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I think the USPS does a damn good job, considering. It's been very, very rare that something I mailed wasn't received and vice-versa.
My only complaint is the cost of shipping packages, which has spiraled into the stratosphere. Even more reason to NOT purchase items online, as I HATE returning packages. But UPS and Fed-X are expensive, too.
I still snail-mail most of my bills and use Netflix.
I get some of my bills by e-mail and pay all my bills via on-line banking, aka Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT). Some months I save as much as ten stamps worth of postage this way. My bank guarantees that if my account is hijacked that THEY will cover any losses. IMO they do this so they can get out of the business of processing checks, a very time consuming and expensive way to conduct business. They're willing to accept the risk of a few stolen accounts to get out of the check processing business. Other businesses want out of the business of opening envelopes, depositing checks and dealing with the bad checks that happen in the normal course of business. EFT allows both ends of the transaction to streamline their processes in many ways, and it goes a long way to reducing the amount of first-class letter mail.
The USPS is required by law to service every address in the nation six days per week, or 5 days for businesses that are closed on weekends. The letter carrier goes to your door or mailbox each of those six days. That's a big overhead to cover -- but it's also their greatest strength in that it gives them a great deal of leverage. Even if mail volumes go up, the current staff can handle it without adding much help, and that's the beauty of having the structure and processes in place to hit every home every day (but Sunday).
True story. There are Indian tribes living in the bottom of the Grand Canyon. The USPS goes down there every day to deliver mail, a three hour round trip. UPS refuses to deliver down there due to the labor costs of that 3 hour round trip; what they do is take those packages to the nearest post office, pay the postage, and let the USPS deliver it for them.
I hope everyone heard KyDad95 when he said that bulk mail is 80% of the volume but only 10% of the income. That's a huge chunk of the issue. The desire of the USPS to raise junk mail rates runs smack into industry pressure on Congress to keep having WE THE PEOPLE paying high first class mail rates to keep subsidizing junk mail.
As I said before, the biggest thing causing the postal service trouble is the U.S. Congress, the source of ALL our ills.
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I get some of my bills by e-mail and pay all my bills via on-line banking, aka Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT). Some months I save as much as ten stamps worth of postage this way. My bank guarantees that if my account is hijacked that THEY will cover any losses. IMO they do this so they can get out of the business of processing checks, a very time consuming and expensive way to conduct business. They're willing to accept the risk of a few stolen accounts to get out of the check processing business. Other businesses want out of the business of opening envelopes, depositing checks and dealing with the bad checks that happen in the normal course of business. EFT allows both ends of the transaction to streamline their processes in many ways, and it goes a long way to reducing the amount of first-class letter mail.
I simply do not believe in online banking. I don't even use debit cards.
What is wrong with the postal service? That's perfectly obvious for everyone to see; it's called the internet. It has largely turned the post office into a dinosaur.
What is wrong with the postal service? That's perfectly obvious for everyone to see; it's called the internet. It has largely turned the post office into a dinosaur.
But too bad we will be around for a long while to come, huh.
Really? I am third generation USPS and I don't recall that, nor do my other family members.
I do, there was no home delivery on Satuday and one other weekday depending on where you lived. Some places it was Tuesday, some Wednesday and some Thursday. If push came to shove that wouldn't bother me. I don't need home delivery every day. Probably around 1983
Despite the fact that they work banker's hours, and generally have only one or two people at the windows working very slowly during peak hours, the US postal service is still miles better (and cheaper) than European mail service.
I do, there was no home delivery on Satuday and one other weekday depending on where you lived. Some places it was Tuesday, some Wednesday and some Thursday. If push came to shove that wouldn't bother me. I don't need home delivery every day. Probably around 1983
I will ask at work Monday and find out for sure. I have never heard of it, nor can I find it on the internet.
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