US Post Office Going Bust

Once again, I need to post on how poorly the U. S. Postal Service has become in delivery of the mail. There are pluses and minuses in this, so hang in there for a few moments while I explain:

1. I have no problem with the cost of a First Class stamp. To send a letter across the country for 46 cents is a bargain in my book. Even if the price increases just about every year, it's still a bargain. Of course, many now use e-mail since we can be more likely to know it actually reaches the other party than we can by regular mail. And it takes seconds instead of two or three or sometimes 5 days.

2. The postal service does a splendid job in getting all those junk mailers to your mailbox on time. You know, those crappy newspaper-like pieces of junk that you either have to trash or recycle. The bulk mailers dream because they get reduced rates while your postage stamp keeps rising in cost. The postal service says bulk mailers keep them in business. So, if that's true, and most of us dislike the seemingly tons of crap mail we get monthly, maybe this dissolution issue isn't that bad after all.

3. The costs keep rising on Priority Mail packages, yet I get more misdirected packages than ever. Recently, I have had packages make it all the way across the United States to California, only to end up being sent to cities east of where they should have gone, when the address is clear on the package. That's incompetent #1. I know the routes are sorted by Incompetent #2 at the next post office but really, the mail person who puts it on the truck for delivery can't read and see it's the wrong city, so they carry it around all day? That's Incompetent #3. Then, they simply show no delivery update late at night, no transfer to the right post office by the next morning, nothing. So who knows where the package is now! When will the package arrive? Who knows. A day late, two days? Good question.

4. Example: Package shipped from Santa Ana to San Diego. Gets sent from Santa Ana to another post office north of there and then to Santa Clarita. Goes through Santa Clarita apparently twice and finally comes back south after two additional days. This should have been a one day shipment that took four days. More incompetence, but the Postal Service can blame it on either automated handling or incompetence. Guess which one they will choose?

5. I shipped a large envelope to New Hampshire and it went round and round at the same post office, coming up on the tracking system for 5 days as processed and then processed again and again. Finally after several phone calls (The offices neatly hide their numbers so you have to call an 800 number to be placed in touch) they were able to release it from its' carousel prison and the recipient got it over a week late. Great service.

6. When our usual carrier, who is excellent, is not on duty, the route is split among a group of other carriers to handle. Thus outgoing packages sit in the heat for ten hours awaiting pickup, since it seems the team of 6 extra carriers can't do what one carrier usually does, pick up by noon every day. Add some extra work to their schedule and the whole system breaks down, mail is picked up at least 6 hours later than usual. I wonder what the Easter candy looks like after that extra heat soak?

7. There are commercials on television sponsored by the National Letter Carriers about not letting the Postal Service stop Saturday delivery. A bit self-serving, don't you think? Same with businesses. Maybe if there was some efficiency in mail services and delivery, the Postal Service wouldn't be in the shape it is? Maybe if they didn't piss off those who ship regularly with them, and make us want to ship with another source, they could also improve their revenue stream?

8. The Postal Service whines about going bankrupt. Just like the automakers did, they want a bailout. But, don't expect any bailout of the Postal Service to ever be paid back. Because it will always be a losing proposition. The USPS couldn't possibly raise rates enough to keep themselves afloat, as businesses will continue to turn to lower cost shippers such as FedEx and UPS, among others. Businesses whine over possible lack of 6 day delivery but they could do fine in most cases with four days. Let them pay for special services such as 5 or 6 day delivery. Cut residential delivery to 3 days a week. Billions could be saved right there with little inconvenience to consumers.We don't need junk mail and magazines daily and most people now do their banking on line. Federal checks now require direct deposit, so no whining from federal benefits recipients about their checks being late either.

9. Rates charged are exorbitant for larger packages, forcing loyal customers to other services for many shipments. As an example, I shipped three boxes to Pennsylvania and Oklahoma and compared rates for three day delivery between my home ZIP code for USPS, FedEx and USPS for each piece. For three day service to Oklahoma, the USPS wanted $47.29 for one 12 lb box and FedEx charged $22.00. The second package the USPS wanted $28.84 Parcel Post, FedEx Ground shipped for $10.00. The third box, USPS wanted $20.20 Parcel Post and FedEx Ground shipped for $10.23. Less than half the price and arrived on time. Why pay over $50 more for USPS service?

I support the USPS and have for years. But it's growing tiresome having shipments misrouted and the same old lame excuses. The local post office apologizes but they usually are the scapegoat for a much bigger problem. Incompetency all along the line. Failure to force workers to perform. Those that do good work seem to be vilified and those that don't slide their way to a nice retirement.

I worked for the postal service 50 years ago. It was a wasteful service back then and I can only imagine how much that wastefulness has multiplied over all these years. If it is even anything like it was back then, no bailout will help, this year or any other. They are driving a vehicle that is far overdue for the crusher and the unions, I would guess, are driving it into the jaws of the shredder at breakneck speed. Unlike the automakers, the postal service has little new to offer or sell, no new glitzy models, no new speeds to thrill, not even a new found competence to razzle dazzle the old customers. Just the same old promise to deliver in rain, sleet, maybe in snow, and if the carrier can find the right house, or if the mail isn't misdirected. Quasi-governmental never works.  

Just as a point...here;'s a recent timeline of mishandling.....

	Priority Mail®	Delivery status not updated	March 27, 2013, 10:49 pm		Expected Delivery By: March 27, 2013 USPS Tracking / Delivery Confirmation™
			Out for Delivery	March 27, 2013, 8:49 am	EL CAJON, CA 92020
			Sorting Complete	March 27, 2013, 8:39 am	EL CAJON, CA 92020
			Arrival at Post Office	March 27, 2013, 5:26 am	EL CAJON, CA 92020
			Depart USPS Sort Facility	March 27, 2013	SAN DIEGO, CA 92199
			Processed through USPS Sort Facility	March 27, 2013, 12:31 am	SAN DIEGO, CA 92199
			Depart USPS Sort Facility	March 26, 2013	OPA LOCKA, FL 33054
			Processed at USPS Origin Sort Facility	March 26, 2013, 3:32 am	OPA LOCKA, FL 33054
			Dispatched to Sort Facility	March 25, 2013, 6:22 pm	MIAMI, FL 33193
			Acceptance	March 25, 2013, 1:27 pm	MIAMI, FL 33193
			Electronic Shipping Info Received

  Shipper busts his butt to get it out on time and then...it gets misrouted.  Nothing like time sensitive service. Not from the USPS.

BMW and the Low Voltage Saga

I've probably bought more cars in my lifetime than most people. Not bragging by any means, just the truth. I love cars, and change vehicles pretty often. Couple that with driving new police vehicles all the time, company cars and having a pretty free say in what I want to drive as a personal vehicle (as long as the payments don't kill me) it's been a ride with way over half a hundred or so vehicles in the garage since age 17.

Some have been pretty hot cars, like the Dodge Challenger Hemi, the 1966 and 2005 GTO's, Mustang Mach 1 the 69 RoadRunner, 92 Corvette, and others I can't remember. Oh yeah, the 59 Studebaker with the supercharged engine from a 63 Avanti. Plus a host of others. The point being, I am a motor head and know a bit about cars, buying, repairing and selling. And racing too.

Today's vehicles are sophisticated and unlike the iron of old, more difficult to work on. No longer controlled by a coil and distributor or a magneto and distributor combo, the plethora of computer based modules makes your head spin. And let one go out of whack and you have a dead vehicle; one that many times begs only to be repaired by a high priced dealer mechanic with tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of tools. Even that doesn't help when the dealers themselves only can tell you a tale of woe...

Two recent vehicle purchases were high line BMW's, 535imodels, one a 2011 535xiGT all wheel drive and the other a 2010 535iGT rear wheel drive. Each of them beautiful cars in their own right, but plagued with electrical gremlins that couldn't be solved by the dealers. The batteries drain faster than they can be recharged by the vehicles. If you don't drive enough daily, the batteries go dead. And before they do, the vehicles start reacting in all sorts of strange ways, such as the light control modules failing, meaning your directional signals (one or more) fail and your adaptive headlights fail along with their vertical aiming. You will be advised the vehicle will "not restart if stopped", that "the battery in your key fob is dead", "the key fob is not in the vehicle", that "the differential in your xDrive vehicle has failed and must be taken to the dealer immediately", and "the vehicle is overheating" on a cold day when it's been driven only a few miles and the engine temperature gauge says it's still cold. And that's only the beginning of the electronic repertoire the computer may have in store for you on some lonely road in the middle of nowhere..

BMW will take your car for three days and charge your battery for 8 hours numerous times but not replace the battery, since their service protocol is not to replace the battery unless it's truly dead. They will simply say it's "low voltage" and send you on your way, only to have the same problems shortly after. Then they take your car for three days again and do the same dance as their equipment finds nothing wrong but the same low voltage condition.

In exasperation, I sold my 2011 BMW simply because the dealers could not fix the problems permanently. Almost a $70,000 car that was so over-engineered that their solution is to plug in a battery charger at night to keep the battery charged.

On the 2010, I had to do my own diagnostics to find something was draining the battery faster than it could be charged while it was running. It was at the dealers for three days and after being given (finally after much discussion) a new battery, the vehicle malfunctioned 15 minutes away from the dealership en route home. We received a battery charger and I discovered it would not accept a full charge (new battery, remember?) it was not remaining charged and that when started, the vehicle was draining faster than charging. Upon returning to the dealer they kept it for two and a half days more to find the light control module had failed but had o order one in. Again, the advice: Use a battery charger when the vehicle is not in use. Search the Internet for hundreds f the same stories on the BMW forums and BMW won't fix the basic problem.

IF I WANTED A FREAKIN' ELECTRIC CAR WITH A CHARGING CORD

 I WOULD HAVE BOUGHT ONE!  

 

Two days after we got the BMW back, we turned it in on a Land Rover. Not that we don't expect to have some issues down the road with any car, but electrical issues is not one we've heard plaque the Land Rover. Actually, we bought two, so I'll write a blog entry on how they stack up against the BMW's. Hey, if you have to make payments, you ought to at least be able to drive the vehicle, right? 

More Offshore Call Centers!

OMG! and WTF? Your credit information by the big three credit reporting companies is being handled offshore?

Folks, I just had an experience where I had to call both TransUnion and Experian for information regarding my accounts. In both cases I was connected to an offshore call center in either India or the Philippines where the people spoke poor English and were either barely able to assist me or totally unable to understand and assist me at all.

In one case, the woman was able to assist me after some time elapsed. It was nerve wracking to realize that she had the details of my entire life in front of her and she was not even located in the USA.

In the second case, the man on the phone was totally useless. I clearly explained several times I needed assistance at the time of the call and all he could do was tell me to put my request in writing and sent it to Experian. His ability to explain why he could not assist me was overshadowed by his inability to comprehend why I needed his assistance in the first place. Broken English and a poor attitude. And this idiot has control over my most important information? Yet some cretin credit card company wanting to send you junk mail for a pre-approved card can request it and get it easily because they simply pay a fee. Really nice. And they don't even have to talk to these dimwits!

So, if you think your credit information is safe and locked up somewhere, don't feel so secure. Because somewhere overseas, some idiot has access to every bit of it. And with the push of a computer key can screw your life up, all because the credit reporting company that is so "trusted" by hundreds of millions of people, are such cheap bastards that they have to use offshore labor instead of employing Americans in need of jobs.

And you wonder why we're slowly sinking down the tubes? Oh yeah, that goes along with "Press 1 for English"!

Tired of Sales Calls? AARP Sells Your Phone Number!

That retirees organization that so many retirees are now finding out is so far left winged that it can't fly straight has hit upon yet another way to screw the aging populace. It's selling your information.

Yes, you read that right, the AARP is selling your name, address and phone number to vendors of items that fit in with senior mobility and health care. How do I know this? Because today, I received a call from a walk-in bathtub company trying to sell me their products.

When I told the representative I was on a no-call list and they had no right to be calling me, and explained the fine they were incurring by doing so, and that I also have a phone trap that does collect their number, she panicked and called a supervisor to the phone.

The supervisor apologized profusely and promised to take me off their lists, etc. When I demanded to know how they obtained not only my number but my name, she stammered that they were calling on behalf of ...the AARP! And they were simply offering safety and mobility assistance to people who fall into certain age groups. She couldn't tell me what age group or demographics thet were, but I was really angry to think once again, the AARP is screwing seniors to make a buck off their backs.

Wake up, seniors. The AARP is not a helping organization. They want money and power but are not using it to help you! They line their pockets with money from endorsements of various types of insurance and advertising and now they're selling your information, or giving it away and getting paid a royalty on sales. Either way it should be criminal to do so.

Don't trust the AARP. They want to give you the warm fuzzies, but so would peeing in a dark blue wool suit. Quickly it cools off and you feel very uncomfortable. My relationship with the AARP has long cooled off and I don't even have a blue suit!

Check out the Alliance for Retired Americans http://www.retiredamericans.org/

and the Association for Mature American Citizens http://amac.us/

as alternatives to AARP.

AARP is a BILLION dollar company. Interesting that their expenses almost replicate their revenue. Hmm..pretty big executive paychecks out there...

From Guidestar:
Annual Revenue & Expenses

Fiscal Year Starting: Jan 01, 2011
Fiscal Year Ending: Dec 31, 2011

Revenue

Total Revenue	$1,224,437,632

Expenses

Total Expenses	$1,165,244,846