USPS rant

[Trek]

You could vote for Ron Paul for President. He said he'll allow competition to the USPS for first class mail if he wins. But like someone else said, I doubt a private company would deliver your mail in the boonies for .39

 

[W2R]

Isn't that part of the whole plan?

Put incompetent greedy cronies in all possible positions, then use their incompetency as proof that gummit is inherently incapable and that we need to direct the tax money to all the honest efficient mercenaries.

Trust me, I'm from Blackwater/Custer Battles/[SIZE=-1]Halliburton[/SIZE] and am not subject to civil service or military accountability.

You're right - - they were probably contracting out in New Orleans. Whatever they were doing sure gave a black eye to the postal service, in the eyes of many New Orleanians. Now, we get our mail regularly but I don't suppose that I will ever feel as certain about getting my mail as I once felt.

Through rain, sleet, snow, hail, or dark of night, but not in New Orleans.

Between the postal service's performance, and FEMA, and the Corps of Engineers, for a while it was pretty embarrassing to admit that I work for Uncle Sam. Duty, responsibility, and competence are all important in my agency despite public perception of government.

 

[OldAgePensioner]

Chiggers? Please, a bit of sensitivity is in order here!

 

[donheff]

If we didn't have the USPS, I don't think rural areas would have home delivery. It wouldn't be profitable..... Kind of like not selling insurance to people with preexisting conditions

I agree. There is some legislation proposed that would allow private sector "competition" for first class mail. I don't believe for a minute that any company will promiss to deliver mail everywhere. Of course ReW just proved that the USPO can't quite deliver on the promiss either but at least they are obligated to try to find someone to handle his area. Sounds like you have a potential job if the market goes south ReW

 

[REWahoo]

Sounds like you have a potential job if the market goes south ReW

I suppose it would be an option...of dead last resort.

Can you imagine what it would be like to work directly for a guy (the postmaster) who you've been having daily phone conversations with, chewing on him about his lack of management skills and foresight? No thanks.

I've got connections at Wallymart, so I'll look there first.

 

[TromboneAl]

A while ago tracking showed that a Fedex package had been delivered to my door, although I knew that it had not. It turned out that my house was on the way to the delivery guy's house, so he marked it as delivered, then took it home with him to be delivered on his way to work in the morning.

 

[Payin-the-Toll]

OK--I'll take the opposite side and stick up for the Post Office. We live in the northside of Indianapolis, & last year they closed the part-time post office (open from 9-11:30, 1-3) which was 4 miles northwest of us and opened a new post-office 3 miles southeast of us (trying to revive a bad neighborhood). Service isn't the fastest, but then again I'm retired so I have an old paperback book I keep in the car and stick it in my back pocket whenever I anticipate lines (think Walmart). Although we're in the city, we have rural-type mail-boxes. Mail is always delivered everyday, and I mail out a lot of bills and letters, etc., and they always make it on time. I used to work for an electronics-distributor and am well-versed on wrapping items for shipment. Have sent tons of stuff (I did all the wrapping), and it always makes it there OK. USPS is very competitive rate-wise, and does a great job as far as I'm concerned. A quirk I inherited from my mother is sending birthday cards (we're talking about 200 a year), and I go to a cheapy card outlet and buy cards for 50 cents. I stick a scratch-off lottery ticket in each card, so for $1.91, all my friends and relatives get a greeting and a gift from me each year--and USPS helps make that possible.

 

[REWahoo]

Update:

The local postmaster called me at 7:30AM to say 1) he had personally delivered all the mail he could yesterday (FYI, we did get three first class letters and a magazine late in the day - probably 1/3 of the three day backlog), and 2) he was going to personally sort all the mail he could today prior to 1PM then start delivering, since starting any later would not allow him to finish before dark.


Me: "What are your prospects for hiring a new carrier?"

Postmaster: "I asked my other employees if they knew anyone and I got a name."

Me: "Is that the process for finding a mail carrier these days?"

Postmaster: "Yep, word of mouth."

Me: "So what do you have to do to hire this person?"

Postmaster: "The applicant has to call Dallas and work it out with them."

Me: "So you don't make the hiring decision?"

Postmaster: "No, all contracting is done through the Dallas Regional office."

Me: "Assuming the new contractor hiring takes place without a hitch, how long before we get routine mail service again?"

Postmaster: "I don't know."

Me: "So what do we expect until this person is hired and trained?"

Postmaster: "I'll do the best I can to get at least some of your mail delivered."

Me: "Do you think the new contract carrier will have the same problem the old one and the back-up carrier had with the length of the route?"

Postmaster: "As soon as we get the new carrier trained, I'm going to sit down at my computer and split the route, then send it to Dallas for approval."

Me: "How long will that take?"

Postmaster: "I don't know."

Me: "Can you get Dallas to hire a second contractor so you'll be ready to go once they approve splitting the route?"

Postmaster: "No, I only have approval to hire one contractor for each route."

Me: "So using common sense, being customer focused and manging proactively isn't allowed?"

Postmaster: - Dead silence -

Me: "What makes you think the new carrier will stick around while the wheels of your bureaucracy grind through all this?"

Postmaster: "I don't know."

Me: "Thank you for your call, and I wish you the best of luck."

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Better up that USPS count from 3 to 4. Might as well manage it proactively and bump it to 10 or 12.

Thinking of getting one of those funny 'mailboxes etc' mailboxes somewhere they actually have delivery and redirecting your mail to it for a while?

 

[Brat]

What you are seeing is both the result of the USPS internal administrative processes and a tight labor market.

We all want the USPS to vet their carriers. It could be a disaster if they engaged a thief or someone who has a bad driving record. The USPS is accustomed to having lots of responsible qualified people pounding on their doors. Now they are just like every other employer competing for this workforce. Remember, contract carriers aren't employees so they don't get fringe benefits like health insurance.

In the past older women with little work experience wanted those jobs, now they can get better jobs. The other pool was service workers & laborers looking to climb up economically - but a good chunk of that workforce is undocumented today. Now you can understand why employers across the country want a legally employable semi-skilled workforce.

I feel for the Postmaster but s/he will push harder for action from his managers now.

 

[Nords]

It always confounds me when a boss tells me that he's personally doing the job that one of his employees is supposed to be doing. Why does the boss think that he's just as much in touch as the employee? Am I expected to believe that the boss can still do the job better than the person who's been doing it for him?!?

Me: "So using common sense, being customer focused and manging proactively isn't allowed?"
Postmaster: - Dead silence -
Me: "What makes you think the new carrier will stick around while the wheels of your bureaucracy grind through all this?"
Postmaster: "I don't know."
Me: "Thank you for your call, and I wish you the best of luck."

I think you've solved your mail problem-- you'll never see any of it ever again!

 

[REWahoo]

I think you've solved your mail problem-- you'll never see any of it ever again!

Yep. My search for a way to get DW to stop subscribing to all those worthless magazines is finally over!

 

[Telly]

One of the post offices in Frisco, TX is being investigated. A lot of complaints about missing and opened/pilfered mail. Problem is both with mail going in and out of that branch. One guy mailed a letter directly from there to his Dad who lived out of state. The letter had a Lowe's gift card in it. His Dad got the letter, it was taped closed, no gift card. With Lowe's help, they traced the gift card to a Carrollton, TX Lowe's where it was used up.

Wasn't Jim and Tammy's glass palace in Carrollton? Maybe somebody needed some replacement glass over there

Or maybe they spent it all on a barrel of Amdro... just another reason not to move to Texas.

 

[REWahoo]

Here's the next installment of the saga of our undelivered mail...

Tonight the postmaster and his boss (the "USPS Regional Director of Incompetence" or some such title...) met with local outraged citizens to address our concerns of having no mail delivery for days, followed by sporadic, misdirected, and unreliable delivery for weeks. I wasn't planning on going, but DW wanted to see what they had to say for themselves, so I tagged along (big mistake).

Maybe I'm not the brightest bulb in the chandelier, but I thought it might be a good idea for the two postal reps to begin by saying something to the effect, "Yes we screwed up, yes it's all our fault and we are very, very sorry about it. Here's what happened, here's how were correcting the problem, and here's what we're doing to be sure it doesn't happen again."

But, nnooooooooo.

Instead we heard no apology, it's the subcontractor's fault, we can't help it if they quit without notice and the backup also quits, there was nothing we could have done about it, no we haven't noticed that the route had grown to more than 100 miles in length and 700 addresses (!!!!) yadda, yadda, yadda. I now fully understand how lynch mobs are created.

I came very close to losing it when the Director of Silly Walks said, "Each time I go into the lobby of Bank of America and see a bunch of people waiting in line I can't help but think if this were the Post Office everyone would be complaining about the lack of service." Saying of course, the 50 or so people in that room who hadn't been getting their mail were just a bunch of complainers.

I couldn't resist pointing out to him the absurdity of his comparison since unlike those of us doing business with his organization, the people standing in line at BofA had the choice of doing business with another bank.

Someone in the back of the room said jokingly, "Hey, better be careful. You may never get another letter!" To which I responded, "I'm not getting mail today, so how would I know?" And my cheap shot was mild compared to most comments.

After listening to them respond to questions an complaints for an hour it was painfully obvious that the stereotype of the US Postal Service as a bureaucratic, incompetent, "that's not my job", non-customer focused organization was absolutely true...at least in the case of the two bumblebutts I saw tonight. In the real business world, these two USPS "managers" wouldn't be qualified to manage a parking space. Sad. Frustrating. Infuriating.

Where's the Maalox...

 

[thefed]

sorry to hear your story. it really sucks, and there is nothing you can do. to bad they wont let you come in and find your own mail in the pile!

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Periodically leave town and send yourself something fairly foul smelling or somewhat leaky. Then to get rid of it they'd have to bring it to your house...maybe with the rest of your mail!

Isnt there a postmaster general, colonel or major you can complain to a lot further up the food chain? You need to get above the rotting head in your immediate vicinity.

 

[REWahoo]

Periodically leave town and send yourself something fairly foul smelling or somewhat leaky. Then to get rid of it they'd have to bring it to your house...maybe with the rest of your mail!

You mean something like a frozen chicken?

Isnt there a postmaster general, colonel or major you can complain to a lot further up the food chain? You need to get above the rotting head in your immediate vicinity.

One of the most frustrating things about this entire episode has been the lack of transparency of the USPS organization. It is almost impossible to root out a chain of command, and the org chart for that $500B monopoly is apparently a classified document. The "customer service" system conveniently routes all complaints directly back to the local Post Office, out of sight (and mind) of anyone higher up in the organization.

The only glimmer of hope is that one of the unhappy postal patrons in attendance at last night's meeting is a retired postal inspector. He and Director Dufuss got into it and I got the feeling he's going to be calling in some favors from some of his old working buddies. Well, that plus the fact that someone posted a large sign at the front of the room with the name and phone numbers of our two US Senators and our US Representative...

The retired USPS guy said repeated complaints to our elected officials could create some real hassles for the two incompetent USPS doofi responsible for our problems. I got the distinct feeling Senators Hutchison and Cornin plus Rep Rodriguez would be hearing from their loyal constituents.

 

[Nords]

Looks like those two have decided to go down defending their [-]troops[/-] [-]performance ratings[/-] [-]pensions[/-] whatever they think it's worth getting defensive about. I wonder if your next batch of mail is going to be delivered by Bob Nardelli or Jeff Skilling?

Where's the Maalox...

This should be a Business Week case study on marketing. Where's the cell-phone video posted on YouTube?

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

You mean something like a frozen chicken?

Stuffed with dog poo.

Now, the one downside to the situation is that I think mailing stuff like that is illegal. The upside to that is eventually someone will come to your house to arrest you, and maybe they'll bring your mail with them.

Did you try calling 1-800-275-8777 to register your complaint?

Any possibility of using one of the 'mail store and forward' outfits that the RV and boat folks use, perhaps one that uses ups or fedex to collect and forward your mail?

 

[REWahoo]

Did you try calling 1-800-275-8777 to register your complaint?

Yep, along with several other people who attended last night's meeting. ALL complaints to that number plus ALL complaints sent via email to USPS.gov are routed to none other than the local postmaster. Complaining to the fox about the fox in the hen house....

Any possibility of using one of the 'mail store and forward' outfits that the RV and boat folks use, perhaps one that uses ups or fedex to collect and forward your mail?

I'm considering renting a box at the closest Mailboxes-R-Us if the situation doesn't improve soon. Added cost, inconvenient, and a pain in the butt to change our address with everyone, but it might end up being the only solution.

Oh, one more story from last night...

A resident from the newest subdivision in our area described how totally uncooperative the postmaster had been in working with the developer in their new subdivision. She said it had taken 11 months to get mail boxes installed in the subdivision since the postmaster did not like the concrete slabs the developer had poured for the mailboxes, saying they didn't meet postal regulations and were improperly located. The developer said he followed the same requirements he'd followed in other developments and the dispute drug on for almost a year. Even made the news when someone called to complain to the "Channel 4 Troubleshooters" about it. During that time mail was not delivered to anyone in the subdivision, but was held at the main PO located in a small town 18 miles away. Since most people in the subdivision work in San Antonio, they could only pick up their mail in the small town on Saturdays. And the PO is open on Saturdays from 10 to 11 AM. Yep, they had a one hour window to get their weekly mail or were SOL for another week.

The developer finally gave in and poured new slabs for the mailboxes. The PO then installed them...on the old "non-regulation" slabs.

How about that for taking care of your paying customers...

BTW, I am NOT turning into a bitter old man. But I am learning to truly appreciate the term "going postal".

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

You may just have better luck going the "channel x BS-busters" route...but in volume.

When GE refused to replace my fridge, thats the only thing that made them budge. I dug up every radio, television, local, county and state outfit, private and government, and complained at full blast. Most of them have an online form you can fill in quickly via cut and paste.

Two of the few things that bureaucracies hate and will respond to is a) bad press and b) lots of bad press.


By the way, shouldnt that "USPS" scoreboard be moving a little higher than 3?

 

[TromboneAl]

"Channel 4 Troubleshooters"

Have you tried a cleverly written press release about the current situation that might be picked up by the press?

 

[REWahoo]

Have you tried a cleverly written press release about the current situation that might be picked up by the press?

Me? Clever?

 

[bright eyed]

have you notified your elected officials? aren't they essentially the "board of directors" for the post office...? in an area like yours, i would bet they may be responsive if they do get a number of complaints...

 

[REWahoo]

have you notified your elected officials? aren't they essentially the "board of directors" for the post office...? in an area like yours, i would bet they may be responsive if they do get a number of complaints...

Yep, apparently several of us already have and it's likely several more will do so.

... someone posted a large sign at the front of the room with the name and phone numbers of our two US Senators and our US Representative...

The retired USPS guy said repeated complaints to our elected officials could create some real hassles for the two incompetent USPS doofi responsible for our problems. I got the distinct feeling Senators Hutchison and Cornin plus Rep Rodriguez would be hearing from their loyal constituents.