Except for delivery, most post office transactions could be handled by a kiosk-ATM type machine................
And delivery could be outsourced to other carriers who would love to take on first-class delivery.
I haven’t been to a post office in years!! Who goes there???
ATM machines taking away jobs again!
So many transactions have been automated it is the reason you do not have to go to the PO much any more.
What folks do not realize is that the back end work at the post office is a pretty amazing display of automation. Back in the day, I used to spend a couple of hours a day sorting mail into the route boxes before going out to deliver.
Now, it arrives at the station pretty much sorted. Not 100%, but it took a couple of hours a day out of the process. Pretty interesting stuff.
Here are some pretty basic suggestions for cutting the PO budget:
Take out Saturday delivery.
In suburban areas move to boxes at the end of the street, or at least the end of the driveway—this would allow for nearly double the amount of mail delivered in the same time.
Cut 20% of management staff. The PO is both top heavy and middle heavy. Everyone wants to be a supervisor, manager, director. Cut out the “experts” and let the people who know how to do the work, do it.
Stop the BS politically correct programs.
Stop the BS customer service programs. They are not set up correctly and they are a joke.
And, as they are doing, close redundant post offices in cities and suburban areas.
Improve computer access, telephone access, and establish more online based services (buying postage, etc.)
With all of these things the average person would not see too much of a change in service, yet the expenses would stabilize.
Look at where they are losing business: Normal package delivery. Improve the quality of the experience, improve delivery times, and actually compete for the business. Since they have the infrastructure in place for EVERY address in the country, they should be able to do this for less money than Fed Ex or UPS. Get rid of the crap (increase the rates for Direct Mail advertisements) and focus on what could make money.
Those ATMs are already to blame for high unemployment. Don't believe me? Ax obummer.