Is UPS faster than regular mail?

Is UPS faster than regular mail? Honestly, it's a toss-up! I mean, UPS says Ground is 4-5 days, right? But seriously, sometimes it feels like it's taking a cross-country road trip in a covered wagon! I remember once, I was waiting for this package – a birthday gift for my best friend, no less – and it took almost a full week to arrive with UPS Ground. Talk about stressful! USPS Priority Mail, on the other hand, has been pretty consistently 1-3 days for me. Like, when I ordered that new phone case, boom, there it was two days later. So, if I need something relatively fast, and I'm not, you know, rolling in dough to pay for overnight shipping, I usually go with the good old Postal Service. I've just had better luck with them, personally. Maybe UPS is faster in other parts of the country, who knows? But around here? Nah. Just my two cents, though. What have other people experienced? I'm curious!