How did the Post Office get such a bad reputation?

[DefenseLawyer]

I saw a post earlier regarding the post office and I have seen the Teabagger signs "Do you want health care run like the post office?" and I know the right wing frequently uses it as an example of what's wrong with government bureaucracy. This got me thinking. I am a middle aged guy, been in business for almost 20 years and I've never had a major problem with the post office. Did it use to be really bad way back when? Did it really earn this scorn? Because given the scope of what they do, it seems fine to me.

[spanone]

1. dunno, they faithfully deliver my mail six days a week

[Captain Hilts]

4. I don't have a regular postal carrier and have had delivery issues. And we won't even talk

about problems getting mail forwarded efficiently and consistently.

[EFerrari]

17. I've never had a problem except once when my carrier was on vacation.

Plus, my uncle who was a carrier taught me how to count to 11 by playing blackjack with my grandmother and me every day after his shift.

lol

[Captain Hilts]

23. Delivery is MUCH better if you have a regular carrier. That's very true.

When my mother died, getting the mail forwarded to me was a trial as there was no regular postal carrier. Every time they changed, or it was a weekend, or whatever, the mail got delivered. I have twice gone to talk to the post office manager, but, evidently there is no consistent means of notification at the postal office of forwarding. The carrier has to 'know'.

I've talked to many folks who have had the same problem with forwarding mail and, most recently, my neighbor downstairs has had a lot of problems also. I don't get why something so difficult is so complicated.

[EFerrari]

40. Our mail service up here in the hills is a lot more erratic

than anywhere I've ever lived. But, that's usually when our regular carrier is off. He keeps the route together. When I call the office, they panic a little bit because this address is barely on the grid. This is why people put out burnt offerings and booze for their mail carriers in December. lol

[Captain Hilts]

47. Mom had a great carrier for a while. Terrific guy. But for years it was a different

guy every day and here where I live it's also a different carrier every day.

[Occulus]

Carriers have *no* leeway.

I work for USPS, in a processing and distribution center. Let me help clear a couple things up for you.

First, forwarding is almost completely automated now. When you fill out the forwarding card, be sure to print in all block lettering, in all caps. I think that information is entered manually, but that's the only time a human touches the order. After that, it's sent into PARS (Postal Automated Redirect System) and is handled by the machines.

Second, if the information on the yellow sticker that's then applied to the mailpiece is wrong, the carrier is forbidden to fix it himself- be he your regular carrier or a casual employee (that's what our temps are called) or a part-time rural carrier. They must deliver the piece to the indicated address, even if they know it's the wrong address or the wrong recipient. They can be disciplined if they don't do so. Also, the carrier's time on their routes is very carefully tracked, down to the 1/100th of an hour. They have no time to fix what the machines screw up.

The very best thing you can do is to make absolutely certain that your forwarding form is filled out correctly. It would be a very good idea to notify your postmaster of any reoccurring problems.

We handle lot of mail each year- hell, each day, my facility processes several hundred thousand pieces of mail. Mistakes are bound to be made with that kind of volume, but again, if you're having consistent, reoccurring issues with the delivery of your mail, contact the postmaster of your locality. Talking to the manager of your local office won't hurt, either, but the carriers have little or nothing to do with the problem.

[Captain Hilts]

53. Yes. It was filled out correctly. I went over it with the clerk. But the mail got

delivered to the house periodically anyway.

I had a friend in the neighborhood check for it regularly.

And here, in Bethesda, my neighbor downstairs had her mail forwarded to her new address and she's still getting 1st class mail here. I collect it and hand it to her a few days later. Bills, medical bills, etc. are getting through the forwarding process.

[Doremus]

62. Your problem would exist whether it was the post office or a private

firm delivering the daily mail.

Deviating from standard operating procedure always tends to be problematic, no matter who is involved. Considering that the post office handles how many millions of pieces of mail daily, it performs quite ably, imo.

[Captain Hilts]

73. Having regular routes just makes sense. It doesn't happen often enough in my world. nt

[unapatriciated]

78. have to agree

When I move I notify my credit cards and everyone else directly.
Problem solved. My kids have moved home a couple of times and the only time I had a problem is when they would put in a change of address. They now do it on an individual basis.

[Captain Hilts]

89. That's not easily done when dealing with someone else's paperwork and mail. nt

[Ex Lurker]

22. I'll give them that. OTOH the stamp machine at the post office never worked

then they took it out entirely and if you needed a stamp after window hours your were SOL. I do as much of my correspondence and bill paying as possible online now.

[Captain Hilts]

25. They never worked here in Bethesda here, either. The one in Va. Beach did. If you need just one

stamp, you're standing in line.

[CTyankee]

38. My supermarket sells books of stamps.

I like to pay bills by mail because my experience with online bill pay was a bit of a pain. Of course, that was back in 2001 and maybe it's better now. I'm retired and can write out paper checks and make mail deposits...maybe if I were still working I'd go back to online bill pay...

[Captain Hilts]

48. So does mine. But I do a lot of international mailing...

so I need to get things weighed pretty regularly.

[CTyankee]

49. It's tough getting stuck behind someone doing an international shipment

when all you need is one little stamp.

Which is why I go to the PO mid morning or mid afternoon or buy them at the supermarket...

[Captain Hilts]

52. The international rates have changed. For example, there's no more

'printed matter' rate.

Yes, I, too, go at weird hours.

I get really upset when folks get pissy because there are not enough clerks. It's not the clerks' fault!!

One Christmas season I took the NYT crossword and got all the folk in line to participate. When I had been served I left it and they continued to do it!

[CTyankee]

57. You have to be out of your mind to send stuff at Xmas, IMO.

Everything is ordered on line by me now. I got a $100 rug for my grandson's room (featuring the solar system!) on Amazon and got free shipping from CT to Los Angeles! We ship lobsters, chowdah and blue fish pate to hubby's sister and her family in Wisconsin from Legal Seafood in Boston. The places I buy from all have excellent shipping and handling and everything comes guaranteed (I only had one experience with breakage from Pottery Barn and they made restitution by sending an extra order of wine glasses). I've had such good experience with online or catalog shopping I avoid the whole PO thing...

[Captain Hilts]

59. Yes, you do. So, I knew there'd be a wait and decided to make it fun and it was!

[CTyankee]

66. Yes, that's ingenious! Better than getting all pissed off...

Ijust hate packaging the stuff...I can never get that tape to come out of the dispenser right and finding a box in the first place is a pain in the butt. I'm too old to do this stuff any more...

[Kingofalldems]

88. Take a drive up River Rd. to the Potomac PO

:hi:

[Captain Hilts]

93. I go to Glen Echo (VERY cute PO!) and Conn. Ave! thanks!

[Cosmocat]

39. Wanna make a teabagger head explode ...

When they start with this crape ...

Tell them that the USPS is the government subsidizing the profits of for profit carriers ...

The USPS does the least profitable aspect of postage delivery - the routine, 6 day a week delivery of letters, flyers and post cards, while allowing the for profit ventures to vulture the profitable aspects - business shipping to limited places for higher rates ...

Ask them, if the for profits are REALLY that great, why have the not taken over daily, mailbox to mailbox delivery?

Also, any pol who brings this up, ask them if they use UPS, Fed Ex or a for profit carrier to deliver their campaign lit ...

Seriously, if they REALLY believe for profits are so much better than the USPS, then they should put their money behind their mouths and send campaign lit via UPS or Fed Ex ... A card you get from a pol in the mail costs about .25 a shot USPS, printed and stamped bulk - are they willing to not USPS to hit everyone up with a half dozen junk mail pieces in lieu of fed Xing them for, what 7 bucks a pop?

Gee, so you are telling us that USPS is good enough for you to campaign with, but not good enough for grandma to send my kids their birthday cards with a couple of bucks in it?

Also, really put them to the task ... All those Grocery store flyers, all those coupon books from chain stores ... Think these places are going to want to be nailed 7 bucks a pop to direct mail?

[Llewlladdwr]

65. Actually...

by statute UPS, FedEx and other non-USPS carriers are not allowed to deliver non-urgent letters and may not use U.S. Mail boxes at residential and commercial destinations.

[Echo In Light]

111. Agreed. One of my best buds has been a carrier since mid 80s - tough job summer/winter

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

2. Pennies for cross-country letters?

Beats me.

[Captain Hilts]

6. Letters are fine. But the rates for everything else has jumped - while bulk/3rd class/junk has gone

down.

They've gotten rid of a lot of the book rates, for example.

There are very complicated size/weight rules now, postage used to be based only on weight. I was given a lot of envelopes from a friend in England and I can't use them here because the postage is nearly double the 44 cents.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

9. My issues with the post office=0

Great place.

[Captain Hilts]

27. I write a LOT of letters to the US and Canada. So, I have to deal with a lot of

different rates and delivery issues.

44 cents first class cross country is a GREAT deal. That seems to work great. After that, it gets dodgy.

[Captain Hilts]

3. By being really, really rude and cold to customers. In my area there is an INfamous post office.

Arlington Road. The folks that work at other post offices in the area get refugee customers all the time.

Also, the PO folks really suffer when compared to how cheerful and personable the UPS folks are.

[no limit]

5. The people at my post office have always been very friendly.

[Captain Hilts]

7. Some places they are. I've had good luck at man y post offices, but

it's really hit and miss.

[RaleighNCDUer]

10. Except, of course, the UPS drivers - if you see one of those trucks on the

road, just get the fuck out of the way. I think they only recruit from people who they find hanging around at the back entrance to NASCAR events.

[Gman]

14. Blame company policy at UPS for this

the drivers have very strict goals to meet for deliveries.

[GoCubsGo]

24. FedEx is even worse

I have come close to being smacked by them more than once.

[CTyankee]

46. My coworker was hit by a UPS truck . The company's insurance was pretty rich.

She and her lawyer tucked away a tidy sum.

I guess if you gotta get hit, get hit by a vehicle of a big corporation...

[sharp_stick]

15. Refugee Customers LOL

Really nice terminology with that. Your post office must suck big time. Ours is tiny so the people working there know us all.

[Captain Hilts]

20. In fact, the folks at Wisc. Ave near the Bethesda metro noted that the folks at

Arlington Road had a commendation for customer service framed on the lobby wall that they did not actually earn!!!

When I finally stopped going there a friend of mine mentioned it to her therapist who, without batting an eye said, "oh, they're so rude there."

[GoCubsGo]

28. I have seen rudeness and cheerfulness from both companies

It's the same with every other business. You get some nice ones, and you get some that are having bad days, and every business on the planet has its share of assholes working for it.

[Occulus]

56. That is a management issue.

Some managers of some offices are real jerks to their employees, and that filters down to the customers.

The single biggest problem I have, as a postal employee, is the tendency of the supervisors and managers to micromanage our time. Just shut up and let us do our damn job!

The other big problem is that, all too often, postal supervisors and managers have never once actually done the job they're supervising or managing. We have several of those in my facility, and they are the absolute worst supervisors I've ever had in any job. They don't know what the job involves and they're totally clueless as to how to do the job right, but by God, they're in charge, and we have to do what they say, even if they're telling us to do the job WRONG.

[Captain Hilts]

74. Very true. The manager was a beast. To customers and employees.

She was a 'temporary' replacement that became permanent. When I wasn't getting some important mail - car insurance, etc. - and was having friends tell me that their mail to me had been returned, I talked to my carrier - I had a fairy regular one at that time. He told me to talk to the manager and gave me her name and number. In less than 90 seconds on the phone with her she was SHOUTING at me! And I wasn't in a bad mood when I called!

A while later I was walking to the post office loading dock and a woman was standing on the edge just tearing a new one at an employee. I said to him "is that XY?" and he said,"Yeah, it is." I told him, "that's okay, she yells at me too!" and he laughed.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

80. LOL. "Cheerful UPS people"

I would rather stick needles in my eyes than deal with the "cheerful" folks at my local UPS office.

[Doremus]

102. Wow, speaking as a heavy, daily user of my local PO for the last 12 years

relying on it for my very livelihood in fact, it sounds to me very much like you are painting with an enormously broad brush.

You abhor the PO and love-love-love the cheerful and personable UPS folks. We get it. What isn't so apparent is the why. And I don't mean "why is the PO so rude and cold," or "why are the UPS folks so wonderful." I mean, why do you THINK they are ... or why do you WANT us to think they are?

I mean, if you don't have a UPS worker in the family I can't think of but maybe one or two other reasons you'd elevate every worker at one company while trashing every worker at another. And neither one becomes you.

[Captain Hilts]

104. I've recently regularly used POs in Va. Beach, Norfolk, DC, MD, NY, CT.

Here at Arlington Rd. they are just as surly as the ones I dealt with in Moscow, but less friendly than those I deal with in Toronto.

In Utica they're very friendly.

In Va.B they're okay. In Norfolk they're more friendly.

The UPS strike was THE most successful strike in YEARS because it had very high support - generated by the fact that everyone likes their 'UPS man'. They are very consistently friendly and remember your name. I went to Arlington Rd. PO for over 10 years and they not only didn't remember my name, they wouldn't even look at me as though I were familiar. My friend's therapist won't go to them. The management office of my apt. complex won't go to them. They're RUDE.

[Doremus]

107. I've found UPS to be undependable and risky.

They have a much higher breakage rate than USPS and do not like to take responsibility when they damage something. My son used to work for an air freight company and he watched in awe as UPS workers drop-kicked and bulldozed the cargo while offloading. Even transplant organs, yes, transplant organs.

For these reasons and more I haven't used UPS in years. I don't know my 'UPS man' and have no idea if I would like him or her. But then, I don't want/need my ass kissed. I want fast, efficient service and UPS ain't got it.

[Lucy Goosey]

8. Pro-free-market-capitalism propaganda?

It's very important for the laissez-faire crowd to uphold the myth that government does things much worse than the private sector.

[NightWatcher]

12. DING!

[Captain Hilts]

30. In this case, it's true too often. nt

[leftstreet]

31. And don't forget the whole 'going postal' thing - good jobs bad for you!

Anyone remember that?

[Gman]

11. I love to use the post office as an example of what government does right

I get RW looks similar to the confused dog look with the head cocked at an angle. I ask them, so when was the last time you did not get your mail, or something got lost? If something has to be there do you not say, "It'll get there on time. The post office is pretty good?" Who is the biggest competitor of UPS and of FedEx and keeps them on their toes?

And the post office is unionized.

By now, they're pretty much mumbling with their head down and not a lot to say.

[Captain Hilts]

32. UPS is also unionized and works great. nt

[riverdale]

115. Why does it take 8 days to deliver a letter from CT to MI

I've been mailing letters regularly from CT to MI the past few months and it takes 8 freaking days.

[EFerrari]

13. The Postal Service works better than just about any other part of our system.

:shrug:

[harkadog]

82. I hope you are not correct about that

[KansDem]

16. The post office became the whipping boy of the Reaganites...

...as a big, bloated, inefficient government bureaucracy.

Although what a lot of Americans don't know is the post office is an independent organization that last used public subsidies in 1982...

The United States Postal Service (USPS) is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States. It is one of the few government agencies explicitly authorized by the United States Constitution. Within the United States, it is commonly referred to as the "Post Office", "Postal Service", or "U.S. Mail".

Though postal services have existed on American territory before the United States' establishment, the USPS's first incarnation was established by Benjamin Franklin in Philadelphia in 1775 by decree of the Second Continental Congress. The Post Office Department was created from this in 1792 as part of the United States Cabinet, its current form in 1983 under the Postal Reorganization Act.

Since its reorganization into an independent organization, the USPS has become self-sufficient and has not directly received taxpayer-dollars since the early 1980s. The decline of mail volume due to increased usage of e-mail has forced the postal service to look to other sources of revenue while cutting costs to maintain this financial balance.<3>

--more--
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Postal_Service

But then, these "Americans" who believe the post office is a huge, inefficiently run government bureaucracy no doubt also want government out of their Medicare...:eyes:

[rcrush]

18. Only problem I have with the post office is that the mailman keeps stealing my netflix dvd's

I assume its the mailman. I had 5 dvd's turn up missing over a year. So someone at the post office center is stealing them or the mail carrier is yanking them.

[Captain Hilts]

33. We had one that left crumbs in our New Yorker. nt

[ContraBass Black]

50. I know someone that this happened to.

She worked with Netflix and the Postmaster to catch the thief.

[rcrush]

51. I just kept complaining to the post office and eventually I noticed there was a new driver.

[Kingofalldems]

86. You should report it-they have ways of catching thieves

I was a 35 + year employee. The USPS has their own in house police force and they do not play.

[Turbineguy]

19. I proves the teabaggers know nothing

If there is a more efficient postal system than in the US, I'd like to here about it and I strongly suspect, so would the USPS.

[harun]

108. +1, another example of the teabaggers delusional reality of falsehood.

Postal Service works. What they don't like about it is it works for everyone. They don't stop delivering your mail because you only pay to send one letter a year. They don't look at the profit you're adding, they don't look at the ethnicity or race of the neighborhood, they just perform the service.

They don't like the USPS because it is fair, accessible and non-profit. We love it for that.

[Captain Hilts]

109. I'm not a teabagger. I don't get all my mail. I can't get my mother's forwarded consistently. nt

[harun]

114. I don't believe you.

[muffin1]

21. Beats me.

There is the occasional long line at our local post office, but certainly nothing extreme.
It costs less than fifty cents to mail a first class piece of mail. It takes three days to receive mail from my father who lives in Florida.

I think the customer service is quite good overall. They have a better attitude than I would be able to muster under the circumstances. I used to be at the post office almost daily at my previous job. I've seen the clerks cussed out over problems that were not even their fault (not enough staff on duty, etc). I've seen customers sighing loudly, and complaining just loud enough for the clerk to hear. Still, for the most part, they smile and are as helpful as possible.

More fake outrage, imo.

[Captain Hilts]

37. Getting the mail forwarded from my dead mother's house to me has been a nightmare...

on many levels.

First was the notification of forwarding that HAD to be mailed to the original address even though NO ONE lived there and I had to show a death certificate (good rule) to get the mail forwarded. They INSIST on mailing the forwarding notification to an empty house. It went downhill from there.

And here, I'm now grabbing non-forwarded mail for my neighbor who recently moved.

[Romulox]

26. Sometime between when I was a boy and when I became a homeowner, they stopped COLLECTING mail

at people's home. That's a significant reduction in service, imo.

[DefenseLawyer]

54. Mail is collected from my home almost every day.

My postman apparently didn't get the memo.

[Romulox]

55. Which is even less fair. Certain neighborhoods get worse service than others...

My mail carrier doesn't physically carry any bag to collect mail into. :shrug:

[Captain Hilts]

60. LA had twice a day delivery into the 1980s when it had been stopped nearly everywhere else. nt

[Vinca]

29. I've never had a bad experience with the post office and I'm old.

If health care was run 1/10 as well as the post office we'd be much better off.

[Hannah Bell]

34. when investors wanted to set up private companies to do some of the work the PO did.

This is precisely when the bad press started.

[bluesmail]

113. That is so true! EOM

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

35. Obama said it when discussing health care, saying Fedex and UPS does a lot better than the USPS.

It was pitch for the insurance companies doing better than a government run program.

Personally, I use the post office all the time for my business and I find them fast and efficient and cheap.

[Captain Hilts]

41. With packages that's absolutely true. The USPS does a great job with 1st class mail

even though postal rates are now calculated with size and weight and are a lot more complicated than they were 3 years ago.

[TexasObserver]

36. It's undeserved in most places.

I've seen a few post offices that seemed to be poorly attended by personnel, but overall, the service is pretty hard to beat. For under a half dollar, a letter or check gets to its destination in a day or two in a 100 mile range. That's ridiculously low.

There is waste at the top of the Postal Dept, however. Talk about overpaid.

[Captain Hilts]

43. First class letter delivery is great. After that, it becomes a lot more complicated. nt

[TexasObserver]

83. The slams on the Post Office originate with union and government hating.

The people who groomed the negative meme on the Postal Service are those who invented "if you like the post office, you'll love socialized medicine."

They've been saying that for at least 30 years.

[Captain Hilts]

100. Not always. Not in my case. nt

[catbyte]

42. Not enough mailboxes!

You can't find one anywhere anymore and it sucks. There isn't a mailbox at the home I'm renting, just a mail slot, so I can't leave outgoing mail. There's a mail drop at work, but if I don't get to it by 9:00 a.m. I'm screwed until the next day and they don't have weekend pickup.

It's a minor quibble, but it's a quibble! :-)

Diane

Anishnabe in MI

[Fla Dem]

44. In line at local Post Office the other day. Guy behind me fussing and fuming, I turned around and

looked at him. He said, "this is the government that wants to run health care". I said, "I think the P.O. does a great job. You have to wait in line everywhere; the grocery store, Wal-Mart (figured he shopped there) and you have to wait at the doctors office. If health care was run as well as the P.O. we wouldn't need government to be involved. Unfortunately it's now run by insurance companies and they have run the system into the ground." I wasn't confrontational, just spoke in a conversational tone.

He didn't say anything more. When I turned back around there were at least 2 people smiling at me. Small victories feel great.

[MrsBrady]

45. Maybe it depends in where you live.

I had trouble when I lived in a section of "old" East Dallas.
I even had to call to complain about the carrier.
I did get a call back, however. And it did seem like she wanted to
resolve the problem.

One post office that serves my zip code is sometimes unfriendly. So I use the one
that is actually closer, even though it's the neighboring suburb.
One guy there is the friendliest person ever.

In general though, I think the usps does a great job.
I don't see what's to complain about in the big picture.
I can send a letter for .40 something across country.
Seems like this public option is working.

Teabaggers will lie or ignorantly complain
about anything government run. They are blindly bitching.
So sad that these people have no idea they are being used by corporatist against their own interests.

[FSogol]

58. 30+ years of rw bashing and cutting their funds.

The USPS does a wonderful job. No other country in the world has a mail system as safe as or as cheap as the USPS.

The GOP wants it to be run as a business instead of a Government Service. Would FEDEX or UPS be able to go to every address in the US 6 days a week for the price the USPS does? No way.

[Captain Hilts]

63. Sorry to burst your bubble, but I'm a New Deal Democrat and have had some very bad

experiences with USPS.

They do some things very well and others very poorly.

[FSogol]

64. I never said they have 100% track record, I said they were wonderful

and better (in safety of mailed items and cheaper) than other countries POs.

[ctaylors6]

61. I thought Obama said that because of the large USPS operating losses

See, for example: http://money.cnn.com/2009/08/03/news/companies/usps_postal_service_privatize.fortune/index.htm

[Urban Prairie]

67. The Heritage Foundation frequently issues articles

regarding breaking up the USPS and privatizing it. But they have no idea of the logistical nightmare that would ensue as a result.

Private, for profit companies would seek to gain control over the most lucrative areas of pick-up and delivery, those of course, being the most heavily populated areas of the country, and ignore rural and remote areas, and what incentive would they have to transfer mail that originates from a competitor, and would be delivered by another??


The USPS is the last means of communication after a natural or man-made disaster, and what would happen if the internet was to be shut down for days, if not weeks, due to a globally spread virus/trojan/worm that successfully attacked and shut down most servers globally, regardless of what their OS kernels and firewalls were?

[arcadian]

68. The only problem I've ever had is with postal contractors

Not the government workers.

[nonconformist]

69. For letters, they're great. For packages, not so much.

The final straw for me was when I sent a package to my sister to arrive before my own arrival, a week later. Well, three weeks and several phone calls/visits to the PO later, they delivered the package. Almost completely crushed and destroyed, with a sticker on it that said they RECEIVED it that way, and not even an apology.

That said, they still do a better job at handling mail than my insurance company does at handling healthcare.

[Captain Hilts]

72. The package rates are crazy. 'Parcel post' vs. 'priority' etc. makes little

sense and often a nickel - yes .05 cents - can mean the difference between 2-3 day or 7-10 day delivery. It makes no sense whatsoever.

[TheCowsCameHome]

87. You're right. What's the point there?

[Doremus]

103. Thank your favorite repukes for deregulating most mail classes.

It used to be quite simple but apparently there wasn't enough money funneling into private hands so they deregulated most mail classes and ---voila!---- now they rake in BIG money and nobody's the wiser, what with the convuluted, chaotic mess they're working very hard to create.

In spite of these 'helpful improvements,' the USPS is still far more efficient and performs far better than its private counterparts, imo. My opinion isn't based on a few misdirected letters, but rather daily use over 12 years during which I entrusted over $1M of my merchandise in their care. I think that qualifies me to opine somewhat authoritatively and objectively.

[TheCowsCameHome]

70. I use them a lot, can't complain about their service.

Over all, I'm satisfied.

[tinymontgomery]

71. I think it's all because of

"Newman" stashing away the mail and Kramer throwing out the back of the truck.

[unblock]

75. simple reason: virtually EVERY voter has been in a post office

they're ubiquitous; why, there's pretty much one in every zip code in the entire country!

if conservatives wanted to rail against government they couldn't complain about a service that only a few were familiar with. what do most natural born citizens know about immigration? what to the financially comfortable know about welfare? and so on.

but virtually EVERYONE is familiar with the post office and, of course, taxes. so that's what they rail against.



as for what they attack about the post office, of course they attack the lines and the sometimes indifferent service of the postal workers themselves. nevermind that they're no more or less surly than your typical fast food cashier, the conservatives insist that the free market would never tolerate such lousy customer service, why, they've got a profit motive to make their customer service people smile!

yeah, right.



considering that there's virtually NOTHING else you can get for as little as the cost of mailing a letter to someone cross country, i think it shows quite some cheek to insist that the postal workers should be chipper as well. we all know that if the PRIVATE sector were running the post office, THERE'S NO WAY you would be able to mail a letter for less than FIVE TIMES what you're paying now. EASILY.

[southernyankeebelle]

76. They hate any government agency. They are a bunch of hypocrites. I

am willing to bet they use the post office to mail their bills, maybe packages. Just like quitter Palin saying Death Panels. Yet her own grandson is on government dole.

[LanternWaste]

77. I would imagine that in more cases than not...

I would imagine that in more cases than not, it's that cynical, trendy distrust of All Things Government with some self-serving anecdotal evidence to validate their positions.

With so many people doing both of the above these days, the Postal Service is a perfect target of opportunity.

[clarence swinney]

79. $2.40 VERSUS $7.30

I USUALLY MAIL THE PACKAGE VIA P.O.
NEEDED RUSH SO REGULAR UPS.

SORT OF EXPENSIVE 3 DAYS DELIVERY.

[harkadog]

81. I have been in post offices across the country

and I have never had decent reasonable service in any of them. But I have no alternative when I want first class mail materials of some sort. And they know it.

[NoFace]

95. The issue against the Post Office (which is leveled against teachers etc) is that they aren't afraid

of losing their jobs so they really could care less about the performance of their job.
This falls under that balancing act between 'Unionism / Stability' and Raging Free Market Abuses in my book.

You need a balance to keep the system flowing smoothly.
Too much of one is just as bad as too much of the other.

[unc70]

84. Might have started when Postmaster was appointed unders spoils system

That meant that when a new President was elected, his supporters then received the patronage jobs. But that was a long time ago.

Later, the small package delivery business became a target for various private operations, so suddenly there were attacks almost everywhere bewailing the problems with the Post Office, now renamed the Postal Service.

The RW advocated completely shutting it down in favor of private companies, but instead we got the current system. That was also when we started down the privatization of public services in all sorts of other areas -- military, education, communications, transportation -- and the removal of government regulations in many other areas.

The stamp machines have always been a problem; the new PC-based electronic postal centers or whatever are a real pain, when they are showing a Microsoft error message trying to reboot.

My local PO is packed all day, but gives pretty good service almost always. They have 8 or 10 stations so the customer lines usually mover rather well, even when fairly long (50+). Things can slow down if there are a lot of people doing international shipping.

BTW $4.95 small package delivery is a reasonable service for a lot of things.

[Captain Hilts]

94. FDR made his campaign manager Postmaster. Jim Farley. nt

[Berry Cool]

85. My local post office lost a $100 package I was expecting. They say they delivered it.

I say they didn't. It's their word against mine, so I am going to lose.

They also delivered a photograph someone sent me in a package reinforced with foam core. The photograph has a big fat crease right down the middle where they folded the envelope to fit it in my box. The sender had written on the envelope in huge letters "DO NOT BEND."

[DefenseLawyer]

106. I'm sure everyone has a "lost letter" story

Given the volume of what they do it's bound to happen. It just seems like for the Post Office to be synonymous with "the worst of government" they should be losing things all the time and taking months to deliver or something. That doesn't seem to be anyone's experience, yet "The Post Office sucks" still seems to be pretty easy sell to most people.

[GinaMaria]

90. Never had a bad experience

The only thing I can think of is that the term 'going postal' was about actual postal workers who lost it. I was young at the time and have never gone back to read about it, but iirc, they were micro-micro managed, and put up with a lot rigid rules and dehumanizing behavior. All things I would think right wingers would love :shrug:

[AngryAmish]

91. My post office service sucks

Once a month I don't get a letter I know is sent. And about once a month I send a letter that doesn't get through. Or at least before I went to email for everything (plus usps).

[Quantess]

92. Ever had to deal with the post office in San Francisco? The service is pretty bad.

However, I have had nothing but great service from Portland area post offices.

I really think it varies among regions.

[thatsrightimirish]

96. What else are they going to say?

The peace corps? The Medicare which most of them are on?

[Odin2005]

97. Right-wing Propaganda.

[Captain Hilts]

99. No, a lot of experience. nt

[SoCalDem]

98. They are union, so when the union-bashing started up, they were prime targets

Everyone has a "story" about a "lazy postman", or the "long-lines ehile they take coffee breaks"..It's just a variation of the UAW workers who sleep through their shifts, or the welfare Cadillac Mom with a fur coat..

It's nasty folklore built up to prove how overpaid/underworked/lazy these union workers are..

Comedians exaggerate these "stories", media loves to do "exposés" about how lazy they are and how over

[begin_within]

101. I've used postal services a lot,

I run a small business and over the past 15 years I've sent lots of mail. I would say that 99% of the things I've sent have arrived at the destination with no problem. But that 1% still irritates me. How could they let a regular envelope, properly prepared according to their specs, become shredded by their machinery? How could they simply lose a letter or package completely? How could they knowingly deliver an empty envelope? How could they take photographs which are clearly marked "Do not Bend" and have a piece of cardboard included, and still bend it and jam it into my mailbox? How could they deliver someone else's mail to my mailbox, even addressed to someone in a different zip code? How could their computers come down, and force them to accept cash or checks only... and then two business days later, the same office is still like that? How could they take 8 months to return a letter to me, because the recipient moved and left no forwarding address? Eight months? Didn't they see the letter sitting there during that eight months? Most of the things I have sent and received have been ok, but there have been so many screw-ups that I really wonder about their system and policies, and the type of people they hire. The lady that delivers our mail here is very nice, and always seems to give us our mail and none of our neighbors' mail (unlike her predecessor), but she is constantly babbling on her bluetooth phone in Spanish and it's kind of eerie in this quiet neighborhood. But my main complaint is the long waiting time at almost all post offices. They truly do not care how long you have to wait. They pretend to care, but the reality is they don't care. And the reason for that is that they have no competitors for first-class or bulk mail, and they have a monopoly on access to your mailbox, so they don't have to care.

[lonestarnot]

105. It's run by teabagger managers.

[SalviaBlue]

110. Same way all other government did... Ronnie Raygun mentality...

"I'm askird of government." Government bad. Big Business good.

[trotsky]

112. Having been to other countries and used their post offices,

I find it remarkable just HOW great and HOW cheap ours is. We truly have the best postal service on the planet, IMHO.