What about carriers selling stamps?

Another area, where the Post Office could improve their service is to encourage letter carriers to sell stamps. Recently, I went along on a local route with a man here who has delivered mail for over twenty years. I asked him how often he sold stamps on his remote route. He said never. With a little ingenuity from several parameters, it shouldn’t be so hard to post a sign on his vehicle that says, “mail stamps available here” – or something like that. However, they would probably then use the excuse then that the carrier would be carrying money, subjecting him to potential robbery. However, there are several ways around even this, if the Post Office was to focus truly on innovative solutions and improving service.

Planned obsolescence?

After submitting this letter, I went to the local Ketchum Post office to pick up a package that was too large for my box. Since I knew they always closed at 5:30, I went immediately after work, which ends at 5 p.m. Imagine my surprise, when I saw the lobby already locked down, learning that they cut back their hours and now close at 5 p.m.!

Therefore, any working stiff who gets off work at five, cannot pickup a package or even buy a stamp, unless they go to the Post Office before work or at lunch. I wonder if this is the case with other Post Offices in the area.

Is our Post Office even trying to be competitive?

A few decades ago in most areas, dedicated postal workers used to pick up mail from neighborhood drop boxes in both mornings and afternoons, where neither snow nor rain nor gloom of night stayed those couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.

Now they’ve uprooted many of these old neighborhood boxes. Of the ones left, they’ve cut their diligent pickup efforts back to afternoons; meaning that if you mail a morning letter into your neighborhood postal box, it will now arrive a day later than previous.

Currently, your post office is considering cutting back Saturday deliveries. If they “succeed” this means whenever we have a Monday holiday, home delivery will be absent for 96 hours, from Friday to Tuesday. This makes me think that for better service, many people will shift over to UPS, Fed Ex, or txt mssg.

Another thing that chaffs me about the Post Office trying “to save money” is that they have eliminated the stamp machines from their own lobbies. Although they broke down occasionally, those innovative machines were the kind that dispensed dollar coins for change, and were prime examples of good government efficiency. The dollar coins put into circulation from stamp machines last 10 to 20 times longer than bills, thus lessening the cost of printing more money.

Although there are some indicators that the Post Office is trying to stay completive with its online services, when we see the basic bread and butter services offered for so many decades sink to the wayside, Postmasters in general are sending us mixed messages.

Is the Post Office trying to be competitive?

A few decades ago in most areas, dedicated postal workers used to pick up mail from neighborhood drop boxes in both mornings and afternoons, where neither snow nor rain nor gloom of night stayed those couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.

Now they’ve uprooted many of these old neighborhood boxes. Of the ones left, they’ve cut their diligent pickup efforts back to afternoons; meaning that if you mail a letter into your neighborhood postal box, it will now arrive a day later than previous.

Currently, your post office is considering cutting back Saturday deliveries. If they “succeed” this means whenever we have a Monday holiday, home delivery will be absent for four-day spans. This makes me think that for better service, many people will shift over to UPS, Fed Ex, or txt mssg.

Another thing that chaffs me about the Post Office trying “to save money” is that they are eliminating the stamp machines from their own lobbies. Although they broke down occasionally, those innovative machines were the kind that gave dollar coins for change, and were prime examples of good government efficiency. The dollar coins put into circulation from stamp machines last 10 to 20 times longer than bills, thus lessening the cost of printing more money.

Although there are some indicators that the Post Office is trying to stay completive with its online services, when we see the basic bread and butter services offered for so many decades sink to the wayside, Postmasters in general are sending us mixed messages.