Why did my Priority Mail package going from MA to CT went through San Diego, CA?

[billythekid16]

One my recent Priority Mail packages took an odd trip cross-country.  Going from Massachusetts to my buyer in Connecticut should have been super-quick like one day.

But this was the tracking...

Sat, Feb 10
2:09pm
Delivered, In/At Mailbox
NORTH HAVEN, CT 06473

Sat, Feb 10
6:33am
Out for Delivery, Expected Delivery by 3:10pm
NORTH HAVEN, CT 06473

Sat, Feb 10
6:22am
Arrived at Post Office
NORTH HAVEN, CT 06473

Sat, Feb 10

5:55am
Departed USPS Regional Facility
SOUTHERN CT DISTRIBUTION CENTER

Sat, Feb 10
2:39am
DEPARTED USPS REGIONAL FACILITY
SPRINGFIELD MA NETWORK DISTRIBU, 01153

Sat, Feb 10
12:31am
Arrived at USPS Regional Facility
SPRINGFIELD MA NETWORK DISTRIBUTION CENTER

Fri, Feb 9
12:00am
In Transit to Next Facility

Thu, Feb 8
9:11pm
PROCESSED THROUGH USPS FACILITY
SAN DIEGO CA DISTRIBUTION CENTE, 92199

Thu, Feb 8

7:48pm
Arrived at USPS Regional Facility
SAN DIEGO CA DISTRIBUTION CENTER

Thu, Feb 8

12:00am
In Transit to Next Facility, Arriving Late

Wed, Feb 7

12:00am
In Transit to Next Facility, Arriving Late

Mon, Feb 5

7:47pm
PROCESSED THROUGH USPS FACILITY
BOSTON MA DISTRIBUTION CENTER, 02205

Mon, Feb 5

6:32pm
ORIGIN ACCEPTANCE
BROOKLINE, MA 02445

Why did the package take a cross-country trip and back from San Diego, California?  Was this a fluke, as in it was taken there by mistake and the post office corrected the error by quickly returning it back to the Northeast?  I did find the February 7th and 8th logs ("In Transit to Next Facility, Arriving Late") peculiar.

Anyone else had a similar experience recently?

[nobody*s_perfect]

Those "peculiar" notices about in transit, arriving late are actually the least peculiar thing, since those are the standard comment that USPS inserts when 24 hours have passed since the previous scan.

It looks like your package just got sorted into the wrong bin, headed to CA rather than to CT or Springfield, but then got turned around quickly once it reached the sorting center in San Diego.

[simba6]

They do route packages through less busy centers at times.   And then packages do get tossed into the wrong sorting bins at times.   Yours is not uncommon to happen.    Some times a package will " bounce " back and fourth a few times before going on it's way.

[nobody*s_perfect]

In this case, the sorting centers in Boston and Springfield are literally 100 miles apart, hence my vote for "wrong bin".

[stainlessenginecovers]

@billythekid16  Because Connecticut and California both start with a 'C'.

You don't REALLY expect the people that work at USPS to know anything beyond the first letter, do you?  

j/k

[1786davycrockett]

@billythekid16 

A recent buyer from Colorado asked me why the package I had shipped from Minnesota had detoured to Houston, TX.  

After a weekend vacation in Houston, it arrived safely in Colorado the following Tuesday.

Guess it was trying to rack up some "frequent flier" miles.

[carlmarxx]

I expect the USPS employee's to be trained  and  know the DM book.  I also want the employee's to work both ends of the sorting  mail machines  to catch the parcels and mail  being sent  to wrong  carts  ,so they aren't missed sent  to the wrong P.O.'s   

[carlmarxx]

Well  that bounce  around parcels is do to lazy and poor employee  training.

[carlmarxx]

What has happen to  your package isn't  new .   it is all do to Dejoy's  damaged to the USPS .

[714ricki]

The parcel was mis-sorted & put in the incorrect container and sent on an aircraft to southern California in error. It's a rare scenario. However, it does happen occasionally amongst the volume that all the couriers move on a daily basis.

[carlmarxx]

USPS has been   mis-sorted  a lot  more now!     before    Diaper  Madeiran  Orange  45  and now after  45  put  Dejoys   in  to  run the USPS into the ground .      The USPS doesn't have employee's to catch wrong  Parcels and mail sent to the wrong containers.  

[buzzapparel]

It’s been an ongoing issue with Priority Mail lately. 

[tobaccocardyahoo]

My shipments usually go through Nashua or Manchester.

I have had several which routed to Boston recently, and entered a black hole for a week or more.

I suspect that someone made some physical changes which made misrouting likely or there was industrial sabotage - not every postal worker is pleased with the efficiency and productivity changes.

[deltilogical]

"A recent buyer from Colorado asked me why the package I had shipped from Minnesota had detoured to Houston, TX." 

Like you had any idea why!  

I agree this is a missort, it is going to happen to even to the best of us, tossing 1000's of packages into bins.  Those back room efforts can't be easy jobs. 

The travel delays where the package goes in a loop that can go into weeks seem to be from q-code errors and is not USPS fault. 

[pf9000]

The package was flagged and sent to the San Diego Distribution Center for inspection.