Postal Workers Respond

We get a lot of e-mail from Postal Service employees, most of it anonymous and not fit for public viewing. One communique we find particularly telling is the following from Bud Tyler of Springfield, VA, who says he is a retired USPS "Consumer Advocate." From the sound of it, he probably is ... unfortunately.

USPS • Damaged Mail • Lost Mail • No Mail Delivery • Stolen Mail • Wrong Mail --- • Address Disputes • Change of Address • Dangerous Drivers • Hostility • Prescriptions Mishandled • Privacy Violations • Restricted Substances --- • Priority Mail • Express Mail • Military Mail --- News • Postal Service May Seek Service Cut • Movie Fans Suspect Foul Play at the Post Office

Bud Tyler writes (12/6/04):
Who write the little intalizised comments following a customer complaint. Apparently that person has little knowledge of the company on which he/she has commented. I make reference to a comment in response to the Postal Service where your commentator says, "Your tax dollars at work." The Postal Service does not get appropriations from Congress except for subsidizing non-profit mail. In 1971 the Postal Service started paying its own way. It is regrettable that your commentators are still working on pre-1970 information. Before you put in your cutsy little comments make sure you know what you are talking about.

Since you have such a low opinion of the Postal Service why not use private mail delivery services. Find out how much the private boys will charge you to deliver your next Birthday card across the nation. Bet it is more that 37 cents.

We responded:

"Who write the litte intalizised comments" -- are you asking who writes the italicized comments? Our editors do. And whether you know it or not, the USPS is still underwritten by the full faith and credit of the American taxpayer. Its losses are guaranteed, unlike its service.

You have no idea how many unpublished complaints we have about the miserable postal service so many consumers receive. We simply don't bother publishing them because they do no good. Your defensive, personal-attack methodology typifies what is wrong with the Postal Service. Instead of addressing the horrendous service, you simply hurl insults at the consumers/taxpayers who guarantee your pension.

It's people like you who give government a bad name.

Bud responds:
Who funds your organization? Are you associated with Ralph Nader?

We are supported by advertising and by our founder's checkbook, not by taxpayers, not by donations, not by foundation grants. It's called the free market system.

Bud responds:
My my, you certainly are defensive. What are you hiding? What are you? One small person sitting in your loft or basement of your house passing judgment on things you know nothing about. Try handling one billion, that is one billion with a B, pieces of anything a day and see how many mistakes you make.

Have you ever been in a postal facility at midnight where the work is done? Probably not. No, you are probably siting (sic) in a café some place passing judgment on honest people who unlike yourself work for a living and contribute to the economy.

My suggestion to you: Get a job!

As for your advertisers I would not do business with anyone stupid enough to be associated with you..Bud

Some consumer advocate, that Bud.

Postal Funding

By the way, the omnibus spending bill passed by Congress in November 2004 includes an appropriation of $568 million for the Postal Service, which is expected to increase rates in early 2006, if not sooner.

The USPS is a government corporation. It is protected from competition in many areas of service and its rates are set by a commission named by Congress. It pays no state, local or federal taxes. Its heavily unionized work force enjoys pensions and job security not available to most private-sector workers.

More Postal Employees

"Kathy" writes:
It's me again! once again I am upset that you would put all postal employees in a basket and then bash us against the wall. I work very, very hard to provide my customers with good service. I am not excusing the behavior of the carrier who blocked a handicapped parking space and most definitely cannot excuse the language used. However, NO ONE ever stops to think of the carriers who go out of our way to provide those extras and the time it takes to perform these deeds. If I spent "one minute" on every parcel I have to deliver each day I would not have time to finish my route.

I have 568 boxes to serve. Now calculate 568 minutes into my "8 hour" day and see what you get for an answer. By the way, i cannot tell you how many times I have dismounted (I am a rural carrier) to serve a box that the resident has blocked with his/her car. We DO NOT have to do this and seldom does anyone seem to appreciate it, but they sure do complain when they do not get their mail due to the box being blocked. I guess thats our fault too, eh?

Now for the lady who lives on the second floor and is unable to collect her mail: Talk with your regular carrier and make sure that the substitute carrier is aware of the situation. There are forms to be filed to provide her with door delivery called "hardship delivery." If an unknowing sub carries that route there is a good chance they are unaware of the circumstances. Please don't judge us all and think about the things you do to make our job harder. Time is of the essence and we are not the ones who calculate the route. Most days i work past, yes past evaluated time because of unforseen circumstances that eat up my time -- blocked boxes, dogs, locked gates, weather, etc. Some of us really do care and try hard to be what you want and need.

Kathy needs to learn to read more attentively. There is nothing in our USPS complaints section that "put(s) all postal employees in a basket." The complaints are about individual carriers in specific situations -- just like all the other complaints on this site. They are, however, typical of other complaints we receive but do not publish. It's also interesting to see how some companies respond -- or how they don't respond. Isn't it?

Jeff writes:
I read your newsletter with interest but am concerned over your fairness in reporting. I am becoming wary because of the huge list of complaints against the USPS. In fairness to one of the largest employers in the nation, I think you need to weigh the complaints in context. Have you and your staff considered the sheer volume of mail that is handled WITHOUT complaint?

It seems that the first time someone loses a check or gift, they are OUTRAGED. Well as someone who sees mistakes occur daily at my jobsite, I'm actually impressed that the Post Office performs as well as it does. No, I do not work for the Postal Service, I'm merely applying empirical logic and looking at numbers. Daily, I retrieve my mail and usually it is on time and often travels thousands of miles in a couple of days.

Would you like to take on such a task? I sure wouldn't.

We responded to this by noting that lots of planes didn't crash yesterday but that this didn't make the news because it's not newsworthy when things go well.

Jeff responded: Your point is well taken and I guess we agree to disagree. I still think the postal service does a fine job considering that my employer uses United Parcel Service for overnight mail and it fails at a much higher rate than USPS.

Consumers should recognize that there are ways of protecting their mail. The tracking systems and insurance the USPS offer are a first line of defense. I'll tell you this: If I needed to mail you a check tomorrow, I'll trust the Post Office and I'd take the odds that it will get to you in a timely manner.

Jeff's points are well taken. However, USPS management needs to be more responsive to the complaints such as those on our site. Failure to effectively resolve complaints is unfair to consumers and employees alike.

Kathryn writes:
Do you people realize that USPS employees are human; therefore we makes mistakes just like YOU. Many days we work over the evaluated time(determined by the USPS per route) for FREE. If we take an extra 1 or 2 minutes at even half our boxes it equals out to an additonal hour per day that we are NOT compensated for.

If people are unable to get to their box they need to request a "hardship" form from their postmaster which is processed with the assistance of their physician and then they are to recieve door service and their carrier will be paid accordingly.

Stop bashing the entire organization as there are many carriers in our office who work past the hours they are being paid for to go the extra mile. By the way, it is not uncommon for a single carrier to have in excess of 600 boxes a day to service AFTER he or she has sorted and prepared that mail according to the way the route is scheduled to be run before hitting the street with it!

Organizations, public and private, are responsible for ensuring that their customers' needs are met. Pointing out problems is not bashing all employees but Kathryn needs to consider that the consumers who write to us are human too. They have needs, some of them bordering on desperate, which are not being met by the public servants assigned to fill them.

We don't write these complaints ourselves, you know. They come from real people who are having real problems and who have hit a brick wall in trying to get USPS to listen, let alone respond.

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