How's Your Post Office?

spantini

COO of me, inc.
Man! I went by the post office several weeks ago to mail a letter and it was like another world. Normally, there are 3-4 employees manning the counter with maybe 4-8 people in line with the line moving relatively quickly taking about 2-3 minutes per person. But this last trip...

As soon as I entered, there was a line of people around the inside circumference of the building - about 35 people. I walked up around the corner to peek at the counter and there was only one employee working the counter. So I got in line and waited for 10 minutes and the line did not move at all. I bugged out and went home, where I ordered online stamps from USPS.. and waited.

I was there to mail my tax return (cannot E-file) and like to get their printed receipt my records.

Now just yesterday I read where the Post Office's policies have been juggled around in an attempt to reduce losses along with preventing contact with Covid. At least I have an explanation.
 
Yeah man, USPS is a mess now. I have had a package lost recently. Wasn't as important as a tax return luckily.

The wife has a internet used clothing sales business and has USPS pick up packages when they drop off mail. Tracking info given. Sometimes they don't bother to pick the stuff up even when her app says it was picked up. She has had two items lost for a week a couple weeks ago.

Strange times...
 
British Post Offices were old, big and did everything. Then they invented sub-post offices, and these got put into general stores and newsagents and things like that. The big post offices then shut down. The Royal Mail, which is separate from the post offices collects mail from the post offices and distribute it. We now have the usual carriers plus some who collect from local shops as pickup points. They're cheaper, but less reliable. Royal Mail just created a new international zone for the USA as Trump's tampered with the postal system, and stopped the mirroring of charges, so posting TO the states from the UK is now crazily expensive.
 
Yeah man, USPS is a mess now...

...The wife has a internet used clothing sales business and...

...has had two items lost for a week a couple weeks ago.

Strange times...
Those items may just be in a basket somewhere in their back room. Due to employees' hours being shortened, and increased days off, the mail carriers are having to do more of their own sorting. Normally, nothing would be left behind or undone at the end of the day, now lots of stuff is and may take weeks instead of days.

My everyday mail hasn't slowed, but I haven't ordered any packages recently - so we'll have to see on that.
 
British Post Offices were old, big and did everything. Then they invented sub-post offices, and these got put into general stores and newsagents and things like that. The big post offices then shut down...

... Royal Mail just created a new international zone for the USA as Trump's tampered with the postal system, and stopped the mirroring of charges, so posting TO the states from the UK is now crazily expensive.
I was just looking at a set of headphones available shipped from UK - priced almost $40 cheaper than US sources, but that didn't include shipping. I didn't check what it was but figure it's at least $40.
 
I'll tell you what it really is...USPS is conveniently using the COVID-19 situation to cover up their awful postal service, which was awful before the virus...and now it's worse.

Of course...just to be somewhat fair...there's a lot of that going around...people/business using the virus as a excuse for anything negative on their end, which was probably already messed up, but now they can blame it on the virus...and most people just have to accept that excuse, I mean, god forbid you call them out on their BS.

That said...right before the virus...I know the USPS was starting to carry more and more stuff for Amazon, and they were also getting much more of that "Sure Post" biz, where FedEx/UPS do the main leg, but then instead of delivering to you directly...they deliver to your local Post Office, and then your mail carrier gets to bring it to you.
I actually feel sorry for the poor mail carriers...they are no to blame for the USPS growing disaster. It's really more of a managerial thing, plus the way their distribution system is organized, which a few years ago they reduced as a way to save money...and all it did was make their service that much slower.

My two local POs are small...so there's no big lines, but, now even locally, where my mail would come from a main distro center to them...it now goes to a "center" PO in the township, and then the local POs get it from the...also slowing things down.
I talk top my mail carrier all the time...she's been my regular for like 15 years now, and we've been on a first name basis for as long. She's been doing a ton of OT, because her subs stay for a few weeks, and then quit because they want inside jobs, not the mail carrier routes...so she has to constantly pick up the slack...and they don't get paid straight OT like other jobs. She says the manager gets to evaluate how much load she had to carry in a week, and adjust the extra pay that way, rather than by the actual extra hours.
I make sure to take care of her very well at XMas...plus I've given her stuff outside of the holidays, because she takes care of mail well, and always brings my parcels down to my front door. The subs when they work just leave them up at my gate in the driveway.

Anyway...try calling the USPS main numbers to talk to someone...:laughings:...make sure you have enough food and water on hand for at least 3 days, waiting for someone to answer...and then, it's just some USPS clerk that has NO business answering the phone, because 99.99 times they can't do anything more for you other than give you useless info and the usual "sorry" crap...and I bet none of that ever gets back to management, because they already know their problems, and they have no fix...and so it's this endless dependence on the government (I mean us taxpayers) to bail them out year after year.
If there was something that should have been privatized a loooong time ago...it's the USPS.
Yeah, it might cost some jobs, and take some serious restructuring...but if FedEx and UPS and DHL can make money...then the USPS should be able to also.
 
I'll tell you what it really is...USPS is conveniently using the COVID-19 situation to cover up their awful postal service, which was awful before the virus...and now it's worse.

Of course...just to be somewhat fair...there's a lot of that going around...people/business using the virus as a excuse for anything negative on their end, which was probably already messed up, but now they can blame it on the virus...and most people just have to accept that excuse, I mean, god forbid you call them out on their BS.

That said...right before the virus...I know the USPS was starting to carry more and more stuff for Amazon, and they were also getting much more of that "Sure Post" biz, where FedEx/UPS do the main leg, but then instead of delivering to you directly...they deliver to your local Post Office, and then your mail carrier gets to bring it to you.
I actually feel sorry for the poor mail carriers...they are no to blame for the USPS growing disaster. It's really more of a managerial thing, plus the way their distribution system is organized, which a few years ago they reduced as a way to save money...and all it did was make their service that much slower.

My two local POs are small...so there's no big lines, but, now even locally, where my mail would come from a main distro center to them...it now goes to a "center" PO in the township, and then the local POs get it from the...also slowing things down.
I talk top my mail carrier all the time...she's been my regular for like 15 years now, and we've been on a first name basis for as long. She's been doing a ton of OT, because her subs stay for a few weeks, and then quit because they want inside jobs, not the mail carrier routes...so she has to constantly pick up the slack...and they don't get paid straight OT like other jobs. She says the manager gets to evaluate how much load she had to carry in a week, and adjust the extra pay that way, rather than by the actual extra hours.
I make sure to take care of her very well at XMas...plus I've given her stuff outside of the holidays, because she takes care of mail well, and always brings my parcels down to my front door. The subs when they work just leave them up at my gate in the driveway.

Anyway...try calling the USPS main numbers to talk to someone...:laughings:...make sure you have enough food and water on hand for at least 3 days, waiting for someone to answer...and then, it's just some USPS clerk that has NO business answering the phone, because 99.99 times they can't do anything more for you other than give you useless info and the usual "sorry" crap...and I bet none of that ever gets back to management, because they already know their problems, and they have no fix...and so it's this endless dependence on the government (I mean us taxpayers) to bail them out year after year.
If there was something that should have been privatized a loooong time ago...it's the USPS.
Yeah, it might cost some jobs, and take some serious restructuring...but if FedEx and UPS and DHL can make money...then the USPS should be able to also.

Well that really just summed it up... LOL!
 
The post office I use the most only allow about 6 people at a time in the premises {there's 3 counters open and 3 in an inside queue and 3 being served at any one time} and the doorways have to be kept completely clear. The customers have to queue up on the street outside. As one person goes out, one can then come in.
To be honest, I don't really mind. I generally found that pre~Covid, how long one would wait depended on what times one went to the PO and on a busy day you'd be queueing outside anyway. I always have an ipod to listen to music so the queue is less noticeable unless I'm really in a hurry which I rarely am.
 
The time I was there with the long line around the inside was just before the social distancing thing clicked. Also, it was around 2:30 PM - busy hour. I normally go around 9 AM with much shorter lines.
 
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