Cut Saturday Mail... makes sense to me

[Peacetrain]

This is not an economy we want to be cutting jobs in.. so if we go to 5 days a week mail service and it keeps the USPS in the black.. go for it.

I can give you a great reason for cutting Saturday service. I will not have mail sitting in my box over the weekend when I go out of town.. That always bothers me, and my brother drives a half hour into town to pick up my mail.

Occams Razor might be the best approach here

http://money.cnn.com/2010/03/02/news/economy/usps/index.htm?hpt=T1

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Snail mail might soon get even slower.

The U.S. Postal Service plans to propose Tuesday an adjusted mail service schedule, which will likely cut Saturday delivery. The agency will also suggest closing some branches and expanding its use of self-service kiosks in grocery stores and other popular retail spots, as part of its effort to work its way out of a mountain of debt.


USPS posted a $3.8 billion loss in its 2009 fiscal year, the latest in a multiyear string of whopping losses. Mail volume was down 12.7% for the year, a trend the agency expects to continue over the next decade as more consumers opt for online bill payments and message delivery.

[DrDan]

1. how about cutting Tues or Wed

instead of no-mail 2 days in a row

[KansDem]

7. I might be tempted to suggest Friday

When I get home from work on Friday and there's an important business matter I have to tend to, I really can't do anything until Monday since the offices might be closed over the weekend. Might as well get the notice on Saturday...

[DrDan]

10. I could certainly live with that also

Friday evening is not the time to deal with anything coming in the mail. Saturday mail-delivery is certainly soon enough,

[Auggie]

2. "Mail volume was down 12.7% for the year"

The effects of technology. Business changes -- makes sense to me to too.

[NJmaverick]

3. Cutting a day will make Netflix users unhappy

[graywarrior]

4. When I lived in NH, I picked up my mail once or twice a week at the PO

I could live without getting mail all week. Deliver it on Wednesdays and be done with it for the rest of the week.

[Frustratedlady]

5. My Saturday mail is almost always junk. Nothing of consequence.

Then, on Monday, I'm hit with double the usual amount of regular mail.

It's fine with me. Let them spend time with their families.

[Renew Deal]

6. You can put your mail on hold, even for a day.

No one needs to pick it up for you. You tell the post office the dates you want them to hold it for, and then they deliver everything when you get back. It's free. Here's the link: https://holdmail.usps.com/holdmail/landingView.do

[msongs]

8. as long as they reduce postage costs proportionately otherwise it's a scam nt

[Not Me]

9. I have advocated every other day for a long time.

One side of town gets MWF, the other side TThS.
There isn't anything that I get in the mail that can't wait one day.

[johnnie]

11. Personally one less day wouldn't bother me

But what about all the postal workers? Would this mean a cut in pay for all of them?

[RaleighNCDUer]

12. Would it really create a saving overall?

If Saturday mail is bundled in with Sunday and Monday, the mailbags will be 30-50% heavier on Monday, causing more back injuries for postal delivery workers - the single largest cause of workman's comp claims in the postal system. So to save the costs of delivery on a given day you get a dozen extra back injuries a week - costing hundreds of thousands of dollars, whether from paid time off for minor injuries to surgery and long-time rehabilitation for herniated discs.

When I was a kid, we got mail delivery twice a day, once on Saturday, and stamps were $.06. When the PO stopped twice-a-day delivery, back injuries overtook dog bites as the primary cause of PO workman's comp.

I have to wonder if there will really be any savings.

[high density]

13. "even slower?"

Has CNN used the post office lately? I have no problem at all with their speed of service. Even media mail is usually fast these days.