The postal service can fix ONE big problem~rant

[pkz]

I live in a little unincorporated town in West Virginia, a town that has 183 households.
Surrounding our rehabbed coal camp are 10 more just like this one...10 post offices in a 10 mile radius? Talk about cost efficiency
Each town has a post office with boxes, we have to use them, no home delivery, as a matter of fact, we had to pay for the service until I wrote endless letters...

They pay outrageous rent for the building, hire out the mowing, snow removal, and tree trimming
The postmaster could deliver all of this town's mail in a hour,she told me that she has to sell a certain amount of stamps in order to keep the building open????? wha? you can buy stamps anywhere and honestly a book of stamps lasts me for 3 mos. This post office has ONE, yes ONE parking space. Why do they keep these places open?

What a total waste of money.

And...don't even get me started on our address, it is not standardized, our address is the POB...after 9/11 Homeland Security requires as physical address, ok...we all get street addresses....but it is not REALLY our legal address the dang box is...in order to renew my drivers license, a process that took 8 weeks, I had to produce utility bills with the physical address on them, changed all the addresses on those and get this....the postmaster returned them along with my bank statement because it is not REALLY my address.
Forget about UPS or FEDEX deliveries, they can never validate my address and they do not deliver to PO Boxes.

Close these little money sucking post offices and start home delivery!

[muffin1]

1. We have the same problems where we live.

We, too, have a PO Box. It makes ordering anything online dang near impossible. Everyone freaking wants a physical address, but the Post Office sends everything back that doesn't have our PO Box number on it. I have to get my license renewed in a few months, too...x(

[Sal Minella]

2. For a few years I've been giving my address with BOTH, i.e.

.
.
Fanny Oldphart
P.O. Box 000
000 Gravel Drive Lane
City Zip State

My last FedEx delivery arrived eight days after the estimated delivery date, but at least it got here.

Last time I ordered from Widget Corporation the box was delivered by FedEx truck -- yesterday, it was at my post office, after I e-mailed Widget asking for a refund.

[muffin1]

3. I've been doing that, too. With mixed results...

And...Fanny Oldphart? :rofl:

[pkz]

4. I have tried the one line trick

000 Square Circle Box 00
City, WV Zip

and it does work for utility bills but still not for online buying

[pkz]

5. I thought it was my area only...they could save a fortune

[truedelphi]

8. What a nightmare! n/t

[sarcasmo]

6. They should have outsourced this to FedEX and UPS back in the 90's,

[alfredo]

7. The post office has tried closing small offices but powerful

congress critters have blocked it. Of course those same assholes complain about wasteful government spending.

In my Post Office we made the change from PO box to real addresses. It wasn't a future 911 that convinced them, but 911 response by fire, police, and EMS that pushed the change.

What used to mess with us was they would use PO box 000 but wouldn't put the Rural Route number. So it could be one of eight PO boxes. Usually the carrier knows the names of the people on their route, so they would know to ask other RR carriers if they have a Mr Paul Dipshit at PO box 000.

Many RR customers would put no name, no number on their box, then would complain if a piece of mail gets mis-delivered to their rusty, jagged edged, wasp infested box.

I was a rural route and city carrier. I also worked as a clerk for some time.

[truedelphi]

9. Thanks for posting your concerns.

People who have a working Postal System in their area cannot fathom how awful it is when you live in an area where the Post Office doesn't work.

When I lived in Marin County, just for amusement's sake, I sent myself a letter from the city of Larkspur. It took over six days to go from Larkspur to Sausalito (A drive of some fifteen mins) Just because the mail has to be routed up to Novato or Petaluma first and then back down!

Sausalito has a beautiful Post Office, and it has skylights right above the workers heads (Well probably a good twenty feet above their heads.)

So does the Post Office use a system of windows that open and close to pull in the delectable weather? No, of course not - they have cooling system in the summer to offset the overhead skylight windows, and heating in the winter. When just opening the windows and letting the outdoor weather in would solve the problem much of the time.