The new USPS shops - from someone who's done one

Your receipt shows what zips you sent from and to and also the weight of your package. I do not know if this will help but if you can point out that your package was sent Priority (should also say on the receipt)and that
your total spent is exactly the amt of Priority mail for your zone and weight with screenshot proof of that it would bolster your explanation that the clerk went ahead and attached actual stamps plus a pay sticker to make up the difference. Also point out that you were charged for those stamps. They were not ones you brought from home to pay for part of it. quote=gene]
did one shop. clerk placed stamps to the box without my permission. I said to her not to do so. but she refused. She placed several on the box and added some pay of $6.60. The total was $11.70 for Priority mail. The receipt shows stamps plus $6.60. But my shop was disapproved stating I bought extra services. I wrote email to scheduler and explained the store. How shall I explain?[/quote]

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@gene wrote:

did one shop. clerk placed stamps to the box without my permission. I said to her not to do so. but she refused. She placed several on the box and added some pay of $6.60. The total was $11.70 for Priority mail. The receipt shows stamps plus $6.60. But my shop was disapproved stating I bought extra services. I wrote email to scheduler and explained the store. How shall I explain?
That sucks, but how was the $6.60 even rung up? That's below the price to mail a pound via Priority.
@gene wrote:

did one shop. clerk placed stamps to the box without my permission. I said to her not to do so. but she refused. She placed several on the box and added some pay of $6.60. The total was $11.70 for Priority mail. The receipt shows stamps plus $6.60. But my shop was disapproved stating I bought extra services. I wrote email to scheduler and explained the store. How shall I explain?
I would have refused the service and told the clerk that I did not ask for stamps, and that I wanted to send it Priority. If clerk refused, I would have involved the manager. If they still did not do their job correctly, I would refuse to pay and taken my package back. I would not shop that location again.
@AZwolfman wrote:

I would have refused the service and told the clerk that I did not ask for stamps, and that I wanted to send it Priority. If clerk refused, I would have involved the manager. If they still did not do their job correctly, I would refuse to pay and taken my package back. I would not shop that location again.
Plus, you tell them that you shipped this for work and they're not going to accept the receipt that way.
Priority comes with insurance, so I'm wondering if those stamps plus postage included insurance.
$11.70 is the Priority Mail rate for a package over 3 pounds (but less than 4 pounds, of course) that is shipped to a zip code in Zone 1. There was nothing sinister or mysterious about the total that was charged, and it included insurance as does all Priority Mail.
@Susan L. wrote:

Priority comes with insurance, so I'm wondering if those stamps plus postage included insurance.

Shopping Southeast Pennsylvania, Delaware above the canal, and South Jersey since 2008
I know from previous weeks that there are 100 USPS shops within 25 miles of me. 100 of them are still available ==> none have been taken. When they get bonused by $5, I will do the five that are really close to me if I meet rotation. The next tranch by distance will require a $10 bonus.

Shopping Southeast Pennsylvania, Delaware above the canal, and South Jersey since 2008
@MisterBill wrote:

@AZwolfman wrote:

I would have refused the service and told the clerk that I did not ask for stamps, and that I wanted to send it Priority. If clerk refused, I would have involved the manager. If they still did not do their job correctly, I would refuse to pay and taken my package back. I would not shop that location again.
Plus, you tell them that you shipped this for work and they're not going to accept the receipt that way.
Why would I tell them that I shopped it for work? That would not be necessary.
exactly. I wrote to the scheduler but he did not answer (double standards. When they wish me to pick such shops I got in one day 4 emails and calls). I sent text to company president on FB. He gave me general email address.

Shopping Eastern Pennsylvania since 2009


Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/06/2024 12:21PM by gene.
The receipt is clearly stated insurance of $100 and tracking.I sent it from Allentown, PA to Pittsburgh, PA

Shopping Eastern Pennsylvania since 2009
@gene wrote:

The receipt is clearly stated insurance of $100 and tracking.I sent it from Allentown, PA to Pittsburgh, PA

Thanks for letting us know. It is really mystifying why the clerk insisted on attaching stamps to your package, especially since loose stamps don't expire and can be kept to sell to another customer.

You tried to stop the craziness; it wasn't your fault. I'm glad you told the company president about this, in case they insist on rejecting your hard work.
@gene wrote:

did one shop. clerk placed stamps to the box without my permission. I said to her not to do so. but she refused. She placed several on the box and added some pay of $6.60. The total was $11.70 for Priority mail. The receipt shows stamps plus $6.60. But my shop was disapproved stating I bought extra services. I wrote email to scheduler and explained the store. How shall I explain?
The postmaster at one particular downtown location like to do this as well. She started to do it the first time without telling me I told her to stop and asked her what she was doing. She said she needed to use up the postage. I told her she could use it up on another customer that agreed, but this was a business package, and it looked downright tacky. She gave me the stink eye, but she fixed it. She clearly doesn’t remember me because she has tried to do this to me at least three times.
@BayShopper22 wrote:

The postmaster at one particular downtown location like to do this as well. She started to do it the first time without telling me I told her to stop and asked her what she was doing. She said she needed to use up the postage. I told her she could use it up on another customer that agreed, but this was a business package, and it looked downright tacky. She gave me the stink eye, but she fixed it. She clearly doesn’t remember me because she has tried to do this to me at least three times.

It does look tacky when there's a bunch of stamps on a package or envelope, instead of one stamp or one meter-generated label.

Maybe the MS company needs to add a question about this on the form, especially if lots of clerks are doing it.
Just got the message from MSC manager
"Thank you for reaching out regarding the receipt issue you encountered. We have approved the shop for June. As best practice going forward, please ensure the receipt has only 1 transaction. If needed I would advise the clerk, it is a business expense, and you need a correct receipt to reflect an accurate transaction.

Please feel free to reach out with any questions or issues."

Shopping Eastern Pennsylvania since 2009
July amounts....$5 fee and $15 reimbursement...don't expect to get $20 unless you meet the reimbursement amount. I had a few under $15 so basically I got paid $5.....I am only sharing this in case anyone is not aware. That just did it for me...not sure why I did not realize when picking up a few. LOL. I prefer just a flat fee and thats it...wish they would just pay $20 instead of breaking it down w/ F/R. (sigh).
@West90001 wrote:

July amounts....$5 fee and $15 reimbursement...don't expect to get $20 unless you meet the reimbursement amount. I had a few under $15 so basically I got paid $5.....I am only sharing this in case anyone is not aware. That just did it for me...not sure why I did not realize when picking up a few. LOL. I prefer just a flat fee and thats it...wish they would just pay $20 instead of breaking it down w/ F/R. (sigh).
Doing it this way is more beneficial for the MSC. I wouldn’t look for the payment structure to change to anything that’s in our favor.

If your path dictates you walk through hell, do it as though you own the place. -unknown
I did three shops. One was over $15 to mail and the other two were $10.35. All were bonused for $10. It appears that I am getting $25 for each in my pending mail.
It sounds like you did June shops which ended the month with a $15 flat fee plus a $10 bonus. Now, they are a $5 flat fee plus postage (only) reimbursement up to $15.
@Insight wrote:

I did three shops. One was over $15 to mail and the other two were $10.35. All were bonused for $10. It appears that I am getting $25 for each in my pending mail.

Shopping Southeast Pennsylvania, Delaware above the canal, and South Jersey since 2008
Nine days into the month, and only 6 of the 100 within 25 miles of me have been taken. None by me.

Shopping Southeast Pennsylvania, Delaware above the canal, and South Jersey since 2008
Yep I agree with you....and on the first month we received the entire $25 (bonused) regardless of postage amount spent so definitely is set up in their favor.....I am back to doing maybe 1 if I have something to mail ...or none at all!
I was going to make a new thread, but I'll post this here. When I dropped off packages at USPS today, I was tipped off by the supervisor that part of the long-term plans for USPS are to eliminate most, if not all, of the clerks. She did not know the timeframe. She did not expect it would be this year because there are many USPS locations that have no self-serve kiosks, the one here being one of them. Ideally, she said, there will be at least one clerk or someone in the lobby area to help people with the kiosks, similar to how Walmart has someone at the self check-outs. I know the clerks are unionized. I'm not sure about other USPS employees. It will be interesting to see if this pans out, and what they do with the clerks. So far the rework of their delivery network has not gone smoothly.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/11/2024 05:28AM by ServiceAward.
That is not very satisfying an idea. I like having people for flexibility when you need something out of the ordinary. Their next move might be to have those little robots that deliver food come and deliver our mail. I have seen them rolling down many neighborhood streets here. They even can cross streets with several lanes of traffic all by themselves. I live in So Calif so I have not yet seen one stuck in a snowbank!
I was told by a clerk 10 years ago that they were working on eliminating post offices altogether. Hasn't hapened yet. They installed self-serve kiosks in some places, then closed them down. Bureaucracy, amiright?
I don't mind the SSKs. My problem is that I usually use them when the post office is closed. It never fails that the package bin is full, so you can't open the chute and drop in the package that you just bought postage for, meaning you have to come back. That's frustrating.

If your path dictates you walk through hell, do it as though you own the place. -unknown
Whenever the federal government tries to modernize their systems or processes, one can always count on setbacks and delays.

Unrelated, but saw an article this morning about forever stamps rising in price on Sun. I'll copy/paste the article here, since people may have access issues with the link.

You may want to stock up on stamps today, because postage prices are going up again Sunday.

The cost of First-Class Mail Forever stamps will rise to 73 cents from 68 cents—a 7.4% increase—effective July 14.

Among other price hikes, domestic postcards will cost 56 cents, up from 53 cents; and international postcards postage will go to $1.65 from $1.55 previously. The additional-ounce price for single-piece letters is increasing too, to 28 cents from 24 cents.

Previously purchased Forever stamps can still be used; however, if you plan on needing more, now might be the time to buy.
@sandyf wrote:

That is not very satisfying an idea. I like having people for flexibility when you need something out of the ordinary. Their next move might be to have those little robots that deliver food come and deliver our mail. I have seen them rolling down many neighborhood streets here. They even can cross streets with several lanes of traffic all by themselves. I live in So Calif so I have not yet seen one stuck in a snowbank!
Amazon and Walmart rolled out drone delivery to an area nearby. One of the Walmart is part of the pilot program. Thankfully my home is not in the proximity of the delivery route. So far though, I've heard it's gone well from some who have used it.
@Okie wrote:

Whenever the federal government tries to modernize their systems or processes, one can always count on setbacks and delays.

Unrelated, but saw an article this morning about forever stamps rising in price on Sun. I'll copy/paste the article here, since people may have access issues with the link.

You may want to stock up on stamps today, because postage prices are going up again Sunday.

The cost of First-Class Mail Forever stamps will rise to 73 cents from 68 cents—a 7.4% increase—effective July 14.

Among other price hikes, domestic postcards will cost 56 cents, up from 53 cents; and international postcards postage will go to $1.65 from $1.55 previously. The additional-ounce price for single-piece letters is increasing too, to 28 cents from 24 cents.

Previously purchased Forever stamps can still be used; however, if you plan on needing more, now might be the time to buy.

Not only that, Ground Advantage prices went up, as did Priority Mail. In fact, some Priority Mail rates are now $3+ more.
It's a simple fact that they have to keep raising prices because:

1. volume is down - people don't mail as much as they used to
2. costs are up - just like with every other business, they pass those costs on to the consumer
3. employee salaries - new hires don't make as much, but legacy (long-term) employee salaries are high
4. retiree pensions - the USPS says this is the #1 budget buster that keeps them from profitability

It'll eventually reach a point where they can't raise prices anymore. The next step is to stop Saturday delivery.

If your path dictates you walk through hell, do it as though you own the place. -unknown
It did get me interested where I started reading some more articles about this. There seems to be a large number of employees eligible for early retirement continuing to work, but I don't blame them. For government jobs, the payoff is really the benefits and at the end, when you're only been slotted a finite amount at each grade/level along the entire way.
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