US Post Office is about WORTHLESS. When will they go out of business! (credit card, kiosk)
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I used the US Post Office on a regular basis to mail packages to folks from odds and ends we put on ebay so I am pretty familiar with how rude and unhelpful the average post office employee is but this week has just reaffirmed my opinion of the USPS. I just opened an online UPS account because I will never use the US Postal Service for shipping anything.
Jan 19th I use the self service kiosk in the lobby because there is a line out the door at the post office and only 1 customer service person. I proceed to mail a package that is a deffective circuit board to a company in San Diego. I follow up with the company today and they tell me they have never recieved the package. I proceed to look for my reciept and for the life of me cant find it. I go to the post office with a copy of the charge on my credit card to see if they can research it in thier system. They tell me the only way you can research anything is with a tracking number. I ask if they can research by sender zip code to recipient zip code ( like UPS and FED EX can do )...NOPE. I ask if they can pull up a copy of the reciept with the credit card transaction number....NOPE! I am told the only way USPS can do any kind of research is by tracking number! WTF??? This is 2010 there has to be a better way.
So with that I called my credit card company and they told me if I dispute it the merchant has to provide a copy of the orginal reciept. That original reciept has all the tracking info that they cant live without. I bet they will be able to miraculously find the recipet hwn they get hit with a dispute.
Mind you I have tried every single phone number I can get to call and try to get help. I've not been rude or angry and even after not getting any help I have said thank you and so forth but the USPS is so back aszward it's not even funny. Thier customer service is horrible and this is another reason why they fall deeper into the red every year!
Yeah, it's still using the post office, but you don't have to wait in line and you can have tracking (delivery confirmation, anyway) added to just about anything. I mail things out almost daily and I haven't spoken to a USPS employee in years.
Despite it's problems, the postal service is still the best deal going, by far. You're subsidizing it with your tax dollars anyway, so why not use it?
follow up with the company today and they tell me they have never recieved the package.
The fact that the USPS doesn't provide the same level of tracking services as UPS and FedEx isn't really new news. That's why most places suggest not to use them for packages you have to be able to prove were delivered. The problem isn't always (and fact may not usually be) with USPS, but rather with the company receiving the package. "We never received it" is a familiar line, and usually one can counter it with the proof of delivery from UPS or FedEx. I wouldn't be so quick to lay all the blame here on the Post Office.
When a local company thats does courier service and doesnt have 1/10th of the resorces as USPS can use 6 different ways to track a package I see a HUGE problem.
So with that I called my credit card company and they told me if I dispute it the merchant has to provide a copy of the orginal reciept. That original reciept has all the tracking info that they cant live without. I bet they will be able to miraculously find the recipet hwn they get hit with a dispute.
It's fairly standard practice in most businesses to not store transaction information by credit card number. Most questions involving credit card transactions have to start at the bank or credit card company, not with the retailer. I used to be the person at our business that had to research and find the physical receipts for disputed transactions. It can be a daunting task, and pretty nearly impossible without the information that is sent to us by the cc company. Your cc statement provides absolutely no relevant information and is worthless in trying to track down your original receipt.
I'm not surprised that for profit businesses have better equipment and service than the USPS either, after all if they aren't better they don't stay in business.
If you are so down on the USPS why were you using them to begin with? Were they cheaper, more convenient, what?
It's fairly standard practice in most businesses to not store transaction information by credit card number. Most questions involving credit card transactions have to start at the bank or credit card company, not with the retailer. I used to be the person at our business that had to research and find the physical receipts for disputed transactions. It can be a daunting task, and pretty nearly impossible without the information that is sent to us by the cc company. Your cc statement provides absolutely no relevant information and is worthless in trying to track down your original receipt.
I'm not surprised that for profit businesses have better equipment and service than the USPS either, after all if they aren't better they don't stay in business.
If you are so down on the USPS why were you using them to begin with? Were they cheaper, more convenient, what?
As a former military member I am a huge believer of doing everything I can to support other federal employee's as much as I can, but the USPS has gotten to be a more trouble than they are worth to deal with.
When a local company thats does courier service and doesnt have 1/10th of the resorces as USPS can use 6 different ways to track a package I see a HUGE problem.
Those companies also have rates that are multiples of what the USPS charges. You get what you pay for - if you want tracking, you have to pay for tracking. If you want a cheap way to get something from point A to point B, the USPS is the way to go.
Did you ask for Delivery Confirmation when you mailed your package? No? What can I say... If you're not willing to shell out a few cents for that, then...
Quote:
Originally Posted by DubbleT
It's fairly standard practice in most businesses to not store transaction information by credit card number.
Storing credit card numbers requires an entirely different level of PCI compliance, including annual audits by a 3rd party and very high security protocols on the company's physical and electronic infrastructure. Very few businesses are willing to lay out the cash required for all that, and I don't blame them.
Those companies also have rates that are multiples of what the USPS charges. You get what you pay for - if you want tracking, you have to pay for tracking. If you want a cheap way to get something from point A to point B, the USPS is the way to go.
Did you ask for Delivery Confirmation when you mailed your package? No? What can I say... If you're not willing to shell out a few cents for that, then...
I paid for delivery confirmation and insurance. I am not afraid to pay more for good service. My point is that is you misplace the reciept with your info on it they have NO WAY to help a customer... thats **** poor.
I paid for delivery confirmation and insurance. I am not afraid to pay more for good service. My point is that is you misplace the reciept with your info on it they have NO WAY to help a customer... thats **** poor.
So you lost your tracking info and it's their fault.
Ok.
BTW, if you use any of the electronic postage solutions, all that info is available whenever you want it with the click of a mouse...
Sorry, but I don't have any sympathy for you. Your attitude is that the post office is to blame for you losing your receipt - something you knew you needed to keep. Do you also blame the auto manufacturer when you lose your car keys?
It sucks that either your package got lost or the recipient is trying to scam you, but if you'd just done what you were supposed to do and hold onto your shipping receipts, you wouldn't be in this spot. It's not fair to blame the post office for your own lack of organization.
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