Tough times for the USPS - my rant

I don't think in the nearly 22 years I've been in the USPS that we've ever seen things this bad before. Business is down...WAY down and it's only going to get worse as long as the fuel costs for all of us are at the $4 per gallon.

One of the emails that we received at work from our manager inquired as to why our Priority Mail revenue was down. Luckily my co-worker and head clerk Tom had some pointed answers and insight that gave our manager something to think about. #1 is that we can't sell to people that aren't coming into our office for any reason at all. If no one is in line at our office to mail or purchase anything, we don't stand a chance to increase our revenue. #2 is that all of our daily eBay and online business customers are also feeling the sharp decline in their business and they too are hurting. People simply aren't spending their money on non-essential items right now when it takes more to gas the car and put groceries in the fridge at home. #3 is that our "leaders" in the USPS have beat us over the head with "use Click+Ship" service that we provide online so now many people that are still shipping and doing it from home and getting their items picked-up instead of wasting gas and coming to my office. #4 is that with the new inception of the Forever Stamp, less people have had to come to the post office to purchase stamps or the 1-cent increase stamp since they stocked up on the Forever Stamp in large quantities before the May 12 rate change. Again, less people in line = less opportunity to sell or maximize revenue.

I will say that our office in particular does a great job of maximizing opportunities in generating money for the USPS, along with protecting the revenue and services that we provide our customers as well. One of the ideas being floated right now as a trial period is that Saturday delivery of mail will be terminated in order to control our fuel costs. For each penny the fuel rises, it costs the USPS $8 million.

You can help me keep my job and ensure that you get the best personalized service by either NOT using Click+Ship online or at least not paying for postage online (just create the address label without postage) and go to your local post office to mail anything you need to.

Ric