usps po box street addressing is completely broken

If you use this, you will get screwed. I did.

First I'll describe what this is and how it's supposed to function.

The United States Postal Service rents PO boxes. The USPS offers a thing called Street Addressing that is included with the box rental agreement. The entire reason to use Street Addressing is to have an alternative physical address for package delivery.

For example, UPS, as in United Parcel Service, does not deliver to PO boxes. But they will deliver to a PO box address using the alternative Street Addressing.

For example, if your PO box address is this:

Your First Name Your Last Name
PO Box 123
City, State 12345

...and the physical address of the post office that PO box was rented from is this:

Post Office
123 Any St
City, State 12345

...then the Street Addressing for that PO box is this:

Your First Name Your Last Name
123 Any St #123
City, State 12345

That little # with the box number after it on the address line tells the USPS, "This package is supposed to go to PO BOX 123 at that post office location."

In the past, I have used Street Addressing to successfully receive packages that required a physical address. It was rare whenever I had to use it, but it did used to work.

Yeah, used to work. Now it doesn't.

There was a package I needed to receive, and the shipper used UPS. Okay, fine, I'll just use my USPS Street Addressing to receive it.

The package is shipped with the UPS courier. I am given a UPS tracking number. UPS, of course, delivers the package properly and on time because UPS actually knows what they're doing. I now know 100% for a fact the package is at the post office.

The package was delivered and signed for at the post office last Friday.

Okay, let's drive on down to the post office to pick up the package.

I arrive, then go check my PO box. No package.

Okay, no problem. I go to the desk and tell the USPS clerk that UPS delivered it, you signed for it, it's not in my box, where is it?

Clerk goes to the back to "check" for it.

Five minutes later, clerk comes back, lies straight to my face and said she "couldn't find it", but it should be sorted and put in my box by tomorrow.

Mm-hmm.

I go to the post office the next day, Saturday. It was after 12pm so the location was closed, but I could still check my box.

No package.

Today, Monday, I go to post office again. Encounter the same clerk. This time I brought along a printout from UPS saying oh yeah, you received and signed for this, where is it?

Clerk lazily shuffles back to go "look again" for the package.

I wait a few minutes, clerk shuffles back. I get lied to once again and am told nope, it cannot be found, let me take your phone number and CALL YOU BACK IN ONE TO TWO WEEKS.

I wanted to start screaming at this point, but no no... stay calm. I gave the clerk my phone number, then softly and politely asked, "Why do you need to do that when it's here and I know it's here?"

Oh, the look I was given. It was one of those "How DARE you ask me that?!" looks. A look that was a combination of absolute annoyance and anger for even thinking about asking such a thing.

A very fake and forced smile came across that clerk's face. "Well, see, it's not our tracking number, so, um... sorry! We'll call you back!"

All I could do is give a short stare, then say, "Okay...", and left politely.

There will be no followup to this. There will be no way to track this incident online because this absolutely won't be put into USPS Informed Delivery. All I can do is wait and hope my package actually gets delivered to my box.

What that USPS clerk did was attempt to shift blame to United Parcel Service to make them look bad. Bad move. Really bad move. "It's not our tracking number" is a piss poor excuse for USPS incompetence. I followed the USPS rules exactly for Street Addressing. UPS absolutely did deliver the package properly and on time. It is absolutely and totally 100% the fault of USPS for not putting that package in my PO box.

Now if I wanted to be a prick about this, I could call UPS to inform them what's going on so they'd have a nice little chat with that post office to resolve this, because they really don't like it when the USPS tries to shift blame on them.

It's no secret that UPS absolutely hates the USPS, and for good reasons. I can only imagine the amount of fires UPS puts out due to USPS bungling on a daily basis.

Side note: Years ago I actually did work for UPS as a driver delivery helper for Christmas seasonal work, so I saw first hand how hard a driver works to get everything delivered. I've had a deep respect for UPS ever since, because the men and women who run that shop really bust their asses to get the job done.

See, here's the deal.

UPS delivered the package to that post office. I know it's there. There's no question it is there, in that building, right now.

The only reason that package was not put in my box is because the USPS doesn't know how to follow their own rules.

Even though the street addressing format the USPS requires was used correctly, it doesn't matter. Because the address didn't explicitly say PO BOX on it, it's a herpy-derpy "durr, we don't know where this goes" shitshow... even though the label very plainly states the address of that post office with the # and the number representing the PO box number the package is supposed to go to.

Had I not brought that printout that showed proof positive UPS did their job correctly, USPS would have instantly shifted blame over to them. I've had to bring proof-of-delivery printouts many times to this post office over the years just to prove a package actually got there, because wow do they love blame-shifting.

So what happens now?

Probably the same that happened the last time I went through this.

Oh, I'm sorry, I should have mentioned that I've had to deal with this BEFORE.

The last time I dealt with a USPS Street Addressing bungle, the post office flat out told me the package was lost. Yep, gone, don't know where it went, oopsie, hope it wasn't important, have a nice day! Then, magically, it just happened to show up in my PO box two weeks later. Except it wasn't magic. Some USPS dolt employee finally "found" the package and put it in my box. And oh yeah, that package was all sorts of scuffed up. I'm amazed it even survived.

Will the USPS call me back concerning this package? Doubt it.

Will my package magically show up in my PO box that I know UPS delivered properly and is there, in that building, right now? Maybe.

It's either that or that package is gone forever.

If anyone from UPS happens to read this, please go yell at that post office, because they deserve it. I'm sure you can figure out which post office it is I've been talking about.

The moral of this story:

Never, for any reason, use USPS PO Box Street Addressing for package delivery.

I was stupid enough to believe, "Well... maybe this time it will work because the courier delivering it is United Parcel Service, and they're the best shipping company in the business. There's no way the USPS could bungle this one, right?"

Wrong. USPS bungled a package delivery transported by UPS. And if the USPS can't handle a UPS delivery properly, which they obviously can't, there's absolutely no hope Street Addressing would work with anyone else.

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