posted on September 22, 2000 12:17:13 AM
Has anyone else noticed the changes lately at the Post Office. Longer lines and less clerks on duty: 2 instead of the 3-4 per usual at the Post Office I visit regularly.
Now I hear from some of the clerks that the PO is outsourcing and they will have to find new jobs. Has anyone else heard this?
[ edited by feistyone on Sep 22, 2000 12:27 AM ]
posted on September 22, 2000 01:06:53 AM
Not where I live. We have five clerks and a Postmaster - all work the window. It's small and a growing community. Everything normal.
posted on September 22, 2000 05:04:51 AM
I work at the PO, not as an employee but an independant contractor. At our office they just installed some new system at the window. They can now only perform one transaction at a time. Used to be I could go to the window and get stamps while they waited on another customer, now I have to wait until they complete the transaction they are working on. I cannot understand when supposedly usps is in the red why they continue to spend money on new things. Did you know the usps spent 7 billion dollars on the scanners for delivery confirmation. And I may scan dc only once a day and have 380 plus deleveries. IMHO they are trying to keep up with the changing times when they should just keep customer service as top priority. But as far as they are concerned our little peon opinions don't matter.
posted on September 22, 2000 05:30:36 AM
feistyone, finally a thread other than Paypal. My Post Office opens from 8-5 everyday except Saturdays which is a half day. There are usually 2-3 clerks at all times. From 8-8.30am when it is very light, there is usually 1 up front while the other help sorts things up or take a break in the back. Its not too bad.
It usually gets bad in the afternoon & we always have 4-5 clerks then. feistyone, I suggest you get to the Post Office very early in the morning if you can. Lunch time are bad, a lot of working people take a trip to the PO at lunch time but guess what, the clerks take turns going out for lunch too..which seems like a fair deal
Last Christmas, I remember going to the PO at 7.30am in the morning to beat the rush. There was a long which started from what I am told at 7.00 am. Mail early folks...don't wait till the last minute & then complain about why your package isn't there
posted on September 22, 2000 06:02:02 AM
Great PO here. Walked in yesterday with three packages and I was the only one there plus one of the clerks looks like Pamela Anderson and I think she likes me.
posted on September 22, 2000 06:16:44 AM
I live in a small town. There are usually two clerks at the window but lately just one with long lines.
We have no Pamela Anderson (good thing as my hubby would probably want to mail my packages for me!). We have a man who is always friendly; another man who always teases me because I hand him book after book to send and an Aunt Bea type who is very friendly. Better than what we used to have which was a man who reeked of liquor and was nasty to customers. Finally after enough complaints they moved him to the back.
Edited to add: Wish we had some fill-in carriers because if our regular carrier has a vacation day, we dont get mail. Seriously. I also noticed this week that I haven't gotten some items that I have won and should have been here by now.
posted on September 22, 2000 06:19:14 AM
Ours has cut back drastically on clerks' hours. We now have two part-time clerks to handle all the functions of a branch office between 8:30 am and 5:00 pm Monday through Friday and a half-day on Saturday.
It's not too bad to go around 9:00 am, when the mail is in the boxes and the efficient one is on window duty, but early afternoon is impossible. The efficient clerk leaves at 12:30 and the afternoon one is positively glacial. It takes her five minutes to sell a book of stamps.
Sad. And it will only get worse as the Christmas season approaches.
posted on September 22, 2000 06:37:17 AM
The USPS is in a bit of a profitability squeeze at the moment. After five straight years of posting a net profit, results for FY 2000 (just ended this past ending September 16th) indicate a net LOSS of around $300 million. Not a pretty picture after all the expenditures on systems and automation. The USPS is in a “budget control” mode and this is spilling over into many areas. The U.S. Postal Service employs over 800,000 individuals nationwide, so cutbacks can have a rather dramatic economic effect. Listed below are a couple of excerpts from documents (and links to the full text) that provide a synopsis of these issues:
===============================
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 7, 1999
Release No. 96
POSTAL SERVICE POST FIFTH STRAIGHT YEAR OF NET INCOME
WASHINGTON, D.C. -The U.S. Postal Service posted a net income, far exceeding expectations, of $363 million on revenues of nearly $63 billion during its 1999 fiscal year, the Postal Service Board of Governors was advised today at its regular monthly meeting.
"Through sound management and the efforts of our employees, we were able to achieve our fifth straight year of positive net income," said Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President M. Richard Porras.
And:
"The challenges for fiscal year 2000 will be met," Porras said. "We are committed to posting six consecutive years of net income. We will continue doing what is necessary to meet this goal. We already have aggressive efforts underway to increase revenue and continue reducing costs." Plans to increase revenue include new initiatives in e-commerce and a renewed focus on package business coupled with a restructured sales force.
===========================
Statement of
William J. Henderson
Postmaster General and Chief Executive Officer
United States Postal Service
before the
Subcommittee on International Security, Proliferation, and Federal Services Governmental Affairs Committee, U.S. Senate
July 13, 2000
“In fact, the latest revenue figures place the Postal Service more than $400 million short of our $100 million net income target for the year. This is directly attributable to a weakness in demand. Although postal products today are a better value in terms of service, features, and price, we now forecast a potential shortfall of $700-800 million in total operating revenue for the year.”
posted on September 22, 2000 06:52:12 AM
My post office is diversified.
One clerk gives candy to every child, every day. Nice as this sounds, I swear it is his way to angle up next the the mothers. I know. I am one and I always feel "cruised". I also see him with his eye on every a** that leaves the building, and surely mine is included.
Another gal is very busty and wears her skirt very short and very tight. This would be more okay if she was not more than just a tad past prime. Still, it is impressive, her little white postal buttons are near bursting. She has ultra long red fingernails, and combined with the skirt - this makes her very slow at her job. She also seems to think a camera is trained on her, filming every move as if she is about to be discovered and called to Hollywood, so she is constantly on display and does a lot of arched back walking back and forth, and hair flinging. A man (or men) often send her flowers and so commonly she has an ostentatious bouquet at her window sent by some slobbering admirer no doubt.
Next we have the drill sergeant. Can a woman have a Napoleon complex? I think so. This is a compact PE teacher woman (wonder what she thinks of Hollywood over yonder) who issues sharp and curt commands and then looks at you like you are a pathetic and despicable slow person of low intelligence, when you have a baffled expression on your face. Really though, you are just wondering what planet she came from, where he whistle is, and maybe marveling at her level of frustration. She is oblivious to the fact that she is the only one having a problem. I have thought that she belongs in a cage, so that people could observe, and learn.
Next, we have Dumbo. Tall, dark and stupid. Another specimen worthy of study. He has not been able to speak a complete sentence to date and I am not holding out a lot of hope.
posted on September 22, 2000 08:32:10 AM
I have to comment regarding the greatest PO I have found. I used to go to two differnt ones here in No Seattle in Lynnwood. Okay, nice clerks but very busy, long lines etc.
One day I went a different way to pick up my son and found a little PO in MLT. I have never been so pleased.
There are never lines. There are two clerks with a third window. If there is more than 1 person in line the third window is opened and the third (assistand PMaster?) opens it and helps. The Postmaster is always bustling around up front ready to answer any questions with a smile. They are all women and ALL are always clean, dressed nice, great attitudes and very helpful.
They have:
Taped up my priority boxes when I ran out
Removed (peeled off) DC stickers from 1st class when I was a ditz and thought I could do that
Always provide me with a small tablet and pen to mark down rates or notes if I need to
Happily gave me two plastic bins to cart my packages in
Come around the counter and open the door if they see me coming trying to juggle a lot
Always happy to pull out the zip code book if we cannot match or cannot read my writing!
And, I repeat, all of them are always smiling and have great attitudes. None have EVER been negative and I love going there. They are truly interested in what I do.
Normally most PO's have one or two friendly, knowledeable people but this one has all 4.
I don't know what is in their drinking water there but the other PO's need some.
posted on September 22, 2000 08:33:11 AM
Corrdogg,
It's a labor contract negotiation year. USPS ALWAYS goes into the red during that period. That 'lack of demand' claim is laughable and translates into hard bargaining at the tables. In short, it's a ploy.
For the rest, their fiscal year has just ended. During the month or so (AP 13) all expenditures are cut back or stopped if possible in order that they can come in under the wire of beginning of the year budgetary restraints for the year. It's a yearly exercize in crisis management, and it's predictable internally. Offices with too much money spend it feverishly in order not to lose or have next year's allocation reduced; offices who have spent all or nearly all of their annual budget chop back drastically so they will not exceed their beginning allocation.
posted on September 23, 2000 06:05:41 AM
vogeldanl - it's in my neighborhood.
I would only talk about people in this way anonymously. Mine is not yours because no one looks even remotely like Pamela Anderson.
posted on September 23, 2000 06:12:58 AM
You all ought to see my post office! It was built in 1902. It has one small room with one clerk. She loves to see where all my packages are going. She will tape any corner that she thinks might come undone. The scale to weigh packages is manual, not digital. She also lets me call her if I have any question about what to charge for postage. Yes, I live in a small town! lol
posted on September 23, 2000 06:21:51 AM
The post office closest to my house is a bit too antiquated to make it convenient. The PM weighs packages on a manual scale and uses a calculator to figure out the postage. They only take cash and checks (as if anyone writes out paper checks anymore!) I also found out the hard way that they charge $1.85 for insurance under $50. They use a calculator to figure out your change, too. This is not a small town, either. This PO is on the north end of the main tourist area in Daytona Beach right across from the big beachfront hotels & condos. I can just imagine what the people from out of town think when they try to mail something...Actually, I believe they are a satellite PO.
I prefer to drive the extra mile or two to the real post office. Even when the lines look long, they move pretty quick. All the clerks are wonderful! When it is slow, the women take my 19 month old behind the counter and pass him around...I will definitely be making a big batch of cookies for those folks around Christmas!
edited cuz i'm still on my first cup of coffee
[ edited by debbielennon on Sep 23, 2000 06:26 AM ]
[ edited by debbielennon on Sep 23, 2000 06:32 AM ]
posted on September 23, 2000 08:51:18 AM
I live on an island in Michigan with only ferry access and we have a very small Post Office. Our Post Mistress is absolutely the greatest. I use garbage bags for my packages and am always greeted with a smile or a joke. I love going to the Post Office because it is great social interaction with a wonderful person that goes out of her way to do an outstanding job. I will miss this place when we move.
posted on September 23, 2000 02:36:10 PM
I live in a little town which shares a zip code with another town (in a different county, which creates some problems). We have our own PO with one window and one clerk. The guy just retired and had a front page story about him in the newspaper because he's so friendly and nice! And this is in NJ!
posted on September 23, 2000 07:43:09 PM
I have the world's greatest post office within 5 miles of me!
It is open 24/7/365--Christmas, Thanksgiving, and every other holiday!
It is at an international airport in my town, and another great benefit is that because planes are constantly picking up mail, I can send a package to be overnighted up until 10pm!
The clerks are fantastic, and now that they have the new postal system down, it seems like I get in and out so quickly.
This post office used to be my secret before it moved to a new state of the art building about half a mile from it old location. Now that it is full service (and with the proliferation of e-commerce), it stays fairly busy. One big perk--it is fun to find out what the others sell on eBay! You usually have to get that info from the clerk, as most seem to not want to let their secrets out of the bag (umm, no, I don't sell on eBay...20 of my nephews just graduated from Summer School)!
posted on September 23, 2000 11:08:12 PM
They're also cutting in other ways. Their 24 hour help line (1-800-ASK-USPS) has been cut back to 17 hours. It's bad enough that you can't reach your local Post Office directly by phone anymore. What next??? Oh, that's right--another rate hike!
posted on September 24, 2000 07:20:25 AM
There is a PO near by that is staffed by very officious (sp) clerks. The last two times I went in, they said that my confirmation form was "improperly placed" and had to be done over. Meanwhile, there are twenty people standing in line. It was placed exactly as instructed by instructions on back of slip. I just take my business elsewhere. Sometimes $75.00 per day.
posted on September 24, 2000 07:37:23 AM
Our post office (small town) has 2 windows, but only one of them is ussualy open. When I come in with 15 or so packages, the clerk hits the bell, and the second window gets opened quick {evil grin}
The thing that bugs me is if the postmistress is in a foul mood (quite often) she make all the clerks go thru their sales pitch with EVERY customer. I already know that I can pay with a debit card or credit card, don't want any of their overpriced shipping supplies, ect. The clerks know it to, and wink at me as they go thru the sales pitch, but....
posted on September 24, 2000 09:30:55 AM
Hey, two of the p.o.'s described sound like 2 in my city.
One I go to is in a very old building, late 1800's I believe, oddly enough it's on the corner in the middle of the suburbs of a big city right next to brand new homes and convenience stores! There's a heavy wood door with a gorgeous glass oval window, a *hitching post* outside of the front covered porch, wood floors, and old wood shutters at the clerk's window, and a Dutch door into the back area. Sometimes the chickens are running around in the dirt/gravel "parking lot"! "U.S. Post Office" is written across the front of the building with old pieces of lumber. A cow bell rings when you go in, letting her know you're there. The first time I saw the place I thought it was some sort of "postal museum" or something and didn't believe it was a real, functioning PO til I went inside! It's unbelievably charming and the woman who works there lives out back. She's super friendly, has her kids helping out in back sometimes, and always has a kind word for my kids. Oh and there's NEVER a soul inside, so no waiting, and it's about 1/2 a mile from my house. Unfortunately since I'm a night owl I often don't make it over there before closing time.
So, I often use the 24/7 PO by the airport. Big, clean, about 7 windows and very efficient, friendly-yet-businesslike clerks. It's always crowded though.. it amazes me how many other people make PO trips at midnight besides me! They're pretty quick though..last night the line was out the front door and I still waited less than five minutes. They're nice enough.. and they let my 8 y.o. use their "employees only" restroom (without my having to ask first)when he was squirming around obviously on one visit so they scored big points there.
I'm glad I have these two options, and if I ever become disenchanted with any of them there are a jillion other branches in my area so I'm covered regardless. Oh, my carrier is a dream too, always friendly despite my constant packages, always brings them up and "rings twice", I definitely notice when it's his day off and the fill-in is on the route.
posted on September 24, 2000 10:02:30 AM
I love the small rural POs. They are the best. Hardly ever a line, and nice people to deal with . I actually have schmoozed with some grannies who are curious about all the packages, and they are now considering letting me sell some of their great old stuff on ebay! I love small towns. Would never live anywhere else.
