Post Office

[Bigb13]

Is it just me or does it seem like items are starting to take a lot longer to get where they are going? Rob

[barrysloate]

I think things are getting a little slower. We know that the post office is having problems. That can't be good for speeding up mail.

[Robextend]

I agree, things are slowing down. My local post office had some staff cuts and the electronic transaction machine was removed. Don't you love to hear the screams of the inpatient on that PO line?

[Bigb13]

It will get worse when they cut out Saturday. Rob

[Robextend]

I really hope they don't mess with Saturdays....

[bcbgcbrcb]

It gets worse when the item you are waiting for is coming from Venezuela. I just received a photo today after 21 days in the mail and they don't even provide tracking numbers for you.

[Bigb13]

Well with some of the shipping that some people charge, some items should come FedEx. Rob

[Rob D.]

Amazingly, I mailed a package last Friday from Ohio to Texas via media mail, and it arrived yesterday (Tuesday). That's almost unheard of.

[M's_Fan]

I really don't understand the "cost cutting" rationale of no Saturday delivery. I mean, it will also "cut costs" if they cancel deliveries Monday through Friday as well, but delivering Mail is what the Post Office is supposed to do!

I'm sure UPS and Fedex will be more than happy to grab the post office's market share. Too bad there isn't a politician that will stand up and say, "hmm... maybe we should raise the retirement age of postal workers from 50 to 55 instead..."

[Bigb13]

That would be a great idea

[Jim VB]

Originally Posted by M's_Fan

I really don't understand the "cost cutting" rationale of no Saturday delivery. I mean, it will also "cut costs" if they cancel deliveries Monday through Friday as well, but delivering Mail is what the Post Office is supposed to do!

I'm sure UPS and Fedex will be more than happy to grab the post office's market share. Too bad there isn't a politician that will stand up and say, "hmm... maybe we should raise the retirement age of postal workers from 50 to 55 instead..."

Simplisticlly, the move to cut deliveries by one day (it doesn't have to be Saturday) will save them a lot of money.

Although they deliver six days a week, most employees work five days. My carrier is off Wednesdays (and, of course, Sundays.) So every Wednesday I have a fill in guy. He floats from route to route. He covers my guy on Wednesday, someone else on Monday, a different guy on Tuesday, etc.

Therefore, a minimum of 6 carriers are needed for every 5 routes (It's even worse when you try to cover vacations.)

Cutting a delivery day would therefore, eliminate the need for this job and reduce employees by 16%.

[mintacular]

Since 1970 the Post Office was detached from the Federal Govt. All of their costs of business must be paid through their services (postage, insurance, etc.)--there are no government subsidies. It is no longer a "govt service" and an extra workday simply doesn't bring them enough revenue to justify staying open on Sat. I think last year they were hammered by gas prices and fell short billions of dollars. As much as people gripe about their prices, first class mail is still much cheaper than Fedex/UPS.