Message:

<p>[QUOTE=&quot;krispy, post: 1982154, member: 19065&quot;]Everyone expects others to be responsible for the security of parcels in transit and the contents, yet more and more carriers want greater profit and zero liability (paying out claims on losses). That&#039;s reflective of the cuts made to services in business across industries. Of course, with cuts like that the risk of loss increases for the individuals using those services. Every company seems to have a dearth of Terms &amp; Conditions they impose on individuals yet until those tables are turned businesses will remain secure in wiping their hands clean of risk and responsibility when a problem arises or someone finds a way to cheat the system causing distress and financial loss on the individual. </p><p><br /></p><p>Certainly we must insure the parcels of high value, but we entrust the carrier to fulfill the services with full responsibility that we ourselves are charged with in transferring the property to the new owner. It is indeed a mistake that postage is displayed to the advantage of a nefarious package handler who knows how to game the system, but insured parcels and postage can easily be disguised behind modern postage and labeling systems (think QR Code, barcodes, scan-able printed encoded information). There&#039;s no reason to display such things that seem only to attract unwanted attention. Simple is best. Discreet or plain (uniformed) packaging for every kind of parcel is a good way to protect parcels. </p><p><br /></p><p>Another issue with carrier cutbacks are overworked and under supervised employees. Cut back service at the P.O. and the result of fewer days of delivery service means your parcel is in their possession longer with more chances of being exploited and picked through. You expect such insured parcels to be kept secure in facilities and vehicles when not in motion just as you expect it while it is moving through the sort and en route to delivery. Fewer humans monitoring security of insured parcels means more time and freedom for a dishonest employee to breech our trust and security. Overworked and understaffed employees can also lead to fatigue, anger and perhaps thoughts to take advantage of customers&#039; parcels. </p><p><br /></p><p>The shipping labels sellers use printed online via eBay/PayPal have options for NOT displaying postage value, yet eBay includes their logo on there, too, so it&#039;s quite easy to see the source of a parcel when its en route and to make a reasonable guess by its size and parcel weight, and if insured, that one might score a valuable collectible or piece of merchandise by selecting such a parcel. </p><p><br /></p><p>Apart from this thread&#039;s case, I&#039;m sure there&#039;s more to the whole game of shipping insurance, security, who is responsible, how and why certain things are not allowed coverage and the decisions on risk and profit why companies take their stances, and that it&#039;s just a more complex issue, but these are some thoughts about this that I&#039;ve thought about. </p><p><br /></p><p>I&#039;ve taken delivery of parcels from well known auctions companies which were of considerable value and yet they show up in my mailbox, left by the regular carrier, without signature required or having taken the time to ring my doorbell, sent in flat rate USPS Priority envelopes. Inside the envelope they use a more rigid envelope for support and it is unaddressed and sealed, and over the seal a sticker indicating that if lost/found to route back to the auction house. </p><p><br /></p><p>Recently, I had a case with the USPS tracking App, which showed that my parcel was delivered on and at a specified date/time. There was no parcel in my mail box and I was instantly worried with no way to locate it nor a human at the PO for help. I printed out the tracking details, posted it on my mailbox for the carrier and logged a written complaint of carrier service as well as one for a missing parcel online with the USPS. The very next day, the note I left to the carrier was gone and my parcel mysteriously delivered in my mailbox. </p><p><br /></p><p>Where was it over night? Was it in the carriers bag? In a postal truck? At the P.O.? In my neighbors box? Most likely it was locked up in a green USPS mailbox-shaped street storage container ready for the actual letter carrier to take it to my door. That&#039;s very misleading and poor service as well as interuptive of an individuals personal and private business. We can and do track things for security and privacy as much as timing in a business sense, especially when urgency is a factor. </p><p><br /></p><p>The online complaint to the USPS took 4 days for a response, during which time there was NO auto-notification of the case being opened online. When the response came, the USPS local branch personnel for customer service issues took zero responsibility and didn&#039;t even mention the disparity of the tracking data in the App to the customer&#039;s report of actual delivery date/time, and claimed a discussion with the letter carrier proved the parcel was delivered. There was no name, phone number nor link for customer recourse or to refute the matter further. Case closed, business wins. Yes, I got the parcel safe and secure, but that is not the kind of service I paid for. </p><p><br /></p><p>Some folks say don&#039;t get flustered about such a thing, but I come to expect more professionalism as would others of me in my work and there is a matter of maintaining that level of quality of service which only seems to decline, so a matter of principal is attached to such things for me, and why I share this story at length.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

Your name or email address:

Do you already have an account?

• No, create an account now.
• Yes, my password is:
• Forgot your password?

Stay logged in