Can anyone explain the routing system that the postal service uses? I was sent a book by David Doyle from Memphis, TN. I live in western IL… So far the book has gone to Tulsa, OK, and Dallas, TX. It was shown to be delivered today, but is lost in the postal wasteland. No wonder the postal rates are out of control. OK,done with my rant. Wayne
Disclaimer: I have no idea how the USPS system works, but I kind of understand the Canadian system so I could explain that and maybe it’ll help.
Canada Post has a number of major distribution centers around the country (Montreal, Mississauga, Calgary, etc) which international mail is routed to from other countries. In addition to this, these centers have the vast majority of domestic mail routed through them. From there, the mail is routed to smaller, regional distribution centers (IE Quebec City, Oshawa), which basically do the same things as the major distribution centers, but on a much smaller scale. From there, mail is routed to individual post offices, and further to mail boxes.
All this involves moving huge amounts of mail, and the math says that some packages, especially if they’re small and not expedited by a service like Amazon, are going to be misrepresented in the chain. It’s happened to me many times before, packages bounce around distribution centers that are ridiculously far away for no reason, if you want to straighten things out usually if you file a complaint that lights a fire under the postal service to find the package.
There is no answer. I had an item tell me it was out for delivery…
…in the city 38 miles east of where I live.
wut?
Why would they try to deliver it to an address not found in their location?
They have sated themselves on so much power they have finally become drunk on it, and we are the unlucky ones who were appointed the designated drivers without our consent and will have to clean up the mess.
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A peak into the USPS Mail Carrier training facility…
Fedex dropped a box off for me a few years back.
They left it in the middle of my front yard with a big hole torn in the side. Fortunately the kit boxes inside were still too big to fall out and whatever tore the hole didn’t impact the kits either. But F Fedex. That was the second of three times they shafted me. Three strikes; they’re out of my delivery needs options.
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USPS HAS a system??? I have a bridge in NYC for sale . Interested??? I live in Reno, Nv. Had a package coming from near South Lake Tahoe… maybe 50 miles as the raven flies. After sitting at the PO there for 3-4 days they sent it to Orange County, then to San Francisco, to Sacramento, to Reno. About 1500 miles. Another coming from San Diego area. 2 days to Reno … good. It hit the Reno regional center then the untrained apes sent it to the PO (we have 6 in the city) at the south end of the city. Oops. Easy fix. Either back to Regional or straight to the PO at the north end that delivers to me. NOOOO!!! To regional , then to Indianapolis!!! 2000 miles! To give credit where do, USPS doent blow it out their asses TOO often. Fed Ex… norm, 20 days from Atlanta to Reno. (I had a package shipped from Germany the same day as one of the Fedex ones. The German one arrived 4 days quicker!!) USP … Usless Parcel Service … Have had 3-4 packages returned to sender because they cant read street numbers (Our apt complex has 3 buildings, each it’s own street number, each wit Apt 1,2,3,4 etc.) and was trying t deliver to anther (un occupied) Apt 1!!! At least THAT guy found the street!!!
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Nothing but problems with our latest USPS driver. I’ve watched him on my security camera as he does mailbox drive-by’s — shoving the mail (including packages) into/onto any ol’ “wrong” box while the vehicle is rolling — constantly drops stuff onto the ground and has to stop the truck and get out to pick it up, thereby increasing his work effort anyway. … Just waiting to see him get his hand stuck as he drives off. 
… It’s just bound to happen. Lol!
Well I know that the Asheville area has no sorting facility,so I can drop a letter off at the local post office in Leicester thats going to my neighbor,it has to go 70 miles to Greenville SC then back up here to be delivered.
Go figure.
Once an item gets misrouted by any person in the USPS system, it’s basically “lost.” If you’re really lucky, some bored postal worker at the facility that has custody of it (i.e. the post office at the wrong zip-code) MIGHT “re-insert” the item back into the system with the correct zip-code routing. If that does happen, it’s just like the item has been mailed for the first time, basically starting its journey anew from the new-wrong origination zip-code facility.
Good luck. Initiative and effort above and beyond would only ever be a lucky happenstance. Your package is just as likely to be “sorted” the landfill nearest the wrong destination zip-code facility as to be re-inserted back into the system for eventual delivery.
Alternatively, your package could be laying on the bottom of the “daily big basket of stuff that should be sorted to go out for delivery during our shift…” However, since the night shift is forever re-filling the basket, the day-shift sorters might take weeks to reach the bottom and get your package out and into the pile for your local carrier to deliver.
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