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artphotodude · ‎02-08-2022

Has anyone else had lost packages going to Portland, OR? A very expensive package was shipped last week and the last scan was the sorting center on the 3rd and there's nothing after that. Thank goodness for insurance! I wonder if sellers will eventually need to excluding states within the Continental US as there are getting to be more "Demilitarized" zones like Portland. Like who wants to ship to Detroit???!?!?

yuzuha · ‎02-08-2022

It's way too early to consider it "lost." Today is only the 8th... I've had packages sit at sorting centers for a week or more upon occasion if that sorting center is particularly backed up at that point in time. IIRC USPS itself doesn't consider a package lost until it's been three weeks without any movement whatsoever.

gurlcat · ‎02-08-2022

Here's something most people don't know but it's a doozy: You cannot assume that a package is stuck in the last location you see in tracking, in fact it is much more likely that it is stuck at the NEXT facility of the journey. Here is why: Facility employees' (especially supervisors') merit systems are based on how many packages they caused to be delivered 'late'. The longer a package sits at their facility, the more likely they will be cited as the weakest link, the one who caused it to deliver late, and the more of these citations they have, the less likely someone there gets a bonus or promotion or whatever. So they have an incentive NOT to scan a package IN, because then the clock starts counting down to how long it takes before they move it OUT. Like say you live in Houston, your package from Oregon could very well have been sitting in Las Angeles, Tuscon, who knows, but they won't scan it in until they're ready to also scan it out very quickly thereafter, making it look like they just got it and move it along swiftly.
Another problem with this incentive program is this: it's binary, that is, the demerit comes from being late PERIOD; doesn't matter HOW late. So what happens when a facility gets really clogged up (because people have called in sick, cars stuck in the snow, sorting machinery failures, etc.) then what they start doing is just setting aside packages that are already 'doomed' to be even one day late. --Why bother trying to rush them, when you could focus on the ones that still have hope of being on-time? And so that is why a package can just stay at a facility dayafterdayafterdayafterday. They WILL get to it, but not until they get caught up. The simple late vs. not-late binary destroys any chance of the way it should be, "first in, first out."
But I'm curious what you meant about 'demilitarized zones". ????

artphotodude · ‎02-08-2022

I just heard back from the USPS Station. The package arrived EMPTY to them from the sorting center. It was double-bagged securely and only traveled 800 miles. Portland IS TOXIC. Thank goodness for insurance.

artphotodude · ‎02-08-2022

This isn't true. I've worked at a USPS P&DC (4 years), and no first class package should EVER take 3 days to get to the station from a sorting center in the same city. Even at Christmas this doesn't happen.

It might get stuck at the station, but sorting center just don't have these things happen unless the building has a hazmat alert.

artphotodude · ‎02-08-2022

You are right about that - BUT 3 days is a really long time to be sitting at the station. This is like Labor-strike. No station has the room to hold 3 days worth of packages. Try working for the Post Office sometime and see how you view this.

artphotodude · ‎02-08-2022

"But I'm curious what you meant about 'demilitarized zones". ???? " - gurlcat

Portland is now a total chaos zone (think Somalia).

gurlcat · ‎02-08-2022

@artphotodude wrote:
"But I'm curious what you meant about 'demilitarized zones". ???? " - gurlcat
Portland is now a total chaos zone (think Somalia).

LOL, you must have a very distorted view of both Portland (which is fine) and Somalia (which is a war zone). And whatever you think Portland is, it would have no bearing on the postal service.

gurlcat · ‎02-08-2022

You SERIOUSLY think 3 days without a scan is a long time? Regardless of where you've worked, lots of these sorting centers hold onto packages for literally WEEKS. Happens all the time, how do you not know that unless you are new to this Community?
There is no labor strike. If there was it would be all over national media, come on man.

yuzuha · ‎02-08-2022

@artphotodude wrote:
This isn't true. I've worked at a USPS P&DC (4 years), and no first class package should EVER take 3 days to get to the station from a sorting center in the same city. Even at Christmas this doesn't happen.
It might get stuck at the station, but sorting center just don't have these things happen unless the building has a hazmat alert.

I can assure you that I've had it happen on more than one occasion.

gurlcat · ‎02-08-2022

Got a screenshot of that message from "the USPS Station"?
Portland is awesome. 😉

yuzuha · ‎02-08-2022

In fact, here is a screenshot of the tracking fonr one I mailed just last week that spent two days at its destination sort facility before finally leaving:

gurlcat · ‎02-08-2022

LOL, if Portand is a 'war zone' then I wonder what Mobile is. Look at all these babies.

But here's how you know they are NOT actually just sitting at the Mobile Distribution center. Here are two packages that traveled together from my house to the Distribution center and arrived at the exact same time, 9:14. But note how the second one got a scan in Massechusettes just seven hours later. That is because the MA facility was WILING AND ABLE to scan it when it actually arrived. It would make no sense for Mobile to ship out that package but not the other one. I guarantee, all these are NOT in Mobile, they are wherever the next facility would be in their journeys. I'm not worried about it, staying in touch with my people and keeping them calm. There was just a rash of horrible snowstorms all over the country the past several days, that's the "war zone."

redmodelt · ‎02-08-2022

Portland IS TOXIC! Great, the more people that think that, will be less of them moving here! LOL

777oregonpilots · ‎04-30-2024

I have had packages sent to Puerto Rico. Yep. Sitting there for two weeks. The post office has major problems shipping to the lower states like Hawaii, Alaska, Texas, etc. Contact your state senators and file a complaint with both of your state senators.