Comments on: Postal Service Advised to Steer Customers Online

By: Postal Watchdog

Postal Watchdog — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 05:24:27 +0000

No clerk makes $38.71/hour. I do believe this is a blatant ’sound bite’ to garner attention to an otherwise thought-provoking set of possibilities, as the USPS moves into the ‘future.’

In fact, no other postal craft worker makes that much money per hour, and most line supervisors do not, either. It is time to stop blaming the American worker for having a decent middle-class wage, with benefits.

Let us focus on sensible, modern approaches to satisfying customer needs. Postal clerks that I’ve dealt with are quite good at their jobs in spite of back-room politics with their bonus-seeking managers. Just as there are good and bad in all job segments, so to it is the same with postal clerks and managers. How about we applaud those doing a good job instead of always finding ways to recognize a lousy job?

The American public loves having Universal delivery in the form of a human being, and to be able to deal with a human being in a window situation. There are also many folks who love to do their business over the Internet. Let’s serve BOTH sets of customers and leave employee salaries out of it.

BTW, it can be verified– using the Internet– just how much a postal clerk ON AVERAGE makes. Especially since not even the most “senior” clerk will be making “$38.71 per hour.” Why is it that only postal employees get their benefits (supposedly) rolled into their hourly wage? When is the last time we heard this kind of misrepresentation with other public servants? Military? Newspaper employees? Nurses? Teachers? Drop the money sound bite and get to work on the real matters at hand. Saving the American Public’s right to an inexpensive, Universally delivered postal system.

By: common sense

common sense — Wed, 21 May 2008 17:39:30 +0000

Ohio, that is the workhour rate for window clerks which includes their benefits as well as their salary. Remember that customer service is every body’s job not just management.

By: Goldie7

Goldie7 — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 14:40:31 +0000

Okay, so you will want to let them use the net and submit these things via phone…I think that would be great! Why should I as a carrier not be able to accept a hold over the phone when I can tell by the voice etc that it’s them!~
Yes, that is a problem..We need to have more options for customers. The parcel lockers would be a great idea for the customers to p/up parcels. What about when they need to sign for them though? Would they be able to do that at the same time?..Conveniance is everything now. People want immediate satisfaction. That being said management should let the customer speak directly more often w/ the carrier , unless they are requesting a superivisor. The customers do feel connected to their carriers. We as their carriers want to meet the needs of them , getting 2nd hand info is not always that accurate..
Sorry to be long.

By: Ohio

Ohio — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 09:57:19 +0000

No wonder they recommend these moves…they need to re do the math and it maybe a purposeful mistake to misleed the public into thinking that we really make this much to anger them that already resent us because of the mismanagement issues of purposely understaffing at the window to push customers and not using air conditioning in postal lobbies to make the customer uncomfortable to the stupid question asked repeatedly to avoid bad mystery shopper scores which are so time consuming as the lines continually are out the door…back to the math $38.71 where did they pull that number from… the most senior clerk in the post office only makes $24 something an hour at the Post Office and they usually have enough seniority to stay away from the front window …which teh post office doesn’t really want anyway they keep mismanaging it so customers are going to keep going to the competition like they did with parcel post and express mail then as they have in the past try to get the business back it will be to late then with the loss in revenue postage stamps for first class mail will be $1.00…don’t think it can’t or won’t happen. If we still had the parcel business that they thought was a burden and two companies seemed to flouish doing it (UPS and FEDEX) we could have used that revenue to absorb money because of rising fuel costs ect. instead of cont. raising rates which will end the end be our undoing.

By: Cliff

Cliff — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 06:47:42 +0000

Postal Service,

If you’d get a program for the Mac Computer owners you’d be saying something and generating more revenue immediately! Who was the mental Giant that overlooked
This aspect of a revenue source?

Learning from competitors doesn’t hurt either. But first you must have one that knows what’s needed!
And have to quite buying stuff that I hear from a friend that doesn’t work very well, the recent scanners is a example! At least correct the flaws that I hear occurs each and every day!
My biggest Pet Peeve is, as a consumer I cannot access any of your shipping services at many web sites whom I do business with off and on. Why don’t you correct this major problem first as a starter!
I can’t ship by the Postal Service is not there?
Or they use someone exclusively. All available avenues of parcel shipping companies should be

Lastly is… why don’t you go down in the trenches and ask workers to find out what needs to be corrected as my friend tells me!
You might get 100 goofy ideas and or suggestions, but one may be the golden egg? Boeing does this all the time. When you treat someone as an asset vs. the problem, you won’t get very far.
Or tell me—- DO YOU REALLY WANT TO MAKE A GO OF IT?

Because the way you treat the customers, it appears as if you don’t want to bothered. Closing stations, removing Mail drop boxes, and not staffing enough people so we can get in and out. Hey I know it cost $$.

But word of mouth of ‘good fast service’ will pass around equally as the bitching and complaining I hear those standing in lines for sometimes an hour or better !