Thinking about shipping with the United States Postal Service this Holiday?

You might want to rethink that.

My friend Nate recently moved to Hawaii. The sun was always out, the ocean was crystal clear, and the sand was warm beneath his feet. Even with his shades on, drink in hand, something felt off. Something was missing.

Nate was going through video game withdrawal.

Before moving, he purchased a PlayStation 4. His mind was blown by titles like The Last of Us and Infamous. He spent hours with his friends playing games like Call of Duty and Madden. Those were moments he cherished the most. He needed more, even in paradise.

So, he had his mother ship it to him.

She used a USPS Priority Flat Rate box (with the “supposed” 3 Day Shipping) and packed the item carefully with USPS shipping materials.

She also purchased an additional insurance policy that covered the contents of the package with $400 of indemnity.

The item shipped on October 3rd.

11 days later, this arrived.

Even the USPS employee who handed Nate the box was surprised by the extent of damage done to the package. He actually encouraged Nate to immediately take the item home, inspect it, and file a claim if the contents were harmed (which they were).

OH GOD. NOT THE COOKIES.

“No problem,” Nate thought. “My mom purchased insurance to protect the package, and this does not fall under the USPS’s ridiculously vague and broad 4.3 Nonpayable Claims policy since the item wasn’t damaged by abrasion, scarring, or scraping to articles not properly wrapped for protection.

“Instead,” Nate continued in his head, “the USPS brand package was smashed, ripped apart by an outside force, and the items inside were completely destroyed.”

So Nate filed a claim immediately.

And the United States Postal Service responded:

And Nate obliged.

The USPS responded.

Nate decided to write a letter after he spoke with a representative.

USPS denied his claim.

“That doesn’t make much sense,” Nate thought. “How can they say that the packaging was inadequate if 100% of the packaging materials, including the box, were USPS brand items? Do they think their own products are inadequate?”

“Even still,” Nate continued, “if the packaging was inadequate, wouldn’t that mean that the outside force caused damage to the contents of the box and not the actual box itself?”

It had to be a mistake, right? Maybe, the USPS just automatically denies the first claim in hopes the consumer gives up. This seemed plausible, so Nate filed an appeal to the claim.

This is starting to get a bit ridiculous with the runaround, am I right? Wouldn’t it be nice if all this was made more clear or easier to understand in the beginning?

And the United States Postal Service denied the appeal. I should note that Nate never received this denial of appeal as a letter as he was told he would. He actually had to find it online while speaking to a representative (which was a nightmare in itself).

Wait… This is “normal mail processing and handling“?!

Now, Nate was furious. The United States Postal Service’s entire marketing campaign is Priority: YOU. Wasn’t the USPS’s priority to serve us, the American people? Didn’t they want their dedicated work force to speak for themselves, rather than the critics? How disappointing to see such a major promise be crushed, much like Nate’s PS4.

Nate will have to appeal the denial… of the first appeal… of the first denial… of the first claim…again, but at this point, he’s lost all faith in a company that used to be the American standard for postal services. What happened to you, United States Postal Service? Didn’t you watch The Postman (am I the only one that liked this film)? Where’s your honor?

Because of Nate’s experience, I will no longer be shipping with USPS until they amend this customer service fail. What’s the point in purchasing extra insurance when the USPS can just abuse and interpret their long list of “Nonpayable claims” in any way they see fit? With Christmas coming up, how many of you are now scared to ship with them as well? How would you feel if you found out USPS employees were taking advantage of your mother?

Leave a comment, reblog, and let’s talk about it.