USPS, Rural Deliveries ! UPS the BEST !

[Gunny]

I guess I'm blessed by having the USPS drivers we have. The last three, over 30 years worth, have been great, putting packages on the side porch and even leaving a note to tell us where the package is, in case we come out the front door. There have even been a few times when something needed to be signed for and they've known that at that time of day, I'm usually at the farm, so they'll drive down there to find me.
UPS also does a darned good job, but their SmartPost sucks wind large time. There has been several times when they drop off a package here at the house, then two stops later, they drop something off at the post office for me, so I don't get that package until the next day.
Our FedEx drivers are all contract, so they're a hit or miss on service.

I really like the Amazon next day service - I order something, it lands at the Amazon Hub that evening, the USPS delivers to the door by noon the next day

 

[Oaktree]

I live 'near' Scrambler82. USPS does not deliver packages, period. 2 miles to mailbox, then 6 more to post office to pick up package.

Your house is 2 miles from your mailbox??? Sheesh, I can't blame them for not wanting to drive 4 miles out of their way every time there's a package...it'd take forever to complete their route. I presume others in your area are similarly off the beaten path?

 

[jgedmond]

UPS is the best in my neck of the woods.

Just ordered a couple years worth of batteries for my flashlights (and getting another flashlight that looked like a very good deal for 24 bucks). Ordered them last Monday (7 days ago), slow as molasses for delivery because it seems now the big thing for some shippers to do is ship it third party BUT to the post office. Following the order online (we try to ensure we know the days when deliveries are coming in if all the dogs are outside with us so we know to be on the lookout for someone coming down the driveway) and the shipment didn't hit Raleigh before Sunday. For over 5 days the order just showed (ready for pick up which made no sense). I called sent off an e-mail on Friday and it was explained to me that they are using common carrier to the post office and when it showed "ready for pick up" it was in transit via the 3rd party common carrier.

LOL, just reading jgedmond's post above mine while typing this...

:laughing:

 

[Jstpssng]

I have a PO Box, the Postal Service doesn’t come down my road. Yet there are times when I have problems because “USPS doesn’t recognize that street”... a few years ago I was denied a CC through my local bank for that reason. No problem though, I took all of my money out, which was about 500 times the amount of the CC I was asking for; and moved it to my CU.

 

[Sigarms]

I have a PO Box, the Postal Service doesn’t come down my road. Yet there are times when I have problems because “USPS doesn’t recognize that street”... a few years ago I was denied a CC through my local bank for that reason. No problem though, I took all of my money out, which was about 500 times the amount of the CC I was asking for; and moved it to my CU.

Generally speaking, credit unions are the way to go from my experience. I've only had two credit cards in the last 25 years. Cabela's and the credit union. After Cabela's was bought out the other year (go figure, never thought that would happen by Bass Pro or whatever they're called), dropped them (Cabela's) and only have a credit card from the credit union now.

 

[EarPlug]

One thing to note: FedEx Express and FedEx Ground are two different entities. FedEx Express handles the 1-2-3 day air deliveries using actual FedEx employees. FedEx Ground (and Home Delivery) are contractors the purchase their routes. They are not Fedex employees, but work for "Joe's delivery service" under contract to Fedex.

Just last week I had a package "on the truck for delivery" on Sunday - no show. Monday "on the truck for delivery" - no show. Tuesday "on the truck for delivery" - no show AND the Driver LIED and said "no one available or business closed". Security cameras say the truck never came down the road.

 

[reb]

USPS does not deliver here. Gotta go to the post office for packages or mail. UPS has always been reliable. Fedex now does a good job. A few years ago they delivered only one day a week.

I heard a few years ago that Fedex was going to sell their routes to the drivers, who would then become the owners of the delivery service. Don't know how that worked out. Saw something a while back that said they were going to start Sunday deliveries. Would not want to be working for them.

 

[Sigarms]

One thing to note: FedEx Express and FedEx Ground are two different entities. FedEx Express handles the 1-2-3 day air deliveries using actual FedEx employees. FedEx Ground (and Home Delivery) are contractors the purchase their routes. They are not Fedex employees, but work for "Joe's delivery service" under contract to Fedex.

Just last week I had a package "on the truck for delivery" on Sunday - no show. Monday "on the truck for delivery" - no show. Tuesday "on the truck for delivery" - no show AND the Driver LIED and said "no one available or business closed". Security cameras say the truck never came down the road.

Wait until a fed ex contractor digs your yard up because they can't make a 3 point turn around on a concrete driveway and they go on your lawn...

 

[MF RED in MT]

Another +1 for UPS, great service so at Christmas Time the driver always gets a minimum $25 gift card.

We live 3 miles up on a dirt road from the highway in the Rocky Mountains (in the winter the rocks are always white and very icy).

USPS does not deliver and supplies a free Post Office Box that's over 6 miles away.

Fed Ex use to call and say they cannot drive to our house because of the ice (to lazy to install tire chains) and wants to meet at the Post Office.

The new Fed Ex Driver seems to be much better delivering packages to the house lately.

KC

 

[RPW]

I'm going to disagree with most of the posts. USPS has always delivered packages. UPS and FedEx keep changing drivers and we constantly have to call and give instructions that they may or may not follow.

 

[radios1]

That's what they do here. Delivery people are subcontractors, not USPS employees.

I live 'near' Scrambler82. USPS does not deliver packages, period. 2 miles to mailbox, then 6 more to post office to pick up package.

UPS delivers to door and rings bell. FedEx usually delivers to door and sometimes rings bell. USPS... well, they suck.

WOW, it sounds like you are very rich!!. maybe ask your chauffeur to check your mail each day, then!!.. if I was that rich to have that much property, I'd certainly do that!!.. 2 miles to mailbox, means you have a HUGE property, and in California, that means a multi millionaire lives there!.. the property taxes alone would be out of reach for most people!!..

 

[lilranch2001]

USPS is such a high quality entity because they are run by the gubberment!

BUT.....

All of my Amazon deliveries ship via UPS and they deliver to the local Post Office and then I get the little card to come pick up my package!

 

[radios1]

I had a UPS delivery from Florida to New York, a 100 pound steel Oxygen cylinder, about halfway here, I get a notice that there is a problem, IT EVAPORATED OUT OF THE BOX!!. and they wouldn't tell me WHY that happened!!.. they just contacted the store to make another delivery with a new route!.

 

[Sigarms]

I'm going to disagree with most of the posts. USPS has always delivered packages. UPS and FedEx keep changing drivers and we constantly have to call and give instructions that they may or may not follow.

I've had the same UPS driver for the last 5 years or more. To the point when I saw the driver in town at the gas station driving his UPS van, he addressed me by my last name and asked me how I was doing.

Fed ex at least in my area subs out to private contractors.

 

[MF RED in MT]

I've had the same UPS driver for the last 5 years or more. To the point when I saw the driver in town at the gas station driving his UPS van, he addressed me by my last name and asked me how I was doing.

Fed ex at least in my area subs out to private contractors.

I strongly agree, have had the same UPS driver for 10 years, knows me, the wife, the dog, and knows my vehicles, and also waves to me even when I pass him on the highway (going opposite directions) when I am over 50 miles away from home (as I am going to the nearest large city).

Fed Ex and USPS have had a lot of new faces over the last 10 years that has never lasted and always go someplace else to work.

KC

 

[deserteagle71]

WOW, it sounds like you are very rich!!. maybe ask your chauffeur to check your mail each day, then!!.. if I was that rich to have that much property, I'd certainly do that!!.. 2 miles to mailbox, means you have a HUGE property, and in California, that means a multi millionaire lives there!.. the property taxes alone would be out of reach for most people!!..

Living on Long Island, you don't have a clue as to how things are in more sparsely populated areas of the country.

I grew up on a farm in Pennsylvania and still go back there yearly to visit. In that part of Pennsylvania, every farm, every house, no matter how rural, has its own mailbox and the postman delivers to that mailbox.

Here in Nevada it is completely different. If you live outside city limits but in a semi-rural area still close to town, the Post Office will NOT deliver to individual addresses. Instead there are "banks" of mailboxes located every few miles and you pick your mail up there - or you can pay for a Post Office box and drive miles to town and pick it up there. I'm lucky in that I live within a half mile of a mailbox bank (which has about 50 mailboxes). Others of my neighbors have to drive at least a couple miles. Problem is, these mailboxes are really just slots about 2" high so no packages can be delivered into them. You'll get a card telling you that you have a package at the Post Office and you need to drive to town (only 11 miles for me) to pick it up. And by the way, whereas in Pennsylvania there was a town every few miles - in Nevada towns are 60 - 100 miles apart.

Those who live on ranches or farms 20+ miles from town have only one option. Get a box at the Post Office and pick up your mail there whenever you are in town.

This is RURAL America! If I leave my driveway and drive due south it will be 102.5 miles before I get to a paved road.

 

[oosik]

I always get an email telling who is bringing whatever to me and when it has been delivered. I've asked them all - USPS, UPS & FedEx - put the delivery in a plastic sack and attach to the outer gate. There are MANY times when it will be a week or more before I decide to plow my mile long gravel driveway.

 

[lilranch2001]

Actually I think there are a lot of east coasters who has no clue what it is like living off the coast, they live in their own little cocoon.....

At least a lot of the fly over population sees/experiences their (coccon people) world by traveling for business or pleasure, most of those in the cocoon never get more than a hundred or so miles inland.....

 

[5030]

All of them are good and bad. Been shipping USPS for years now with no delivery issues and I ship worldwide. Far as delivery here, we prefer UPS and Fed Ex because we always have the same drivers and both drivers always have a biscuit for our dog.

I ship firearms often and Fed-Ex is the only way to do that.

All have their good points and bad. Only really bad carrier is DHL. Dumb and Hoplessly Lost.

 

[TheMan419]

For us UPS is the clear winner. Our drive is only 100ft long or so. They come in the drive. Leave the package by the side door. One day it was a small envelope type package with just a small coax type connector in it. Dude was nice enough to grab a landscaping brick and weight the thing down so the wind did not blow it away.

We have an Amazon warehouse in town now. So we could in theory get same day delivery. Their delivery people are odd. They stay parked on the road and walk down the drive to deliver. Even though from the top of the drive you can see there is plenty of room to drive that truck in and turn around with zero issues.