Engineers Union?

[Chris Trask]

On Thu, 31 Jul 1997, George Huston wrote:

>
> In the interest of fairness to all sides, my experience with USPS has
> been consistently poor. Same package from Minnesota to Texas cost $2 more
> via USPS than UPS, and USPS doesn't have tracking numbers. On top of
> that, the postal employee consistently acts like he is being bothered
> that you would actually bring in a package for USPS to mail. Same problem
> when I buy stamps at the post office. They almost throw the change at you
> and never thank you for their business. I wish UPS was in the mail
> handling business. I bet the rates would drop over time and service
> would improve. I could also tell the story about the carrier that
> couldn't ever seem to remember to close the lid on the street-side
> mailbox......
>
        I have my own horror stories as well, like the USPS station that
tried, all the way up ro a supervisor, to convince me that 4th class
book rate had been eliminated entirely, and that all of my books had to be
shipped 3rd class (parcel post).  Craveat Emptor.

        I went to another station, near the university, and they knew all
about book rates, both domestic and international.  It's the individuals,
not the institution, at fault here.  For small packages, the USPS rates
are still better than UPS.  I always call their 800 numbers before leaving
the house to get the best rate.  And I keep a copy of the USPS rates
handy.

        I also have worse horror stories about UPS, like the time they
lost a package of lathe arbors and insisted that they were in the shrubs
outside my door (Oh, I get it:  I'm supposed to play stupid, as though I
don't know to look myself.  DUH!).  I told the supervisor to go look for
himself while I sat on the lobby floor reading a book.  An hour later he
returned, and wrote out a "lost" slip himself, mumbling about "radical
customers."

        I gotta go.

                                          Regards,

                                          Chris

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