In the “Big Ideas” post earlier this month, there were several unique, out-of-the-box suggestions for helping the Postal Service right itself.
This week, we’ll explore five of those ideas and you can weigh in on each.
Here’s the first.
Here’s the first.
Instead of eliminating smaller Post Offices, as some have suggested, several commenters suggested ways of making these offices more efficient. One said this: “I work in a level-13 office and the hours don’t apply to this community anymore. I don’t need to be open for eight hours…5-6 hours is very sufficient here."
And then another commenter said this: “Establish a mobile Post Office, like a BookMobile. The Postmaster could travel to a town, sort the box mail, and then stay open for retail for two-three hours, then move to the next town.”
Another suggested this: “I've always thought we should be open for a couple hours in the morning, and then the Postmaster could go out and deliver mail and open for a couple more hours in the afternoon.”
And here's another. “Small town Post Offices could be open half-a-day or every other day so a Postmaster could work 2 offices in close proximity. It’s a reduction in service, sure, but the alternative might be no post office at all in small towns.”
What do you think? Is the idea smart? Are there some good benefits? Is there too much downside? Not enough upside? I want to know how you feel. Just be thoughtful and polite in your response.
Comment here.
Comment here.
24 comments:
I think running two offices with fewer window hours is a good idea with one exception. I do all my reports, training etc. during my quiet time & if the window is only open for a few hours a day in each office it may become difficult to get all the paperwork done if the window is always busy.
I work in an office that has a CPO that operates in a town where the post office was closed. There is some inconvience but for the most part it works. I agree with the first post, if you do work out of two offices...there will be some savings but you would also need to bring in your PMR to cover the counter while you are in training or telecons.
There is no way I could open the Post Office up, sort all the mail, put up the PO Box mail, then case the route (all this in between customers)then go out and deliver the mail 87 miles with 340 boxes. Then, re-open do my paper work, wait on a few more customers who are always waiting for the window to open, answer all the e-mails and respond etc. Oh by the way this is a level 13 office.
I am a level 13 also. Yes there are a few days that I think I could possible go and do something else in the down time but the majority of the time there wouldn't be anyway I could cram anything else in. I like the thought of a traveling Postmaster but by the time they would pay the mileage and our wage it would defeat the purpose.
Perhaps....if the traveling person was a clerk and the PM maintained the home front. That would allow the PM time to do the training and paper work?
None of those 5 comments are good. There is no need for Postmasters. They are only figureheads anyway. The real orders come from districts. The local PO should be run by the 4 or 5 senior clerks. The carrier section should be run by the 4 or 5 senior carriers. That system uses the brains and experience of clerks and carriers with 25 or more years experience and allows everyone to be elevated to higher level positions and higher retirement pensions
I would like to make what the senior clerks make. I am a level 13 Postmaster. I am the senior and only clerk. I make about 5.00 less per hour than the clerks at the neighboring larger Post Office. If I had known that only 3 out of the past 6 years I would not get a raise I would have never became a Postmaster. This Pay for Performance is terrible for the smaller offices. I do way more than I ever did as a senior clerk.
These are some good ideas but in the scheme of things I don't see a PM being able to deliver a route in a truly rural area and do all the other things. If you split shifts between 2 smaller offices the paperwork would need to be less or they won't get things done. Nobody wants to close the smaller post offices but if they can't meet their expenses then we have to do something. No other business is still in business when they couldn't meet expenses. (except the government)
Instead of closing offices why don't we keep the hours the same as they are now, just put one Postmaster in charge of two or three offices. The Postmaster could spend two days in one office a week, two days in another office and one day it the other one. We would have the PMR's work on the days that they are out of that office. We would actually be able to hire a PMR then because you could give them more than a couple hours a week. You would eliminate two Postmaster's pay and benefits and only be paying a PMR an hourly rate.
The most complaints I see are people who work outside their small town are unable to meet the PO's hours. Our 8-5 hours do not work for these situations. The PO should be flexible in their hours. Try some that are open later say 11-7. Postmasters have a lot of community awareness. district should consider these options before loading a PM with two offices. And the idea of 4-5 clerks, There is no oversight with that and not a good idea.
Interesting ideas. The idea of opening a few hours then delivering the mail wasn't meant for delivering to rural routes, but to deliver to customers in town that now have to have PO Boxes. Many can't get in to pick up mail except Saturday and with lots of elderly people it would be a great convenience. The writer who suggests clerks & carriers should run the post offices should remember than most postmasters began as a clerk or carrier so they know what they are doing. In addition they must know how to do all the reports, etc. that clerks don't handle. And as an acting supervisor for clerks & carriers I learned some are good at their jobs and some need constant supervision or they won't do anything. I think we will see lots of small offices close if the PMG gets Congress to approve the changes he wants. Instead of closing offices I think customers would prefer even part-time hours. Also DUR is coming - it's already being implemented in some areas. That's when they remove all routes from 16 and below offices, relocate them to nearby 18 & above offices, then the smaller offices are down-graded and only have PO Box delivery. That would make the idea of operating 2 or more offices by one postmaster more feasible. It ain't perfect but I suppose it would be better than no post office at all!
Excellent comment- one Postmaster in charge of two or three offices and giving the PMR more time and experience to one day step into a Postmaster position.
We all know that something will be done so that the Post Office can save money. I just hope that Headquarters will REALLY look at what is best for us AND our customers when they make this decision. I did agree with letting the PMR's work more hours. They don't get enough training if they don't work often enough. I don't think it would be wise to cut hours from the window. We have a variety of customers who can only come during different hours in the day. Our job is here for CUSTOMER SERVICE! We need to remember that. I'm glad that everyone is getting a chance to comment....everyone's thoughts count and maybe collectively we can find an answer! Have a good day y'all!
my opinion is this, I don't think that small towns need a post office the revenue just isn't there if anything give them a cluster of mail boxes a dispenser for stamps and a place to mail their letters if they have a package maybe give them another attomated system that lets them weigh it and get charged and get a printed stamp no need to have an office someone sitting there thats all money that don't need to be displaced and as for the post master going to different office Ha! I'd like to see a survey on how many would actually do it thats money to for mileage!
getting pmr's to work more hours isn't fair neither just because they get paid less would be the only reason and alot of them only took the job for part time so thats not a good idea most of them don't really want more hours and they do almost everything that a post master would do crazy that they get alot less pay! and no benefits
I think we need to educate some USPS employees on WHY the postal system was set up. It was not about making money...it was about knitting a nation together with a reliable, trust-worthy system of communication. If our electronic systems fail (as they do in emergencies) the postal SERVICE is the only venue to disseminate news, etc. The rural areas (thus small post offices) are in need of postmasters with experience...there are no supervisors across the building - and customers need someone to help them that KNOWS the products/services we sell. And who do you think delivers the mail that comes from the offices that are "making expenses?" Without the delivery out here, those post offices wouldn't make the money either.
I believed the comment about PMR's doing what the postmaster does until I got my first OIC (after I had become first a TE clerk and then a PTF clerk / carrier. The comment about having the 4 or 5 clerks run the office; nice if you can find a clerk willing to work. I am an exempt level 16 PM with 4 routes and haven't had a clerk in nearly a year. Try calling around for clerk help. They're less willing to float than you think. When I was a clerk / carrier I traveled as far as 75 miles to work; routinely put in 50+ hours a week and 50,000 miles on my car in a year. These kids today don't seem to want anything beyond paying for their insurance. I took an obvious pay cut to become the PM but still don't regret it. And my customer's don't hear me complain about all the free time the PO is getting; my job is customer service first and foremost and that's what my town is getting.
Post offices do need Postmasters. We are the ones that handle customer complaints and deal with employee issues. If you have 4 or 5 clerks running an office, I can see all kinds of problems when more than one of them wants off or when 1 or 2 decide they have more authority than the rest. Most clerks do not understand all the "behind the scenes" paperwork that postmasters do.
Being from a rural community and a level 13 office as well, I know we need to be here 8 hours a day. We still have a school, bank, and medical clinic as our larger businesses, but the really small offices that are currently open only 2 hours a day, and serve maybe only 5-10 PO Boxes and most if not all of them are free boxes, should have been closed along time ago. I have worked in them as well and I know that you cannot survive selling no more than $10-25 a WEEK! Leaving them open is absolutly crazy and always has been. I also believe there should be NO such thing as a free PO Box!
I was OIC in a neighboring office for a few months and still trying to keep tabs on my own office with my PMR working. It was difficult and stressful, but I did it. I would be willing to oversee another office, possibly a Level 11 or 13, just not for the same Level 15 pay I'm getting now.
If you have an office that is run by clerks....and one of the clerks gets mad because they didn't get the day off they wanted...who do they file the grievance with? I can only see who the union would look at that? Probably stick some PM 30 miles down the road because they have "over sight" on the office but not making the decsions. That would be kaos!! Why not convert the smaller offices, like 11 and below to CPO/CPU and have them all report to the head office. I could easlier do that for 4-5 offices without that much of an increase in costs in my office.
I am in a Level 55, extremely rural office. I drive 45 miles to work each day and drive right past a Level 53 office. I could easily open the Level 53 office 2 hours in the morning, continue to my Level 55 for 4 hours and then back to the Level 53 for 1 1/2 in the afternoon. My office is 60 miles from the nearest town and my customers really appreciate the service they get. I would hate to lose this office due to lack of profitability because it exemplifies the meaning of "universal sevice"
what I have read, tells me that there are alot of postal people wanting the hours for the pay and benifits, they truly don't have all that paper work, most of the work is on the computer, and we probably only have 2 confrences a month. If we are going to save the postal service then we need to put our needs a side and all contribute to saving money.
I am a PMR level 16 currently serving as OIC at a level 13. I BEG for hours and have driven however many miles it takes to learn and serve. Yes some PMRs only want part time but there are those of us who look at this as a stepping stone to a full time job. I DO know what a PM does as I do the same work for less money and no benefits. I look forward to coming to work everyday. Number one because I enjoy what I do and number two because the people in my level 13 office are appreciative of what I do for them. My motto is "wake up looking forward to everyday. How can that be wrong?"
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