Posted on 12/04/2011 7:23:46 AM PST by NCjim
That will really get more business.
The USPS should introduce a Special First Class stamp; they could put the Super Committee on the first stamp so people will know how valuable it is. Then regular first class could be slowed down to, let’s say, the speed of a government solution.
Slow it down? Gee - sometimes a letter or card mailed at the post office takes as many as 4 days to go to the other side of our own town.
The “service” has gotten worse over the years, desk help at a Post Office facility is getting thinner...
I hate to say it, but perhaps the first thing the PO should do is to stop giving away packaging materials. What is their budget for envelopes and boxes that they give away to the public for free?
Also, they should install more self service kiosks for the public’s use. My PO has a weighing and postage machine that allows the PO lobby to be open 24/7 and customers do their own postage handling — weighing, shoosing type of service, postage printng. That means lines are shorter, or non-existent, during the hours that the counter is open.
I don’t know any other PO that has this service.
Several of the busier offices here have that.
I hear emails, faxes, electronic fund transfers, Federal Express and carrier pigeons will continue to be just as fast as before.
This is funny since the postal service decided they were going to go into the greeting card business this past year. When you go to purchase stamps or mail a package, you're view is filled by a wall of display cases filled with cards. I can't imagine they generate much business. I know I'll never buy any of them. More than likely, some high-paid dipstick thought up the idea. It would be interesting to see where they get the cards from, and who in the government is getting a kick-back from them.
If there was a way to send out certified mail by self-service, I’d probably never have to step foot in a post office.
They have been selling that stuff online for years. I actually used it to send postcards to my nephew when he was in Fallujah for Christmas. I made family picture cards for him which he received and then burned (as required at the time). But, because of the online system he was able to retrieve copies of all of them when he got home 9 months later.
I live a little over an hour and a half west of my oldest son. He lives in Troy, NY near Albany. When I mail anything to him, it ends up going to Syracuse first, which is about another hour west of me, before it goes back the other way to him. Average delivery time is 6-7 days. **As a side-note, is anyone else experiencing problems with FR? I'm beginning to get the same messages I got last Sunday: "Service Temporarily Unavailable. The server is temporarily unable to service your request due to maintenance downtime or capacity problems. Please try again later."
I just wish they allowed Media Mail at them. In order to get the discount on mailing books, CDs or DVDs I have to wait in line. If the package is light and the line is long I often just pay the extra for parcel post.
Why?
Things change.....
While reviewing my grandfather’s correspondence from 1939, I noticed several mailings from western Missouri to his very remote mining office in east Tennessee. The letters were received on the third day after date of the postmark
In my business, the need for first class mail has dried up. I have one client who still mails checks. All other clients deposit directly. All correspondence is via e mail and all documents are zipped up and scanned and transmitted as attachments. Fax is also almost dead. I eliminated my dedicated fax line. I expect all fax will be gone next year.
I don’t get tax documents from the IRS or the State in the mail. I get a post card with the website address.
The problem for the post office is taking care of the increasingly depleted population of mail sending and receiving customers. It is the small residual population that is a very big problem
“The USPS should introduce a Special First Class stamp; they could put the Super Committee on the first stamp so people will know how valuable it is. Then regular first class could be slowed down to, let’s say, the speed of a government solution.”
This is a great idea, but I’d add a special “Union Labor” stamp as well. It’ll deliver mail at the same price and speed as the Super Committee stamp, but at least give people a choice.
How can we tell?
It wouldn't be hard to create a web-based service that allows you to upload a document to be delivered certified, take your money via credit card, and then print out the document at the destination post office for certified delivery. The advantage would be that the sender would not only have proof of delivery, but proof of what was delivered.
Then again, we ARE talking about the post office.
Yes, I’ve been getting that “Service temporarily unavailable” message today as well.
‘Yes, I’ve been getting that “Service temporarily unavailable” message today as well.’
Same old crap here too.
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