Murphy's Law in Action - USPS

I needed to get a knife to a customer quickly, as he is going on vacation and would like to take the knife with him. So, I send a package via USPS Express Mail, with Next Day delivery. You pay extra for peace of mind, but unfortunately, I got the opposite.

That was Friday last week and the package was to be delivered on Saturday by noon. It wasn't there on Saturday, it wasn't there on Monday. In fact, as of Tuesday morning, the package is still untraceable. I am dealing with it as well as I can and have put together a contingency plan (replacement), but the question begs asking how can a company stay solvent if it can't guarantee quality of its flagship service?

Extremely disappointing. Extremely is probably an understatement.

https://tools.usps.com/go/TrackConfirmAction?qtc_tLabels1=eo918775536us

M

I have had that exact issue with USPS with Next Day service on multiple occasions. The last time I used them it took a week for an extremely time sensitive document to reach me from a client. I have also had UPS deliver tax returns to the wrong address and check off that they were delivered which is completely unacceptable considering the private nature of the documents. We have moved over to DHL and FedEx for most of our time sensitive shipping and use the postal service for the rest.

Sorry you have to go through that Marko, hopefully it was insured.

The link says it was insured. I have used usps for everything, but I haven't sent anything overnight. Most of the time the package shows up a day after (when I sent my small vg10 blade to Mano). Some times I notice the tracking wont show were it went off to, which is a big disappointment to me. I have noticed the same with ups too.

Every time I have received from fed ex there has been something wrong. First time the package sat here for 3 days I got a not scheduled for delivery on the tracking. Another time it was delivered 100 miles away and was lost for 3 days too, and that one was over nighted. Fed ex has a very negative taste in my mouth. I hope this works out Marko.

I have had much better luck with UPS/FedEX/DHL than USPS on ensuring things arrive when expected. Also, if you setup a biz account with them, you can usually negotiate better prices than the standard rates. (I work for a large corporation and we usually pay about 20% of the standard rate...but we have tremendous negotiating power for this.)

Sorry to hear about this, Marko. I hope the package eventually turns up.

markenki said:

Sorry to hear about this, Marko. I hope the package eventually turns up.

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Yeah, so do I!

Sorry :-( If we have to overnight, we use Fed-Ex. We'll use UPS for bigger stuff. If it's private/ confidential, or has some monetary value, we send 'signature required'. USPS is a crapshoot; it's good 95% of the time, but that other 5% can be a killer.

USPS is usually ok, but I don't like to take the risk. UPS or DHL are my preferred carriers. I have never had a good experience with FedEx.

"how can a company stay solvent if it can't guarantee quality of its flagship service?"

The postal service is far from solvent, and far from reliable. Its tracking service doesn't track anything except delivery, if that. I avoid it whenever possible, and certainly with anything of any value. Unfortunately, Congress will not allow commercial services like UPS and FedEx to provide regular mail service. If it did, USPS would be out of business in no time.

And this is exactly why Korin can't rely on USPS for shipping... They don't come pick up packages consistently, the tracking is unreliable, and to top it all off they occasionally lose packages.

I hope your package show up and good luck!!

TBH, if they didn't refund your money in a case like this, I'd contact my CC company.

My mail man is an idiot. My mail lady is better. My UPS guy knows my schedule.

I've probably shipped or received around 300 packages via USPS (first class or priority only) in the last couple of years or so. I can't remember even one that took longer than expected. Most of them took less time than I expected. I have shipped a few times with UPS, DHL and FedEx and the only one I've had a problem with was UPS delivering a damaged knife block. The packaging was excellent, too. Someone would have had to drop it from 5 feet plus to cause that damage.

i dont know, i've had some trouble with the USPS lately too... packages not being scanned in, huge delays, etc. Seriously thinking about switching over to something else.

I have switched to DHL for same reason, never had a problem sins and if i had they was super quick to solve it. Custom service is also much better

I have used USPS for my day job for years. Very few issues. This is the fist time I have an issue with Express Mail. If it weren't time sensitive, I would be less upset. It's amazing how one negative experience negates all those positive experiences I have had for years.

M

Don't talk to me or Rottman about USPS. :knight:

Marko Tsourkan said:

I have used USPS for my day job for years. Very few issues. This is the fist time I have an issue with Express Mail. If it weren't time sensitive, I would be less upset. It's amazing how one negative experience negates all those positive experiences I have had for years.

M

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yeah... i couldnt agree more. I've always been happy with them, but just lately i had a series of problems that has made me very bitter about doing business with them.

They are talking about discontinuing all express, next day service, because they can no longer handle it. They may phase it out in less than a year. At my local post office they are using Fedex to handle their overnight deliveries. see the trucks pull out of there all the time.

It REALLY sucked last year during the holidays when the USPS would just decide not to show up and pick up packages... or it would get lost along the way. Even if USPS is cheaper, Korin doesn't want to risk things getting lost or being blamed for poor shipping services, when its not our fault. :scared4:

sachem allison said:

.... At my local post office they are using Fedex to handle their overnight deliveries. see the trucks pull out of there all the time.

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USPS got into an agreement with FedEx some years ago to handle USPS's express mail. When I watch my tracking I can see the package going from the sender's PO to the sender's local FedEx hub then everything is routed through Memphis. The next tracking location is my local FedEx hub near Newark airport and then its passed back to USPS.

Hope the package shows up. It seriously only takes one bad experience to ruin your opinion of a company, which always confuses me on why most of these places customer services suck. I've had lost packages with USPS, but they've always tended to show up eventually. I've not been so lucky with UPS, as I've lost 4 packages, and neither the company that sold me the item or UPS has done anything about it, since it was marked as delivered. I won't buy anything now that has to be shipped UPS, which may sound like I'm going overboard, until you realize I've lost over $400 from not receiving goods. Also puts a bad taste in your mouth for the company not going the extra mile. Thankfully, any vendor on this site is not included in my rant, as I've had nothing but great experiences from them all.

Bad experience + good recovery = better experience than a smooth transaction. Proven. Companies that don't undestand this are going to bleed customers.

After 3 weeks in the unknown, the package magically appeared at the destination.
Bittersweet ending, luckily.

M

I'm happy it finally showed up. Nothing worse than knowing that a Marko knife is just missing somewhere out there.

Better late than never. Glad to hear it wasn't lost to someone who might not appreciate it.

But... we need pics!!

Marko Tsourkan said:

After 3 weeks in the unknown, the package magically appeared at the destination.
Bittersweet ending, luckily.

M

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Congrats!

Yes...a Marko floating around ending up in the hands of someone who doesn't know what they have. I am the lucky recipient of this knife and I could say that it was worth the wait except that would let usps off the hook. So, I open the garage on the side of the house and there it is; no signature required, no knock on the door. But it did arrive before noon!

So of course I had to put the errands on hold and enjoy opening the package. I only had time for a quick salty-potato-chop test, and either my speed technique is getting better or Marko is producing one of the best grinds out there (the latter, I'm sure). Marko put a beautiful D handle on and did a complete regrind of the KS blade. Not a lick of sticktion. I have my daughter's KS, so in comparison it is clear that Marko did substantial thinning on an already pretty good blade. The lighter desertwood has a beautiful iridescent orangy color and the feel of the D handles is just, well, cozy, and a feel of quality.

I don't know if Marko faces some constraints when working with a knife that is not his own but if this is an indication of the grinds he is doing with his own knives, I have to agree with one of our Danish friends, that Marko is producing some amazing knives.

markenki said:

Better late than never. Glad to hear it wasn't lost to someone who might not appreciate it.

But... we need pics!!

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The owner related to me that the package was left outside his door, so much for Express Service, insured. LOL

The box was beat up, but the knife was fine, I packaged it in anticipation of an abuse.

That wasn't my knife, it was Masamoto KS, but I thinned and refinished it and put a custom handle on it. The one on the bottom in the link below.

http://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=8736&d=1342875523

M