News about disappearing collection boxes is everywhere these days. Even BBC News ran a story on the decline of the blue collection box in the United States.
The Postal Service argues that picking up mail from collection boxes is expensive. Removing underused boxes is a cost savings move and a reasonable response to the economic crisis. The Postal Service is removing boxes with less than 25 stamped mail pieces per day.
Critics wonder if there is adequate analysis to support the 25-piece minimum and whether one reason for removing collection boxes — in addition to the minimal cost savings — is that the Postal Service does not want to be criticized for poor service. Fewer boxes mean fewer opportunities to miss a collection or to pick up mail too early.
Is the Postal Service thinking too narrowly and missing some of the value of collection boxes? The ubiquitous presence of the boxes is free advertising for the ailing agency. How much would a private sector company pay to be allowed to put a collection box anywhere it wanted to in the country? Millions? Billions?
What do you think? Is removing collection boxes a reasonable cost-cutting move or a strategic mistake that the Postal Service will later regret?
This topic is hosted by the OIG’s Risk Analysis Research Center (RARC).
64 Comments
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Ummm…Really? Are you being disingenuous? Surely you know the main reason for removing collection boxes is to drive improvement in the EXFC socres, right? It’s all pure statistics as it affects management’s NPA scores. One less box is one less chance for a Zero Bundle. V e r y simple.
Whether its hiding COA cards behind the retail counter, or a customer retail script that hides less expensive mailing options, its just like every other foolish decision in recent years, its “Customers Be Damned, we have strategic goals to meet.” And so, we continue to alienate the few loyal customers we have left. We are actively strangling our own livelihood on the vine…
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earlier pick -up times fewer blue boxes less mail to pick up
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ten letters 44 cents each = 4.40 per box we could do this all day and make money
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Removing the boxes was a dumb idea. How can you expect the public to use the Postal Service when they make it incredibly difficult and time consuming to mail a letter? Its like a convenience store closing their doors 23 hours a day and then complaining of the lack of customers…
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We are a service organization, stop taking away public services
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This is one of the stupider things the USPS has done next to removing stamp machines from the lobbies. I always used drop boxes and stamp machines. Now I have to wait in line just to buy one stamp. When business is bad cutting employees and services is not the answer. I guess upper management within the USPS is still out of touch with reality.
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Postal Management does not care about providing
SERVICE to the American Public…they are ONLY
CONCERNED WITH COST CONTROL as THEY SEE IT.
City wide afternoon collections from the “Blue Boxes”
represent only COSTS to them, not SERVICE TO THE PUBLIC.
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Why pay money for TV commercials and magazine ads, then remove collection boxes? The less visible, the less relevant we become. People might Mail that card if it was convenient, but if they have to go downtown to the Post Office to Mail it they will send an E-mail instead. If we want to build volume we need to make it easier and more convenient to use the mail, not harder. We are throwing out the baby with the bathwater in so many ways it is no longer funny.
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I work for the post office, management does NOT care about customer service. They ONLY careabout time, cutting out time makes their “numbers” look better andgets them a bonus. Bonusesare all they care about, they’d sell their mothers for better numbers. AND they do NOT care what you, the public, think or want. They laugh at you and the workforce as they bully and intimidate and lie to getwhat they want. Our slogan should be, “We are the US Postal Service and you’ll do what we want and like it.”
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I was going to comment, but everyone here made the point. Nation wide we are flushing our service down the toilet. Management, thank you for taking service out of the Postal Service.
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I think that the removal of these boxes impacts the image of the Postal Service second only to the closure of offices. People depend on these boxes and in many areas, this is the only convienient access to Postal Services. There may be only 15 pieces in that box on a given day, but to those customers, they are the most important 15 pieces. We need to look at the Postal Service’s image long term.
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USPS is desperately trying to advertise services to the public while we take away the blue boxes and make them wait an hour in line. The only logical answer to this is that USPS no long want to deliver older folks’ stinking 41 cent envelops. Not much of a profit margin from that kind of mailing.
When money is the only concern, service will go out the window and profit taking/making becomes the mission of the organization. Tha’t why we push the priority mail while taking away the blue boxes. It’s all about money folks.
The EXFC scores and the zero bundle theory is another valid point that I had not thought of before…
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Removal of collection boxs is another part of the Continuation of the UPSP strategy to not have to deal with American public, Reduced lobby hours and days, reduced locations, elimination of collection boxes, elimination of vending machines, removal of APC’s, USPS only wants to deal with the corporate mailers not the general public, USPS would eliminate home delivery if the thought they could get away with it. Just think where the banking industry would be if they used the half-hearted support for the ATM machine that we put into the APC.
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USPS has forgotten they are a government service established for the people. it was not created for it to make a profit. whats worse they pay there employees chump change for the work they do. delivering mail is not and easy task lest any one kid themselves. It is time the lazy greedy politician investigate col john potter and his flying fairies of greedy postal board of governor for delaying the mail. And it is time for Americans to put all these government agencies on notice that we the people have the say.
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this definetly hurts service, they want people to think they provide such excellent service and they will go above and beyond but this is clearly not the case. what major expense is involved with these boxes some that have been in place for decades. i had one on my route that had more than 25 pieces daily but somehow i went on vacation and during that time they did the test and removed the box. it is hard to sell customers on the benefits when they do things that undermine their own marketing.
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There are some really good comments/suggestions on this site. Is ANYONE listening?
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The postal service took out many/most of these collection boxes some years ago. Mostly out of the campus area (high volume traffic of students). Then throughout the city. While delivering mail I took many complaints from students (apt box locations generally dont have outgoing mail slots or boxes) and the university offices said their mail is not ready to go out when the carrier gets there and they utilized the boxes that got picked up later that evening. Business too complained for the same reason as they would drop off their mail at the nearest box on the way home for pick up. Driving to the post office was out of the way.
But they (USPS)wanted to cut city delivery hours and get their bonuses at the expense of customer service. And maybe tell the customer to look elsewhere. Now, in part, they worry that business will not come back. What was the real cost.
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People like their corner mailbox. It takes the carrier 2 minutes to tap as he is going by. Another stupid idea to make customers hate us even more.
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If it was a security related strategy, perhaps they should have replaced the steel boxes with a see through
design that would have scanned the customer deposited item with a time stamp, and thus, started the id tracking program for the item.
I trust the ole blue boxes are being recycled into a green related Co2 friendly use.
So the USPS earn some carbon credits for the fuel use “demerit” penalties they incur.
Think of the possibilities. The hypothetical new boxes
could be recycled PET, with various cots electronic
features. Or simply a multi-use container that could be picked up and whisked away to the high speed sorter. In any event, a green job could have been
created for a veteran, or a homeless veteran rather than simply giving them a blanket?
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The decline in the availability and strategic placement of the traditional blue collection box is going to be another bad business decision by the Postal Service. Might has well change the name, because Service is no longer the priority of this business.
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