posted on July 13, 2002 08:09:07 PM new
It makes the executives feel good - as if they were running a real business that has to advertise. And it seems easier to raise morale this way than to treat the workers like humans with respect. That would be too complex and difficult for the management skills availible.
My wife worked for a company that sold equipment to the USPO and they needed a spare part in S. Dakota. Three times they sent it by their own internal mail and it never got there. So since they can't use another service they contacted each post office in between and had each one send a special truck just for this part and hand the part off from postal district to postal district all the way from Michigan to get the part delivered. Wonder what that cost?
posted on July 13, 2002 08:40:11 PM new
I like Lance Armstrong,Hes a local boy.Just didnt realize what it cost for him to be a winner.None of the big Co.s would sponser him because he had cancer,Some of those Co.s you are hearing about everyday.
Not everyone knows the Post Office is a Corporation,Fedral Corp.,So is the IRS.
And you wouldnt believe the dip sticks in charge.The Corps cant show a profit and go to great lengths to blow money at the end of the Government year.The new year is Sept.So if you want to get a grant,This is a great time to start filling out the papers.
posted on July 13, 2002 09:46:59 PM new
Well, without a government sponsored postal service, we'll all be at the mercy of opportunistic for-profit mail services. Once the others do not have to compete with the USPS, they won't wait a moment to double their rates for us. After all - if you don't use them - go deliver it yourself!
posted on July 13, 2002 11:17:03 PM new
Gravid, the service you describe is simply "registered mail" and is available for most any mailed item at a higher than first class mail rate. It's simply a way to assure delivery.
As to spending advertizing dollars where revenue is lowest, i.e. the European market, isn't that a first principlal of advertizing?
You advertize when sales are down; there's no need of it when sales are up.
Although borillar is incorrect in calling the postal service 'government sponsored' since it is not that and makes it's way entirely through product generated revenue with the only exeptions being some small percentile support for the mailings of tax exempt organizations, he is correct in his prediction that service to your door would decline pretty drastically at a higher cost under any private enterprise. Remember that the postal service delivers to any area and is not free to pick and chose it's market. Over the years there have been several proposals made to privatize the mails through the contracting of services. In every case the proposals consisted only in the taking of high profit mailing in selected areas, mostly urban business first class mail, while leaving the long distance low volume areas out of the picture. This would mean that no one would have guaranteed service regardless where in the country they lived. Most proposals would curtail services even in the profitable arena. Six day delivery, a very meaningful thing to many people, would be a thing of the past, for example.
Nowhere do I see mention of the fact that Lance Armstrong is a postal employee. His initial sponsorship from the postal service consisted only of a flexible schedule and adequate time off work. It waas later discovered that sponsoring him not only felt good, but was an opportunity to generate revenue through goodwill advertizing and the sale of related memento type items. Lance is a national hero. His story is inspirational to people around the world and the postal service genuinely considers it a priviledge to help him along. The upside is that helping him in these ways not only pays for itself though philatelic sales but also puts a little into the postal coffers so that the cost of service to the customers can be held down.
Pay attention sometime when you're in line at the post office and see how often people come in who are very interested in such items as collectibles. They really do sell those little pins in such numbers that very significant amounts are realized, and every one of those advertizing items sold help keep your postal rates amongst the lowest in the world.
The postal service has been a successful enterprise in some years. Whenever it has been, the congress finds reason to help itself to the profits and does so. There's never any compensatory assistance in years when the service comes up in the red. They row upstream most of the time.
There's never been any shortage of smarmy op ed pieces about the postal service written by people who feed off of other people's love of bitching.
posted on July 14, 2002 04:42:23 AM new
I like bitchin about the Post Office,Higher up the ladder in the contracts dept.
Around here the mail contractors have gone from 18'Bob tails to tractor trailers.We have a huge volume of mail,In part from online activitys,auction,sales,new buisness,And new people moving in the area.
Since 9//11 the lines are a lot shorter,But still 30 minutes to 45 to be able to mail a package.There use to be 3 clerks at all time
At a big Post office ,close to the house,Now there is one" over worked clerk... praying for a transfer.
First time Ive heard Lance worked for the Post Office,He's a hero around here.
posted on July 14, 2002 05:42:21 AM new
Non-government advertising grates me also (what doesn't)
I remember buying a car in the 70's and the dealer had the nerve to tack on a charge for advertising?!! I asked the guy what their advertising told me about the car? at that time the ad didn't tell me how much the car weighed what mileage it got how big the engine was - what it would cost to repair it or anything of value to me to know about the damn thing.
He could not explain why they did not either just roll it into the price of the car or itemize every expense in the production down to the toilet paper in the CEOs office
posted on July 14, 2002 02:11:40 PM new
The problem is a good example of the government's stupidity.
Your senator at least both of mine and my representatives did not have a grasp of what the signed into law.
The post office did have an excellent grasp and chose to hype the 3 cent on a letter and just not mention the 64% hike for an over 2 lb crossing the country. I said 64% and I meand it this is the worst economy damaging rip off I have ever seen. I would like to see some things based on 64% like say a law that says no rtaises for congress until they economy picks up 64%. Our the social secuirty workers comp unemployemnt all raised 64%. I aint gonna hold my breath either. Just another ripoff of the middle class to fund the starving rich.
