Scaling Back Hours, Not Post Offices

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A number of media news articles in the last year have examined reductions in Post Office retail hours around the country. They report that some Post Offices are cutting back or eliminating Saturday hours, opening late in the morning or closing earlier in the afternoon during the week.

The Postal Service faces significant legal and political constraints when it tries to close Post Offices, but faces few constraints when it acts to cut back on the hours a facility is open. However, eliminating hours amounts to a partial scaling back of retail service.

When contacted by media, local Postal Service spokespersons have said districts have no specific targets for reducing hours and potential savings have not been calculated. After notices are posted that a Post Office plans to cut hours, some districts refuse to provide the media with a list of facilities where hours have been reduced, citing competitive issues relative to UPS and FedEx.

Does it make sense for the Postal Service to cut back hours at Post Offices?

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Would you be happier if there were, perhaps, slightly fewer Post Offices, but the ones that remained were open longer and could be accessed before 9AM and after 5PM when people are not at work?

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What should the Postal Service be allowed to do with regards to reducing hours at postal facilities?

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Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), has come out against this approach, noting that cutting hours is a sure way to make the Postal Service’s financial condition worse. She said the Postal Service should be doing more to attract business, rather than making it more difficult for people to mail packages and letters because of reduced hours.

So, is cutting Post Office hours the best way for the Postal Service to address declines in mail volume and the limits it faces on closing Post Offices? Is this part of a national Postal Service strategy or taking place solely by Post Offices on their own directive? Does the Postal Service owe the American people a real accounting of the service cuts it is making?

What do you think?

This topic is hosted by the OIG’s Risk Analysis Research Center (RARC).

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Permalink | Comments (10) | Jun 7, 2010

 

 

10 Responses to “Scaling Back Hours, Not Post Offices”

  1. 10
    sdmailcarrier Says:
    June 22nd, 2010 at 11:54 pm

    I believe the postal service should start testing for drug use for all employees. From upper management to the lowest employee, everyone should be tested and then let go if they test positive for illegal drugs. (Coming into the postal service you are tested and told if you test positive you will not have a job) It would save the postal service thousands of dollars because it would reduce the work force without having to offer any incentive to leave and save thousands of dollars in retirement benefits not paid out to the drug users.

  2. 9
    anonymous Says:
    June 22nd, 2010 at 6:06 pm

    I work at an auxiliary VMF co-located with a Post Office. Recently I walked over to the PO during my lunch break at about 12:20 pm to buy a book of stamps. I was amazed that there was a line of about 12 people waiting to get in, and a sign on the door stating that the PO was closed for lunch and would reopen at 1pm. What kind of service is that?

  3. 8
    Anonymous Says:
    June 17th, 2010 at 4:17 pm

    I think that the hours should be cut back. each office should be looked at as to the amount of business it has, and if it is short cut the hours. I am in a level 13 office that can very well be cut from 8 hours to 5-6 hours. This is a small community and there is no need to be open for 8 hours here.

  4. 7
    suzie v Says:
    June 10th, 2010 at 11:09 am

    i say get rid of all the money grabbing higher ups that dont even touch the mail. too many of them, even in my place of work outside of the po. thats where all the money goes! no postal service in 10 yrs anyway, too bad what a shame for all those people in it for years.but the higher ups will remain thats for sure right?

  5. 6
    tj Says:
    June 9th, 2010 at 7:05 pm

    non-profit should be paying more for bulk mail 15.5 per letter doesn;t even cover our cost of handling it also automation mail saturation rate is way to low lets raise these rates

  6. 5
    Anonymous Says:
    June 8th, 2010 at 7:21 pm

    Cut out third class mail , all mail should be first class.
    We have to pay to have junk mail delivered and then pay to have it put in the landfills , why do we have to pay for their free ride in our mail system.

  7. 4
    no name Says:
    June 8th, 2010 at 10:19 am

    they should start by giving customer the service they deserved, not the numbers and scores that to score points, real numbers and real services that people paid for, not any of the lies that managers fix to make them look good in internal report, u can fool customer for long that they will stop using your service.

  8. 3
    Anonymous 3 Says:
    June 8th, 2010 at 7:04 am

    At this point, changing the business model will be key. Each Post Office should be empowered to set the hours based off of their own market share. Example would be like quick service restaurants. Staffing is based off trends when customers frequent the establishment. Labor is an issue constantly, again based from sales (or lack of). Service will be the key. Understandably, the PO is not a restaurant, but the business principle is similar.

  9. 2
    Anonymous 1 Says:
    June 7th, 2010 at 10:51 am

    Customers want convenience, not a hassle. Cut hours (service) and your sure to lose in the end. Make fewer POs, but keep them within a reasonable distance with availability. Let’s grow the business! Package services is a market ripe for the picking.

  10. 1
    Anonymous Says:
    June 7th, 2010 at 10:05 am

    Post Offices are distribution facilities (houing not only the carriers but PO boxes) more than retail facilities. Thus one can intelligently discuss dealing with hours at windows and closing counters, vis a vis retail traffice. But whether retail income at any given post office “pays” for the whole post office is a silly and irrelevant comparision given the distribution function.

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