Government efficiency!

[Cinder & Smoke]

USPS could be a case study in how to waste money.
...

If they LISTENED to the employees for 30 seconds or so,
and then implemented some of the suggestions which have been made by the employees,
they might actually find themselves making money.

Maybe you should hire a Ghost Writer ...

Hope the wrong people aren't reading this material.
-----------------------

But it's all Ohhhhhh so true!

Spend a little while "loitering" in you local PO and *watch* what goes on.
Example from not-so-long ago:

I had an envelope with a County Tax payment that I'd put off buying
a stamp for - and NOW it was the last day to postmark it without being
hit with a late payment penalty. Off we go to the local PO.

Me: HI, one stamp, please.
Post Mistriss: Sure! That'll be one arm & half a leg, please.
Me: Ouwch! ... This'll get a TODAY''s postmark, won't it?
Her: Looks at calendar/chart on wall ... Hmmmmm - can't guarantee that.
Me: WHAT? How long does it take to truck it to Downtown and cancel it?

Her: It doesn't go "Downtown" today ... the truck runs it to Akron/Canton today.
Me: That makes sense ... half hour drive turned into an hour plus trip.
. . . So WHY can't it get a before midnight postmark?

Her: They process a lotta mail - might sit for a while before it gets put onto the line.

Me: OK, just smack it with your local Hand Stamp thingy.

Her: OH, we're not supposed to DO that anymore. Messes up "the Count".

Me: Delivering an absolutely EVIL DIRTY GLARE ....

Her: Oh, OK ... I'll do it for you. But I could get into TROUBLE for this.

Me: (silently, to myself) REALLY? And maybe get FIRED, too?

So ended another *adventure* at the Local PO.

[Lady's Human]

The clerk was right......putting a hand postmark on a piece is frowned on.

After all, it takes the clerk precious seconds to do that, when instead they could be asking you the 90 questions they have to about express mail, priority mail, etc.

They have a 'mystery shopper' program. If the clerk fails to ask certain questions of the mystery shopper, the clerk will be spoken to about it.Now, you could be a customer the clerk sees every day, and always for similar transactions, but the clerk still has to ask you the same questions.

They want to reduce the amount of time spent in line, but they keep reducing the number of window clerks.

They have introduced a line of postal related products that they want to sell in offices........while they are reducing office traffic by getting customers to use pack & ship, buying stamps at CVS, etc.

They have the business acumen of a field mouse.