Random Rant: Why do post offices only operate in between normal working hours?

[kblessinggr]

Government monopoly. No competition, no focus on customer service. It's really as simple as that.

No competition eh? It's been quite a few decades since competing against the postal service has been illegal. Now days you got UPS, Fedex, DHS, and so forth... if you don't mind paying for it.

It comes down to a matter of price... how much are you willing to pay to get a package sent, and will you sacrifice some perks to get the price down?

 

[kblessinggr]

What makes no sense is 9-5 are the busiest hours for businesses because thats when everyone is shopping and running their errands and since 9-5 is the busiest than thats when everyone has to work..it makes my head spin.

yea makes me wonder bout what the banks are thinking only staying open half an hour past everyone else's closing time. Talk about death on the road friday night.

 

[alexa7]

Here's quality stupid.

I pay $34.00 twice a year for a PO Box, then use my own gas to go there to get mail. In this little town there is no curb service. PO Box only, unless you want to look like a vagrant and use General Delivery.

Live more than 1.2 miles from the office and they will use their gas and pay someone big money to drive your mail out to you and put it into your box for free. Even if you don't have mail coming one day they will still drop by and check if you have anything they might could pick up for you for free.

Rural Free Delivery is one service that has way outlived it's usefulness. It MAY have been a good thing in the 1930's so people could get their welfare checks on time and farmers could get their crop subsidies and know who to vote for.

If they would bill rural people even a dollar a month, it would defray some cost.

</soapbox>

 

[Rage9]

Ive often wondered the same about service oriented businesses like doctors. They are open during regular business hours. Unless someone were to take off work, they cant go.

Don't you have a walk in clinic near you? I live in a pretty small city and we have 2 walk in clinics, ones open till like 9 the other is 24 hrs I think. Like any other clinic there expensive as fuck though.

 

[HarveyJ]

I love stories about America's postal service. Particularly the ones about Mailmen going apeshit and killing everyone in the office.

You guys should check out AusPost sometime. It's so efficient, and the people at the counter (well, at my last post office. Haven't really used the new one much) are so nice. I'm not bullshitting when I say the last time I went to a post office in Sydney, they gave me a lollipop. It was actually a little weird.
The larger branches are even open on Saturdays!

I think if you guys came over and used our postal system, you'd break down into a gibbering heap from the stygian terror of something so alien and unknown to you that it would warp your mind like some kind of Lovecraftian horror from beyond the voids.

 

[kingofsp]

This reminds me of an Adam Corolla rant that I strongly identified with.

Why is it that everywhere I have lived, the garbage man comes at the butt crack of dawn, but I have to wait until 2-4pm to get my mail? Don't these people work 8 hour days?

Surely there are places where it is flip-flopped. I would like to live in such a place.

 

[keliix06]

Ace man FTW. His podcast kicks ass.

 

[TheDean]

Everybody that complains on this thread - you want to attempt to take a (severely short-changed) government budget and try to allot it accordingly to over 10,000 offices throughout the entire nation and still try to make everybody happy? The fact is, despite the obvious shortcomings (and there are many), the government does the best job possible with the budget they are given through tax receipts. Many people complain about the inefficiencies of govt, but there is no organization in the entire WORLD that is larger, and yes there will be some waste but when you think about it. . .paying less than a half dollar to get your letter from Hawai'i to Maine is pretty damn impressive. Same with shipping a package for 15 bucks coast-to-coast.

Does it suck waiting in line? Yes.
Are the employees at the USPS below average in intelligence? Generally.

However, it definitely driving cross-country to have something delivered in a week. . .


Ev

between the post office and hip hop you are really living and dying on the dumbest subjects...just sayin

 

[slayerment]

The fact is, despite the obvious shortcomings (and there are many), the government does the best job possible with the budget they are given through tax receipts.

Do you actually take yourself seriously? I'm sure the sheeple who run the government do in fact do their best while taking orders from their masters... HOWEVER, the whole concept of a government getting involved in free markets is the biggest scam around. Period.

Anybody who knows their ass from a hole in the ground understand that LESS government is the solution, but for some reason the sheeple just can't get enough of somebody telling them how to live their life and who's ass to kiss.

I mean seriously, does it make any sense that this inefficient group of nitwits can actually beat UPS and FedEx on price? How do they actually yield a profit when they are low-balling their more efficient competitors? Oh right, they don't.

Government: +1
You: -1

 

[airforcematt]

US Government policy - If it ain't broke fix it till it is.

 

[geekcognito]

This reminds me of an Adam Corolla rant that I strongly identified with.

Why is it that everywhere I have lived, the garbage man comes at the butt crack of dawn, but I have to wait until 2-4pm to get my mail? Don't these people work 8 hour days?

Surely there are places where it is flip-flopped. I would like to live in such a place.

Holy shit, I was just wondering this same thing the other day. I'm actually a little suspicious that they may be pulling double-duty...and pissed the fuck off about it enough to hurl garbage cans down the street as loudly as possible.

 

[kingofsp]

Holy shit, I was just wondering this same thing the other day. I'm actually a little suspicious that they may be pulling double-duty...and pissed the fuck off about it enough to hurl garbage cans down the street as loudly as possible.

lol. fuck tea parties. let's start some garbage can street bowling!

 

[Aniston]

If you live close to a major airport like I do (DFW), the Post Office should be open 24/7 within the airport...ours is.

 

[JohnCJackson]

Why would one ever need to go to the post office during open hours? I haven't for years, and I do a lot of mailing/shipping. Besides doing it all at home and having pickups/dropoffs all of my post offices have had 24hr lobbies and Automated Postage Centers for several years. And I live in multiple Nowheres.

 

[knukk]

No competition eh? It's been quite a few decades since competing against the postal service has been illegal. Now days you got UPS, Fedex, DHS, and so forth... if you don't mind paying for it.

It comes down to a matter of price... how much are you willing to pay to get a package sent, and will you sacrifice some perks to get the price down?

The USPS still has monopoly on, for example, non-urgent letters:

FedEx and United Parcel Service (UPS) directly compete with USPS express mail and package delivery services, making nationwide deliveries of urgent letters and packages. Due to the postal monopoly, they are not allowed to deliver non-urgent letters and may not use U.S. Mail boxes at residential and commercial destinations.

United States Postal Service - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[AdHustler]

Don't you have a walk in clinic near you? I live in a pretty small city and we have 2 walk in clinics, ones open till like 9 the other is 24 hrs I think. Like any other clinic there expensive as fuck though.

yea theres a walk in clinic, they have short hours too...plus the shittiest doctors and people who piss themselves in the lobby.

 

[Greenfire]

Because the inconsiderate lazy barstewards are unable or unwilling to stay open for longer. You would think that at least one in major towns and cities would have more flexible opening times.