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Information on this page is provided by Roseanne Jefferson.
Roseanne is a retired USPS employee with an extensive background in USPS
retirement, disability retirement, OWCP, EEO, Labor Relations and HR.
She conducts individual and group counseling and is able to
comprehensively discuss the pros and cons of employees who are on OWCP,
disability retirement and regular retirement. Roseanne will be happy
to answer your postal retirement questions. Contact Roseanne at
roseanne.jefferson@yahoo.com. |
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Postal Retirement
Q&A January 2012 |
Good Day
Postal Employees, And a very Happy New
Year!!!
NO NEW INFORMATION ABOUT EARLY
OUTS YET - LOOKING AT MAR/APR FOR
DECISION!!
I am going
to title this column as "The Reality
of the BROWN Christmas Package". As
many of you know I try to be fair and
honest about what I write....tell it
like it is...and many of you
appreciate the perspective that I
bring. You know, after all of these
years, I still bleed blue..most you
know that means postal blue, and I
care very much about the organization
and where it is going in the future.
This year, I wanted to see how during
our fiscal turmoil and the consistent
reduction of employees, if our
delivery standards have been affected;
how we compare with our biggest
competitor. This year I mailed one of
the many Christmas packages I send
each year, out BROWN. I wanted to see
how well their on-line tracking
systems works versus OUR tracking
system for customers, and the time
frame of delivery, bounced against the
cost of mailing with BROWN.
On
Dec 15th @ 6:55pm, I sent a Christmas
package from THEIR store here, to an
address in NJ, with a required
signature at delivery. According to
the tracking system, the package went
efficiently from the origination point
to collection center in Greensboro on
Dec 16th; then to their general
mailing depot in Secaucus, NJ @ 1:20
am Dec 17th. On Dec 19th at 12:05 am
it arrived at Newark, and at 12:06 am
it left out for delivery (that was
remarkable to me.. ( 1 minute!!) if
the times were correct!). Understand
this is all referencing their on-line
information with the tracking number.
At 9:40 am on Dec 19th it was on
the truck to be delivered, and
according the web site tracking it
showed an EXCEPTION "The apartment
number is missing or is incorrect. WE
ARE attempting to obtain this
information." On Dec 19th at 9:44 am
as I was on the computer, an email
message was sent to me (an option
offered while in store paying for
package), about a delivery issue. I
immediately (Dec 19th @10:05 am)
called our aunt, letting her know of
the "attempted" delivery and the
necessity for an apartment number. She
called the 1-800 number, to add an
apartment number that they stated was
missing. They told her they would add
the "A" (for the apartment number) and
the package would be re delivered
today (12-19) or the next morning
(12-20).
NOW HERE IS WHERE IT
BEGINS - On Dec 19 (that evening) I
see where again, I am sent another
message, that a "post card has been
sent to obtain the missing apartment
number". This message was sent at
10:10 pm on Dec 19th. I am not
understanding the message, as our aunt
in the morning had already initiated
the "correction of the missing
apartment number" and had a
confirmation of delivery on the 19th
or definitely December 20th the next
day. While on the website @ 11:00 pm,
I initiate another email about the
package EXCEPTION, and added, in the
comments section "Apartment A - please
redeliver. Naturally with all of the
phone calls and email and this "minute
by minute information" on their
website I thought this should be easy
enough.
OK NOW STOP HERE FOR A
MINUTE....A POST CARD HAS BEEN SENT!!
I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN THEN THE WOO WOO
WAS ON...
TO WHERE, WHAT
ADDRESS??? DID YOU SEND THE POST CARD
TO? TO AN ADDRESS THAT YOU CAN'T
DELIVER A PACKAGE TO BECAUSE YOU DON'T
HAVE THE APARTMENT NUMBER!! SO YOU
DON'T HAVE THE APARTMENT NUMBER TO
DELIVER A PACKAGE, YET YOU SEND THEM A
POST CARD WITHOUT THE APARTMENT
NUMBER....oh yea,....my bad....
BECAUSE THE POST OFFICE WILL KNOW WHAT
APARTMENT NUMBER!! WE HAVE LETTER
CARRIERS THAT CARRY THAT PERSON'S MAIL
EVERYDAY. THEY KNOW HER APARTMENT
NUMBER, AND PROBABLY KNOW HER TOO!!
...but I digress...sorry!
It
was not delivered on Dec 19 th. Before
9 am on Dec 20 th I spoke to a
customer service representative (as
did our aunt), calling the 1800
number. Both of us were ASSURED, by
two different customer service
representatives, that it was on the
truck, and that it had the apartment
number on the package. We actually
felt good. Tracking the package on the
website, I saw that nothing had been
input since the 10:10 pm comment about
a post card. So I call back wondering
why I am being told, as is my aunt
being told, that it is on the truck
but nothing is being updated in this
minute by minute tracking system. So
after being put on hold a few times,
listening to music, again, I am
confidently assured by their
representative, that even though there
is no updated information on the
website, it will be delivered today.
My aunt called (same 1800 number,
different representative of course)
and was told that the trucks are
pretty FULL, but that the it should be
today (Dec 20 th) or tomorrow.
It did not come on Dec 20 th. When I
called the 1800 number, they were
absolutely incredibly clueless. When I
questioned the rep, not only was he
NOT helpful.... just no damn logic
whatsoever!! I explain the situation
in explicit detail, detail enough for
someone to know that I know way more
about mailing issues than the average
bear. I clearly explain to the rep
that his responses were such total
bullshit, that even he has to hear
just how incredibly illogical he
sounded. He then slams me again, when
I post my question " Sir, this
information not only was called in,
but I document this in an email back
to you!!", with his response being,
"well, no one reads it!! Wow, so this
is why the apartment number never got
on the package, on Dec 19 or today Dec
20th. He also informs me that I should
go back to that same page blah blah
blah.com and send another email (with
my tracking number) to register a
complaint (since I am so dissatisfied
as he annoyingly tells me). Of course
me....I explode and say, THE SAME
EMAIL YOU JUST TOLD ME THEY DON'T
READ!! And his reply "yes ma'am". I am
now reeling....and on top of all that,
"you have totally insulted my
intelligence"...(but maybe not,
because I did mail the package with
them!!)
On Dec 21st I am
watching the morning news and on
several major news networks, it is
being reported and visually showing
"CERTAIN" mailers being "caught" on
film throwing packages, the story ran
all day, I was praying that we had no
bad publicity that day. As I am
watching this news, my aunt called
BROWN again, and was told the package
was on the truck for delivery today,
Dec 21st. As evening rolls around it's
now 8:10 pm on Dec 21st, and I call
the 1800 number again. I spoke with
the nicest man I had spoken to yet,
because by 8:10 pm on 12/21 the
package is still NOT THERE. He assured
me finally that it was going to be
delivered tonight. Yes, he knew that
it was after 7 pm, and their drivers
were to be done with deliveries and
off the streets by 7pm, but with the
Christmas season, many of the drivers
will stay out and finish as they are a
very dedicated team.
GUESS
WHAT, NO DELIVERY on Dec 21 after the
8pm phone call. On Dec 22, (of course
no delivery from the very dedicate
team; after great speech from nicest
rep last night) I call again. This
time I get another customer
representative on the phone, who was
pleasant, stupid, but pleasant and
after I take about all I can with his
nonsensical answers, I go ziggety-boo
on him...(a term the family uses when
I pretty much all lose sense,
language, sarcasm, all that) (but in a
professional way), and actually get
him to have someone in NJ call me in
NC. I get a call from perhaps a
supervisor named let's just say
Laverne. She was very professional and
knowledgeable. I was told that all of
my phone calls to the 800 number meant
NOTHING. It seems that the
"representatives that answer the
phones at the 800 number don't even
work for BROWN. So all those times
when I was put on hold and they came
back giving me and our aunt for that
matter, this sincere assurance that
the package was on the truck for
delivery, was all made up. None of
that was true. Perhaps the statement
made about those individuals manning
the 1800 phone line, "they don't even
work for BROWN" could have meant
something similar to hiring "Christmas
casuals", I am not sure. The tracking
information on-line, seems to be far
more superior to calling the 800
number.
Bottom line..the
package was sent out once, on Dec 19th
and never again was it placed on a
truck for delivery, until "Laverne"
had someone from their office to take
it in a smaller brown truck. It was
sitting on a shelf in the package
center. All those times I was told it
was on the truck, it was not. The 800
number that is called did not and does
not report anything to BROWN, they
just take calls and pacify complaints.
It goes no where...no where...they
update nothing! You have to ask for a
supervisor (like I did) over and over
just to get to an actual BROWN
employee. You have to be a general
pain in the rear. To be honest, it was
not until I told them that I was
writing about this mailing experience
in my January column, before I even
got a real BROWN employee. I guess
they felt if my claim to writing a
monthly column that people read in the
mailing industry had any legitimacy
whatsoever, they should at least
"deal" with me.
In the early
afternoon of Dec 22nd, after "Laverne"
was off, she called to let me know
that the package was delivered. She
just had seen my aunt's signature pop
up. And it was for real this time. I
appreciated her honesty about how that
system works. It was great to know for
the information. This was a test, and
let me say this over and over again, I
experienced NONE OF THAT WHEN I MAILED
USPS this Christmas, or any time of
the year. We are the best mailing
organization out there. My level of
dissatisfaction when I found out that
the rep's answering my phone calls
were not even BROWN employees made me
feel less comfortable about mailing
with them. It made me understand,
maybe for the first time, the need for
us to remain a federal institution.
Imagine if my elderly aunt did not
have someone that knew the mailing
industry. Imagine how difficult this
issue is for a senior citizens and how
difficult it is when you are unable to
just go to the post office to pick up
a package. That could very well be our
future, for all of us when or if
smaller post offices close around the
country...no post office is in your
neighborhood or rural town.
The
level of commitment we show as federal
employees to the sanctity of the mail,
regardless if it is a first class
letter or a Christmas package with
blood pressure machine, is beyond all
others out there. We are THE federal
institution that has the highest
approval with the American Public, of
any other federal agency, WE HAVE
THEIR CONFIDENCE, let's keep it that
way. My mailing with 'the other" was a
test, they failed, USPS passed with
flying red/white/blue colors. WE ARE
WORTH FIGHTING FOR.
Till we speak next time........Roseanne |
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