apparently, the Consumer's Guide to Mailing is not worth the paper it's printed on. The book does not specify that has to be "metered mail" if over a pound to be picked up, but that is what they are telling me now. (I think they are including PC postage in that statement) Any package over a pound with stamps must be physically taken to the PO and handed to a PO employee, per my local station.
I went so far as to file a complaint that I didn't have "equal access" since I am permanently disabled. (Torn knee ligaments, and cartilage, inoperable) I was told I could pay $12.50 per trip by calling to have the packages picked up. And who comes to pick them up if I pay that? My regular letter carrier! GEEZ!
My auctions used to say I ship daily. They don't anymore!
Patty
[ edited by meadowlark on Mar 24, 2003 06:31 PM ]
posted on March 24, 2003 07:20:20 PM new
Why try to buck "City Hall"? Just take it to the PO & quit bitching. I drive 5 miles to mail Priority Mail Pkgs. It's not worth the grievance to argue with them. Sometimes it is like making a mountain out of a mole hill. You just get aggravated & can't win.
posted on March 25, 2003 05:14:09 AM new
Patty: Can you say "Endicia"? Feel free to use my Promotional Code number when you sign up 508583! It is the greatest thing since sliced bread, honest! The first month is free just to try out and I promise you, you won't go back to buying stamps!
What Harry pointed out is that we are KNOWN CUSTOMERS. We have registered and we are not someone putting stamps on packages. Also notice how quick Harry, who is the President himself, responded to the thread, that is the quality of service Endicia offers. No where in the title of the thread does it refer to Endicia. But he was right there to help me out. Read the letter, it is from the USPS Vice President of Delivery to Harry.
"Field Units (read Postal Employees) are unsure of proper acceptance of packages bearing Information Based Indicia (IBI).
Through IBIP (Indicia Information Based Program), the USPS establishes certain security standards and performance criteria ....
Domestic mail items presented with this form of postage must be accepted...
Customers using IBI are considered "known customers" and are not required to present these pieces in person at a retail acceptance unit.
Furthermore, carriers should accept mail containing IBI during their normal delivery and collection duties."
What more could you want it to say? I LOVE it!
It's as if we are a small business, which we ARE! Can you imagine a PO delivery guy showing up at your office and saying, "sorry, we can't accept your outgoing mail, you're going to have to take it to the PO yourself." Ridiculous, they wouldn't do it, and they CAN'T do it to us either!
And sanmar: I believe that one person CAN and DOES make a difference.
I'm not trying to buck "city hall". But the PO does not know everything everytime because they send out pages and pages of notifications and updates, probably daily. They'll tell you at the counter they don't read all that stuff.
Notice what the Supervisor told me. That they can not accept packages over a pound from people on their route anymore. Somewhere, I had read that it is up to three pounds, so I asked, "When did this happen?" and his reply was after 9-11. Because of the anthrax and terrorists mailing things. And what the letter above points out is that we are a BUSINESS and KNOWN CUSTOMERS and they know all that they need to know about us, and that they HAVE TO ACCEPT OUR PACKAGES.
Why roll over and just play dead? Why not stand up for yourself and what you believe in?
posted on March 25, 2003 05:25:22 AM new
Glassgrl you make a valid point, but if you live in a small town with only a "few" postal employees - you can run into a stonewall. Beyond complaining at the counter & filing customer complaint forms; some postal employees make up their minds that they DO know more than the customer & don't have to follow any directives you shove under their noses.
At the end of things consider what really is going to happen to them if they do not provide "customer service" will they lose their bonus, raise or job??
posted on March 25, 2003 05:45:46 AM new
That's why it's up to US that CAN make a diffence do so.
I can remember just not so long ago when the Priority Mail DC came out and it was "new" and unknown at some of my local counters. My PO took the time to learn about it, and in turn, educated the other counters about it.
The face on the employee (a woman) when I went to a different PO one day, when she said "what do you mean this is FREE?! SOMEBODY has to pay for it!" was priceless. I took my package back and said, thank you, I'll take it somewhere where they know what they are doing. My PO called her PO and they got things straight. Now it is routinely accepted and known at all the counters, even yours, right?
Thank goodness for AW and information obtained here.
posted on March 25, 2003 05:58:57 AM new
glassgrl,
Thanks. I figured that was my next option. I do appreciate all the data, and will look into Endicia.
Sanmar,
No need to be rude. I can't drive.
And along with glassgrl, I agree that one must not just roll over and play dead. One must push past barriers in life and handle them, not give up just because the going got tough. I would not be able to walk at all if I hadn't fought so hard.
I not saying I'm helpless. I wasn't asking for any sympathy. I was just venting my great frustration with a service we all fund that is not geared toward their customers.
posted on March 25, 2003 06:07:26 AM new
When it comes right down to it a mail carrier can refuse to pick or deliver if they feel that they are "threatend" in the least...
If you are regular everyday shipper though...
However, don't you on PC postage have to mail the same day? So maybe that is their reasoning behind it, and that you have to "register" to get use it.
AIN'T LIFE GRAND...
[ edited by Twelvepole on Mar 25, 2003 06:16 AM ]
posted on March 25, 2003 09:56:19 AM new
Just got back from the Post Office.
Of course the route delivery supervisor says "we all know who you are!" but he agreed with the letter and said he would update all his carriers and the guy with the clipboard.
posted on March 26, 2003 10:50:03 AM new
Hey Glassgrl,
Contact the postmaster for that post office location directly. Above everything else you are a CUSTOMER. You may also file a complaint in regards to the postal carriers. (These complaints are put in their personnel file).
Good Luck, and if this doesn't work think about baking some cookies for those postal carriers.
posted on March 26, 2003 12:52:50 PM new
I have a question here. Is Endicia really all that easy? I am not very computer literate. If I have to start loading labels into my printer I may go into overload. But, in the interest of the amount of time I spend in the line at the Post Office (where we have wonderful employees) I might be tempted to give it a try. You guys are very convincing. So, how easy/difficult is it? Thanks, Sue
posted on March 26, 2003 01:07:07 PM new
chathamsue
I'm admittedly biased, but I'd suggest that you just start out by printing shipping labels on plain white paper. That way you don't have any special feeding issues. You then cut out the 4x6" label image, and clear tape it to your packages. So I wouldn't consider the printer a big hurdle for you.
Our software, on the other hand, is so feature-rich that it may take a bit of time to master. You might contact our tech support (or me directly) and have us walk you through your first label on the phone. Once that label design is set up and you've got "one under your belt", there will be no stopping you!
posted on March 26, 2003 03:44:39 PM new
Promotional Code number when you sign up 508583
Promotional Code number when you sign up 508583
Promotional Code number when you sign up 508583
Once you get it set up it is very easy. The $9.00 a month more than pays for itself when I figure up time waiting in line and gas to the post office. The support, as Harry pointed out, is EXCELLENT. But don't let him scare you off when he says "feature rich". I love having a record of everything I mailed, you can email the buyer, you can track the delivery.
I print mine on a sheet of paper, I've set mine up so that I print close to the edge, then I can flip the sheet of paper or cut it off and keep printing so I don't waste much paper. I'd love to have a laser label printer but I don't sell enough to justify it yet.
First month is free, what do you have to lose? I decided to give it a try when it was December, long lines at the PO. Now it's summer and I still won't give it up. Going to the PO used to be the highlight of my day, now it's going to the pool
posted on March 26, 2003 06:34:59 PM new
Okay, the only thing I understand clearly is glassgrl's promotional code! LOL
The way I understand this - I print the label - which includes the postage? - on a piece of white paper & then tape it ot the package. Am I right? I think I can handle that. Then I just hand it to my mailman to pickup for no addtl charge? You guys are all gonna want ot fly in to see my mailman's face when I try to pull this one off! He's the one who delivers my priority supplies by pulling in the driveway & tooting his horn til I come get them! Thanks for all the help.
posted on March 27, 2003 11:59:01 AM new
"The way I understand this - I print the label - which includes the postage? - on a piece of white paper & then tape it ot the package. Am I right?"
posted on March 27, 2003 10:23:04 PM new
re: endicia - I've been using them for many months now and endicia absolutely "rocks".
Well, well worth the monthly fee in saved auto fuel and time, and my customers love the delivery confirmation, which costs me 13 cents or free for priority throug endicia.
I use u-pic.com for postal insurance as well - $1.25 for under $100 insurance - a nickel cheaper than the P.O., and again, allows me to avoid the p.O. lines entirely.
Just so's ya know Harry not just hot air cause he works there
[ edited by meadowlark on Mar 24, 2003 06:31 PM ]
