posted on April 3, 2001 03:12:04 PM new
Today the PO announced they lost money in 2000 and forcast bigger losses this year and are threatening to stop delivery on Saturday!
Many of us sellers spent time at the PO nearly daily in 2000. I spent so much time at my local PO that I got to know the tellers and their work habbits far better than any supervisor there. I even have nicknames for some of them.
Like the Neiman-Marcus lady. She rolls out the red carpet for everybody. Got a question? She will stop and research it no matter what it takes of how long. Not packaged well? She will get out the tape and re-wrap it. Need help filling out form? She'll do it for you.
Then there is the Trainee. She asks another clerk a question (which stops that clerk dead in their tracks) for every customer. How long has she been training? 6 months so far.
Then there is Mr. Perfect. He measures everything...one time he measured one of those long triangular Priority boxes....I mean this was the Post Offices own standard Priority red-white-and-blue boxes. He puts scotch tape over every hand stamp he makes on the box so it doesn't smear.
And all this delay is just wasting money and the time of everybody in line. After setting some standards for clerks, the PO needs to enforce those standards. That would be a good start.
Next they need to post the rules for mailing in the lobby for all to read. 30% of the customers are not ready when they get to the window. The clerks do their work for most of them, but for some they tell them to fill out a form, then come back to the front of the line. here is the way it should be: No wrapping done at the window. No filling of forms done at the window. And no getting back in at the front of the line. Once they go through the line TWICE from the back, they will remember the rules much better next time.
As for delivery did you know Priority mail travels with first class? It can be a good deal in shipping small packages, plus they give you the box to ship it in, but for a letter, you are spending 10 TIMES the money for the EXACT same service.
As for Media mail, I think they age it like fine wine. I sent myself a box from California to Detroit on March 15 and it arrived April 2. That's 18 days. I could have walked there in 18 days. And here's a clue: Even though you can ship 70 lb. packages, don't do it if you can break it into lighter groups. It doesn't save much money in one box, and here is an unwritten rule at the PO: Any package over 30 lbs. will be distroyed in transit.
I think the reason is that lifting over 30 lbs. is a big problem for most people and so such packages get pushed, pulled, dropped, kicked and otherwise mishandled.
[ edited by zzyzx000 on Apr 3, 2001 03:21 PM ]
The P.O. should hire you! I have had so many of these same thoughts!
Here is an example of the workers at my P.O.:
There is the VERY bit*** lady, who barks orders to the other workers. The louder the better.
Do it by the book, man....this man also engages customers into conversations with him, when quite frankly, they would rather shovel ****. This guy won't let you leave with out a conversation!
Then there is the guy who takes a break about every 10 minutes, I swear! This guy is a joke and the other workers have to cover for him.
One of the workers left a while back to pursue his internet job of online selling....I wonder how he is doing? Hopefully, he wasn't selling on Yahoo!
posted on April 3, 2001 04:06:26 PM new
Dont forget the New Auction site at the USPS. Items they are selling are from the lost unknown recipient-unknown sender pile. I know I have items that were lost, never returned and ate a bundle in refunds last year.
posted on April 3, 2001 09:40:25 PM new
The PO would save thousands of dollars in construction costs by NOT building 4 or 5 clerk "windows" when they remodel older POs because there is NEVER EVER a time when all of the windows are actually manned by a clerk. If you're only going to have 1 or 2 people on duty at 4:45 PM and throughout the day, then just build 1 or 2 windows.
posted on April 4, 2001 08:06:56 PM new
I particularly like the woman at my new post office who makes everyone 'take a number', even when there's no one else there! Then goes through each number until she gets to the one he took-really!
posted on April 7, 2001 12:09:21 AM new
My P.O. has 5 windows and about half the time all 5 are open. And they've had the same 5 tellers for about a year now. The 2 that are over 50 can really quote those rule books and insist you do everything just so. The other 3 are about 30-40 and they just say OK to whatever you want.
I sell collectible stamps and covers so much of my mailing is in regular size envelopes. I have 1 frequent customer who always adds $1.10 for insurance and I've never had any problem getting it. Today I got one of the over 50 clerks and she said "envelopes are too easy to steal as someone could fold it up & stick it in their pocket therefore the P.O. has never, ever allowed ins. on envelopes." She said my only option was registered mail for $7.25 plus postage but it would still be uninsured. When I argued I had been sold ins on several previous envelopes she consulted one fellow clerk who said no way, it's against the rules. They told me to consult their website for ins rules, I have and I can't find a thing about disallowing envelopes. Has anyone else ever heard of this?
Yes, I've had my closest PO branch tell me I couldn't get insurance on a normal envelope. Another substation in a grocery store a mile away does insure envelopes, though.
The PO that won't do envelopes WILL take the same item if put into a small bubble mailer, that's just enough of a hassle for a thief to conceal that they insure them here with no questions so far; another 20c for the mailer if bought in bulk and another ounce postage would beat sending it registered or certified or whatever.
posted on April 7, 2001 02:06:38 PM new
One cannot insure correspondence; some clerks misinterpret this and make up a can't insure an envelope rule. They are wrong, but can be very difficult to convince. Sometimes have to take it to another P.O.
Many people refuse to understand or believe that priority is defined as the same level of service as first class. I've seen people at the P.O. placing bill payment or other ordinary envelopes into the fixed rate priority mailers and paying the 3.95 thinking it would get there faster, many clerks encourage this by quoting the 2-3 days claim for priority and erroneously estimating longer for 1st class. Many online buyers and sellers, including many who post here, also harbor the misimpression that priority is an upgrade from 1st class mail.
posted on April 7, 2001 03:02:42 PM new
If you tell them there is merchandise in the envelope they will insure it. i.e. calling card, collectible postage stamps, etc.
posted on April 7, 2001 05:39:39 PM new
I can't complain really about the workers at my local post office. They're a great bunch and have been so helpful to me over my past year in selling.
However, I completely agree about the cluelessness of some of the customers who unnecessarily take up way too much time at the windows because:
1. They don't have the merchandise sealed. They bring up the box, envelope, whatever, and seem to think it's the job of the clerk to seal it for them.
2. They bring up the merchandise without any packaging whatsoever and the clerk has to help them pick out the right size envelope or box, and then has to wrap and seal it for them because the customer just stands there acting helpless.
posted on April 7, 2001 05:44:17 PM new
they don't deserve another dime if there was fraud and waste jail the persons responsible instead of covering up for them
posted on April 7, 2001 06:14:34 PM new
"because the customer just stands there acting helpless"
Made in the USA...the helpless customer.
In most other countries I've been to when you go to the supewrmarket, the customer bags the goods while the clerk rings it up or while the next customer is being rung up. Here we watch the clerk first ask for the money, then the lame brained helpless customer opens their purse like they had no idea that would be the next question, searches for 30 seconds for the exact change, finally hand over a 20, then waits while the clerk makes change, then starts bagging their groceries.
Wasteing our lives away waiting in lines....born in the USA...love it or leave it...just don't complain...that's one of your rights....but that's unAmerican.
posted on April 13, 2001 07:05:44 AM new
Does anyone know what the story is with the USPS webiste? I haven't been able to access it for over a week. I use it to caclulate shipping rates, especially international shipments.
posted on April 13, 2001 11:31:56 AM new
What link are you using? I've used usps.gov, and usps.com. I also searched Yahoo for the postal service and tried all those links. Everything come up "cannot find server".
