Poll/Not Poll: Do you think USPS will ever go out of business?

USPS also brings more c**p to my mailbox every day than UPS, FedEX and DHL combined. Quality > QuantityNot their fault. They have been losing market shares for years, though.They have, but they also couldn't handle the huge demand. They've been contracting a lot of our mails thru various couriers. I think they'll be around a long time. Plus, their motto says: Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.

I'm going to provide you with the "company line" like I posted about two months ago. The USPS is mandated by law to provide universal access and universal service to everyone in the USA. How long do you think that universal service provison will stay viable after someone like UPS takes over ? Diva: I don't have and answer for that stat except I heard the Postmaster General say it some time ago. Just note we process 206 BIllion pieces of mail a year. Some new tidbits: FEDEX TO RAISE RATES. USA Today, CNN, ABC News, Reuters, Business Week and other major media sources report that FedEx plans to raise its rates an average of 3.5% beginning Jan 2. The company also will increase surcharges for express shipments to some ZIP Codes by up to 10 cents a package. The reports noted that UPS this week raised the cap on its fuel surcharge for air shipping to 12.5%, from 9.5 percent. Universal Access. Universal Service. We deliver to every household and business in the United States. Every American has access to our services and pays the same postage rate regardless of geographic location. We... Deliver mail to over 142 million homes, businesses and post office boxes in every state, city, and town in the country; including Puerto Rico, Guam, the American Virgin Islands and American Samoa Add 1.8 million new addresses each year to our delivery network (<<This is like adding a city the size of Chicago to the directory) Serve over 7 million customers daily at nearly 38,000 post offices Have annual operating revenue of $69 billion Deliver more than 206 billion pieces of mail a year Collect mail from over 280,000 points including blue street mail boxes across the country Pay nearly $2 billion in employee salaries and benefits every two weeks Employ more than 700,000 career employees Have the world's largest Intranet to communicate with our employees Provide alternative access for our customers to purchase stamps at more than 27,500 vending machines; nearly 25,000 commercial retail outlets such as supermarkets, convenience, drug and gift stores; nearly 19,000 banking and credit union automated teller machines, and 2,500 automated postal centers located across the country Do not receive tax dollars from the federal government for operating expenses. We use the revenue from sales of postage-related products to pay these expenses Delivering For You. Innovation, performance and a focus on service contributed to a record year for the United States Postal Service in 2004. Delivering Our Best On-time delivery of overnight-committed First-Class Mail held at a record 95% for the year and jumped to an incredible 96% in quarter three! And service in all measured categories reached record levels.* Customers told us they saw improvements in unmeasured service categories, as well. Satisfying Customers We delivered for our customers, and they noticed. Independently measured customer satisfaction scores for the fourth quarter reached a new height, with 94% of residential customers rating their experience with the Postal Service as excellent, very good or good. Staying Productive We achieved a record fifth straight year of positive total factor productivity (TFP). These gains have provided the equivalent of $6.1 billion in cost savings. TFP includes all factors of production and measures the growth in the ratio of resources we use the inputs to the products and services they produce the outputs. We are everywhere you are. Our network gives us access to every American household and business we are everywhere you are. We handle more than 44% of the world's card and letter mail volume delivering more mail to more addresses to a larger geographical area than any other postal system in the world We move mail using every viable means of transportation: planes, trains, trucks, cars, boats, helicopters, bicycles, and even mules We operate a transport and delivery fleet of over 200,000 vehicles driving approximately 1.1 billion miles a year Each letter carrier delivers about 2,300 pieces of mail a day to approximately 500 addresses There are 86 million pounds of mail traveling through our processing centers every day About 17% of the nation's population moves every year. The Postal Service processes more than 44 million changes of address for temporary and permanent moves We forward over 3 billion pieces of mail a year, at no extra charge to the moving customer We are a world leader in developing and using optical character recognition our sorting equipment reads more than 91% of the hand-written addresses on envelopes The Postal Service works with the State Department to accept passport applications. In 2004, nearly 4 million passport applications were accepted in post offices around the country 60% of what the State Department processed When fuel costs rise one-cent, our costs increase $8 million

Sorry for the double post folks !!

Right! They make their appointed rounds by losing THREE rent checks for me! I have had to pay over $500 in late fees just in the past two months because of them.

Andy - do you work for the USPS?

:1: :1:
When we were on a WEEK vacation they ended up filling our box with so much c**p that they couldn't stuff the real mail in there anymore. So, I had to go to the P.O. to pick up my mail. I threw away all but about 8 pieces of mail. UNBELIEVABLE amounts of c**p!
You do realize you can stop your mail delivery via computer ? Why didn't you stop your mail when you went away ? That is the one sure way of telling a robber you're not home...

You do realize you can stop your mail delivery via computer ? Why didn't you stop your mail when you went away ? That is the one sure way of telling a robber you're not home...
My mailbox isn't at my front door...nobody knows how full it is except the USPS folks.

My mailbox isn't at my front door...nobody knows how full it is except the USPS folks.
What makes you think everyone walking around your building has a background check ?

For someone that is here as much as you are, how do you not know this?
And, in case anyone is interested, the only place that the USPS still delivers mail via mule is to the Havasuapi tribe in the Grand Canyon area.

I think considering the amount of mail USPS has to deliver 24/7, I find it amazing they haven't really screwed up much of them in the years I've been getting their services.

I heart the US Postal Service. :pinklove:

What makes you think everyone walking around your building has a background check ?
I live in a townhouse and there are about 20 mailboxes sitting out on the street corner. Nobody has access to them except the USPS folks and the individual who uses them. Besides, I never in a million years would have thought we would have received that much junk mail in a week.
THAT isn't my big complaint about them, though. My biggest complaint is the $500+ in late fees I have had to pay to my apartment rental folks with the business I run. The USPS has lost THREE rent checks for me. Two were mailed from my personal mailbox and the other was put directly into the slot at the PO branch around the corner. I called my local friend and she said she has had several pieces of mail lost, several pieces of mail that were never delivered, and a package she sent during Christmas that never made it where it was supposed to be.
I don't personally think the USPS is going to go out of business but my DH thinks it will (which is why I made this post).
I need to file a complaint but in my mind I think "what good will it do" - I'm NEVER going to get my money back from the USPS for their screwup.

For someone that is here as much as you are, how do you not know this? Because I get you all confused with each other. I suck at that. Sorry!

Diva: I can't answer anything about those letters that were lost except to say be sure you have the full and complete address to include the 9 digit zip+4 and do not forget the return address. A Zip+4 can be obtained by going to USPS.com and following the various links. Remember we process 206 BILLION pieces of mail a year. While we do go out of our way to make sure the mail is processed right, stuff happens. Go to USPS.com for all your postal needs including stamps, stopping mail, address changes, forwading and other services such as setting up electic, and other utility services and on. Really you should check it out. You can help your customers set up their new address in one quick visit. Will the USPS go out of business ? No, as long as customers want and deserve universal service and access the USPS will still be there. If the USPS goes out of business what will UPS charge for a letter ? Will that have an impact on your business costs ? How about the Havasupai Reservation at the bottom of the Grand Canyon ? Will UPS go there ? How much will that letter cost ? The USPS is responsible (answers) to all of us. A private mail carrier answers to its stock holders - profit, not service is the guiding force. As for the standard (junk) mail you all know and love. When you put your address (OK I know some don't) on a web site its free game for them to send stuff. When you buy via catalogue you're all set up for mail, etc etc. And please, for your family's safety be sure to stop your mail if you're away for a while. Again, a visit to USPS.com will get your mail stopped.

I can say with 70% accuracy that most of the mail "lost" is due to incomplete addresses and no return addresses or a return address that is NOT legible.

If you are concerned about accuracy in delivery of mail, use delivery confirmation and/or certified mail so you can track the package online. You might also want to check the delivery address of the rental companies because the address you have might be a physical address and not a mailing address.

I.E. our trailer was at 3100 E. 101, but it wasn't a USPS recognized address so we had a PO Box.

This isn't the case with my mail. It was all legible and it had Zip + 4 on all three envelopes that were lost. I think it is more than likely the staff at my local PO. I have NEVER had this much trouble in my life.