Stress with Scanning at the Post Office

[cody111111]

Friends;

Obviously it is easy to fight with people, demand something of an employee because you know they have to do it, but really, why is this even set up this way for conflict?  So I posted before about trying to find a post office scan everynight the items you place in the lobby box and how I found a rural one that works most of the time. Still recently I have moved up to 2.9 % late and after so many eBay folks said I should be like the rest of the hard working sellers I should just get in line and get these scanned I have been doing this.  So here is Friday's conversation, almost word for word at the post office by my house, not the rural one I usually drive to because what would it matter I am getting in line should be easy.

Me:  Hi I'd like to scan in these 5 envelopes and get a receipt please. 

Postal Worker at the Desk;  "Ok but you see this has a tracking number and you have a receipt on your computer for this number right?  You could have just left this in the box in the lobby right?

Me:  Yes, but I still want to get a receipt for these scanned.  Thanks:"

Postal Worker at the Desk; "OK but I am telling you you are wasting your time getting in line.  These get scanned every night."

Me:  Yeah I understand that but really they actually don't get scanned every night all the time.  I am sorry but this has been my experience here.

Postal Worker at the Desk;  "Who do you think scans these every night?  That is me and now you are telling me I don't do my job?" (Quite angry and I am being overly polite now...)

Me:  Really I am so sorry but I just need these envelopes scanned.  I am so sorry I did not mean to offend.

So she scans 4 of the envelopes and comes to the international to England envelope.

Postal Worker at the Desk;  "Oh this is international, we don't scan international here."

My wife had the same experience with international when she tried.  So I took the international envelope, drove to the rural post office and they scanned it right away.  So I guess the answer is for me to get in line only at the rural post office where they usually scan every night but sometimes don't.  That of course is the magic formula.

But really, eBay my friends, you folks are crazy thinking this is easy to do consistently.  Of course if you enjoy college hazing by postal workers while you are being overly contrite and nice to fighting with postal workers maybe this is a great thing. 

[hollysfinds]

At my post office I just explained that as an ebay seller there are

certain standards that I have to meet.

One of those is getting an acceptance scan.

I told them that I don't care about the scan, but it's what I need to have

to ensure that those standards are met.

This way I'm not the bad guy 

[retrose1]

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@emerald40 wrote:

Yes, but if you lived in a big city do you think any of that cozying up would make a difference.

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I live in the second largest city in the state and in the 70s for size and yes, being nice and cozying up while you are in line does help.  My clerks know me, know what I sell, warn me of changes (I knew about the new rule about cookbooks before most of the people here did) and will go the extra mile if I come in and complain about a scamming ebay user.  Got a few booted from postal service.

So, yes it does make a difference.

OP, while scanning in packages is the clerks job, it may not be their job to do it when you want them to - after all, it makes no difference when it gets scanned in to them - you are the one that it is important to.  So if you don't like it, ship FedEx and show them or stop the reason it is important.

I never enter tracking onto the transaction unless I have to and I'm at about 8% and still an Above Average seller - not getting those scans will not harm you or your account.

[victorjunkman55]

I'm very lucky to have a nice PO nearby. Any person standing in line with a package has every right to an accepted scan and a receipt, if this were not important to you, you would not be standing  in line. I would speak to the postmaster at this PO about this worker. Good Luck to you.

[rolenboy01]

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@siayan wrote:

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@rolenboy01 wrote:

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@siayan wrote:

I spend $10,000 to $15,000 per year and they don't have time to scan my items. I call the manager and explain the situation in a loud voice so everyone can hear. And I tell the same story as above. 

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You do have a point most of us sellers here are spending a lot more money yearly on postage than these people standing in line yet they a lot of times seem to get treated BETTER it's ridiculous.

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They should tell the people who want a book of stamps they are too busy and to go to the machine in the lobby. They have to wait on this priority customer.

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I wish all locations had a stamp machine it would really cut down on the lines, the local post office used to have one but they do not anymore for some reason, they also need to make a stronger effort to make it known that stamps can be bought ELSEWHERE not just the post office.

[fern*wood]

I haven't gone inside a post office in years.  I use carrier pick-up and while my carrier refuses to scan for me too, thankfully they do get scanned by the end of the day when she drops them off--I think.   I don't check the tracking, so possibly a few just get delivered on time if they don't get the acceptance scan because my percentages have always been okay.

[mebuck1234]

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@jonathankirkland wrote:

Now the post office in my city has HORRIBLE reviews on Google... all kinds of complainst about nasty workers there, the fact they never answer their phone, just all kinds of stuff.

And something else I noticed, whenever I leave small packages (small enough to fit 3-4 of them in my mailbox) for the carrier from the post office in my city (the one with bad customer service complains), I notice it takes them usually TWO or THREE days to get these scanned!

To me that is completely unacceptable. I could understand if they weren't able to be scanned until the next day as our mail gets picked up late, but for it to go several days? I really do not understand it.

And just an FYI the reason I sometimes do not take them to the post office down the road is because I have health issues and if it's just 1 or 2 or even 3 small envelopes I sometimes cannot justify even the short trip up the road.

/rant mode off now 

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Sounds like the post office in Houston.  I had USPS pick up packages (priority) on Monday last week-didn't get acceptance scanned until Wenesday. 

[margarenisa_0]

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@emerald40 wrote:

Yes, but if you lived in a big city do you think any of that cozying up would make a difference.

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I live in a big city. Cozying up does work here too.

these people are union. They’re not going anywhere- so making friends and building relationships works out no matter where you live.

[siayan]

We had a postal supervisor here a while back and here is what he said.

1) All packages that have a barcode, require a scan at time of delivery, regardless of the location of delivery. This sounds like a lazy clerk problem.
2) If the carrier has a "Package Pickup Slip" for an address, they simply scan the barcode on the slip when they receive the packages. There is no need to scan the packages. If no slip is present, then yes the carrier must scan the package "Pre-Paid Acceptance".

and

Packages and/or package pickup slips SHOULD be scanned at the time and location of pickup. Failure to do so, is a failure of the carrier to follow protocol, OR a failure of management to fully train a new replacement sub in that aspect of his/her job.

When a new carrier begins work they go through a few weeks of training, which can overwhelming for many people... there are a lot of things to remember as a Post Man... if you see the carrier pickup from your home, you can always ask them to scan them in front of you.

But he also added

There is an often overlooked step you can take to increase your service. Get to know your mailman. What is their name? Strike up a conversation with them some time, be friendly... You may not see them that often, but when you do say hi, offer up a bottle of water in the heat. Those types of things go a long way to having them go the extra step for you. After you get to know them, casually mention your book business... Hopefully as a rural delivery you will have the same mailman for a long time.

[cynthealee2]

Are SCAN sheets no longer an option?

Since I rarely have more than 3 items at a time going out the door I've only created one, just to see how they were made. 

But isn't the point of the SCAN sheet so the PO worker only has to scan that one sheet of paper instead of each individual item?

[castlemagicmemories]

From your OP, I think you need to speak to the Postmaster of the PO that scans every night but sometimes doesn't, and address the lack of consistency and the attitude that you were treated to.  

Anytime you have an issue with the Post Office, ask to speak to the Post Master.  You can call if you prefer not to do this in person.

[siayan]

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@cynthealee2 wrote:

Are SCAN sheets no longer an option?

Since I rarely have more than 3 items at a time going out the door I've only created one, just to see how they were made. 

But isn't the point of the SCAN sheet so the PO worker only has to scan that one sheet of paper instead of each individual item?

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Scan sheets are an option but not a requirement.

[jennieaa]

Siayan,

Not every post office has a machine in the lobby to purchase stamps.  Nor does every post office have a bin for packages in the lobby.

[siayan]

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@jennieaa wrote:

Siayan,

Not every post office has a machine in the lobby to purchase stamps.  Nor does every post office have a bin for packages in the lobby.

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Not sure of the point but if they don't have a machine in the lobby tell them to go to the grocery store to get stamps. They need to wait on this priority customer.

My point is they would never do that yet they tell the big spending customer they can't scan their packages because they are too busy. The PO opens at a set time, The clerks get 3 breaks a day at set times and they close at a set time. Everyone gets waited on. It's Boooooooooooogus.

[baantiques]

I solved that problem by taking everything to the Pakmail.  The carrier scans everything when she picks it up.  In the last three months my only packages that didn't meet my 3 day handling were the ones from my two-week vacation.  I seldom have a late package.

I had a much bigger problem with the post office - someone there was targeting my packages and destroying them.  I hadn't had 5 lost packages in 19 years of Ebay selling, then I had 5 in one month. Four just disappeared, and one they sent back what was left - just the outside label and the packing list from inside.  Mrs antiques had already been taking them to the Pakmail and none of hers were missing, only the ones I took to the PO.  That experience cost me about $200 and a couple negatives.  It's not been a problem since I switched to the mailbox store.

[retrose1]

The minute the POs started selling stamps at convenience gas stations and grocery stores, the POs in our area pulled all the stamp machines out of the lobbies.  They used to have them, now they don't.  If they were there, it would cut the line down by at least a third every day.  I guess outsourcing their product and weaning people away from the counters is more important than convenience of their customers.

The main branch I use does not have a bin in the lobby, they have a dropbox that will accomodate the med FR boxes and that is about it for after hours, but they have a blank counter space you can drop off during counter hours.  And they recently cut the hours available to workers in the that branch by half after one of the long termers retired, and so now they are down to one employee for the counter most of the time - and that employee has to check in the drop offs, sort the incoming mail AND load the trucks when they come, whether there is a line waiting or not.  It now gets insanely busy between 4:30 and 5, the time I usually go, and the long time clerk there got fed up and is transferring to a different job and being replaced by part timers.

And the new system is scanning and weighing all packages as they travel along conveyer belts, they shouldn't have to scan when they come in.   Our POs started doing it to catch postal scammers that printed their shipping for 6 ox instead of 5 lbs, but now the machines are doing it.

The only reason sellers believe that they need a scan is because ebay has put fear in them and they are jumping through ebay's hoops of micromanagement.  They do not need it, ebay demands it and so they go and jump