USPS has........

Keep in mind that the USPS went with the lowest bid when it came to the hardware/software for the scanners. Not uncommon for the system to be down.....for days/weeks at a time. As Gunbunny can attest to the USPS using them for tracking purposes for the customers is secondary. The real readonly they have the scanners is to "sit" the employees electronically, the USPS will do whatever it can to eliminate bid jobs.
All in all it is hard to knock the USPS. are they perfect? Hell no. But keeping in mind the sheer volume of mail processed they do a damn decent job. On any given night when we would process 1.5 million first class letters in Phoenix we may have destroyed 250-300 letters. But even the majority of them were body bagged and delivered. Sadly, the bulk of the destroyed mail was from the customer mailing stuff they shouldn't. Every letter that you mail unsealed, or with the flaps loose, has the potential to destroy the next 12 or so letters behind it. Christmas time was not uncommon for a company to dump 400 cards in the mailbox, all unsealed. Don't know how many times I have told folks TAPE THE FLAP SHUT. To the one person that always has to argue with me about it... do you even know what an AFCS is? I ran one for 4 years straight, and another 6 or so part time.
The folks that botch about destroyed parcels are always entertaining. If there is any open air space in 5he box you have just increased the potential for damage 10 fold. But again, what do I know, I only was employed there for close to 20 years.
Used to be parcels were ran thru the SPBS machine, the shipping address read and keyed by a human. Now it is all done on the APPS machine..address read by a scanner with ocr software. Illegible hand writing...well the ocr software can only do so much.
Like mentioned earlier, the USPS has its own bible, the DMM. It is the sophisticated of how things are supposed to be done. It often makes close to zero sense. But that is the way it is.
The carrier that delivers to our area is no longer allowed to deliver packages to the houses down here. Our roads are private, something happens, he gets stick for instance, he is responsible for the bill.
When I worked in NJ we would often receive mail via OTR companies. Postal folks,even though the trailer was on Postal property, were not allowed to help him unload, we were not covered by his insurance and the DMM forbid it. The other side of the coin..contractors would often haul a Postal trailer to us. The driver was not allowed to enter it...so says the DMM. No doubt there was insurance issues too.
What do expect from a "quasi" government organization?

Sorry for rambling.....