In our previous episode, a package from Addison IL shipped on 08 Aug 2020 was encountering the shipping equivalent of the Bermuda Triangle by which it went from Concord to Durham to…Kernersville (?!?)…before apparently going back to a FedEx facility in Concord for another try.
However, now looking at the USPS tracking for the same package shows where the USPS supposedly received it in their custody IN RALEIGH on 14 Aug 2020 which would be the day before it supposedly was sent off to a FedEx facility in Kernersville from a FedEx facility in Durham and three days before the USPS was supposedly notified by FedEx of this package’s existence.
It’s hard to imagine what is more laughable:
- If we take the USPS tracking at face value, it seems somewhat shocking they would take eight days to go from one end of Raleigh near the airport to east Raleigh. I’ve given up hope on my local carrier but the USPS sorting facility out at RDU usually seems to be on the ball.
- If we take the FedEx tracking at face value, then either the USPS is incredibly prescient or FedEx tracking and/or their routing of packages before the handoff to USPS is worthless.
And yet both FedEx and USPS reported it finally delivered so there is some measure of interoperability between the systems even at the last stage.
Either way, for people who are thinking of using this FedEx “SmartPost” product…don’t. If you’re going to ship FedEx…just ship FedEx and be done with it. Personally, I’ve found UPS more reliable but heaven help you if you want to track a package that’s shipped to you that has gone astray or been misdelivered.
This is especially important for those of us in east Raleigh who are stuck with the most hopeless and lazy carriers in the entire USPS based out of the Sunnybrook station! I can only imagine it wasn’t our regular carrier delivering today…there was a car completely blocking the mailbox and usually she will skip me when there is any kind of obstruction.
Yesterday, she only attempted delivery at one house on each side of my entire street (approximately 30-35 houses in total) and made an impressive beeline for the neighbourhood exit on a day where my mailbox was unobstructed (this was relatively late in the day so I can only imagine the rumours of no overtime are true and she can’t profit handsomely from her customary indolence toward her assigned duties).
I’m just happy the bloody thing arrived and shockingly it was intact. 🙂