Public policy debates about solving the Postal Service’s financial crisis have largely focused on reducing costs by cutting service such as Saturday delivery, transitioning from brick and mortar post offices to alternative retail sales channels, or limiting other functions performed by the Postal Service. There has been less talk about the costs of meeting delivery service standards, which were reviewed following the passage of the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006.
Can the Postal Service relax some of its requirements to save money in transportation or processing costs? Right now, its goals are to deliver First-Class Mail in 1 to 3 days and Standard Mail in 3 to 10 days. A slight adjustment of these standards in particular areas might make it possible to save a great deal of costs. Instead of developing the goal first and trying to reach those levels, no matter how costly it is, maybe the Postal Service should closely analyze its infrastructure and develop goals that allow for reaching the greatest efficiencies.
Loading ... Loading ...For example, if the service standards for bulk mail from Chicago to Los Angeles were given an additional day the Postal Service could avoid the expense of trucks and instead utilize economical rail transportation. A First-Class Mail package that currently travels by air could be carried by truck if given another day.
By relaxing service standards, the Postal Service can move further towards a hub and spoke network, which could result in substantial savings. Currently, plants may have lots of half-empty, smaller trucks fanning out to a multiplicity of plants only once or twice a day. Under this new strategy, many trucks would go to a mail consolidation facility, which consolidates the mail and ships it on larger, fuller trucks to the destination facilities throughout the day. This design has the additional benefits of network stability and is capable of scaling up or down with changing mail volume.
The bottom line is that the Postal Service and its stakeholders need to decide what service standards are worth the cost. The Postal Service should have an honest and informed discussion about the cost savings that it can pass on to the public by relaxing some of the present delivery service standards.
Do you think the Postal Service should adjust its delivery standards to cut its costs?
This topic is hosted by the OIG’s Risk Analysis Research Center (RARC).
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As a past (3) year TE Employee/Carrier; and my husband being employed with the US Postal Service for over 22+ years – its heart breaking to see and hear all the problems within; the USPS has been great to us and we use the mail system for all our mailings both mail and parcels.
The biggest down fall for the USPS is the internet. It amazes me that people would rather pay their bills online and publicly release all their confidential information than to buy (20) stamps monthly for $8.80 and pay their bills and send things through the mail. What’s even harder to swallow is when you hear all the carriers and clerks complain that their jobs are at risk and the larger majority of them will tell you they pay their bills online.
The Post Office has many great resources, but advertising needs to be greater. And they need to promote their business within.
Imagine if all the postal employees were to use the mail system for their own personal needs they could alone turn this around; they need to support their company.
We are true Postal People; the USPS has never let us down and we will continue to support it and its employees.
Buy stamps, mail your parcels, support and keep the USPS alive.
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In summary my suggestion is as follows:
• Identify current routes as Business, Residential or Combination.
• Reconfigure the Combination routes into either Business or Residential.
• While doing the above, send out notices and/or use the news to notify that:
Business will continue to have delivery Monday through Friday (no Saturday)
Residential will be in one of two cycles:
o Monday-Wednesday-Friday or
o Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday
Once this change is made, you should be able to reduce the number of mail carriers. Not by half but at least 25% since the daily stops has been reduced. Additionally this format should allow for further reductions in the Residential routing to two (2) days a week from three and increase back to three for seasonal activity.
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reduce workforce by early retirement offer to postmasters. Keep Saturday delivery. Clerks,pmrs,
and carriers can move into the Postmaster slots at
a decreased salary and possibly fewer or more
flexible hours. Anyone age 50 with 20 years should
be offered retirement.
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Absolutely the service standards should be re-examined and more importantly, those standards should not be a part of any manager’s merit increase. I am a Postmaster in the Alabama district and we chase our tails daily, wasting hundreds of dollars “just in case” that one late arriving letter “might be” an EXFC piece that is going to effect the district’s NPA scores. One 44 cent letter might end up costing $200-$300 to deliver by the end of the day, once transportation and overtime costs are added. This happens EVERY day. Stop the madness. We could fix ourselves if crazy managers weren’t out for a $$$$ for themselves.
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I have been a letter carrier for 23 years. I have seen the good, bad & ugly of the Postal Service’s track record of important decisions.
There have been some great changes over the years but also, and unfortunately more, bad ones. The elimination of Saturday deliveries
is one of those catastrophic changes than CAN NOT happen. If the Postal Service decides to operate on a 5-day work week, it will be the beginning of the end.
I realize there need to be changes made and I will outline my ideas to all of you who are willing to listen. I hear the customers questions and concerns on a daily basis,
and I listen. There are tech savvy people who utilize the computer for all of their bills and correspondence, there are some customers will never use the internet or buy a computer,
that is why the Postal Service will always be needed. We need to not only be there for them but to offer quality, cost effective service to others who are on the fence and could go either way.
If the Postal Service continues to cut service and customer relations, they are also pushing those customers over to electronic competition.
We continue to operate with old mentality. The Postal Service likes to use “scare” tactics or “end of the world” phrasing to get everyones attention. Well this battle cry is getting ALL THE WRONG attention.
Let’s first start off with a simple word change. Closings….People do not like change, and they certainly do not feel good about having things taken away. Instead let’s focus on a simple catch phrase.
CONSOLIDATE~COLLABORATE~COMMUNICATE~CONNECT
CONSOLIDATION-
Yes we need to consolidate. Our competitors operate with mainly ONE operating facility in a rather large area. I think if we look at areas we could consolidate 3 surrounding towns Post offices
into one main hub. Right off the bat we cut down on rent,electricity,heating, basically all operating costs for 2 locations. Also from those locations we could eliminate the salaries of 2 Postmasters as well as some management.
If you multiply that across America, that is a lot of savings!
Will this go over well with local customers losing “their” Post Office, no! That is where steps two and three kick in.
COLLABORATE-
We need to offer, or have the ability to offer customers incentives. Look at Coke, Pepsi. They have simple Reward Programs that recognize people for using there product. Very simple concept, but it gives the customer a sense of
connection with the product. Whether you set up a rewards program based on stamp usage or package mailings or simply contests or promotions to have people write letters in for a chance to win a prize. People LOVE FREE stuff.
If you can generate stamp sales as well it is a bonus that works both ways. Customers like to feel like part of a company. If you move that company away it will a tough lose. That is where step three plays a VITAL role.
COMMUNICATION- We nee to let the public know, WE WILL BE THERE FOR THEM. Let City Carriers sell stamps, carry priority boxes on the truck, be a supply office on wheels. Have clear directions printed up where to locate the nearest
office. Have classes at the Post Office on how to navigate USPS.com. Explain to people that they can print shipping labels at home and have carriers pick up there items without ever leaving the house ( I have SO MANY customers I have to
let know about all of these things) We need to get the word out about all the services we offer and then have classes on how to do it efficiently. Again, this helps us connect with the pubic.
With all of these steps we will re-CONNECT with what is most important to us, our customers.
Well that is an outline, a very rough outline, but I believe it gets the message out that, we are still necessary!
We just need to stop pointing the finger at the carriers to save money and really look at the operations itself.
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go to every other day delivery and close down remote post offices
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i think they should stop saturday deliveries.
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No more Saturdays and possible cut one more day. We only need our junk mail delivered 3 or 4 days a week. Most of our bills are paid on line with “paperless” billing the way of the future. Cut back the days and save a tree.
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To Old Clerk, Stopping mail delivery will not overload or delay mail dervice. We’re talking about no truck or carrier service here. The post Office and mailroom can continue working. I’m talking saving millions of dollars in gas. Have you seen the prices jump over .50 cents since February . Or do you plan on not eating in the near future. I’m getting hungry. For two people here in my household we really cut corners to keep our food bill under 80 bucks a week. I need the rest to get gas for work. We need to find a way to cut gas consumption and cutting mail delivery on Saturday is a huge step. Or How come they don’t drive hybrids???
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SF DESIGNS HAS A CURRENT PLAN IN THE PROCESS CONTACTING HIGH DIGNITARIES ETC TO ELIMINATE THE P.O. CURRENT PROBLEM INCREASING THE FOW OF MAIL DRAMATICALLY. OTHER AREAS THAT COULD USE IMPROVEMENT ARE OLDER EMPLOYEES NEED TO BE OFFERED EARLY RETIREMENT PACKAGES,LOWER RAISE PERCENTAGES BY 10-15%,CONSOLIDATE #POST OFFICES AND INSTALL SOLARPOWER TO CUT DOWN ON ELECTRICAL COST,NATURAL GAS VEHICLES OR ELECTRICAL WOULD CUT COST ON FUEL.DONT KILL SAT DELIVERIES.CUT DEAD WEIGHT AT THE TOP DONT CUT MORE JOBS THE ECONOMY IS BAD ENOUGH THINK ABOUT THE SNOWBALL EFFECT.SF DESIGNS AND(S.G.N.E.I)SOLID GOLD NEST EGG INVESTMENTS HAVE PLANS IN MOTION TO ELIMINATE THIS DISASTER BEFORE IT GETS OUT OF CONTROL.
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Cut out Monday delivery, post offices are closed on lots of Mondays anyway. Having Monday off would give employees the opportunity to go to the doctor, dentist, courthouse etc. and not take time off. There is not a lot of business that can be conducted on Saturday for a Postal employee.
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Yes, eliminate Saturday mail delivery to save money. In fact, a better idea would be to privatize the mail. Sell it in whole or in part to FedEx or UPS.
With the advent of email, text, and on-line bill pay, I have no use for the mail. The USPS was designed for a time hundreds of years ago when sending a letter was the only way of communicating across distance. It makes no sense in 2010.
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SUGGESTIONS 4 POSTAL SAVINGS:
1) Junk mail/bulk mail…charge same rate as first class postage and same for R.T.S. of “resident” mail.
-increased revenues
-decreased “bulk mail”
-decreased sorting, processing,delivery man-hours
-decreased weight and stops air and ground fuel savings
-decreased waste in landfills-sanitation fuel savings
-decreased demand for deforestation
-decreased tire purchases, maintenance,etc.
2) Establish secure U.S.P.S. Bulk Mail site
3) Establish U.S.P.S. “coupon site” by zip and/or radius for local merchant sale/discount notices
assuming newspaper and other print ad. revenues
4) Establish U.S.P.S. “classified ads” site for private enterprise and used U.S.P.S. equipment
5) Establish “closed system” money transfers assuming “Western Union” revenues
6) Follow UPS example, scheduling “right turn” routes and deliveries where practicable and practical
GOOD LUCK !!!!
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Saturday delivery needs to stop; all mail should be at the curb.
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Saturday delivery needs to stay. Too many people and Companies rely on the USPS to keep their business afloat and to keep privatization out of the workplace. The walking routes need to be stopped. Request that NBU’s be placed in all walking neighborhoods to eliminate extra hazards, dogs, falls plus it would save the USPS thousands of man hours that could be used else where. The USPS could also advertise on the vehicles, change it monthly. Cut out upper management..too many chiefs. Why keep relying on the carrier to make sacrifices.
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I think it would set a terrible precident to eliminate saturday delivery. Millions of people and businesses depend on the sixth day of delivery. Not only that but it would just allow UPS and Fedex to take over all saturday parcel deliveries. And who will deliver Netflix?
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No Saturday delivery means to lay off employees. There’s a lot of solutions if you will read all the comments.
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I think you should cut mail out completely Mon & Sat. My mail man won’t even deliver the mail if he has to lean too far out of his truck to put the letter in the mailbox. I delivered mail in the 70s and carried a bag, the mailman now won’t even get out of their trucks and they are rude! This is an old system that will fall by the wayside because you fail to recognize that customer service is very important in this day and age. You are not the only show in town anymore.
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Below are some thoughts/suggestions for reducing costs and increasing revenue:
1. Substantually reduce (i.e. close) the number of extremely low mail volume rural post offices.
2. Reduce the number of days of home and business delivery from the current 6-days per week to 4-days per week (eliminate Saturday, and Wednesday home and busines delievery) while maintaining overnight and package delivery Monday through Saturday. Reduce staffing and vehicle operations accordingly to save on labor and operating costs.
3. Reduce the amount of time it takes to deliver a first class letter from the current six to 10 days down 1 to 3 days.
4. Increase the hours of operation and number of active service windows at high volume post offices to reduce the long wait times and increase sales volume. For example, keep them open till 7pm on weekdays.
5. Contract out more services where possible including postal counter services, mail sorting, transportation, and delivery.
6. Set minimum performance criteria/targets that are continuously monitored and adhered to. Close or restaff and re organize post offices, sorting centers, and delivery services that are cronic violators of performance criteria.
7. Increase postal rates, for example, raise the cost of a first class letter postage to $0.50 for 1 ounce or less.
8. Utilize more energy efficient and lower operating cost postal vehicles. Continuously upgrade the vehicle fleet to better, more (fuel) efficient vehicles and more durable vehicles, even if it means purchasing from foreign suppliers, use of alternative fuels and consider use of vehicle fuels and technologies such as hybrids and diesels and use of small cars instead of trucks, especially for home and business delievery.
9. Stop supplying free packaging materials.
10. Take advantage of the stamp collector market and target sales of individual and sets of stamps targeted toward the the collector. Develop special stamp issues to the collector market by understanding what the collectors desire. Include many high value collector issues/sets.
11. Stop issuing forever stamp(s)
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This is partly driven by the expectation-raising effects of e-mail and other instant messaging services. And while sending a simple message containing text only, or text and basic graphics or images is now almost instantaneous, the speed at which a parcel can be transported will always be restricted by the prevailing conditions affecting the particular mode of transport used.
Air and road services are now the favourite choices of express delivery service providers, as they provide a good combination of speed between major logistics hubs and outlying cities, towns and villages on the routes which radiate from them.
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