Don't Trust The US Postal Service!

[TheFlash]

USPS has ticked me off to no end in the applcation process. Now, they just hit me with the anvil that broke that camel's back. A VERY important document that I sent out Monday by Priority Mail (2-3 days max delivery time) was supposed to reach a destination by Friday. I checked the online tracking service today, and according to that, the package has yet to reach the the post office in that city, much less be delievered. It's been five days already. Argh! Now I'm going to have to call the person I sent it to, re-copy all the enclosed documents, send the package again, and pray that they let me extend the deadline till next week.

Let this be a warning to all you prospective applicants for 2004-2005. Always follow up where and when USPS delivers your mail! It's always better to be safe than sorry.

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[Adapt]

Why don't you just send these things by regular mail? It probably may have gotten there already.

 

[Lochmoor]

Yeah, for important stuff that has to get somewhere fast, Fed Ex is the way to go. Just remember, they cannot deliver to a PO Box.

 

[TheFlash]

Originally posted by Slickness
Why don't you just send these things by regular mail? It probably may have gotten there already.

Yeah, it was my fault for trusting the post office's Priority Mail policy. I thought I'd be getting faster service, but in reality, my mail is probably sitting in the back of mail plane or a gutter in front of the post office right about now.

 

[Spitting Camel]

Plus, the 2-3 days is not guaranteed. They'll "try" to get it there by then.

But, yes, the USPS sucks for important mail. Fed-Ex/Airborne/UPS, etc is the way to go

Maybe when you contact the person, give them the tracking number to prove that you sent it. That way, you will be more convincing!

 

[TheFlash]

I'm sold on FedEx from here on out. Worrying about whether your package is going to make it to its final destination is something you shouldn't have to do after you've handed over your money.

 

[spaz]

i lost my faith in UPS: Next Day when they were unable to deliver my LORs to the correct address twice. the first time it took 5 days to reach a wrong destination, after several instances of "delivery rescheduled" or "left in a UPS facility, delivery delayed" and "package missed at destination location". the second time it took only 2 days but still ended up in the wrong city.

i called both the admissions office and my school's LOR service to verify the delivery address but never figured out what went wrong.

 

[TheFlash]

That's a terrible story, spaz. Hopefully stuff worked out with that school in the end.

 

[ad_sharp]

USPS sucks. You should have used Fed-Ex, but you might be able to call the school and see if you can fax a copy of the document to them. I try to do this whenever possible because I don't trust anybody. I hope that this works out for you. Good Luck.

 

[CalBeE]

Errors in delivery may have more to do with the post office in the origin city than the post office in the destination city (If it's delivered to the wrong place).

What cities do you guys live in? So far I've been sending EVERYTHING by USPS (First class, not priority) and I never had a problem, (at least I think)

 

[411]

just a quick note the OP:

i sent a lot of my materials USPS priority mail. about 1 in every 3 times, the online check of status woudl say that they hadnt been delivered, but without fail they had. a lot of times, they just forget to scan the delivery confirmation. call the person - i'd bet they have already received it.

everyone needs to chill out a little bit.

good luck

 

[Amy B]

Originally posted by TheFlash
Now I'm going to have to call the person I sent it to, re-copy all the enclosed documents, send the package again, and pray that they let me extend the deadline till next week.

It may be there but is just not showing up on the tracking site. I knew you could track an express mailing, but I didn't know you could track a priority letter. The things you learn on SDN!!

 

[TheFlash]

Calbee: The mail was going from Virginia to Chicago. Today I checked with the local post office from which I sent the package, and they confirmed that the package had gone through just fine.

411: I'm going to double-check on Monday whether the recipient got the mail or not. If not, I'll probably just fax my papers if they let me, as adsharp suggested. Thanks for the insight though. And don't worry, I'm plenty chilled out now.

AmyB: Yup, you can track Priority Mail too. sdn is the shiznit!