What’s Up With The Post Office?

Every few weeks there’s something in the news about the troubles of the U.S. Postal Service. The most important thing the Post Office needs right now is money, and I once read, in a “Letter to the Editor” in the Wichita Falls Times Record News, that supervisors are not allowed to step up to the counter and accept any of that much needed money from customers! Could this really be true? How silly is that? I’ve been a supervisor in four different occupations and I was never allowed to stand back and not do the job of subordinates when needed.

And what’s this about a union rule that certain employees are not subject to lay offs? Did I hear that right? Someone chime in on this!

According to a Washington Post story, agreements with the two major postal unions do not allow the Post Office to lay off employees for reasons like broken machinery or low mail volume. These employees show up for work anyway and do nothing during “standby time”. Can this be correct? Is this happening in Wichita Falls?

The article goes on to say that the USPS is paid 4.3 million dollars for 170,666 hours of “standby time” during the first half of 2011. In 2009 $30.9 million was paid for “stand by” time.

I’m sorry, but it’s hard to feel sorry for an agency when you read something like that!

Roofing Company: I’m sorry Bob, but we’ve completed all of the work on those hail-damaged roofs around town, and since hail damage has been very light this year, we’re going to have a lay off a few employees. The work just isn’t there.

Bob: You can’t lay me off. I don’t care how many roofing jobs you have or don’t have. You hired me and you have to keep me on the payroll until I retire! Don’t make me have to call a lawyer!

Okay, now how silly was that? Is this not what’s happening at the Post Office, or do I have my information all wrong? It’s possible that I do. If the Post Office agreed to this, then they certainly were not looking out for their present and future customers – the ones who foot the bill for your job-for-life employees.

Now, maybe it’s not the best time , economy-wise, to be laying off people. I’ll grant that. So, the only other alternative is to freeze hiring. I mean freeze it to “absolute zero”. There shouldn’t be a need to hire anyone for another decade!

Here’s another thought – people need to get away from the idea that the Post Office has to be everywhere for everyone. Yes, in the past, they have been just that, but this is definitely not the past. Reducing the number of locations makes sense to me. Unless a person is walking, if they can make it to a facility 2 miles way, they can make to one 10 miles away. Most people don’t have to walk, however. This maneuver will help shift more of the cost of the service to the user of that service.

Also, it looks like the Post Office is targeting very small towns for branch closures. Towns where only one Post Office facility exists. To make things worse, some of the towns are on the fringe of Internet and cell phone coverage. Here’s an idea. How about the big cities across America – the ones with excess Post Office capacity – give up one or two offices each and this would allow the small towns to keep their locations. It’s a lot easier for someone in a big city to drive a little further to another Post Office facility than it is for someone in an isolated town to get to another town. Just a thought.

We need to get away from the idea that everything has to arrive “yesterday”. We have the Internet for instant delivery – we shouldn’t require it of the Post Office. It just fuels unnecessary expectations on the part of customers, and it increases stress, and cost, on everyone.

For example, I downloaded some very important forms not long ago. I completed them and e-mailed them to where they needed to go. No Post Office necessary. Technology doesn’t progress in a linear fashion – it progresses exponentially. Before you know it, Post Office, the need for your services will be more drastically reduced than it already is. Are you preparing for that? Having can’t-be-layed-off employees is certainly not good preparation.

Who needs mail on Saturday? Saturday delivery should be limited to the delivery of packages that are essential for health and welfare. Once again, this shifts the expense to the user of the service rather than the general public. Need stamps? Buy them during the week. Or, better yet, buy them online and they’ll be in your mailbox in a few days. I love getting mail, put I wouldn’t suffer withdrawal symptoms if the Post Office shutdown completely on Saturdays. Need something to read on the weekends? Get a book!

Did the Post Office not see the implications of the Internet? Did they think it would not have any effect on their operation? It seems as more and more people got “online”, the Post Office built more and more facilities to handle fewer and fewer parcels. Maybe that’s not exactly accurate, but that’s my perception of it all. I just paid three bills online – bills that I used to pay by mail. How many people across the country did the same thing this month? I ordered several items online each month. Years ago, that would have meant a stamp and envelope to mail each order. How did the packages arrive? It wasn’t via the Post Office. How many people across the country did the same thing last month?

Did the Post Office not see that it was not wise to try to be like McDonald’s with a location in every neighborhood? Or, if you’re going to try to be in every neighborhood, you better start offering fries with those stamps?

Now, the Post Office is in the news again, talking about closing facilities, resulting in slower First Class mail processing and delivery. This is great – really. I don’t need my mail “tomorrow”. A few extra days is fine. If everyone knows that mail takes 5 or 6 days instead of 2 or 3 days, they can adapt to the change and mail earlier. Before long, 5 or 6 days will seem normal and the country will function fine. For instant communications and transactions, the Internet is ready and waiting. Post Office – did you hear me? Don’t forget – the Internet is ready and waiting. Fine-tune your operations to work with WITH instead of AGAINST this reality.

I feel sorry for the Post Office employees affected by this issue. Hopefully the needed reduction in force can be achieved though retirements. I’m not pushing for overnight changes or unemployed people. And what about recruiting? I can’t imagine people seriously considering a career with an agency that’s going though so much controversy. I know I would be looking elsewhere. Anyway, as I said above, the USPS shouldn’t be hiring – period.

I know that much of the problem is out of the hands of the Post Office itself. Our legislators have required that the Post Office pre-fund 75 years worth of future retiree health insurance benefits. Sounds to me like funding for future employees who won’t be there.

Now, I’ve never worked for the Post Office, and it’s quite possible that I have no idea what I’m talking about. If I have accumulated negative, and possibly inaccurate, ideas about the Post Office, then the Post Office needs to light a fire under its public relations and marketing office.

Of course, I’ll probably never get another letter delivered after this!

Maynard*