Post Office Question (not the usual one)

November 06, 2014 03:45AM

I don't know if this is in the right area, sorry! Just to ease my own mind.. I did the Ready Post scenario today. It was one of those small town post offices and I was the only person there. The clerk was super, super helpful and attentive the second I walked in. I glanced around for the forms quickly (thankfully, I've done enough of them to know what they look like on a glance!) and then started selecting a ready post envelope. Like I said, the clerk was super helpful and basically, there was no way I could have bought a ready post package without drawing serious suspicion. She was so insistent on the free packaging. When she asked how fast I wanted it to get there, I said I don't know and kept looking for an envelope. Then she said, "Well, let me weigh it for you and I can help you figure out your options". I didn't know what to do other than say ok? She was so helpful and trying so hard to save me money.. but now I'm a little anxious about my shop being accepted since I didn't purchase ready post (the clerk even packed my book for me in the priority supplies). Obviously, I'm writing this all in the report. Anyone have a clue if the MSC will accept it? I'd hate to be out $5.95 for mailing my own book to myself.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/06/2014 03:46AM by Bellusion.

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November 06, 2014 05:25AM

It won't be accepted.

I have been offered free packaging before. I simply tell them that I want: Padded, larger, fancier, sturdier, etc.
I use the size XS box (cube). It's $1.99. I mail myself soup on occasion.

ETA: I have also said that it's for eBay, and I charged the buyer for a box.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/06/2014 05:25AM by SoCalMama.

November 06, 2014 05:57AM

The same thing happened to me, although in my case the ReadyPost packaging was kept behind the counter. I told the clerk I wanted to buy a box. She wanted to see the item and asked the destination. She explained the rates and told me I was better off using the free Priority packaging. I told her I still preferred to purchase a box. She ignored me and insisted I use the free packaging; she even handed me a Priority box. At that point I felt I had no choice but to go along -- anything else would have given away the fact I was a mystery shopper (or I would have come across as a real jerk.) I explained all of this in the report and I still got paid, although I never received a grade on the shop. Hopefully you'll have the same luck. This experience has made me leary when I do ReadyPost shops. Now when I go in, I grab an envelope or box right away and begin packing my items before the clerk has a chance to ask anything. I have yet to do another ReadyPost where the boxes are behind the counter, and I'm not sure how I'll handle it if I run into the same situation.

ETA: I like the eBay idea.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/06/2014 06:01AM by mystery2me.

November 06, 2014 07:09AM

Twice now I've had the clerk do this to me.

In my cases, though, they weren't so attentive from the beginning, like the OP. I got my ReadyPost package just fine, and had my item all sealed and addressed and all that, without drawing any attention. It's just that at the counter, the clerk said, "Hey, I think I can save you a few bucks!" and stuffed the whole shebang into a flat-rate Priority envelope, and had me do a new label. They just *insisted* on saving me money, darn them!

Anyway, yes, I did get paid. I explained the whole thing in the report, and also used the 'contact' link from the shop log to send an extra note to the scheduler. He said it would be just fine.

It's not like *I* did anything wrong. Scheduler confirmed that if I'd put up a fuss or rejected what the clerk was doing, I'd just look like a weirdo ~ or a mystery shopper.

Practitioner of the Nerdly Arts.

November 06, 2014 07:37AM

Cool stories. I hope OP gets paid. (fingers crossed)

I've done at least 100 of these. I buy that darn box every time dammit. I frankly don't care if they think I'm weird.

November 06, 2014 09:22AM

I'm currently up to about 120, and I really don't care if I look like a weirdo in general. Ha!

BUT... there's a point where you're gonna out yourself if you absolutely insist that you want to pay those extra three bucks, so please stop trying to save me money. (Almost) No one in the world would.

BTW, both times they put my entire sealed-up ReadyPost mailer into the flat-rate mailer. One time the clerk said he wasn't gonna charge me for it. The other time, the clerk asked if I'd like to take my item out of the ReadyPost, and since I was just mailing a can of beans, I said no, I still wanted it for extra padding.

Practitioner of the Nerdly Arts.

November 06, 2014 01:27PM

I should've said I was going to send it media mail and then change my mind once I got up there. Easier to think about it after the fact! Hopefully they will accept it. I won't cry if they don't but would be nice. Thanks all!

November 06, 2014 03:14PM

The instructions say that if the clerk suggests a cheaper option for you and it would out you as a shopper to refuse it, you should accept.

Time to build a bigger bridge.

November 06, 2014 04:35PM

I've about quit doing the ready post shops because of the number of times the clerks fail to charge me for the box...and that goes into the report. Still get paid, but it's always been the same location so it feels like I'm not making a difference.

.
Have PV-500 & willing to travel.
"Answers are easy. It's asking the right questions which is hard." (The Fourth Doctor, The Face of Evil, 1977)

"Somedays you're the pigeon, somedays you're the statue.” J. Andrew Taylor

"I have never met a man so ignorant that I couldn't learn something from him." Galileo Galilei

November 06, 2014 05:00PM

Why in the world would you stop? To me the most important part of what you said is, "Still get paid." Doesn't our responsibility stop with an objective and accurate report?

Equal rights for others does not mean fewer rights for you. It's not pie.
"I prefer someone who burns the flag and then wraps themselves up in the Constitution over someone who burns the Constitution and then wraps themselves up in the flag." -Molly Ivins
Never try to teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of your time and it really annoys the pig.

November 06, 2014 05:34PM

I've done post office shops where things that have been wrong do get corrected. This one though, six times and I'm still not getting charged for the ready post packaging...it's just frustrating that apparently that this location doesn't give a damn.

November 07, 2014 03:48PM

Update - It did get accepted. Yay

November 07, 2014 04:49PM

Awesome.

I had one yesterday that had the boxes behind the counter. The clerk did not want to give one up. I finally got my box and then he wanted me to pay before I packed it up. LOL. I raised my hand as if I was getting sworn in for something and promised to not "steal" it. He might think I'm crazy, but I think that he's crazy if he thinks I'm going to prison for stealing a $2 box at USPS.

I could have paid, but I didn't want to scan two receipts.

November 07, 2014 10:52PM

I don't recall seeing this. I know it says that if the clerk recommends Express to save money, and to refuse would out you as a shopper, you can accept it. But I don't recall seeing anything that says that if a clerk offers you any other cheaper option, that you can accept it.

I am not saying they won't make an exception if you explain what happened, but the only thing I see about accepting another option in the guidelines is on the Express.

dspeakes Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The instructions say that if the clerk suggests a
> cheaper option for you and it would out you as a
> shopper to refuse it, you should accept.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/07/2014 10:56PM by jatufu1.

November 08, 2014 01:58AM

my info states you have to mail a p kg to a DIFFERENT area than where you live (ie: different time zone I believe)

i'm using THESE JOBS for early Xmas gifts!

November 08, 2014 02:00AM

If that was in response to my original post, you have to mail it from a different area than the post office you are using. Mailing to yourself is fine as long as the zip code is different. I use my brother's return address when I do this so I won't draw suspicion.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/08/2014 02:03AM by Bellusion.

November 08, 2014 03:58AM

I have a P.O. box for my business so I use that for my return address. There is link in the instructions to go online to find out the different zones for the mail for those who ask about mailing it close to home.

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Post Office Question (not the usual one)

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