Say Goodbye to Saturday Mail Delivery
Summary: Sadly, Doc is just old enough to remember when, during the holiday season, the mail carrier actually delivered mail twice a day. But then that was when there was a still a Sears catalog and people actually sent Christmas cards to one another. Now we have email, of course, and it’s put a lot of pressure on the US Postal service revenue. So now the Service is looking to cut back mail delivery on Saturday.
Sadly, Doc is just old enough to remember when, during the holiday season, the mail carrier actually delivered mail twice a day. But then, that was when there was a still a Sears catalog and people actually sent Christmas cards to one another. Now we have email, of course, and it’s put a lot of pressure on the US Postal Service revenue. So now the Service is looking to cut back mail delivery on Saturday.
For those of my readers who do a lot of direct mail, or send out lots of customer communications, the elimination of Saturday delivery and pick up is an important consideration in your document management plans. Saturday is actually one of the days big mailers like, since people are more likely to be home and the mail has a greater impact than when it arrives on weekdays. And a lot of people pay bills on Saturday. For that reason, many big mailers have suggested eliminating Tuesdays or Thursdays, which are slower mail days.
But the Postal Service has decided on Saturday, it seems, in part because it will provide greater cost savings, which is the whole point of dropping one day of service. Plus, it has less of an impact on business-to-business mail.
Here is just some of what the Postal Service has to say about Saturday delivery, in a lengthy online manifesto on the subject:
The United States Postal Service proposes to end regular Saturday mail delivery to street addresses as part of a comprehensive plan to ensure that it can continue to deliver affordable service to the American people.
Technology is reshaping how Americans communicate and conduct business. Many activities formerly done by mail are now accomplished online, and as a result, the volume of mail delivered has plummeted, from 213 billion pieces in 2007 to 177 billion pieces in 2009. Volume is expected to continue to fall to 150 billion pieces by the end of the decade.
The sharp decline in volume has profound implications for the continuation of universal mail service in the United States. The Postal Service is not funded by taxpayers. It is directed to operate as a business does, funded entirely by revenue from its products and services.
While the drop in mail volume has dramatically reduced revenue, postal costs are largely fixed because carriers still stop at each address even if that address receives fewer pieces of mail. The result is a large and growing gap between revenues and costs. Without fundamental changes, this gap will grow every year, producing cumulative losses of $238 billion by 2020.
Under the Postal Service plan for five-day delivery:
- Mail will not be delivered to street addresses on Saturday, and mail will not be collected from blue street collection boxes or Post Offices on Saturday. Also, there will be no Saturday pickup of mail from homes and businesses.
- Mail addressed to Post Office Boxes will continue to be delivered on Saturday.
- Post Offices will remain open on Saturdays. No Post Office will be closed as a result of the change to five-day delivery.
- Express Mail will continue to be delivered seven days a week.
- Outgoing mail may still be dropped off at a Post Office or in a collection box on Saturday, and will be canceled and processed on Monday.
- Bulk mail acceptance that now takes place on Saturday and Sunday will continue.
The Postal Service does not take this change lightly and would not propose it if six-day service could be supported by current volumes. However, there is no longer enough mail to sustain six days of delivery. Ten years ago the average household received five pieces of mail every day. Today it receives four pieces, and by 2020 that number will fall to three. Reducing street delivery to five days will help rebalance postal operations with the needs of today’s customers. It also will save about $3 billion a year, including reductions in energy use and carbon emissions.
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I would really prefer losing Wednesday instead of Saturday so I'm not stuck waiting for mail for 2 days instead of 1... Especially if its medicine.
@jmoliere@... yeah yanno that is a consideration I never even thought of.
@jmoliere@... Thank you very much! hermes 22cm hermes garden party hermes paris bombay
I don't think cutting back on service is a good idea when your last name is service. At some prior to 2007, the USPS handled 177-million pieces of mail and were not charging 44 cents. What has changed?
@paterrana
The cost of gas went up! This has affected everybody.
The cost of gas went up! This has affected everybody.
Yeah...agreed, however email has squashed a lot of their income. Maybe if they cut the unions out they could actually afford to have service as a priority again.
@willowreed@... It's not so much the unions as it is the pay scale. Then again, every gov't job has an escalated pay scale when compared to the civilian world, except for contractor jobs.
@willowreed@...
A lot of people think that mail carriers are just over paid government employees. Stop to consider what we have to deal with just to get our job done. We go from box to box every day to deliver mail. On a daily basis we deal we other people trying to do THEIR job. The landscapers, the sprinkler guys, the Verizon guys, the trash trucks, the UPS trucks, etc. All these will block the mailbox without even thinking about it. I've had many people drive past me and stop 2-3 houses ahead and stop in front of the box and think nothing of it. I've had customers pass me and turn right in front of me to turn into the driveway knowing full well I stop and start to get to each box. I have customers every Monday put their trash cans right in front of the mailbox, sometimes 2-3 together, even though they have 20-30 feet on the other side of the driveway to put them. When you have 600 houses all these cars, work trucks, etc., add up to more time. Most people think, well its only one box, just get out. Your mailman doesn't just deliver mail we have a locational "interaction with" the neighborhood. We look for lost dogs while we drive around when asked by residents, we sometimes see people breaking into houses, etc. I've helped one of my customers find the person that knocked down their brick mailbox. I've helped one of my customers on oxygen change his bulbs on his garage door opener when I saw him up on a ladder. The list goes on......The only thing I want to say about Unions is that, as a rural carrier, we get very little from it that makes our jobs better. Mostly, they represent us when the USPS wants our jobs. Imagine the savings that the USPS could have by firing a 10-30 year employee and moving someone new into that position. Every year the USPS has what we call a "mail count". All the mail received during a 2 or 4 week period is counted and that determines the pay for the carrier. Imagine if the USPS also has a way to "control" the amount of mail you received, to a certain degree, during that time. Imagine if you lost 3-4 thousand dollars a year in salary. This in addition to the fact that mail is decreasing every year also. I don't have to imagine it, its just reality. There are many things wrong with the post office, but it isn't with the carriers for the most part. The post office is too concerned about whether we have a picture of our family at our case or an apple or a cell phone in our pocket in case we need to be reached by our child's school. Just something for you to think about so at least next time you will have an informed opinion.
A lot of people think that mail carriers are just over paid government employees. Stop to consider what we have to deal with just to get our job done. We go from box to box every day to deliver mail. On a daily basis we deal we other people trying to do THEIR job. The landscapers, the sprinkler guys, the Verizon guys, the trash trucks, the UPS trucks, etc. All these will block the mailbox without even thinking about it. I've had many people drive past me and stop 2-3 houses ahead and stop in front of the box and think nothing of it. I've had customers pass me and turn right in front of me to turn into the driveway knowing full well I stop and start to get to each box. I have customers every Monday put their trash cans right in front of the mailbox, sometimes 2-3 together, even though they have 20-30 feet on the other side of the driveway to put them. When you have 600 houses all these cars, work trucks, etc., add up to more time. Most people think, well its only one box, just get out. Your mailman doesn't just deliver mail we have a locational "interaction with" the neighborhood. We look for lost dogs while we drive around when asked by residents, we sometimes see people breaking into houses, etc. I've helped one of my customers find the person that knocked down their brick mailbox. I've helped one of my customers on oxygen change his bulbs on his garage door opener when I saw him up on a ladder. The list goes on......The only thing I want to say about Unions is that, as a rural carrier, we get very little from it that makes our jobs better. Mostly, they represent us when the USPS wants our jobs. Imagine the savings that the USPS could have by firing a 10-30 year employee and moving someone new into that position. Every year the USPS has what we call a "mail count". All the mail received during a 2 or 4 week period is counted and that determines the pay for the carrier. Imagine if the USPS also has a way to "control" the amount of mail you received, to a certain degree, during that time. Imagine if you lost 3-4 thousand dollars a year in salary. This in addition to the fact that mail is decreasing every year also. I don't have to imagine it, its just reality. There are many things wrong with the post office, but it isn't with the carriers for the most part. The post office is too concerned about whether we have a picture of our family at our case or an apple or a cell phone in our pocket in case we need to be reached by our child's school. Just something for you to think about so at least next time you will have an informed opinion.
@willowreed@... Uninformed
@paterrana
cost of fuel, pensions, labour, vehicles.
the only intelligent metric for such things is something like price of 4 day delivery anywhere in the 48 expressed in minutes of prevailing wage...
cost of fuel, pensions, labour, vehicles.
the only intelligent metric for such things is something like price of 4 day delivery anywhere in the 48 expressed in minutes of prevailing wage...
This has been coming for some time. I really won't miss Saturday deliveries. I think that the Postal Service should contemplate secure email services and a US citizen email service (i.e. bob.citizen@citizen.us)
Between email and paperless billing, the Post Office is in less demand than it used to be. I really won't mind missing Saturday delivery either because I hardly get mail on Saturdays now and if I do, its a bunch of ads and junk mail that goes directly to the trash can. If we can save millions by cutting one day of service, I can live with that as long as we don't loose jobs over it. However, we still need the post offices very much. Maybe they could think of ways to automate the services even more and offer incentives to customers for using those services.
a week. The amount of junk mail i get, i would rather pick it up once a week. Most bills are now sent electronically or left at my house by the servicing tech.
I dont want the postal service to go under in any way, i like the fact that they are cheaper when shipping boxes. They may not be the fastest or have the best tracking, but i havent had a box not make it eventually.
Maybe they could move to electronic mail processing where they pull all your mail for you, scan it in and email it.
I dont want the postal service to go under in any way, i like the fact that they are cheaper when shipping boxes. They may not be the fastest or have the best tracking, but i havent had a box not make it eventually.
Maybe they could move to electronic mail processing where they pull all your mail for you, scan it in and email it.
@Been_Done_Before
One thing I think we should consider is the impact this will have on the carriers themselves. I used to carry (occasional city carrier but mostly rural driver). By phasing out one day, the volume is still there and now it's going to get pushed onto the next day. Even though mail is not delivered on Sundays, for example, the mail is still moving around the country in the large trucks. So when Monday comes, you're delivering the mail for Monday but also the stuff that was moving around on Sunday. Now by clipping off Saturday, you're adding another day's worth of mail onto Monday. And I can speak from experience, you get paid a flat rate for your time. If it takes you 4 hours, you get paid the same rate as if it took you 12 (which closer to Christmas time with all of the packages is a possibility).
We're all talking about how this would affect the people getting the mail delivered to us but I want people to also think about how much more of a strain it will place on the carriers as well.
One thing I think we should consider is the impact this will have on the carriers themselves. I used to carry (occasional city carrier but mostly rural driver). By phasing out one day, the volume is still there and now it's going to get pushed onto the next day. Even though mail is not delivered on Sundays, for example, the mail is still moving around the country in the large trucks. So when Monday comes, you're delivering the mail for Monday but also the stuff that was moving around on Sunday. Now by clipping off Saturday, you're adding another day's worth of mail onto Monday. And I can speak from experience, you get paid a flat rate for your time. If it takes you 4 hours, you get paid the same rate as if it took you 12 (which closer to Christmas time with all of the packages is a possibility).
We're all talking about how this would affect the people getting the mail delivered to us but I want people to also think about how much more of a strain it will place on the carriers as well.
@thejackalinthetor No, the whole point is there is LESS work to do--in fact, not enough to continue the Saturday service. I imagine that instead of creating overtime and stressed workers, many will be glad they get to keep their jobs instead of getting cut back.
@Been_Done_Before
Let me see if i understood what u said. u want us to open your mail, scan it and e-mail it to u. what do we do with the money your grandma mailed to u for your birthday? what do we do with the money from the people u sent your used gold to so they could send u money for it? i know, we could use it to buy u a "clue".
Let me see if i understood what u said. u want us to open your mail, scan it and e-mail it to u. what do we do with the money your grandma mailed to u for your birthday? what do we do with the money from the people u sent your used gold to so they could send u money for it? i know, we could use it to buy u a "clue".
You have been spoilt for too long
Australia dumped Saturday delivery (except for the Saturday preceding Christmas) Years ago.
Do we miss it? NO !
Do we NEED it? NO !
Australia dumped Saturday delivery (except for the Saturday preceding Christmas) Years ago.
Do we miss it? NO !
Do we NEED it? NO !
@grumpygutz
As a fellow Aussie, I completely agree. It's a natural progression of change in an electronic world.
As a fellow Aussie, I completely agree. It's a natural progression of change in an electronic world.
@jestjhon For your enlightenment, the end of the decade is 12/31/2010.
@jestjhon Get-Smart is right because there is no year zero.
This is interesting to me. As a tiny business, I use USPS MORE now than ever before- I send multiple packages and letters daily now, whereas even 4 years ago I was sending things via post perhaps once every 2 weeks. Am I bucking the trend?
Just write 'return to sender' on the junk mail. Mailman has to deliver it back to the spammers, right? Keeps the amount of mail up, and people get to keep their job !
Their volume is down because businesses use use FedEx, UPS, and others for deliveries which used to be done by the post office. Making an uncompetitive company less competitive does not solve anything. A really poor showing for a monopoly (no one but the post office is legally allowed to deliver regular mail!)
@John73
not true, the internet is the biggest factor. also the monopoly you mentioned is provided for by the constitution.
not true, the internet is the biggest factor. also the monopoly you mentioned is provided for by the constitution.
I hardly mail anything out anymore, I use e-billing! The bummer is I won't get my Netflix on Saturday anymore :((((((
Folks, have you all forgotten that household deliveries never used to be made on Saturday? I thought it an expensive and unnecessary change when first made.
@nelson.robert@...
Sir, please don't "knock" junk mail delivery. It subsidizes first class mail. Just accept the junk, quietly drop it into the trash if you wish not to peruse through it, and be glad that it has helped trim a fraction of a cent off of your cost to mail a birthday card to "Aunt Martha". (Actually it is probably several cents subsidy to first class mail because the cost for first class mail delivery would have to increase substantially without junk mail.)
Sir, please don't "knock" junk mail delivery. It subsidizes first class mail. Just accept the junk, quietly drop it into the trash if you wish not to peruse through it, and be glad that it has helped trim a fraction of a cent off of your cost to mail a birthday card to "Aunt Martha". (Actually it is probably several cents subsidy to first class mail because the cost for first class mail delivery would have to increase substantially without junk mail.)
who "owns" the postal service?
do they get money from the US taxpayer, how can they not be?
It doesn't sound like a real "business" to me.
there's definitely a "government" air about it when i go to the Post Office.
Who funds their pensions, medical, and so forth?
If they're cutting one sixth of their mail delivery service are they correspondingly cutting staff? If not, what are those surplus man hours going to do for their salaries which we fund through the constantly escalating cost of stamps and postage?
Unless i'm totally mistaken i believe that the USPS still has government ordered monopoly power in certain areas of mail delivery so others can't compete. if that's so then it's not really such an independent entity. I have always been treated and served well by the USPS but to the extent that it's another government bureaucracy it has to be trimmed when they're cutting service by a double digit percentage from 6 days to 5.
On the other hand there's also a great risk of catastrophic interruption if everything goes electronic and some disaster or terrorist atttack disables the communications infrastructure which will by that time have become the "Post Office". The entire country could be "out of business" because they wont be able to communicate or perform financial functions. We need to keep the manual routes functioning in case that happens as a backup. Just to keep the machine oiled we should have mail delivery on one Saturday a month just to keep the processes running in case they are needed.
do they get money from the US taxpayer, how can they not be?
It doesn't sound like a real "business" to me.
there's definitely a "government" air about it when i go to the Post Office.
Who funds their pensions, medical, and so forth?
If they're cutting one sixth of their mail delivery service are they correspondingly cutting staff? If not, what are those surplus man hours going to do for their salaries which we fund through the constantly escalating cost of stamps and postage?
Unless i'm totally mistaken i believe that the USPS still has government ordered monopoly power in certain areas of mail delivery so others can't compete. if that's so then it's not really such an independent entity. I have always been treated and served well by the USPS but to the extent that it's another government bureaucracy it has to be trimmed when they're cutting service by a double digit percentage from 6 days to 5.
On the other hand there's also a great risk of catastrophic interruption if everything goes electronic and some disaster or terrorist atttack disables the communications infrastructure which will by that time have become the "Post Office". The entire country could be "out of business" because they wont be able to communicate or perform financial functions. We need to keep the manual routes functioning in case that happens as a backup. Just to keep the machine oiled we should have mail delivery on one Saturday a month just to keep the processes running in case they are needed.
What you fail to recognize in this is the impact on the mail carriers. The impact on the rural carriers will have a financial impact. Even though many of them work 6 days, it takes 6 days to make a 40 hour week. They will now miss a full day's pay.
I agree that we do not NEED Saturday deliveries but to cut their pay by eliminating a day's pay is not the answer either. I could go on for hours about how the Post Office treats their rural route carriers (automation of magazine sorting which reduces the pieces for which they get credit, mail count, route consolidation, etc) but this is not the forum for that (no I am NOT a mail carrier) but trust me, this is another move that will certainly impact their income.
It was suggested that the Post Office look into additional automation, trust me, they are and will continue to do so. With each automation addition, another person's hours are reduced or a person moved to unemployment.
With all the negatives that have recently hit the carriers they certainly do not need another reduction in pay. Unless you know both sides and how PEOPLE'S lives will be impacted, you might want to think twice about telling someone to "just make more cuts."
I agree that we do not NEED Saturday deliveries but to cut their pay by eliminating a day's pay is not the answer either. I could go on for hours about how the Post Office treats their rural route carriers (automation of magazine sorting which reduces the pieces for which they get credit, mail count, route consolidation, etc) but this is not the forum for that (no I am NOT a mail carrier) but trust me, this is another move that will certainly impact their income.
It was suggested that the Post Office look into additional automation, trust me, they are and will continue to do so. With each automation addition, another person's hours are reduced or a person moved to unemployment.
With all the negatives that have recently hit the carriers they certainly do not need another reduction in pay. Unless you know both sides and how PEOPLE'S lives will be impacted, you might want to think twice about telling someone to "just make more cuts."
@Indyrenegade
finally, someone who thinks before they speak.
finally, someone who thinks before they speak.
I think packages should still be picked up and delivered on Saturday.
I retired from the PO and I can say that its all about money.This will cut out most overtime for carriers, which will save big bucks. Don't diss the unions. They are the ONLY reason that your mail is not being misdelivered by an illegal alien. Obama does not care if they are right under his wifes nose.
I didn't really I would miss Saturday delivery for personal mail...but after reading the post about the medication being delayed, I started to think about all the things we *might* be expecting that would have to wait to be delivered on Monday. Bummer.
I'd be happy to see mail stopped on Sat. I want me weekend free of bills and advertisements. In fact, cancel the newspaper, too. I just wish the telemarketers would follow suite!
Less service and higher rates seems to be the business model of the year.
I can understand the need for USPS to cut costs to compensate for reduced mail volume. Elimination of Saturday mail delivery my be a step toward accomplishing this goal. Perhaps, a better solution would be to go to a 3 days-a-week delivery schedule in which routes would be Monday-Wednesday-Friday routes and Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday routes. Only a few of us are old enough to remember when Government checks (Social Security and Income Tax refund, etc.) were delivered on Saturday because more recipients were home on that day. We got past that change without issue and could, likewise, get used to every-other-day delivery. I think this would be preferable to increasing the cost of postage to continue 6 day delivery schedules.
(Now if we could just get the Feds to get past the Wednesday direct deposit of our Social Security checks and move to a day-of-the-month delivery system. I understand the Wednesday USPS delivery system, but not the Wednesday direct deposit system.)
(Now if we could just get the Feds to get past the Wednesday direct deposit of our Social Security checks and move to a day-of-the-month delivery system. I understand the Wednesday USPS delivery system, but not the Wednesday direct deposit system.)
@john3347@...
I agree.
Fire 1/2 the carriers and save big bucks. And big bucks (billions in losses each year) are needed to be saved.
I agree.
Fire 1/2 the carriers and save big bucks. And big bucks (billions in losses each year) are needed to be saved.
I would suggest that they completely eliminate mail deliver. Get out of the business and let FedEx, UPS and whomever want to do home delivery do it.
Then after the private companies have adjusted to the every day delivery eliminate the post offices competely and let the private companies take that over.
If your company can not deliver to your customers let someone else.
Then after the private companies have adjusted to the every day delivery eliminate the post offices competely and let the private companies take that over.
If your company can not deliver to your customers let someone else.
>>>>I would suggest that they completely eliminate mail deliver. Get out of the business and let FedEx, UPS and whomever want to do home delivery do it.
Right....and then see what happens to the price of mail! The USPS has to deliver to every street address, even when that delivery isn't profitable. Get the private companies involved, and they'll cherry pick where to deliver....like they do now.
Do you think you can "pick a postal service" like you pick cell carrier? What, you want 15 different deliveries a day at different time by different mail carriers? Then, if a mail company goes out of business....do you want your check or important mail stuck in a warehouse till they go through their Chapter 11 proceedings?
By the way, other than overtime, mail carriers work 5 days a week. Each route has what's called a T-6....a carrier who takes care of 5 routes....on the carriers scheduled day off. The effect of no saturday deliver will be the loss of 1/6 of the USPS staff.
Funny.....I never hear anyone complain about the money the FBI and other govt services pays their workers.....why do people always pick on the "little guy"?
Right....and then see what happens to the price of mail! The USPS has to deliver to every street address, even when that delivery isn't profitable. Get the private companies involved, and they'll cherry pick where to deliver....like they do now.
Do you think you can "pick a postal service" like you pick cell carrier? What, you want 15 different deliveries a day at different time by different mail carriers? Then, if a mail company goes out of business....do you want your check or important mail stuck in a warehouse till they go through their Chapter 11 proceedings?
By the way, other than overtime, mail carriers work 5 days a week. Each route has what's called a T-6....a carrier who takes care of 5 routes....on the carriers scheduled day off. The effect of no saturday deliver will be the loss of 1/6 of the USPS staff.
Funny.....I never hear anyone complain about the money the FBI and other govt services pays their workers.....why do people always pick on the "little guy"?
@browndavidc@...
Do you know UPS has an `extended delivery area surcharge`? What is that you wonder? It is a charge that UPS imposes on shipments to zip codes in areas UPS determines to be `out of the way`. (Read that as `extra cost`.) Also, do you want it delivered on Saturday?? That will cost you extra. This even applies to the `premium services` - next day, two day and three day.
Unfortunately, the USPS (aka Post Office) is saddled with many fixed costs that are not reducible. Why do you think the USPS tries to consolidate delivery locations. Mail carriers do not deliver mail to each apartment in a building, the deliver to a single multi-tenant mailbox in the lobby. The same is true of office buildings. The USPS had installed a multi-tenant mail box for all of the businesses in my local strip mall. The time killer is having to WALK THE ROUTE, going from door to door. And, in less densely populated areas, eliminating that is not going to be easy.
Do you know UPS has an `extended delivery area surcharge`? What is that you wonder? It is a charge that UPS imposes on shipments to zip codes in areas UPS determines to be `out of the way`. (Read that as `extra cost`.) Also, do you want it delivered on Saturday?? That will cost you extra. This even applies to the `premium services` - next day, two day and three day.
Unfortunately, the USPS (aka Post Office) is saddled with many fixed costs that are not reducible. Why do you think the USPS tries to consolidate delivery locations. Mail carriers do not deliver mail to each apartment in a building, the deliver to a single multi-tenant mailbox in the lobby. The same is true of office buildings. The USPS had installed a multi-tenant mail box for all of the businesses in my local strip mall. The time killer is having to WALK THE ROUTE, going from door to door. And, in less densely populated areas, eliminating that is not going to be easy.
Understand that the Postal Service is mandated by Congress to operate as a business, then you'll understand why they do what they do. If you want the Post Office of the Ol' days, then mandate that the Post Office be paid using taxes....like the FBI, IRS, Congress....every other govt service. What? You don't want your taxes to increase? Well, you can't have your cake and eat it too. Make up your mind. If you want top notch service that doesn't wither with the economy....then let the USPS be subsudized by taxes. Want the best service under the current economic circumstances? Then let them do as all business do, and let them make cuts where needed. Don't whine like spoiled babies, and use the "where's the "SERVICE" ad naseum.
Letter carriers are caught in the middle. They work hard every day. They have to leap through hoops to provide service that their managment (who only cares about numbers...not service) dishes out.
Letter carriers have unions to protect their workers, because the U.S. govt who tells the private industry what to do....would actually be the worst offenders.
God Bless Letter Carriers!
Letter carriers are caught in the middle. They work hard every day. They have to leap through hoops to provide service that their managment (who only cares about numbers...not service) dishes out.
Letter carriers have unions to protect their workers, because the U.S. govt who tells the private industry what to do....would actually be the worst offenders.
God Bless Letter Carriers!
If it's got to be.......that's O.K. Frankly, you could knock out an additional day of the week and I wouldn't care. I can't think of anything I receive that's so time sensitive. Obviously, having delivery five days a week is preferable, but having only four would be O.K. Fax, email, auto-drafts and charges, other internet services, etc. have made a big difference in the need for daily mail service.
Funny, the U.S. Postal service is the only "business" I know of where decreased demand translates into higher prices.
The USPS has for a long time targeted the wrong areas.
While I'm sure technology has played a part in the reduction of physical mail for casual messages, the number of non-brick-and-mortar purchases has not only been invented, but also sky rocketed. I would wager that the number of total deliveries for online purchases exceeds the total number of deliveries lost to using email for casual conversation.
The real question comes in as to why the -USPS- is losing business, while FedEx, DHL, UPS and any number of other carriers are springing up as new businesses and frequently doing so with plenty of profits.
In my personal observation, the collective of myself, my family, my friends, and many of my family's friends have all concurred the ongoing frustration of the USPS wanting more money, delivering less, and quality standards so low I could flush them without the need for a plunger.
At my current job, we currently use USPS Priority Mail and even the supposed higher quality of Priority Mail as compared to regular brown box deliveries just isn't there. I ship hundreds of orders every month. I have to reship a percentage of these so high that if I was forced to use only USPS for my personal business, it would be more profitable to simply stop shipping items. Every month I also deal with returned packages where their Large Flat Rate Box (roughly 12" x 12" x 12") have been run over by a tank or whatever they use, so bad that my boxes frequently look like a single VHS tape mailer. No jokes. No exaggeration. One I actually measured when I took it into the local post office to complain and it measured just under 2" thick. This isn't a fluke to see. it's frequent enough that we're almost exact on the instruction as to how we resolve the issue. For us, the contents can be replaced. For others, I'm sad to think of all the unique memories that are destroyed by the USPS.
Another thing this Saturday cut does is offset where the extra hours are put. It certainly doesn't reduce USPS costs and I can identify how it will actually cost the USPS more to cut Saturday.
From a distribution point, the mail exchanges or warehouses consume a lot of resources. Giving those facilities down time can make sense. Lots of electricity, etc. At all levels, the -SAME- volume of mail now has to be managed within 5 days - which I'm not sure cutting Saturday delivery will actually reduce Saturday sorting, etc.
I foresee cutting Saturday delivery as having a negative impact because it now reduces the availability of facilities which are more efficient and adds greater strain on the less efficient local post offices.
In short, the USPS could reduce costs more effectively by cutting the losers from their staff, improving quality assurance as to reduce the excess handling of packages, reduce the excess costs associated to package damages and losses for which the USPS is held responsible, and ultimately, return to being a viable competitor for confidently delivering mail without fear of damage or loss and without fear of hugely varying timelines for delivery. An improved USPS means greater confidence and thus an eventual greater user base.
It's simple business people.
While I'm sure technology has played a part in the reduction of physical mail for casual messages, the number of non-brick-and-mortar purchases has not only been invented, but also sky rocketed. I would wager that the number of total deliveries for online purchases exceeds the total number of deliveries lost to using email for casual conversation.
The real question comes in as to why the -USPS- is losing business, while FedEx, DHL, UPS and any number of other carriers are springing up as new businesses and frequently doing so with plenty of profits.
In my personal observation, the collective of myself, my family, my friends, and many of my family's friends have all concurred the ongoing frustration of the USPS wanting more money, delivering less, and quality standards so low I could flush them without the need for a plunger.
At my current job, we currently use USPS Priority Mail and even the supposed higher quality of Priority Mail as compared to regular brown box deliveries just isn't there. I ship hundreds of orders every month. I have to reship a percentage of these so high that if I was forced to use only USPS for my personal business, it would be more profitable to simply stop shipping items. Every month I also deal with returned packages where their Large Flat Rate Box (roughly 12" x 12" x 12") have been run over by a tank or whatever they use, so bad that my boxes frequently look like a single VHS tape mailer. No jokes. No exaggeration. One I actually measured when I took it into the local post office to complain and it measured just under 2" thick. This isn't a fluke to see. it's frequent enough that we're almost exact on the instruction as to how we resolve the issue. For us, the contents can be replaced. For others, I'm sad to think of all the unique memories that are destroyed by the USPS.
Another thing this Saturday cut does is offset where the extra hours are put. It certainly doesn't reduce USPS costs and I can identify how it will actually cost the USPS more to cut Saturday.
From a distribution point, the mail exchanges or warehouses consume a lot of resources. Giving those facilities down time can make sense. Lots of electricity, etc. At all levels, the -SAME- volume of mail now has to be managed within 5 days - which I'm not sure cutting Saturday delivery will actually reduce Saturday sorting, etc.
I foresee cutting Saturday delivery as having a negative impact because it now reduces the availability of facilities which are more efficient and adds greater strain on the less efficient local post offices.
In short, the USPS could reduce costs more effectively by cutting the losers from their staff, improving quality assurance as to reduce the excess handling of packages, reduce the excess costs associated to package damages and losses for which the USPS is held responsible, and ultimately, return to being a viable competitor for confidently delivering mail without fear of damage or loss and without fear of hugely varying timelines for delivery. An improved USPS means greater confidence and thus an eventual greater user base.
It's simple business people.
Wow. Seems like this topic hit a nerve. There are a lot of opinions about the postal service, and Doc wants to chime in that his experience has always been terrific. Doc sends a lot of exotic packages and rarely has any trouble with the USPS. For the money they charge, which is low, the service is tremendous. But I don???t dispute that Saturday may not be the best day to cut from delivery ??? could be Wednesday makes more sense. But then think about the broken-up work week that presents for postal employees (and additional costs for the USPS). Having Saturday and Sunday off makes the most sense for the labor side of the issue. Doc isn???t worried about losing Saturdays ??? people will adjust accordingly. If Saturday has to go for the USPS to survive, then I say ???go.???
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