Closed our post office

[Olevern]

About two months ago, before I went on vacation, tried to put a hold on my mail online, as I had before. Website gave me the message "that service is no longer available at this post office" . Called the 800 number, waited and waited, finally got to speak with a live person, they told me that my post office was closed by the govt. and that the carriers were working out of another post office 24 miles away. The person took my hold request and passed it along to the new post office, but told me that I would have to pick up the accumulated mail at that post office as mail was no longer being processed at my local post office.

Today, in the mail I received a letter from the govt. telling me that they are having a public hearing on what services, if any, should be provided by the same post office they discontinued rural delivery from. They also sent a survey form to fill out with options to check off, none of which were return to a full service post office.

The options are to discontinue all services at the post office and have no window hours, reduced window hours and continue to have rural delivery and other mail services (such as mail hold) at the p.o. which is 24 miles from my home, and have a local contractor provide services, selling stamps and package services at a mark-up from the post office prices (so that a profit is made).

Anybody else affected by this downsizing?

Nice of them to solicit imput after the fact.

[canyon-ghost]

We don't have delivery within our small town. Recieved a letter for our post office this month. A 'discontinuance' is not real nice. I'm voting for half days even though I know the postal worker would be at a disadvantage. I want to keep our post office although, they aren't offering many options.

[bob208]

we got the same letter a week ago. they closed one post office that wa 2 mi. from the house. two years ago. so we had to use the one 2.5 mi. from the house. now if they close that one i guess we will have to use the one 4 mi. from the house. see where tis is going in some places there are too many post offices.

[cdet69]

I find it interesting that we cut our own services yet increase services for other countries that hate us. Makes me wonder who is realy doing the thinking around here. Once again make the people that live here while the rest of the trash benefits.

[Olevern]

The really stupid thing is that they moved our carriers 24 miles away when there is another post office only 8 miles from the one they closed. I spoke with the employees at the one 8 miles away the other day and asked if it was because that p.o. was also slated to be closed, they said they were not so far as they knew.

I could live with four miles from my home and 8 miles from my former post office, but 24 miles?

[5shotbfr]

there is something funny going on at the post office here . after a long run of never having a single problem with my mail .. in the last month i have had at least 4 payments not arrive .. one to a member here and 3 for utilities .
what makes it even weirder for me is i havent recieved a single piece of mail for 11 days now .
i havent ever gone more then a single day without any mail before .

[ElDorado]

My wife works at one of the mail processing hubs in this area and it’s been scheduled to shut down next year. Everybody’s been scrambling around and trying to bid on jobs at the smaller offices in the area. Her sister had to change jobs, but she’s still with the PO. Smaller offices in some of the rural areas are also shutting down, as they are in your area.

The post office doesn’t bring in as much money as it used to, what with online billing and payments and such (I am forbidden by SWMBO to go to paperless billing, “That’s my bread and butter!”). The postmaster general is always going to congress crying for more money. They sure had plenty to throw around when they sponsored Lance Armstrong and his bicycle team all those years. And I have to ask why they did that. Advertising? Who doesn’t know that there is a Post Office and they deliver mail and parcels? It’s a waste and now it’s costing jobs and mail service.

UPS and FedEx are more reliable as far as packages are concerned. I’ve had the same problem as 5shotbfr. Our regular carrier is an old timer and he is top notch. His back-up carrier will scan your package as delivered and leave it at the PO or at the wrong address. I believe the post office no longer hires permanent employees and now hires only term people at lower wages. This accounts for postal workers who don’t worry too much about losing their job, since it’s only temporary and doesn’t pay well.

I can see this is turning into a rant so I’ll just shut it for now. Thanks for listening. You guys are not alone.

[waksupi]

Nothing new here. Look back in threads here for a couple of years, and you will see this is exactly what was going to happen. I'm expecting it here soon.

[Junior1942]

The other morning my substitute rural carrier was spending in inordinate amount of time out beside my mailbox. I walked out there. She was trying to scan the Delivery Confirm number on a package. The "number" I said. I tried to explain UPC to her and that she should scan the black lines and not the number. She ignored me and kept running her little green light over the numbers. Finally, she hand entered the numbers in her little magic wand--which took a while--and gave me my package. I started to mention her brain power to my postmistress, but decided it might be a good way to get future packages delivered to a road ditch.

[gew98]

The tiny little PO about 3 miles from me is all but closed. There is one in 'town' 6.5 miles away and a couple other rual small offices all within 20 miles. Too many offices with too many federal employees..doing little to nothing. My local post mistress ( 3 miles away office ) get's paid as a postmaster and all the local offices to her have non postmaster rated people of many decades on th job running them. Non will relinquish their posts even those that have 30+ years and can retire in filthy lucre !. So basically when they axe this local office they will have to pay her for at minimum two years at postmaster pay & bennies even if all they have for her to do is sort mail. If this was NON union those 30 year selfish buggers would be forced to retire and make room for those behind them to get the chance to retire. But we all know the peter principle and fedgod loves it that way at our collective expense.

[1Shirt]

Just my opinion, for what ever it is worth: Don't need Sat. deliveries! Could probably be very content with Mon, Wed & Wed delivery! Lets face it, the Postal system is at best marginal, and the commercial delivery outfits are more efficient.
1Shirt!