I'm in a rural area where there is no street delivery. I have to take a 7-mile round trip to the P.O. where my mail box is and need the present delivery schedule as I do some buying and selling on eBay. To get UPS or FedEx, I have to drive 25-miles round trip to the next town. There are a lot of people like me, so cutbacks would have a big impact.
Here's one example where the USPS should take a closer look. I bought an item from a guy in the state of Washington, who shipped it parcel post with Delivery Confirmation. Here's the record so far:
Tracking number xxxxx USPS
Acceptance, Jan-21-11, 14:38 PM, SPOKANE, WA, 99208
Processed through Sort Facility, Jan-22-11, 09:15 AM, FEDERAL WAY, WA, 98003
Processed through Sort Facility, Jan-25-11, 12:09 PM, PHOENIX, AZ, 85043
Processed through Sort Facility, Jan-27-11, 12:54 PM, BELL, CA, 90201
Processed through Sort Facility, Jan-28-11, 09:32 AM, PHOENIX, AZ, 85043
I'm in northern AZ so you think, based on the zip, the package would have gone to Las Vegas, NV. (90 miles away) OK, I cut 'em some slack and allow shipment to Phoenix (400 miles away). Phoenix, instead of shipping to Vegas, ships it to Bell, CA (Los Angeles - 300 miles WEST of Vegas). As of yesterday, Bell has shipped it back to Phoenix. MAYBE I'll get it the middle of next week.
Oh yeah, a gripe to the USPS indicates that 14 days is allowed - from Washington to Arizona? (1,000 miles)
“I’m in a rural area where there is no street delivery.”
I’m a 40 mile round trip to the post office. I have a postal box because my mail delivery person would dump my mail in ditches miles away, along with other mail. (I got called by somebody and went to pick it up.) I complained and was told “Sorry, there’s nothing we can do.” I waited out there to confront him. He was drunk. He had a woman on his lap; both had their pants down. I complained again and was told I’d have to produce pictures. (The clerk snickered.) So, I have a post office box.
Here’s another way to view it. We’re all paying outlandish pay and benefits to people we would not have as friends or even acquaintances. Yes, it may inconvenience some to have to go get their mail, but everybody else (the majority) who don’t use the service are subsidizing our convenience for the entire life of every postal employee. I think the price is too high for the service they provide. I think there are alternatives and we either need to adjust the price down or use cheaper alternatives.