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Post by Bezron on Sept 15, 2011 16:59:28 GMT -5
Not sure it belongs here, but thought this would make an interesting discussion (move as needed): abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/national_world&id=8355898&rss=rss-wls-article-8355898Basically, the Postal Service is examining the feasibility of adjusting their service levels and closing some processing centers. If they did this, would most of you even notice? I personally think that, while the job loss portion is significant, they really do need to streamline. The Postal Service is a prime example of a bloated system that keeps bad workers on with little to no disciplinary fallout. I think that they should go to an every-other-day (include Sundays) standard delivery system and offer pickup if you need something outside of your normal delivery schedule (i.e., you have a check coming and you have no food left on an off day). To be honest, this type of thing seems to be less and less of an issue. For other items, if you need something on a specific day (say computer parts or medicine), then pay for it when it is shipped (priority or express, for example). Otherwise, schedule things around your delivery dates. This way, they could keep most of the people employed and cut OT. If you are on route today, then you are sorting tomorrow and vice versa. That way, the sorters don't rack up huge OT hours while the delivery folks are sitting on their asses. Thoughts? |
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Post by Amaranth on Sept 15, 2011 18:25:57 GMT -5
I personally cannot wait until mail is privatised and a stamp is 8 dollars.
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Post by Bezron on Sept 15, 2011 20:23:47 GMT -5
And then when you need to send something physical, you go to UPS/Fedex and know that it will actually get there...
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Post by dasfuchs on Sept 15, 2011 21:26:27 GMT -5
I don't think I'm good for an answer, I've had nothing but positive experiences with the USPS and always have received my packages and mail. UPS and Fedex I've had issues with more often than not.
UPS lost a package. they let another sit in their distribution center for a week till it finished its trip from Allen Park MI to Imlay City MI.
Fedex, heh, "this isn't a residential address". "Oh, you're not home on a rainy day, well, I'll just leave your box out here on the doorstep"
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Post by Amaranth on Sept 15, 2011 21:28:50 GMT -5
And then when you need to send something physical, you go to UPS/Fedex and know that it will actually get there... HA! Oh, were you serious? |
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Post by Aqualung on Sept 15, 2011 22:27:05 GMT -5
People always make jokes about how much going to the DMV sucks; I say the post office is ten times worse!!! I always have to stand in line for a half hour. So yeah, anything they can do to help with that would be great.
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Post by Vene on Sept 15, 2011 22:28:19 GMT -5
I'm sure cutting the number of employees will help make lines shorter.
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Post by MaybeNever on Sept 15, 2011 22:33:19 GMT -5
I'm sure cutting the number of employees will help make lines shorter. We need more bootstraps involved somewhere, I'm sure of it. |
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Post by Whore of Spamylon on Sept 15, 2011 22:50:50 GMT -5
And then when you need to send something physical, you go to UPS/Fedex and know that it will actually get there... HA! Oh, were you serious? I was going to say. In my experience, UPS has a slight edge while USPS is more than adequate. Fedex, on the other hand, has been less punctual than the other two. All-in-all, considering that the USPS was founded during the Second Continental Congress (during the rebellion of the colonies and before the declaration of independence), during a time when public services were a fraction of what they are now (especially those provided at the federal level), one should probably be asking themselves why. Could it be that, just like our GPS system, some services need to be public in order to handle the logistics of society? Could it be that government bureaucracy, in select instances, can be more streamlined than corporate bureaucracy, depending on how the motive for profit serves (or doesn't serve) the public interest in each select instance? Unfortunately, the above stated seems to be lost on some people, as the link below demonstrates. www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/08/worlds-biggest-writing/ |
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Post by sylvana on Sept 16, 2011 1:57:02 GMT -5
To be honest, given how much things have changed, we as a society are moving away from post and physical mail. I barely get any mail because everything I would normally get is instead delivered electronically.
Now while I may not know what things are like in the American Postal Service, I can offer experience of the South African Postal service. Over here is it blatantly corrupt and you wont get any mail other than bills. everything else gets stolen by the postal employees. If you need to post something, you courier it instead. otherwise you might as well just throw it away.
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Post by Napoleon the Clown on Sept 16, 2011 2:13:05 GMT -5
And then when you need to send something physical, you go to UPS/Fedex and know that it will actually get there... Fun fact, UPS and FedEx often use the USPS to get packages between offices. Because the Post Office is cheaper. Funny, that. |
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Post by Art Vandelay on Sept 16, 2011 6:43:04 GMT -5
To be honest, given how much things have changed, we as a society are moving away from post and physical mail. I barely get any mail because everything I would normally get is instead delivered electronically. My thoughts exactly. Between email and electronic payment, the only thing the post is really used for in great quantity these days is delivering packages. It makes good sense to cut it down to reflect the drop in demand. |
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Post by Amaranth on Sept 16, 2011 7:29:24 GMT -5
I'm sure cutting the number of employees will help make lines shorter. I can see no other possible alternative, |
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Post by Kit Walker on Sept 16, 2011 8:05:01 GMT -5
I would notice, in fact it has me somewhat worried. I get my weekly comic books mailed to me from a store back home every week. Dropped in the mail on Wednesday, arrive on Friday. $5 priority mail envelope, they manage to fit a lot in there to ship it. Every week since I started GVSU my comics have arrived promptly and undamaged.
Compare that to the two external hard drives (see Flame and Burn for more on that story) I got through UPS - both all beaten to hell. I've gotten a lot of stuff via USPS, all of it in the condition I bought it in, no problem. First thing I get UPS in year? Both boxes, beaten all to hell. Admittedly, this is partly the seller's fault (plastic bag/envelope things for shipping electronics) but still.
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Post by Amaranth on Sept 16, 2011 8:42:01 GMT -5
And then when you need to send something physical, you go to UPS/Fedex and know that it will actually get there... Fun fact, UPS and FedEx often use the USPS to get packages between offices. Because the Post Office is cheaper. Funny, that. Fun fact, several of my UPS packages have been delivered by USPS. |
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