USPS to end Saturday mail delivery

[Kovy27]

They should stop another day like Wednesday. Hell, they could just get rid of the USPS all together.

[DudeMan2766]

Our mailbox lid broke when we lived in an apartment, so mail was getting rained on. Being an enterprising chap, I moved our mailbox up four steps - a distance of about six linear feet - so it was under a roof overhang and protected from the elements. The USPS halted our mail delivery. I went to see the town postmaster, where I was told they apportion routes not by number of physical addresses, but by the number of steps the mail carrier must take to complete their route. I said, "I seriously moved the box four steps...." whereupon the postmaster quickly interjected and said "Ah, no..... you increased it by eight steps. The letter carrier has to come back down the steps, doesn't she?"

I'm not an angry person by nature, but I do have a bit of a temper. What followed was a frank exchange of views that culminated in my mail being withheld indefinitely. I actually had to go to the Post Office a couple times a week to pick up my mail, before the apartment complex manager finally replaced the broken mailbox and installed in the original location.

That is such an unbelievably stupid story...(not your end of course)

Was this how the discussion went down?

[pittsoccer33]

Why in the world is anyone surprised over that story about walking four feet? It's in a union contract. They're a government union. By definition they are at war with their neighbors and customers.

[JS©]

I always wanted to be a postal carrier, this news makes me want to pursue that want even more.

i want to be a mailman just to find out if the jokes are true.

I was at postal carrier for parts of 5 years. It sucked. The chance of advancement sucks, the people that you work for suck. Had I stuck it out and not left when I did, which was probably close to 10 years ago, I would still be a part-timer, still trying to piece together a 20-25 hr work week, all the while not being able to obligate yourself to another job.

The people on the route suck even more. If you're more than 5 minutes late on a route, because God forbid that there's bad weather, people get pissed. I had what I thought was a sweet little old lady unleash a string of profanities that would have made the entire 2nd Fleet of the Navy cringe...all because a package that she was expecting from QVC wasn't delivered on a certain day. Yes, that's why you never pay for 2nd day shipping, you bitter old witch.

[JS©]

Why in the world is anyone surprised over that story about walking four feet? It's in a union contract. They're a government union. By definition they are at war with their neighbors and customers.

actually the four feet thing is an "issue" because route evaluations are based on distances (in this case), mailboxes, letter count, etc. It's stupid, but that is exactly why the USPS is in the situation that they are in, because of union contracts. If Johnny Mailman notices that the mailbox is moved and he's not getting paid for it, he'll go to the union argue that he's doing more work, which multiplied over a full year should equal more pay. A union pissing battle ensues, and usually Johnny Mailman gets what he gets because of the union.

[Idoit40fans]

Were people surprised about it? I was pretty annoyed by the presentation of the idea from the guy at the post office. Die.

[mac5155]

Why in the world is anyone surprised over that story about walking four feet? It's in a union contract. They're a government union. By definition they are at war with their neighbors and customers.

actually the four feet thing is an "issue" because route evaluations are based on distances (in this case), mailboxes, letter count, etc. It's stupid, but that is exactly why the USPS is in the situation that they are in, because of union contracts. If Johnny Mailman notices that the mailbox is moved and he's not getting paid for it, he'll go to the union argue that he's doing more work, which multiplied over a full year should equal more pay. A union pissing battle ensues, and usually Johnny Mailman gets what he gets because of the union.

Amen.

Spoiler:

Support FedEx.

[Shyster]

Is there some union rule that says a letter carrier doesn’t have to bother shutting the door on my roadside mailbox after delivering the mail? The guy who delivers my mail seems to be fond of leaving my mailbox’s door oh-so-slightly ajar—just enough to let in some snow or rain to dampen my mail.

[Hockeynut!]

Spoiler:

Support FedEx.

Fedex would be awesome at delivering Netflix DVDs, cards, bills, regular "mail", etc. Super fast, reliable and only around $15 per item.

[Jopaz]

They probably stopped Saturday delivery because so many businesses are closed and the mail just sits there until Monday anyway.

Post offices will still be open on Saturdays.

I also am surprised that it took this long. They are losing $25 Million per day.

[mac5155]

Spoiler:

Support FedEx.

Fedex would be awesome at delivering Netflix DVDs, cards, bills, regular "mail", etc. Super fast, reliable and only around $15 per item.

If they got all the subsidies that the USPS gets from the government, they could charge 46 cents a package.

[Hockeynut!]

And lose a ton of money in the process.

[mac5155]

And lose a ton of money in the process.

as opposed to raking in the dough like the USPS does?

[pensfan1989]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpUqLjjKk4Y

[BigMcK]

Just great. This means one less day dogs all over the country get to go on a chase.

[Alejandro Rojas]

If the U.S. government wasn't spending Trillions so that Joe Bob and Ellie Mae can get their "disability" checks and Sgt. Slaughter could kill Arabs and General Dynamics gets to profit I wouldn't really care about the USPS losing money. It is one of the few things the American government should do.

[knives of ice]

about time they did something. the insane pensions is what has really put the usps in debt though.

they really made it tough to do business internationally for mailorder companies with their 60-120% price increases a few weeks ago on packages.

[Orlando Penguin]

C'mon...how has this not been posted yet?

[Hockeynut!]

And lose a ton of money in the process.

as opposed to raking in the dough like the USPS does?

Nope, they'd be losing buckets of money just like the USPS does.

[Hockeynut!]

I'm not saying the USPS is perfect. The system is beyond broken. But saying, "Well, look at UPS and Fedex, they're doing great" is laughable. The USPS is failing because of several reasons and very few of them can be "fixed".

If most people in America need to send a package or buy a book of stamps, they can go to the local USPS post office which is oftentimes less than 5 miles away. If they want to send a package via UPS or FedEx, they usually have to drive 25 miles or more. I'd love to send more stuff via FedEx but I'm not driving there every day or week when I can drive 1 mile down the road. Plus the last time I went to the FedEx shipping center they had 1 clerk working and I waited over 30 minutes while she checked out the 5 people in front of me. And they didn't even have any boxes.

UPS and FedEx don't stop at everyone's house every day. So if someone wants to send little Jimmy a birthday card or return their Netflix DVD, they can put it in their mailbox and know that the postal carrier will be by to pick it up.

You don't have that kind of convenience (and 50 cent stamps) from FedEx or UPS.

[TheHammer24]

I'm not saying the USPS is perfect. The system is beyond broken. But saying, "Well, look at UPS and Fedex, they're doing great" is laughable. The USPS is failing because of several reasons and very few of them can be "fixed".

If most people in America need to send a package or buy a book of stamps, they can go to the local USPS post office which is oftentimes less than 5 miles away. If they want to send a package via UPS or FedEx, they usually have to drive 25 miles or more. I'd love to send more stuff via FedEx but I'm not driving there every day or week when I can drive 1 mile down the road. Plus the last time I went to the FedEx shipping center they had 1 clerk working and I waited over 30 minutes while she checked out the 5 people in front of me. And they didn't even have any boxes.

UPS and FedEx don't stop at everyone's house every day. So if someone wants to send little Jimmy a birthday card or return their Netflix DVD, they can put it in their mailbox and know that the postal carrier will be by to pick it up.

The taxpayer doesn't provide me that kind of convenience (and 50 cent stamps) from FedEx or UPS.

FIFY.

[Hockeynut!]

FIFY.

Hey, go ahead and shut down the USPS. I don't really care one way or another as I do all of my bill paying online and if it costs me more money to ship products to clients, I'll just pass it on to the customers.

[Digitalgypsy66]

The mail still moves on Saturday and Sunday, there just isn't home delivery on these days.

They've been talking about this for years, and I'm glad it's finally happening. Most Saturdays, I either get nothing or junk mail anyway.

[TheHammer24]

FIFY.

Hey, go ahead and shut down the USPS. I don't really care one way or another as I do all of my bill paying online and if it costs me more money to ship products to clients, I'll just pass it on to the customers.

You mean the people that use the service? Astonishing concept.

[Hockeynut!]

I don't know what your attitude is about. Like I said earlier, the USPS is broken, probably beyond repair. I was commenting on the fallacy that FedEx or UPS could take over general delivery. There's simply no way that's possible at low rates. If the USPS is allowed to go under, costs for consumers will soar, especially consumers in rural areas.