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December 12, 2011 at 4:50 pm #742626
2 Much WhineParticipantOnce again I am astonished at what we choose to complain about. Try living in another country for awhile and you’ll appreciate what we’ve got. The postal service may not be perfect but it sure is a heck of a lot cheaper and better than some European countries. You’d be astonished at the cost and inefficiency (and theft by postal employees) in many other countries around the world.
December 12, 2011 at 4:59 pm #742627
JoBParticipantif we hadn’t made the postal service cut it’s staff to the bone in an attempt to cut costs to cover an unprecedented pension mandate from congress…
they wouldn’t have to rely on temporaries and our service would be even better…
December 12, 2011 at 5:08 pm #742628
amaliaParticipantWow. I put $0.44 on an envelope and it shows up anywhere in Seattle I want it to the next day, or across the country in a few days, just steps from the recipient’s door. I have no problem with that. My mail comes at 4:30 in the afternoon but since I am rarely home before 7 PM, I don’t care. I could do without the junk mail and the jacka$$es who steal stuff from my mailbox… but happy the USPS is still around.
December 12, 2011 at 5:55 pm #742629
kootchmanMemberjwd…. ru kidding me? Are you that unaware of the world around you? Well here ya go… USPS couldn’t even contemplate First Class mail or Priority Mail without the infrastructure of FedEx and UPS… the “amazing” service is not because of USPS ….it because they use private carrier que/routing, efficiency models.
“The U.S. Postal Service June 28 awarded a contract to UPS Inc., significantly enhancing a business relationship involving the domestic air transportation of mail.”
or
TESS VIGELAND: Today UPS announced it’s won a contract to fly priority and firstclass mail on its airplanes. The Post Office is no stranger to the “if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em” philosophy. Fed Ex has been hauling US mail going on five years now and making more than a billion dollars a year doing it. But the new deal with “Brown” could spell trouble for more than Fed Ex.
or
WASHINGTON, DC — The U.S. Postal Service and FedEx Express have renewed their alliance for Global Express Guaranteed (GXG), the Postal Service’s premier, date-certain international delivery service to more than 190 countries and territories.
or
“In 2001, the first phase of a business alliance between the USPS and FedEx Express began with the installment of FedEx drop boxes at post office facilities. With those installments, FedEx agreed to pay the USPS between $126 million and $232 million in fees over the next seven years. In the second part of the agreement, the Postal Service began paying FedEx approximately $6.3 billion over seven years for shared access to the FedEx Express national air transportation network. FedEx transports Express Mail, Priority Mail, First-Class Mail and a portion of some international mail. This enabled the USPS to improve its service without increasing its costs.
“The USPS made a similar agreement with UPS Inc. in 2003 that was expanded in 2006. UPS began transporting First Class and Priority mail between 98 U.S. cities. UPS often delivers USPS mail to more distant outposts, and the USPS has delivered UPS packages to rural areas.”
Hows that for a pull? And as you know…it is against the law for UPS or FedEx to price below USPS prices. The only thing left in the USPS arsenal is the mail carrier … heavily unionized, Democratic vote delivering special interest group who denies the US consumer the lowest possible prices. JoB is so upset that they are required to pay for their pension funds….?? Just like FedEx and UPS are required to do… fully fund their pension plans? Horror of horrors!
December 12, 2011 at 6:25 pm #742630
JanSParticipantwow..some people are so condescending…no need for that anywhere. We all have opinions..some are better than others. Condescention does not make for a positive conversation.l Guess some people simply love the controversy :-/
December 12, 2011 at 6:28 pm #742631
JanSParticipantwe all know that USPS contracts with others to get their mail across country, etc..but…I think that we all also understand that it’s not exactly correct that UPS and Fed Ex can deliver mail on a daily basis to your home or work place…
December 12, 2011 at 6:44 pm #742632
datamuseParticipant2 Much Whine, I’m definitely aware of how bad mail service can get in other countries; I used to work for Amazon’s customer service. Whenever anything sent to Brazil, Italy, or India even arrived, never mind on time, it was a minor miracle.
December 12, 2011 at 7:14 pm #742633
2 Much WhineParticipantI was specifically referring to Italy and we were lucky to have our mail delivered once every 3 months. Took a week to get across town and sometimes months to go a couple hours drive away. The thought of putting a euro or anything of value in an envelope and sending it through the government-run postal service was preposterous. It would disappear. I recall having to pay about 45 Euros to send a registered letter from southern Italy to Rome (about a 5 hour drive). I also remember a co-worker that received another person’s mail (names were not even close and they lived across town from each other) just because he had a “non-Italian” name. Fortunately Kalani happened to work with Chris, (the other person) so the mail eventually made it into the right hands. At least if I get the wrong person’s mail it’s usually due to a human error, not blatant laziness. . . .
December 12, 2011 at 7:15 pm #742634
terraviaMemberDidn’t mean to start a war in here! Sorry for the complaining. We are absolutely fortunate in the quality of life we all have… Wanting more is just part of our nature.
December 12, 2011 at 7:49 pm #742635
datamuseParticipantWell, the Italian postal system (if it can be called that) is legendarily bad. I’m not sure it makes a justifiable basis for comparison. ;)
On the upside, during the same period at Amazon I remember getting a phone call from the worldwide courier service we used at the time for express international delivery, to the effect that they didn’t deliver to the remote Siberian research outpost that had ordered some books from us. (This was so long ago that books were all Amazon sold!) They handed the delivery over to–you guessed it–the postal system. Mail service in Russia is very hit or miss but the delivery did get there!
December 12, 2011 at 7:56 pm #742636
365StairsParticipantGreat…now I HAVE to watch that 3 hour epic – The Postman…to remind myself how good we have it. ;)
December 12, 2011 at 11:01 pm #742637
2 Much WhineParticipantIt’s not a war and you are certainly entitled to your opinion. I was merely trying to provide a different perspective. Our mail person is courteous and a nice guy. I never know when the mail will show up; could be 11:00 and could be 4:30 but that doesn’t bother me. At least it usually makes it and if it doesn’t I wouldn’t even think of my postal carrier as the potential thief (unlike Italy). I have been frustrated, however, when told that our outgoing mail wasn’t picked up because that particular day we didn’t have any incoming junk mail or bills. It was explained to me that mail pickup is merely offered as a courtesy. In the words of a famous (departed) late night talk show host, “I did not know that!”
December 13, 2011 at 12:20 am #742638
The Velvet BulldogParticipantWent to the Westwood P.O. to inquire about mail not being forwarded to new addy. I went in with a smile, good attitude and the introduction: “I have a mystery that needs to be solved!” Both folks I interacted with were super courteous, and now we’ll see if I get my mail!
December 13, 2011 at 1:49 am #742639
singularnameParticipantMan is this a nasty board …
December 13, 2011 at 2:33 am #742640
KevinParticipantOver in Arbor Heights, we are blessed to have Julie as our mail carrier. Our mail arrives almost the same time every day. Joe is another great carrier that we have had at times.
December 13, 2011 at 2:54 am #742641
JoBParticipantkootch..
the US postal service has bargaining power with UPS that individuals will never be able to meet …
without them we lose the rates we currently enjoy.
why would any thinking person want to do that to themselves?
December 13, 2011 at 2:23 pm #742642
anonymeParticipantKevin, we must be neighbors – more or less. I’m also in Arbor Heights, and I agree that Julie is fabulous and so is Becky. They even understand my secret code for mail pickup. It’s always obvious when they have time off.
December 13, 2011 at 5:16 pm #742643
kootchmanMemberyea cel@bob… obviously USPS CAN”T deliver anything anywhere for .44 … if they could, they wouldn’t be broke would they? JoB if they have such great bargaining skills… and a protected franchise…how come they can’t meet operating costs?
Gosh… and for once, Congress did the right thing… instead of heaping all the healthcare costs on the taxpayer.. they have to pre-pay for their health care.. just like the rest of us!
The U.S. Postal Service reported a $3.5 billion loss in its most recent quarter Thursday, as mail volume plummets and retiree health care costs mount.
Making the problem worse is a federal law passed in 2006 that requires the Post Office to pay between $5.4 and $5.8 billion into its prepaid retiree health benefits each year”
http://money.cnn.com/2010/08/05/news/companies/US_postal_service_earnings/index.htm
Jan,this is their business model….. it’s their plan. To be the pre-eminent junk mail hauler… bty… only 5% of USPS first class mail goes from consumer to consumer…
http://money.cnn.com/2010/08/05/news/companies/US_postal_service_earnings/index.htm
“So far the post office has kept its head above water by improving efficiency, cutting costs, and concentrating on growth in advertising mail. So-called standard mail — advertisements, catalogs, and circulars”
A paper and wood wasting, natural resource consuming, landfill filling, business model that deserves a burial.
December 13, 2011 at 5:25 pm #742644
JoBParticipantkootch..
bargaining skills have nothing to do with the post office being able to meet costs..
the simple truth is that they do meet costs…
what they can’t meet is the burden for current funding of future pensions that our congress saddled them with.
their competitors have the economic advantage and still can’t deliver the same service for the same cost.
oh.. and they don’t have to…
so it’s not too likely they ever will.
but hey..
ranting and raving and pulling the postal house down sounds good
right up to the point that you discover you have destroyed the US postal service …
when you build your empire on selling goods
delivery matters
December 13, 2011 at 6:03 pm #742645December 13, 2011 at 6:43 pm #742646
kootchmanMemberPaying your pension fund obligations is a cost of doing business. Unless you are suggesting taxpayers should pay it. I pay FedEx and UPS pension funds… it’s in the price of the services I contract for. If they are not fully funding their pensions they have contracted with their unions to provide… they ain’t meeting costs. Their competitors… ARE delivering it cheaper… the competitors are hauling it for them… ya think FedEx and UPS are doing it for free? We are paying twice… once for UPS/FedEx and once for USPS… cut ome of them out of the middle. Oh I do send out critical, time sensitive, work product. FedEx every time.
December 13, 2011 at 6:51 pm #742647
cadburyParticipantDecember 13, 2011 at 6:54 pm #742648
cadburyParticipantSo what about the millions that can’t afford to spend $10 every time they want to mail in a bill payment or receive a social security check or other things that people rely on the USPS for?
FedEx and UPS will certainly not be willing to do it. Because it’s not profitable. But there are things such as this that are crucial to the country and its citizens that maybe don’t need to be profitable. Don’t you think?
December 13, 2011 at 7:10 pm #742649
JanSParticipantcadbury…there are some people whose bottom line is profit for themselves no matter what you argue…I think we all need to pay more attention to DBP’s post # 45 :)
December 13, 2011 at 7:34 pm #742650
BonnieParticipantWe have a great carrier here in Fauntlee Hills. I’ve only had problems when he’s on vacation or someone fills in.
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