My most recent package from the USPS took a most circuitous route. It was sent on July 30, 2022, at 9:51 am from a location on the Vermont/New Hampshire border. It left that day at 3:59 pm.
July 31, 2022, 11:30 pm
Arrived at USPS Regional Origin Facility
JERSEY CITY NJ NETWORK DISTRIBUTION CENTER
OK, that’s weird, but it’s close to NYC…
August 2, 2022, 12:20 am
Arrived at USPS Regional Facility
WASHINGTON DC NETWORK DISTRIBUTION CENTER
Wait, what? No, this is heading south, AWAY from me.
August 2, 2022, 2:14 pm
Arrived at USPS Regional Facility
GREENSBORO NC NETWORK DISTRIBUTION CENTER
It’s supposed to come to Green, not go to Greensboro!
August 2, 2022, 8:29 pm
Departed USPS Regional Facility
GREENSBORO NC NETWORK DISTRIBUTION CENTER
August 4, 2022, 12:41 pm
Arrived at USPS Regional Facility
SPRINGFIELD MA NETWORK DISTRIBUTION CENTER
This is where it SHOULD have gone initially, less than two hours south on I-91 from the origin.
August 4, 2022, 8:16 pm
Departed USPS Regional Facility
SPRINGFIELD MA NETWORK DISTRIBUTION CENTER
August 4, 2022, 11:22 pm
Arrived at USPS Regional Facility
ALBANY NY DISTRIBUTION CENTER
August 5, 2022, 5:46 pm
Departed USPS Regional Destination Facility
ALBANY NY DISTRIBUTION CENTER
August 6, 2022, 5:57 pm
Delivered, In/At Mailbox
ALBANY, NY
The original arrival date was August 2, which would have been easily met if the package had gone to SPRINGFIELD, MA, in the first place.
No joy
I’ve complained about the tenure of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy. His orders slowed mail service in the run-up to the 2020 election and into the holiday season.
DeJoy recently announced at a conservative think tank event that he wants to eliminate 50,000 jobs. He’s still under investigation for campaign finance violations and conflicts of interest. And resists the transition to electric vehicles.
Anecdotally, I know that many are still suffering delays in deliveries. One person in my county noted it took two weeks to get an absentee ballot. In Albany, post offices have closed, making some of the others more crowded.
My daily mail is surprisingly reliable, this package debacle notwithstanding. I check daily on the Informed Delivery® by USPS®.
“Digitally preview your mail and manage your packages scheduled to arrive soon! Informed Delivery allows you to view greyscale images of the exterior, address side of letter-sized mailpieces and track packages in one convenient location.”*
* Images are only provided for letter-sized mailpieces that are processed through USPS’ automated equipment
What is your postal experience?
I see I’m not the only one, who like’s to track their packages, though it can be frustrating at times.
I had a series of packages leave the Boston area and literally drive right past me to Syracuse, before being shipped back to Albany. I live in Guilderland and would have been happy to catch the package as they tossed it out of the back of the truck as it went under the Western Ave overpass.
Informed Delivery is great. I’ll go day’s without opening my mailbox, because I know it will be just junk mail.
I’ve been a huge fan of the USPS for years, and I have high hopes for the service now that Congress has removed that insane thing where the service was required to pre-fund pensions for 75 years of employees (thus guaranteeing that the service would remain a money hole). But getting rid of DeJoy and getting a Postmaster General who actually want to run the USPS and not just hobble it so private parcel delivery companies can prosper in its absence is absolutely paramount. I haven’t had any bad experiences lately that were the USPS’s fault, but it IS weird how you can notice the artificially-slowed routes thanks to online tracking, isn’t it?