Why do we have daily mail delivery?

[Conan The Librarian]

Every once in a while the postal service threatens to stop delivering mail one day a week. I think the current threat is to stop Saturday delivery. My question is, why do we have daily mail delivery at all. Today, anything shipped by mail can wait. I don't see a reason to have delivery more than once a week, and with junk mail being what it is, I'd wouldn't mind not getting a delivery at all if I could go somewhere and pick up my mail once a month. It seems like USPS is outdated.

[mcwoodduck]

Home delivery started during the Civil war.  As death notices came to the local post office crowds would gather around one post office and the post master finally told people to go home he would bring the notice to them.
I agree, I think Saturday delivery is outdated.  It was started to get paychecks to people as Friday was Pay Day and the checks would get there the next day for workers that were outside of the Factory or office.
Thge postal system is one of those Government systems we need.  Could it be done cheaper and more efficient in Private hands, yep!
I understand why the post office has to be open on Saturday but don't you think extending the hours past noon is a better use of payroll than having Saturday delivery?

[45-70.gov]

seems  like saturday  should go  for  sure


mon,  wed,  fri........would save even  more money


with the money  saved....maybe  offer 24 hour pick up  for certified mail  etc

[mcwoodduck]

seems  like saturday  should go  for  sure


mon,  wed,  fri........would save even  more money


with the money  saved....maybe  offer 24 hour pick up  for certified mail  etc

Yea the 9-5 of the post office needs to be expanded.  People now work 30 minutes away from the home and trying to get to the post office to pick up mail is dificult. 
With all the Junk mail, catalogs, and super market flyers that show up in my mail box cutting down to 3 days a week woul kill the mail carrier.  5 day delivery and expanded hours would make more sense.  Heck I send a bunch of stuff by UPS because they are open when I get out of work, they are not cheaper but they are open.

[Empty Quiver]

I agree on eliminating saturday delivery. I also agree that regular office hrs could be extended by an hour each day.


I can imagine at some point in the past people were walking around collecting mail on weekends to be processed and loaded onto the trains whose schedule wasn't built for mail alone. This evolved into " as long as we are paying these men to collect and process they just as well deliver". Business was conducted by mail and speed was important. Speed is still important but mail has been replaced by dedicated business delivery companies and electronics.


The day is coming, this is a government entity, change comes at glacial speeds.

[SHOOTALL]

Pick up is as important as delivery to some . If you alter delivery days then business would also have to alter the way it sends timed material. Maybe not a big deal in most cases. If a switch is to be made then why not Mon , wed , fri. Let all delivery personal be part time

[Conan The Librarian]

I work near a big post office. There's always a guy right at the door counting seconds at 4:59pm to lock the door exactly at 5:00. And everybody but one clerk takes a lunch break in time for the lunch time rush of walk-in customers. They are so out of touch with reality. If they are struggling it is because of things they have done to themselves.

[Conan The Librarian]

As for service days, I'm thinking it gets delivered with half the carriers. On half the days, they deliver to one area on the other half they deliver to another area. If it's M W F, then what do you do with those employees on T Th Sa?

[SHOOTALL]

They stay home like 9% of the rest of the workers in the country . We are in a recession

[45-70.gov]

As for service days, I'm thinking it gets delivered with half the carriers. On half the days, they deliver to one area on the other half they deliver to another area. If it's M W F, then what do you do with those employees on T Th Sa?

think  outside the  box
WHY  DO  WE  NEED TO DO ANYTHING WITH THEM?
is saturday  bow  overtime?
they can't sort mail or mop floors!!!........oh yea...the  moppers union won't allow that


i  once had a boss  would not let me use a nailgun for trim  in a house
because   he said he would have to lay  off carpenters sooner
i  suggested we get paid  more for more production  or get  paid days  off
he  was too narrow minded to grasp the concept....i am retired  now  he is not

[Old Fart]

Considering that it usually takes a week for a package to make it from point A to point B, I could care less if they only delivered once or twice a week. Maybe instead of deliviery they could work the front counter so I don't have to wait 10-20 minutes to buy a book of stamps. Also maybe expand thier day to longer than bankers hours. They are not particularly customer friendly. Just my opinion, your mileage may vary.

[pastorp]

We don't all get home mail delevery. The bush village I live in has no home mail delevery.. We all get a free PO Box though. My daily trip to get the mail is the "highlight" of the day.    No UPS or Fed-ex here. If you want to ship something it goes by USPO.
 
Regards,

[Conan The Librarian]

And another thing, why are there so many post offices? It seems like very little podunk spot on the road has its own post office. Makes no sense.
 
I don't quite understand the 45-70 Gov post. I'm saying that if there are full time workers, there can be fewer of them, covering a larger area. I do see the need for mail delivery, just not such a bloated system.
 
Also, what's up with those crazy laws that prohibit UPS and others from carrying mail? Seems ridiculous to me. Just featherbedding to protect the postal union, I suppose.
 
 
 

 

[SHOOTALL]

The phone company was efficent and cost effective ! The post office was not never has been . So what did govt do ? break up the phone company !   And we wonder why the country is in the shape we are in 

[45-70.gov]

i  remember years  ago


they went after the boy scouts
 for delivering  christmas cards to raise money


still  to ship  a handgun.....UPS and FEDX  can't  compete with  the post office
not  even  close

[quickdtoo]

It's not up to just the USPS to stop saturday mail delivery, congress has to approve it first.

Tim

http://www.usps.com/communications/five-daydelivery/plan/closing.htm

Reducing delivery from six to five days makes good business sense. It will make it possible to align postal operations with current customer needs and help close the gap between cost and revenue.

In order for a reduction in delivery days to occur, Congress must elect not to impose an FY 2011 six-day delivery requirement. Since the service change would be nationwide in scope, the Postal Service is filing details with the Postal Regulatory Commission for an advisory opinion.

The Postal Service recognizes that this change will affect, in some way or another, everyone who uses the mail. Market research shows that a majority of postal customers accept and will adapt to the change.

Even so, the Postal Service met with hundreds of people representing stakeholders of all kinds to understand their concerns about the change. All of their concerns were given serious consideration and most were accommodated. The Postal Service will continue the dialogue to ensure that customer concerns are considered and addressed as the plan advances.

 

http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/consumerawareness/a/No-Saturday-Mail-Snubs-Rural-America.htm

USPS No Saturday Mail Plan Snubs Rural America

Postal Regulatory Commission Gives Plan No Love

By Robert Longley, About.com Guide
.




Will the Mail Stop Coming on Saturday?

Apr 4 2011
In the opinion of the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC), the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) has failed to properly evaluate the impact ending Saturday mail delivery would have on rural America.
 
After suffering an $8.5 billion loss in 2010 alone, the USPS is seeking the permission of Congress to eliminate Saturday mail delivery in an effort to reduce its soaring operating costs. As required by federal law, the Postal Service asked the PRC to formulate an "advisory opinion" of its request to change its level of service. Not only did the PRC conclude that the USPS had overstated the resulting savings, it had failed to "evaluate the impact of the ending Saturday mail delivery on customers who reside or conduct business in rural, remote, or non-contiguous areas."
 
Saturday Mail Substitutes in Rural Areas 'Inadequate'
 
In its submission to the PRC, the USPS contended that Express Mail and post office box delivery, which would still be available on Saturdays, would substitute for Saturday home mail delivery. The PRC, however, found them to be "inadequate alternatives."
 
Along with being 30% more expensive, Express Mail has limited availability in rural areas, noted the PRC. Weekend Express Mail delivery is available only in areas close enough to open post offices that Postal Service employees will be available to make deliveries.
 
The PRC also found a post office box to be an "imperfect substitute" for home Saturday delivery. "Mail must be sent to one specific address, either to a post office box address or a street address; a customer could not choose to have street delivery Monday through Friday and post office box delivery on Saturday. Furthermore, rural areas may not have convenient access to post office boxes," wrote the Commission.
 
Access to Rural Postal Services Suffers
 
The USPS contends that ending Saturday mail delivery would have minimal impact of the ability of people to access postal services since, "Post Offices and other retail locations will continue to sell products and services on Saturday."
 
Not quite so, said the PRC, which found that although post offices in rural areas would remain open, rural letter carriers would not be available to collect Saturday outgoing mail from customer mailboxes at the time of delivery, or transact other postal business. Furthermore, no collection from street-side mail boxes would take place on Saturdays, further reducing access to the mailing system.
 
In addition, found the PRC, customers in rural areas not served by post offices would suffer "significantly reduced service" compared to urban residents due to the lack of rural mail carrier service on Saturdays.
 
"A number of post offices in rural areas are not open on Saturday or operate on a limited-hour basis, and the Postal Service has not indicated if it will maintain existing post office hours," wrote the PRC. "Furthermore, the Postal Service is also proceeding with plans to close post offices, stations, and branches and reduce the number of blue collection boxes available."
 
USPS and Congress
 
Ending Saturday mail delivery is just one of a series of money-saving steps proposed by the USPS that require the approval of Congress. Others include a drastic restructuring of its retirement system, greater flexibility in setting prices for postage and other postal products, and the ability to introduce new products in a timely manner.
 
The USPS estimates it will lose $238 billion over the next ten years unless the proposed cost-cutting measures are approved by Congress.
 

http://www.postalreporternews.net/category/mail-delivery/

[Sourdough]

For 25 years our mail delivery was at a designated point on a road one mile away.  Everyone in my subdivision put up a mail box out there and that is where they got their mail.  There was no pull off, just mail boxes on the side of the road with no shoulders.  You had to get on the road driving surface to get your mail.  First week my wife and I lived in our house, I watched three different vehicles lose control in the snow, and take out the whole line of mail boxes, scattering mail up and down the road.  Saw many close call where people were crossing the road to get their mail from the driver side of the car, sitting on the wrong side of the road, facing traffic.  Also saw where vandels smashed the mail boxes on a regular basis.  We got a PO Box.

Five years ago I gathered signatures and patitioned the Post Office for home delivery.  The local Postmaster fought me on the issue.  I pointed out they were doing home delivery to all the newer subdivisions around us, why not us.  We finally now have home delivery, with 75% junk mail.  Now I get my neighbors mail and he gets mine.  The contract carrier keeps messing up.

I would be fine if they stopped Saturday delivery. 

[Dixiejack]

I live in a small town and the post office does not offer mail delivery within the city limits.  Everyone has a p.o. box.  Even UPS delivers our packages to the post office.  I will get an email notice from UPS saying they attempted to deliver my package and couldn't so it was left at the post office for me to pick up.


The postmaster told me that UPS has a contract with the local post office to handle their packages.  Their reasoning is it is cheaper to pay the post office to handle UPS packages than for UPS to buy fuel for the delivery trucks.


What makes me mad is that UPS is blatantly lying to their customers.  Don't p**s on my leg and tell me it's raining.


BTW, I go to the post office on MWF to get my junk mail.

[SHOOTALL]

After alot of consideration I guess it would depend on wheather or not I was expecting a check or a bill