> It wasn't until the story really started to take off that on February 16th, finally a manager at the USPS Consumer Affairs department took note of the case.
> And I mean that literally: he told me straight up the reason he was contacting me was because of the news articles he had encountered on this case.
Welcome to a future where only voices that broadcast their grievances loudly over social media get answered.
If it weren't for the fact they aren't my games, and that I promised the donor he would have them all returned to him, I wouldn't have made a big fuss about this.
And even in my case, I was extremely lucky that some sites picked up the story. The ones I personally asked all shot me down.
This has been my experience with any of my ideas, causes, or product marketing.
The most logical fits tell me to f* off in more words, and completely unpredictably random partners come out of the wood work after I just do it my way.
That kickstarter/product hunt style of lining up your marketing partners beforehand will never work for my ideas. The plan is to make a big splash for the time dimension of virality. Unfortunately, people that I think would understand my idea/cause/product, don't. And unlikely partners are completely enamored by it. This has limitations.
It helps others. "The company, that faced a notorious case in February" is an interesting way of starting a news piece.
They started a case for me, and eventually called back to tell me they spoke with with mail carrier who was the last to scan the package, who explained that the package was routed incorrectly, but they had it and would be delivering it shortly.
In another case I've also had good luck simply calling the sorting station and talking with the actual human who handled my package (there was just a backlog and it would be delivered soon).
I did not get an "corporate vibe" either time, but rather was able to communicate with the actual person who would know.
My mail got delivered wet a few times, so I complained. And all they said to me is, it got wet because it was raining. They basically said that there is nothing they can do when it is raining...
Don't put out any outgoing mail. Even if yours is dry it will get wet when it comes in contact with other mail that is wet.
If you can hold off sending a letter in the rain do so
If it's raining the wet letters get tossed into a bucket, then into a larger hamper than into a machine for sorting.
Wet letters make other dry letters wet. So even if you take them to the post office they may encounter wet letters in their way.
Ink runs.
Although I have had Canadians tell me that their postman does not pick up outgoing mail. Thats what I thought. DUH!2
Basically you'd call a number or send an email with your problem ("File claim for missing package," "Put me in touch with a human being at the USPS," "Cancel my Comcast service," that sort of thing.) The service's agents would then waste time navigating phone trees and dealing with red tape on your behalf.
Seems that there'd be a lot of potential customers who could use a personal assistant but can't afford a full-time employee. Obviously some tasks would require granting power of attorney or other scary legal maneuvers, but plenty of others wouldn't.
I offered a $500 bounty to anyone who could help me locate the package. It was worth that much for me to recover it.
In the end, both USPS employees that really helped me out the most turned down my offer to send them the bounty.
I realize there's a dark side to this suggestion: it weakly incentivizes loss for the purpose of getting a reward for it, and makes getting help a luxury for the wealthy.
However, the current system of only helping when cases hit the media doesn't work either. Obviously they can't afford to do exhaustive searches for every last piece of lost mail. There needs to be some sort of middle ground, where value and personal importance of the package is weighed against costs and available resources.
Probably the first thing that needs to happen is for the USPS to stop getting bled dry over pension payouts.
And if you think the story is even a little bit better losing a package at UPS or Fedex you're delusional.
If you're kind, and exceedingly polite to them, and are as understanding as possible, they'll be incredibly helpful in return.
The people that deal with lost packages and lost mail are used to being yelled at, berated, and treated poorly, so they often react surprised and helpfully when you go out of your way to be as nice as possible.
Most importantly, the best advice I can provide is to have all of the information you can possibly provide written down first (preferably typed so they can read it easier), along with a detailed timeline, and copies of any supporting documentation.
Like the guy who got sold fake / cancelled tickets to an NBA Playoff game. 200K Twitter followers made sure that StubHub (I believe?) "reached out to the Golden State Warriors to get you good tickets to tonight's game!".
While their hands are tied (somewhat - I have pretty little sympathy for companies who profit off of ticket resale), they were promptly, and rightly barraged by people without big followings who said "How come when you canceled my tickets you only offered a refund and $20 in credit?"
It's not exactly new. A prime example of that is Apple who tells you that it doesn't help to go to the media with a story, but time and again complaints go un-answered until somebody manages to hook in media attention (either through dumb luck or through their pre-existing clout).
AppleCare is good at a lot of things, but Apple's still been known to dodge responsibility for a lot.
"If your App is rejected, we have a Review Board that you can appeal to. If you run to the press and trash us, it never helps."
https://developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines/2016...
The only reason I did well in that situation is because I had the AppleCare warranty they kept replacing the video card no questions asked.
My 2007 MacBook Pro was given the option for a free repair or replacement as well for issues with the nVidia video chip overheating and desoldering itself. The problem with that was that it also took eight years for them to finally acknowledge the issue. However, I missed the short warranty window in which people were allowed to claim it.
Apple has a horrible track record for owning up to their problems.
Welcome to our past and future. The fastest way of getting any dispute resolved is often to contact the local media or a political representative. Disputes with utility companies, retailers or landlords that grind on for months are often settled in minutes when a journalist or council member picks up the phone. If anything, the ability to kick up a stink on Twitter is an improvement.
For decades I've seen situations resolved only because a local paper or broadcaster took up the cause. It's routine.
It had my address clearly visible on the package still. They could easily have delivered it.
If not for the media attention, these most likely would have ended up on a govdeals.com listing, and going for an absolute fortune (tons of collectors know about that site.)
Then again, maybe they only try to recover mail right before they list it for sale. Can't know for sure, but glad I don't have to find out.
I'm almost surprised by the number of firearms, more so that it appears most were drug-related seizures. I shouldn't be, but I am. Many of the pistols appear to be in terrible condition, too. (Unsurprising.)
I am wondering if any of the rifles not marked as confiscated property were lost in shipping...
Iphone 6's for $75USD, etc.
Just recently they emailed me telling me they "searched" for it but found nothing. I get a feeling they never even bothered to look for it. The box is probably still sitting in a corner somewhere.
Oh please. This has been the case throughout history. If you can get the attention of a higher up, by whatever means, you have a much better chance of getting what you need done.
Nothing has changed and social media has nothing to do with it aside from providing another avenue (albeit a more accessible one) to put pressure on those with the power to help you. People are people.
it gets really bad if you use book rate/etc as my mom used to do a dog magazine for the breed she was involved with for fifty plus years. There is no actual requirement the magazine shipped that way show up by a set date, in good condition, or even be delivered. She once had people complaining about a magazine not delivered a month late only to find out they were still on the dock with other mail all pushed into a corner.
Guaranteed delivery isn't even that either. there are all sorts of exceptions. The simple matter is, you want it there then pay a shipping company that values their reputation. if you must use USPS then require a signature on delivery and insure it.