The Black Vault

All you need to do is compare the UPS or Fed Ex guy to the postman. 2 are running and hustling with boxes, the other is slower than molasses in January. Postal workers have one speed, and it does not matter how long a line is, nothing make them step it up. If you ever worked in any business, when there is a rush, you step it up and take care of customers. Not in any post office in the height of Christmas, have I ever seen them act like there is a line. Regular 1st class mail can reach a destination as fast or faster than priority mail. What used to be 2-3 guarantee is no longer.

Sorry but emails and online banking is not killing the post office, it is not working like you need to make a profit.

Hey Guys,

My dad was forced to take early retirement from the Post Office due to local politics within his branch. He worked another 15-20 years at other jobs. I am posting that information to show that I have some knowledge, as little as it may be, of the post office.

I think it is long past time to do away with the entire postal service. I think private business can do it better and more cheaply, and turn a profit. Something no gov't entity I know of has ever done. But the end of Saturday deliveries really means very little. What do you get on a Saturday that is so important that you have to take action on Sunday? I have not talked to anyone who can give any examples of anything. This will hurt the part time workers, and that's a shame. At our local post office, there are only two employees that are friendly, one is a part time front desk clerk, and one is a carrier. Our carrier routinely delivers me the wrong mail, and I end up taking it by hand to the correct household, if I know where they are. I also have a PO Box, left over from my working days, and I have some bills sent there. Just today I had to go back into the post office to give back a letter delivered to my box that belonged to someone else. I have a very distinctive name, and my wife and I are the only ones in our county with our surname. I did not hear a "I'm sorry" nor a "thank you for bringing this back in" nothing. At our house, I've gotten people's bank statements, magazines, I even just recently got something from the FDA because a neighbor has a farm and they needed annual information and the card included the following sentence: "Failure to return the requested information by date xx/xx/xxxx will result in a personal visit from one of our agents." Obviously the FDA considers this some important information, and the PO delivered it to not only the wrong house, but one who's address was very different. I did take it to the person it was addressed to.

The gov't has proven over and over they are the most inefficient organization ever. You think any private company or household could continue to run deficits of their budget year after year?? HECK NO!!!

OK, I'll step off my soap box now.

Danny

Kybassser, no offence meant towards your Father, just giving my observations as a customer in line. I do a good amount of shipping with my ebay things, and the PO has killed us with the rate increases on Priority mail, especially the flat rate international. One example was the Flat rate envelope, used to have a large and small envelope, that were $5 and $6 international to any country. They eliminated the small size, and increased the large one to $11.95, and did similar increases to priority boxes. Now it is are nearly .50 for a 1st class letter. Yet, I get a fist full of junk mailed all folded together, and it tears my wife's magazines stuffing it all in my mailbox. I should not have to put up with damaged magazines we want and pay for, in order to make room for crap I throw out. You should have the option to tell the postman refuse delivery, on junk mail. If they rip and tear you magazines in the process, they should pay for them.

In case you did not know it, flat rate mail is great, but if they can not deliver it for some reason (international), they have the option to discard it. I do not think flat rate is insurable, because they would have to pay lost mail claims if it was by discarding deliverable parcels. On regular international mail parcels, the customs form you must agree to pay for the return shipping, or check the box to discard non-deliverable mail. One digit wrong on an address and it can not be delivered, could cost you $100 in postage, or maybe hundreds in the price of the item. Ebay will make you give a total refund to a buyer if they do not receive it, while the post office has a loophole to discard shipment.