View Full Version : USPS... of course it's broken! But what the hell?
Before I begin, yes I'm aware it's a government entity and that explains about 80% of why it sucks, but I'm wondering seriously lately, what the bloody hell is going on with the postal service? It used to be that I would head over to the Post Office every day between 1200-1230 to get the mail out of our PO Box for the office/father's/my mail. I'm guessing they sort and it staggers in throughout the morning because by noon it usually contains all of our mail for the day. Not so fast. Lately it seems that the mail has been getting slowed. Today for instance, I know all of the mail wasn't in the box by the time I went in, at 1245! Because it's Wednesday and today is the day the weekly Evergreen newspaper goes out. Not in there. Are they slacking or just incompetent? It used to be they were really good at having our mail in the box by noon like clockwork. Now it seems they have taken on the malaise of "good enough for government work." What gives? Not that I'm upset, it's just puzzling that these wonderfully motivated human beings can place next to no pride in their work anymore.
My apologies to anyone who works or has a family member that works for the USPS... [Flower]
I wonder... can we just hand over the mail system to private industry now? At least the private sector will actually do good work with delivering mail.
Colorado_Outback
07-31-2013, 14:37
Wow, that was a lot of ASSumptions for one post..
A privatized postal system sounds great until you find out how much they would charge to mail a letter.
clodhopper
07-31-2013, 14:39
Lower your expectations to getting today's mail tomorrow. Reduce your stress, live longer. Assimilation is inevitable.
BuffCyclist
07-31-2013, 14:41
You do know they're having major budget problems right now, right?
I don't remember the date, but they're going to stop Saturday mail delivery soon because of budget concerns. I have also heard in new development areas, business parks and malls, they are moving towards a central mail pickup instead of curbside delivery. That all probably explains why its slowing down, because they're way in the red and don't have enough employees to do the work that is needed.
eta: The USPS is having budget problems. Not the .gov, although that actually goes equally as well for them [LOL]
Lower your expectations to getting today's mail tomorrow. Reduce your stress, live longer. Assimilation is inevitable.
and just remember if you need to get your letter somewhere in the next 10 days don't use the USPS.
kidicarus13
07-31-2013, 14:54
My recent experience:
USPS Priority #9505500021453203000048 Available for pick-up in Beckley, WV on July25th
The problem is I mailed the package to South Dakota. I spoke with the Beckley Post Master and he does not have the package at his Post Office. AWESOME!
hghclsswhitetrsh
07-31-2013, 14:54
Unions!
You do know they're having major budget problems right now, right?
I don't remember the date, but they're going to stop Saturday mail delivery soon because of budget concerns. I have also heard in new development areas, business parks and malls, they are moving towards a central mail pickup instead of curbside delivery. That all probably explains why its slowing down, because they're way in the red and don't have enough employees to do the work that is needed.
eta: The USPS is having budget problems. Not the .gov, although that actually goes equally as well for them [LOL]
Actually, Congress told them they have to deliver on Saturdays, they can't stop.
A privatized postal system sounds great until you find out how much they would charge to mail a letter.
Not if there was direct competition. Look at waste disposal... a lot of areas don't charge that much because there are only two companies that operate there and have direct competition.
You do know they're having major budget problems right now, right?
Not an excuse to do a piss poor job though.
and just remember if you need to get your letter somewhere in the next 10 days don't use the USPS.
Ain't that the truth.
BuffCyclist
07-31-2013, 15:13
Actually, Congress told them they have to deliver on Saturdays, they can't stop.
Didn't know that, I just heard about it a while back and never cared to look into it anymore.
Not an excuse to do a piss poor job though.
Perhaps not, but if you have 5 guys doing the work of 25 guys, its going to take them longer to get things done. So what if your newspaper isn't in your mailbox at noon, 5pm is still considered "delivered today".
For what its worth, I used to get my mail in a PO Box, while living in a 700 person town. They had 2 employees and many times they were still there past 8pm sorting mail into the boxes. Since the post office was not even a half mile from me, I got in the habit of walking to get the mail in the evening, around 9pm to get my mail, or I'd wait until the next day headed to work. No big deal. Except for the days when I ordered gun parts or ammo, then I wanted it ASAP! [LOL]
Perhaps not, but if you have 5 guys doing the work of 25 guys, its going to take them longer to get things done. So what if your newspaper isn't in your mailbox at noon, 5pm is still considered "delivered today".
For what its worth, I used to get my mail in a PO Box, while living in a 700 person town. They had 2 employees and many times they were still there past 8pm sorting mail into the boxes. Since the post office was not even a half mile from me, I got in the habit of walking to get the mail in the evening, around 9pm to get my mail, or I'd wait until the next day headed to work. No big deal. Except for the days when I ordered gun parts or ammo, then I wanted it ASAP! [LOL]
Hmmm... and the dumb ass democraps want to raise taxes to pay for schools, yet the postal service is overworked and underpaid? Makes perfect sense. I do feel bad for some of those people, I'm sure they put in long hours and are constantly denied overtime.
BuffCyclist
07-31-2013, 15:18
Hmmm... and the dumb ass democraps want to raise taxes to pay for schools, yet the postal service is overworked and underpaid? Makes perfect sense. I do feel bad for some of those people, I'm sure they put in long hours and are constantly denied overtime.
Not criticizing your post at all, just trying to show a little perspective. Perhaps if those democraps had a better education, they'd realize the postal system is overworked and underpaid and might do... HAHAHA, who am I kidding?! [ROFL1]
hghclsswhitetrsh
07-31-2013, 15:20
It's a rough life you lead ronin. I'm sure glad you have good cellphone reception though.
jhood001
07-31-2013, 15:22
It takes them a while to read your mail and then close it back up so that you can't tell, Ronin.
It's a rough life you lead ronin. I'm sure glad you have good cellphone reception though.
[ROFL2]
Colorado_Outback
07-31-2013, 15:27
Not if there was direct competition. Look at waste disposal... a lot of areas don't charge that much because there are only two companies that operate there and have direct competition.
You mean like UPS and Fedex? Price how much it costs to send a letter from Springs to Denver. I just did, its $9 for UPS and $11 for fedex, and that's with discounts if you walked up to a retail counter it would be slightly more.
How much are stamps now a days?
You mean like UPS and Fedex? Price how much it costs to send a letter from Springs to Denver. I just did, its $9 for UPS and $11 for fedex, and that's with discounts if you walked up to a retail counter it would be slightly more.
How much are stamps now a days?
Really? That's odd, with their packages it seems they're pretty competitive with the USPS, and each other, you'd think that letters would be a lot less.
Rooskibar03
07-31-2013, 15:36
Lets just say there is good reason you cannot carry in a PO. I can't step foot inside one without wanting to bitch slap someone.
Line of 9 people, yep looks like a time for my break.
Lets just say there is good reason you cannot carry in a PO. I can't step foot inside one without wanting to bitch slap someone.
Line of 9 people, yep looks like a time for my break.
Quick- fire from the hip, no thinking about it, which is worse: The DMV or the post office? [Muaha]
I do not trust smaller USPS offices.
I thought bigger post office will have higher probability to lose a package, but Frederick and Mead lost my package few times.
USPS would not run nearly so far into the red if they did not incentivize junk mail. Seriously, all that crap they send out that clogs your mailbox and goes directly from your mailbox to a landfill gets sent at a rate roughly half of what they charge us for a first class letter. Contract post offices in the boonies probably earn their money and then some with sorting and delivery and counter service, but the actual USPS post offices are full of poster children for why government agencies and government subsidized agencies should not be unionized. Much like the DMV, employees at the post office seem to have one speed, and that speed is "glacial", not to mention the ability to make any task fill the amount of time to their next break. Which they will inevitably take as the line builds out of the parking lot an on to the street, while exactly one other employee continues to cheerfully ([Sarcasm2] ) move at the pace of a turtle stampeding through peanut butter, all whilst telling the customer in front of him or her that they have filled out the form incorrectly and must fill in another one, except they are out, so he/she will go in back for 20 minutes and retrieve another one.
Better rant? [Coffee]
TheWeeze
07-31-2013, 15:47
I read somewhere that is USPS is the largest corporation in the world based solely on their holdings. With their real estate, trucks, and other holdings, they're worth over a trillion dollars. Even Wal-Mart doesn't ball that hard. I'm trying to find facts to back this up, but yeah, I read it once on the internet, so I could be an idiot.
newracer
07-31-2013, 15:48
Just because you didn't have all your mail by 12:45 doesn't mean you didn't get it all today. How do you know that they didn't change sorting process which changed the time they finish filling your box to 3:30? Also Congress has put a lot of limits on USPS that makes them not profitable.
Rooskibar03
07-31-2013, 15:53
Quick- fire from the hip, no thinking about it, which is worse: The DMV or the post office? [Muaha]
Post office.
RblDiver
07-31-2013, 16:23
USPS would not run nearly so far into the red if they did not incentivize junk mail. Seriously, all that crap they send out that clogs your mailbox and goes directly from your mailbox to a landfill gets sent at a rate roughly half of what they charge us for a first class letter.
I think my boss (well, my CEO, not my direct supervisor) may be responsible for that. I was told that he was the one who came up with "bulk presorted mail." Basically, he went to the post office and convinced them that since the postal carriers were going on those routes anyway, a few pieces of extra mail wouldn't affect things significantly, so give them a better rate. Thus, they would presort the mail for those routes and got a cheaper price for it.
In the words of my father... "quit your bitching". That is all.
Not to be outdone by Ronin V2.0 we're back to the 'Dear Diary' side of Ronin.
I choose USPS whenever I ship. I always get my shit and in a very timely manner.
(knock on wood)
Not to be outdone by Ronin V2.0 we're back to the 'Dear Diary' side of Ronin.
[Kick2] I think we're finding some common ground Monky
FedEx Ground - usually cheaper than USPS for parcels and (in my experience) significantly more reliable.
cmailliard
07-31-2013, 17:31
I was walking in my front yard, postal carrier comes down the street like a bat out of hell as usual. Puts the mail in the box and drives on. I go get the the mail and guess what is in there, a slip for a certified letter, ya know the one that says sorry we missed you, you can pick this up at the Post Office. The shitbag didn't even bother to get his fat ass out of the "truck" to get me to sign for the certified letter. Fuck'em, let'em fail, I would bet my left nut that FedEx and UPS have a business plan in writing to take over this sorry agency and are waiting for the right time. There may not be a right time, it may be that there is no money in this, which is why they have not done anything yet. No money + a de facto monopoly by USPS has kept them out. But I bet they have ideas.
I was walking in my front yard, postal carrier comes down the street like a bat out of hell as usual. Puts the mail in the box and drives on. I go get the the mail and guess what is in there, a slip for a certified letter, ya know the one that says sorry we missed you, you can pick this up at the Post Office. The shitbag didn't even bother to get his fat ass out of the "truck" to get me to sign for the certified letter. Fuck'em, let'em fail, I would bet my left nut that FedEx and UPS have a business plan in writing to take over this sorry agency and are waiting for the right time. There may not be a right time, it may be that there is no money in this, which is why they have not done anything yet. No money + a de facto monopoly by USPS has kept them out. But I bet they have ideas.Turn him in, or don't bitch when it happens again. Ps; There are shitty employees everywhere.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=g7a2u9v0V0c
KestrelBike
07-31-2013, 18:28
Hmmm... and the dumb ass democraps want to raise taxes to pay for schools, yet the postal service is overworked and underpaid? Makes perfect sense. I do feel bad for some of those people, I'm sure they put in long hours and are constantly denied overtime.
They're pretty much only hiring part timers now to skirt under obamacare and avoid other benefits.
I have an under-achiever brother in-law that spent 30yrs as a part time sorter for USPS and I believe he retired with the same benefits as a full time employee. Ths was 10yrs ago.
USPS and DVM are dead even as places that piss me off just thinking about going to.
JM Ver. 2.0
08-02-2013, 15:52
I wish my mail came by noon..... or 1.... or 2.... Fuck I wish it showed up by 3!!!
Meh..mm. More white people problems I guess.
Sent from my teepee using smoke signals.
It will be really annoying if it happens to me again.
It happened to me before. I live in Thornton 80602, and I gotta drive all the way north of Brighton 80601 to pick them up.
I was walking in my front yard, postal carrier comes down the street like a bat out of hell as usual. Puts the mail in the box and drives on. I go get the the mail and guess what is in there, a slip for a certified letter, ya know the one that says sorry we missed you, you can pick this up at the Post Office. The shitbag didn't even bother to get his fat ass out of the "truck" to get me to sign for the certified letter. Fuck'em, let'em fail, I would bet my left nut that FedEx and UPS have a business plan in writing to take over this sorry agency and are waiting for the right time. There may not be a right time, it may be that there is no money in this, which is why they have not done anything yet. No money + a de facto monopoly by USPS has kept them out. But I bet they have ideas.
In the words of my father... "quit your bitching". That is all.
Don't get it misconstrued... this is not really intended to be a rant, just curious as to how a once somewhat good service has fallen so quickly- I mean, I have some ideas, but wanted to get other input on the issue.
That kinda goes for anyone throwing the accusatory "Ronin's bitching" around... If you actually took a few seconds to read my OP, you'd see that I say things like "Not that I'm upset, it's just puzzling that these wonderfully motivated human beings can place next to no pride in their work anymore" not intended to rant or "bitch", but observation with some sarcasm mixed in expressing a slight displeasure and annoyance with a service that was once reliable and has now fallen into a disapproving state of affairs. If you call that bitching or any other term synonymous with that, I invite you to spend a few minutes actually looking up what the difference between registering a frivolous complaint, and making a disapproving observation.
JM Ver. 2.0
08-02-2013, 16:10
Don't get it misconstrued... this is not really intended to be a rant, just curious as to how a once somewhat good service has fallen so quickly- I mean, I have some ideas, but wanted to get other input on the issue.
Because people expect a lot but only want to pay a little.
So a few things worth mentioning.
Bulk junk mail is the only thing still keeping the USPS alive. If it weren't for the junk mail they wouldn't make enough to keep the lights on let alone pay their people, pay for their buildings and etc.
If you go to Fed Ex or UPS and try to ship a letter it's a $3 minimum charge. Many people believe it is that expensive because shipping letters is very costly and cheap shipping is not profitable which is a leading cause of USPS current woes. That is not the case at all. UPS and Fed Ex could likely ship a letter for 10 cents or so but it is illegal for them to do so. Thy are required under federal law to charge (I believe) $2.40 or $2.50. The USPS knew that privatized couriers would put them out of business so they had a law passed to make sure they were the only organization in the letter game.
How did the decline happen so quickly? Electronic funds transfers have taken over. The younger generation checks their mail once maybe twice a week. Everything is now done paperless and all the bills are paid online. The transition from paper letters and mailing checks happened in less than a decade and the decline will continue until there is nothing left but junk mail which is likely only a couple years away. Hell even writing letters to prison inmates and sending them money for their books is now done online. Add in the fact that the USPS has MASSIVE legacy costs due to pensions and lifetime health benefits to retirees and you get the perfect recipe for financial disaster.
So a few things worth mentioning.
Bulk junk mail is the only thing still keeping the USPS alive. If it weren't for the junk mail they wouldn't make enough to keep the lights on let alone pay their people, pay for their buildings and etc.
If you go to Fed Ex or UPS and try to ship a letter it's a $3 minimum charge. Many people believe it is that expensive because shipping letters is very costly and cheap shipping is not profitable which is a leading cause of USPS current woes. That is not the case at all. UPS and Fed Ex could likely ship a letter for 10 cents or so but it is illegal for them to do so. Thy are required under federal law to charge (I believe) $2.40 or $2.50. The USPS knew that privatized couriers would put them out of business so they had a law passed to make sure they were the only organization in the letter game.
How did the decline happen so quickly? Electronic funds transfers have taken over. The younger generation checks their mail once maybe twice a week. Everything is now done paperless and all the bills are paid online. The transition from paper letters and mailing checks happened in less than a decade and the decline will continue until there is nothing left but junk mail which is likely only a couple years away. Hell even writing letters to prison inmates and sending them money for their books is now done online. Add in the fact that the USPS has MASSIVE legacy costs due to pensions and lifetime health benefits to retirees and you get the perfect recipe for financial disaster.
Hmm I didn't know about that law- crazy. Well it's already being discouraged (both cost wise and "environmentally" speaking) and a lot of companies are offering paperless discounts... Progressive does that (one of the companies we represent) and they've thrown the idea around about increasing the paperless discount to help as an incentive for people to do paperless.
Hmm I didn't know about that law- crazy. Well it's already being discouraged (both cost wise and "environmentally" speaking) and a lot of companies are offering paperless discounts... Progressive does that (one of the companies we represent) and they've thrown the idea around about increasing the paperless discount to help as an incentive for people to do paperless.
Back around 2000? They also tried to get a law passed using OSHA as the enforcer, for private carriers whose main business was parcel (UPS, FedEx, DHL) for the 'welfare of the workers' that you had to rest 60 seconds after handling a package. It would have effectively put every other carrier out of business w/ the exception of USPS. They would have been exempt because their main business is 'letter' sized. I don't recall the exact wording. But that sums it up. Obviously it was defeated but it made it through committee. It would have made it far too expensive to operate.
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RblDiver
08-03-2013, 08:43
You know what we need to save the USPS? Postage stamps for email! Yeah, that'll totally work!
Don't forget SMS messages and mms they already know what we send
Sent by a free-range electronic weasel, with no sense of personal space.
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