Monday, April 12, 2010

USPS "not viable"

United States Postal ServiceImage via Wikipedia


Well DUH!  The USPS has been "not viable" since they made it a quai-Government agency and dictated the way it was run the USPS has not been able to compete with UPS, FedEx and other carriers for the more lucrative overnight and express parcel service.  The reason I'm writing about this is two fold, one, the USPS is one more example of what happens when Government intervenes in commerce and second, the USPS drives me crazy.
I read an article today that detailed the information from a report given by the Government Accountability Office (ironic...Government Accountability) that all but doomed the USPS in a matter of years if they are not released from the absurd restrictions placed on them by the Federal Government.  If they can't cut offices, drop Saturday delivery, and restructure union contracts they will not only continue to offer substandard service but they may also require a bailout.
Bailout is a naughty word these days and its Kryptonite to Democrats seeking re-election.  The problem is that congressmen don't want to be the bearers of bad news when a Post Office is closed and Rural deliveries get cut.  The USPS has nothing to offer in the way of hope for politicians or those who require its services.  With the estimate at $7 Billion (yup that's a B) in losses just this year not only is the USPS not viable its not worth saving.
I have a lot of problems with the USPS mostly because of what I deal with at work.  I work for Amazon.com and handle customer calls as they relate to everything from how to navigate the site to "where's my stuff" calls.  Most (I'd like to say upwards of 80%) of the "where's my stuff" calls are a result of USPS not scanning products or just plain losing them all together.  Some people are already aware of the program call "Smart Post" and it is anything but smart.  It is a cooperative agreement between FedEx and USPS.  It would be a smart move for USPS if they actually made it work.  More often than not when the USPS gets the package they deliver the package with no additional updates.  Occasionally, however, they don't scan the package and fail to deliver it as well.  Most people don't even know that FedEx had anything to do with it unless the package doesn't show up.  So now instead of one carrier getting the blame (in addition to my employer) two carriers share the blame and the both share the consequences of just one carriers ineptitude. I wouldn't care that much except that I get a half dozen calls or more per day that people are upset about their package arriving late or not at all and they get mad at ME.
Well I don't have any solutions for the Post Office other than to fire every lazy Union worker and close down every duplicate post office where another office exists within 15 miles and then either become more efficient or get out of the way for a truly independent universal postal service that doesn't bow to the Government.  I don't ask much.

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