Post office to only deliver 5 days a week?

[NoHall]

Let's think about this: If I mail my electric bill on Thursday or Friday, it's not going to get there until Saturday, but they're not working there on Saturday and the bank isn't open, either, so it's not going to get paid until Monday, anyway. If I mail it on Saturday, I probably won't bother to get to my mailbox before the earlybird mailperson gets there anyway, so it won't be picked up until Monday.

Remind me why it's important to have mail service on Saturday. If we insist on keeping Saturday, then kill Wednesday. I never go to my mailbox on Wednesday.

 

[TooFarTampa]

I finally figured out that instead of having to remember to mail my bills, I can not only pay them online but schedule them well ahead of time. The bill arrives, I schedule the payment to come out of my account three weeks from now, note it in my Quicken log and forget about it. I don't need no stinkin' mail service on Saturdays. But I don't want to see the USPS shed a bunch of jobs right now either.

I'm not sure eliminating the USPS is the way to go though. I do love getting those Christmas cards and occasional party invitations. And today I received a nice long handwritten letter from my dear friend who is the only person I know with no TV and no computer. (another story altogether) So there is still a little beauty left in the ol USPS. But the junk mail can suck it. :angry:

 

[Matt J]

I heard this on the news and they had sort of a shout out thing. The old guy that called in made a very good point. Cut Saturday delivery and up the rates on junk mail instead of raising postage on people.

30Ashopper, they're not going to get rid of it all together. In many instances things are still required legally to be sent via certified/registered mail and there is no provision for sending it UPS or FedEx.

 

[30ashopper]

I heard this on the news and they had sort of a shout out thing. The old guy that called in made a very good point. Cut Saturday delivery and up the rates on junk mail instead of raising postage on people.

30Ashopper, they're not going to get rid of it all together. In many instances things are still required legally to be sent via certified/registered mail and there is no provision for sending it UPS or FedEx.

That's just government protecting it's union USPS workers. FedEx provides a far more valuable service at a reduced rate, we just need to change the laws. Lets change and go with private carriers like FedEx and UPS. Let's shut down a government funded business that's out of date, poorly run, lacks quality service, and has lost money for decades.

 

[FloridaBuckeye]

Dating myself

Ok, now I'm getting old and admitting it, but I do remember no mail delivery on Saturday and everyone survived! Being from the midwest, where every town with more than 300 people (estimate) has a post office, getting rid of alot of those buildings would cut alot of costs. Just a suggestion from the old lady!!

 

[Miss Kitty]

Ok, now I'm getting old and admitting it, but I do remember no mail delivery on Saturday and everyone survived! Being from the midwest, where every town with more than 300 people (estimate) has a post office, getting rid of alot of those buildings would cut alot of costs. Just a suggestion from the old lady!!

I don't know how old you are, but I could swear that when I was young, the mailman came in the morning AND the afternoon!

I am fine with no Saturday delivery. One less day of bills and junk.

Darlene...so, you pay online and you have an option to keep them from sending a paper bill? I need to investigate this option!

 

[sunspotbaby]

Miss Kitty, if you set up to pay bills online, there is usually an option to have the bill sent electronically every month instead of by snail mail. I don't know if every company has this option but most do.

 

[Smiling JOe]

talking about the old days, after my grandfather died, we were cleaning out his house and came across letters which were mailed from other family members, and some had only his name where the mailing address goes, and some had only his name with the town name.

Stopping Sat delivery will cut down on some expense like fuel for delivery autos, and labor for that day, and other expenses like the light bill, but I agree with Traderx, in that it won't necessarily save much money because the mail sorters will have overload mail on the next working day, taking longer to sort, the air conditioners and heaters will still be running, insurance will still be paid, etc (fixed costs). Hell, I bet they could cut back to 4 days of delivery per week and still not save much more money.

Maybe during the Christmas season, they could go back to running six days of week, so that the carriers on foot, can still carry all of those dang catalogs and phone books.

 

[scooterbug44]

They're not talking about skipping saturday delivery, they're talking about the post office randomly determining which day to not deliver on.

This random day o' no mail plan is still not a solution as they will still be operating with a deficit - the estimates of which are several BILLION apart depending on who is doing the estimating. :roll:

IMO, raising junk mail rates and improving efficiency and service would go a lot further towards balancing their budget. The main reason I have cut back on MY use of the US postal service is because the local service is so slow and incompetent.

 

[Smiling JOe]

So if they raise the bulk mail postage, how will that reduce their deficit? I know that the freight cost will be reduced somewhat if people stop sending as much bulk mail, but those trucks still have to roll to deliver that which mail which is sent. Increasing the cost of bulk mail will likely reduce the junk mail, but it won't make the USPS more money, IMO.