A POSTMASTER'S STORY by Mark Jamison I want to tell you a story about the state of customer service in today’s Postal Service. It’s about a solitary incident, a small incident really, but it holds a larger truth. PS Form 1509, “Recall of Mail,” has been around for years. It’s a form a customer can fill out to try and retrieve … Read More
Modern Times at the Postal Service: Network Rationalization gives more work to idle machines
Last Tuesday, David Williams, USPS VP of Network Operations and the man running the Network Rationalization plan, was cross-examined before the Postal Regulatory Commission, which is working on its Advisory Opinion about the mail-processing consolidations and the change in service standards they depend on. Williams explained “the whole concept” behind the plan like this: “If you go into anyone of our … Read More
The USPS press release on the secret survey: They still can’t get their story straight
Yesterday, the Postal Service issued a press release responding to revelations about a market research survey it commissioned last summer but chose not to tell anyone about. The press release contains several misleading statements that only serve to compound the Postal Service’s bad faith in keeping the survey secret. One wonders why they even bothered issuing a press release, rather … Read More
Secret market survey reveals USPS plans would cost over $5 billion in lost revenue
While hearings before the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) are usually pretty mundane events, something totally unexpected happened today. The Postal Service revealed something it’s been hiding for months — the projected revenue losses its consolidation plan could cause. The numbers are something to behold. The PRC was holding hearings for its Advisory Opinion about the Network Rationalization plan to consolidate … Read More
“Because we said so”: The unassailable logic of postal managers and their salaries
BY MARK JAMISON Last week Kathy Hochul, Representative of New York’s 24th district, where Buffalo stands to lose a mail processing plant employing 700 workers, made a modest proposal — legislation to limit the salaries of the Postmaster General and his executive officers to the level of Cabinet Secretaries. Her goal was to make a statement: “The Postal Service cannot … Read More
It was a very good year: The salaries of USPS executives
The Gannett 2012 salary finder for USPS employees came out this week, and it contains a wealth of information. You can find the salary, job title, workplace, and year of hire for any postal employee. That includes all the executives in L’Enfant Plaza. Unfortunately, the salary finder doesn’t contain information about bonuses and compensation packages, which for upper echelon executives … Read More
Wait a minute, Mr. Postman, please save our Post Office
The Post Office in Ramsay, Michigan, is on the closing list, and some local musicians are singing to save the post office. Their Youtube posting adds a few details: "What makes us different is that we DO NOT HAVE HOME DELIVERY! That's right, our Post Office is not a luxury, but a necessity! The talk is if they close us, … Read More
If at first you don’t succeed, try revising the survey
Last summer the Postal Service hired Opinion Research Corporation (ORC) to do market research on how customers might respond to changes in service standards (slowing down the mail), as well as plans to close thousands of post offices, eliminate Saturday delivery, and seek legislative reforms on pensions and the retiree health care fund. The purpose of the research was to provide data on … Read More
The Case of the Missing Market Research Study
The Postal Service’s Big Hurry to consolidate 223 mail processing plants may be running into serious speed bumps. The AMP studies don’t add up to anything like what the Postal Service says it will save nor do they reveal where most of the 35,000 eliminated positions will come from. Now there’s news of a market research study on potential revenue … Read More
Great minds think alike, and so do USPS District Managers
Over the past few days, Postal Service District Managers across the country have submitted “opinion” pieces to their local news media, and somehow they all stumbled upon the same words. At least thirteen DMs have written one of these “opinions,” and they’re all the same, almost word for word. The Postal Service pulled the same PR stunt a few months … Read More
More AMP Studies Released: Network Rationalization not looking very rational
Yesterday the Postal Service released more AMP studies, and we’re getting a clearer picture how much the Network Rationalization plan to consolidate about 230 mail processing plants will save and where the eliminated positions will come from. Not surprisingly, the savings look to be a lot less than the Postal Service has been saying, and it’s still a mystery where … Read More
“We must not be rushed into false choices”: Two Congressmen call for sanity
The leaders of the Postal Service are in a big hurry to dismantle the postal system, and there are plenty of people in Congress ready to help. Fortunately, there are a few lawmakers who recognize the value of a robust Postal Service, and they don’t want to be rushed into making false choices. Earlier this week, two of the saner … Read More
More numbers on the AMP studies, and they still don’t add up, not even close
When the Postal Service announced the Network Rationalization plan to consolidate 250 area mail processing plants (AMPs) back in September, they said it would save $3 billion a year. When the Postal Service presented its case to the Postal Regulatory Commission in December, they said it would save $2.1 billion. Now that we can see the final AMP studies for … Read More
Questions for Mr. Hammond: The Senate considers a nomination to the PRC
Tomorrow the Senate’s Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs will hold a hearing on the nomination of Tony Hammond as a Commissioner on the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC). The senators are likely to use the opportunity not only to explore Hammond’s positions on a number of key issues but also to express their own views, as Senators are wont to … Read More
The numbers on Network Rationalization just don’t add up
The Postal Service says closing about 250 processing facilities will eliminate 34,000 positions and save $2.1 billion a year. But the numbers on cost savings and affected positions that postal managers presented at the public meetings for each facility don't add up to anything like that. The estimates provided at those meetings appear to have downplayed how many jobs would … Read More
Congressman Connolly Defends PRC Chairman Goldway as Advocate of Innovation
A GUEST POST BY CONGRESSMAN GERALD E. CONNOLLY The Washington Post recently published an article about the travel expenses of Postal Regulatory Chairman Ruth Goldway. The author of the article seems to have missed that the reason for Ms. Goldway’s travel is to pursue positive business model reforms for the Postal Service. These innovative reforms are connected directly to her … Read More
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