USPS - No more Saturday mail?

[pacanis]

Am I understanding this correctly?
There is to be no more mail delivery (in the US) on Saturdays, but they are still going to be out delivering packages?
Postal Service to stop delivering mail on Saturdays

I'd rather they take a day in the middle of the week off.

 

[Zhizara]

That makes me think that our mail carriers are going to lose a day's work. I hope not.

I don't get a lot of mail, so that doesn't impact me, but am glad to hear my packages (which I do wait impatiently for) will still be coming.

 

[Alix]

I hope you appreciate how spoiled you are with your mail service. Canada Post is nowhere near the level of service you receive. You get mail on the weekend? Really?

 

[Zhizara]

I hope you appreciate how spoiled you are with your mail service. Canada Post is nowhere near the level of service you receive. You get mail on the weekend? Really?

You don't? What's your mail service like, Alix?

 

[buckytom]

from what i've heard, they start delivering mail to people whose names begin with the letter "a", but it gets so confusing after that they have to start over and go slower.

sorry, alix. couldn't help it, eh?

 

[Zhizara]

No wonder I don't get mail on the weekend.

 

[Alix]

We've never had weekend delivery. Most new homes don't have door to door service anymore, they have "superboxes" so you have to go pick up your mail. It is not very predictable either. I had a package arrive from Ontario (1864 miles) 2 days after it was sent, and a card from Calgary (186 miles) a week after it was sent. It is ridiculously expensive to send things via mail. Its worth it to use Purolator or FedEx to get it there quickly at roughly the same price or less.

 

[Zhizara]

That's terrible, Alix. We have a wonderful mail service here. I'd think that you would too.

I like it that if I order something online, it is always either delivered to my mailbox or to my door within a couple of weeks.

Sorry.

 

[pacanis]

I hope you appreciate how spoiled you are with your mail service. Canada Post is nowhere near the level of service you receive. You get mail on the weekend? Really?

I have indeed become spoiled with the post office delivering packages on Saturdays now. They have really stepped up their game in this regards.
I don't understand why they are going to do one and not the other though. Are they really going to have someone come in to deliver 6 packages that might be on their route without delivering any mail? That part doesn't make any sense to me.

 

[forty_caliber]

I'm sure that manhours and mileage are the big reasons behind the change.

They can't stop delivering packages on Saturday because the are contracted with UPS and FEDEX to deliver for them. That happens quite a bit in the greater Houston area anyway.

.40

 

[Zhizara]

I'd think that with the increased competition for delivery $ that the PO would increase their coverage.

We want our stuff, and we want it as now as possible (instant gratifation).

Wouldn't it be more profitable for them to give us more, better service?

 

[pacanis]

It happens here, too, .40. When tracking a package for UPS I will see the scheduled delivery date and half the time it's the mailman bringing it.

 

[Addie]

At one time we used to get two deliveries a day.

There will be jobs lost. Not every house gets a package delivered every day. Almost every home gets mail, even if it is junk mail. Less overtime. FedEx rates have gone up and up. And UPS has followed suit, but more slowly. The USPS is the least expensive way to ship. Thus their package delivery has increased. With e-mails recognized as a legal document by the courts, less first class mail is being sent when an e-mail will do. Unfortunately and sadly, e-mails are an acceptable means of communications including invitations. Even to weddings. Whatever happened to the written thank you note?

 

[forty_caliber]

At one time we used to get two deliveries a day.

There will be jobs lost. Not every house gets a package delivered every day. Almost every home gets mail, even if it is junk mail. Less overtime. FedEx rates have gone up and up. And UPS has followed suit, but more slowly. The USPS is the least expensive way to ship. Thus their package delivery has increased. With e-mails recognized as a legal document by the courts, less first class mail is being sent when an e-mail will do. Unfortunately and sadly, e-mails are an acceptable means of communications including invitations. Even to weddings. Whatever happened to the written thank you note?

The post office failed to keep up with the times, to innovate, and are paying the price. We've been calling it "Snail Mail" for years.

.40

 

[Cerise]

The price of postage (stamps) went up again, as well. I wouldn't mind if the delivery days were cut down to five - less dumping of junk mail & a crammed mailbox. As I understand it, the cut was made, in part, due to a suffering retirement plan. Perhaps, they could change to another plan, rather than pass the cost along to the consumer & cut their service.

 

[MrsLMB]

Not having Saturday mail delivery is a good idea.

The packages will still be delivered.

Package only delivery will be done by fewer people and so the payroll will shrink.

I would not be surprised if that is removed in time also.

Reality is that so many people are doing their communicating and purchasing and bill paying online that it has really cut into the profitability of the USPS.

Some employees of the USPS will have their hours cut back but so has most of America. I know several people who work for USPS and believe me, they are not hurting in the $ department.

People will survive not getting mail on Saturdays and Sundays.

Now you have a reason to look forward to Mondays !!

 

[CharlieD]

I do not mind at all. I am usually not home Saturdays and it seems to me that all the missing mail, if it is missing, happens on Saturday. Plus, why should poor mail people work on Saturday, when we are all of, if you work regular shedule? Let them have weekend with their families too.

 

[roadfix]

It seems like they've gotten rid of 90% of corner mail boxes around here in recent years and now mail delivery itself has been very unpredictable and erratic. We don't even get mail delivery at all quite often during the week. No sign of mail delivery vehicle in the whole neighborhood.
Often times I'll have several pieces of stamped mail, mostly bills to pay, in my possession for a couple of days simply because I don't pass close to a mail box or see the mail man to hand him the outgoing mail.
Having said that, we still have the most efficient and the cheapest mail delivery system on this planet.

 

[jennyema]

The post office failed to keep up with the times, to innovate, and are paying the price. We've been calling it "Snail Mail" for years.

.40

The post office's problem is not failing to keep up with the times.
They've figured out how to make money and be self-sufficient.

Its the strange mandate that their retirement benefits be pre-funded that's sending them into bankruptcy.

 

[jabbur]

Sometime back in the early 70's Congress changed the way the USPS was structured and started requiring them to be revenue neutral. They must pay their own way but have to have approval from Congress to do much of anything. When other businesses were restructuring in the 90's to become more efficient, the PO was restricted by Congress in how much change they could make. It is a terrible hybrid of government agency and private business and that is what is making it unprofitable (besides the benefits for union workers).