Tom: You just put your finger on it. Report on Why We're Losing Money: Something has changed in our business model. It's hard to pinpoint the exact nature of the problem.
nope, nope and nope. It’s all about the economy. The USPS can’t control their fixed costs (ie. labor) like UPS or FedEx can. When shipping and mailing is down, UPS and FedEx can always layoff tons of their temp workers. USPS can’t. As soon as the economy recovers and companies start shipping more, then the USPS will be back in the black as they have been for most of the last 20+ years.
Increasingly, I find FedEx to be sloppy and late – and arrogant. The Postal Service has improved immensely in the past ten years, getting more service-oriented and delivering more reliably. Competition was good for them.
The “junk” mail is the main source of revenue for the USPS. WIthout it, our postal rates would be much higher.
And the USPS does have a lot of temps they lay off: they’re called “Summer hires,” who can work upto 6 months before they get layed off. They don’t always get hired in the summer, because they are needed during the Christmas rush, too. They have no benefits whatsoever.
^ fennec: Royalmail has its own junkmail division called “direct mail”. A Royalmail postie got into deep water when he told the folks on his round how to get off this list (made national news on how he was treated by Royalmail). When I moved into my present home a few years back, I informed my postie that I had signed up to avoid direct mail as well as other junkmail. He actually pleaded with me to allow them to send me junkmail as it brought them more income and might stave off its privatisation.
The thing to do is make all of those Junk Mail, Credit Card Ads, and Newsletters pay first class postage, and the problems (as well as most of the junk mail) will go away.
Are we worried about our taxes subsidizing the amount the USPS is in the red? What is that amount? Or rather, how many minutes of the Pentagon/Defense bloat would cover that amount?
Let’s see, would we rather get postal service, or drop a few bombs on a few weddings?
Just checked and to get super saver from fedex to send a letter next door is $14.84,.. less than $.50 for USPS
Fedex overnight with signature $57.03 USPS is less than $15.00 Are you people paying attention?
An archaic technology artificially maintained to sustain a government agency that has outlived it’s usefulness. This is one rare case where I would agree with privatization.
One thing that would sure help would be to have a feedback mechanism, obvious to the users (remember, the customers who are paying for the service?)
I’ve been forwarding some items to a dear friend in a US Protectorate lately, that do require a Customs Form, even though she has a ZIP Code, and it’s not in the on-line Click-N-Ship options to even cover that Protectorate (MP).
Local workers at the Big City Main P.O. don’t have a clue and are rude (maybe close to ‘postal’, no surprise), and yet there’s no way to let Ma PO know what’s wrong.
Our little P.O. in the unincorporated Township gets it right, but if there’s a problem, the same lack of feedback is in play.
Finally had to download and search the 1000-page PDF to find the rule, and now just go to the contract desk at the local pharmacy, which works fine.
Huge bloat has a serious downside, and running ‘open-loop’ (electronic term) without feedback correction is only one symptom of it.
cdward about 14 years ago
So really, the USPS ought to become an internet service provider.
ssejhill about 14 years ago
nope, nope and nope. It’s all about the economy. The USPS can’t control their fixed costs (ie. labor) like UPS or FedEx can. When shipping and mailing is down, UPS and FedEx can always layoff tons of their temp workers. USPS can’t. As soon as the economy recovers and companies start shipping more, then the USPS will be back in the black as they have been for most of the last 20+ years.
Motivemagus about 14 years ago
Increasingly, I find FedEx to be sloppy and late – and arrogant. The Postal Service has improved immensely in the past ten years, getting more service-oriented and delivering more reliably. Competition was good for them.
alan.gurka about 14 years ago
The “junk” mail is the main source of revenue for the USPS. WIthout it, our postal rates would be much higher.
And the USPS does have a lot of temps they lay off: they’re called “Summer hires,” who can work upto 6 months before they get layed off. They don’t always get hired in the summer, because they are needed during the Christmas rush, too. They have no benefits whatsoever.
OmqR-IV.0 about 14 years ago
^ fennec: Royalmail has its own junkmail division called “direct mail”. A Royalmail postie got into deep water when he told the folks on his round how to get off this list (made national news on how he was treated by Royalmail). When I moved into my present home a few years back, I informed my postie that I had signed up to avoid direct mail as well as other junkmail. He actually pleaded with me to allow them to send me junkmail as it brought them more income and might stave off its privatisation.
kennethcwarren64 about 14 years ago
The thing to do is make all of those Junk Mail, Credit Card Ads, and Newsletters pay first class postage, and the problems (as well as most of the junk mail) will go away.
MrDichotomies about 14 years ago
Are we worried about our taxes subsidizing the amount the USPS is in the red? What is that amount? Or rather, how many minutes of the Pentagon/Defense bloat would cover that amount?
Let’s see, would we rather get postal service, or drop a few bombs on a few weddings?
jwood3000 about 14 years ago
Just checked and to get super saver from fedex to send a letter next door is $14.84,.. less than $.50 for USPS Fedex overnight with signature $57.03 USPS is less than $15.00 Are you people paying attention?
Charles Brobst Premium Member about 14 years ago
An archaic technology artificially maintained to sustain a government agency that has outlived it’s usefulness. This is one rare case where I would agree with privatization.
pbarnrob about 14 years ago
One thing that would sure help would be to have a feedback mechanism, obvious to the users (remember, the customers who are paying for the service?)
I’ve been forwarding some items to a dear friend in a US Protectorate lately, that do require a Customs Form, even though she has a ZIP Code, and it’s not in the on-line Click-N-Ship options to even cover that Protectorate (MP).
Local workers at the Big City Main P.O. don’t have a clue and are rude (maybe close to ‘postal’, no surprise), and yet there’s no way to let Ma PO know what’s wrong.
Our little P.O. in the unincorporated Township gets it right, but if there’s a problem, the same lack of feedback is in play.
Finally had to download and search the 1000-page PDF to find the rule, and now just go to the contract desk at the local pharmacy, which works fine.
Huge bloat has a serious downside, and running ‘open-loop’ (electronic term) without feedback correction is only one symptom of it.