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Rooney On The Post Office

October 4, 2009 5:00 PM

Andy Rooney has gotten wind of potential changes to the postal service and he's not a fan.

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by November 26, 2009 12:12 AM EST
Want to hear two more reasons why USPS is losing money?

1) We were recently given a service talk mentioning that the USPS is installing GPS units (TRACKING, not navigation) in all letter carrier vehicles. Our right hand drive vehicles are over 20 years old. We have vehicles that need repairs. USPS says that the move is to determine fuel usage and for safety. WAIT a minute! We're given scanners in which we have to scan up to 9 bar codes per day TELLING management EXACTLY where we are at any given point of the day.

2) I just found out today that the plant will be implementing a "green tag" program. If a tray of SORTED mail from the plant has a green tag, that carrier has to verify (check every single piece) in that tray and pull out all misorted mail (which we do on the street during delivery) and it has to be manually sorted by our clerks BEFORE we leave out on the street. Verifying a tray can take up to 20 minutes (can be up to nearly 500 pieces in one tray). This is a WASTE of time and money because now every carrier has to be delayed because of this "idea." Instead of the plant getting the mail sorted correctly (they can actually point out where the mistakes are, but don't fix them), they dump the work on us letter carriers as if we don't have enough to do.

USPS management has done everything to eliminate service. It's the letter carriers, clerks, and mail handlers who are trying to keep service.
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by popcarule November 6, 2009 8:08 PM EST
as a 27 year rural carrier for the usps i can tell you what the problem is with the service in 2 words INCOMPETANT MANAGEMENT. Until the last few years the problem had not affected the rural craft as much as the others. But that has changed and now we are seeing bigger than ever losses. we are being managed to death! the workers are being harrassed by managers who try to enforce rules they do not follow. they allow postmasters and other managment to use thier position to show favoritism to certain employees then wonder why everyone doesnt just accept it. They will do something knowing it is wrong just hoping you wont file a greivance but if you do and they loose, which they almost always do, then there is no punishment for them, and they just keep on. there is absolutley no accountability. even for falsifying records of pay and every other level of reporting. even when the district managers are notified nothing is done. most of the good people will leave the service as soon as they can because they dont like the fraud and terrible customer service we are being forced to give in order to meet the bosses bonuses, or just the atta boy that will do it for some of these egomaniacs.in our office if all the employees with a concious could afford to leave the PM would have the employee base he so deserves, unfortunatley the community would have to suffer the consequences.
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by popcarule November 6, 2009 8:08 PM EST
as a 27 year rural carrier for the usps i can tell you what the problem is with the service in 2 words INCOMPETANT MANAGEMENT. Until the last few years the problem had not affected the rural craft as much as the others. But that has changed and now we are seeing bigger than ever losses. we are being managed to death! the workers are being harrassed by managers who try to enforce rules they do not follow. they allow postmasters and other managment to use thier position to show favoritism to certain employees then wonder why everyone doesnt just accept it. They will do something knowing it is wrong just hoping you wont file a greivance but if you do and they loose, which they almost always do, then there is no punishment for them, and they just keep on. there is absolutley no accountability. even for falsifying records of pay and every other level of reporting. even when the district managers are notified nothing is done. most of the good people will leave the service as soon as they can because they dont like the fraud and terrible customer service we are being forced to give in order to meet the bosses bonuses, or just the atta boy that will do it for some of these egomaniacs.in our office if all the employees with a concious could afford to leave the PM would have the employee base he so deserves, unfortunatley the community would have to suffer the consequences.
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by justamule55 November 3, 2009 9:26 PM EST
Andy, Thanks for having our backs as American Workers. I am one of those people fighting for my job. I have been with the postal service for 12 years and now am being as I call it "transplanted" into another office where from my understanding they do not have a position for me. I have worked my feet and fingers to the bone for a company that only sees the bottom line dollar! Execs get pay for performance bonuses. that is make your workers perform better and we will pay "YOU!" what is this service coming to!?
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by kooljazz1966 October 9, 2009 12:23 PM EDT
As a recently U.S. Army retired now City Carrier Transitional Employee (TE), I must say this piece was very true and refreshing to view. Andy I hope you delve deeper into the USPS's situation. The USPS never got a bailout, never asked for one or expected one. As a neophyte to the USPS, just finished my 90 day probationary period this week, I feel the Feds forcing the USPS to front/pre-fund retirement compensation accounts upfront is the ultimate nail in the coffin. No fiscally responsible organization that I can recall operates that way. Again, I'm not an reknown economist; I'm a boots on the ground blue collar God fearing American that loves this country and it's way of life.

Kudos,

Ken Figueroa
MSG, USA (RET)
San Antonio, TX
Thousand Oaks Station
"Work smarter not harder!"
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by ukbasketnea October 7, 2009 6:57 PM EDT
The best value in our country today is a first class stamp at the cost of .44 cents. You can mail your letter and that is the end of the cost. You will not have a monthly computer payment, internet bill, electricity bill and possible telephone or cable bill if you have to tie your internet in a bundle package to get online. Plus while online you need internet security to keep the hackers from getting your personal identity.
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by firstmagnitude October 7, 2009 6:26 PM EDT
When I worked at the post office some 20 years ago, I was told that automation was some 20 to 30 years behind what Europe had in place at the time. Why? Because the postal unions did not want change for fear of job losses. With all those dues (revenue) potentially being lost, why would the postal union wanted things changed to where your mail was delivered more accurately and rapidly. That doesn't pay or sustain the unions.
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by TouchMeGreetings October 7, 2009 1:28 PM EDT
Once again Andy Rooney puts it in terms that make so much sense! TouchMeGreetings.com and SendOut Cards uses technology to make personally reaching out to people more convenient than ever!
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by kathie1216 October 7, 2009 9:03 AM EDT
Hi Andy!! Great story! If the citizens of our country do not like any of the options that the Postal Service has on the table to cut costs, we have to change that. More & more people are communicating by e-mail, paying their bills on-line & even sending e-cards; the Postal Service does not have much of a choice due to the huge decline in mail volume. I always send my bills through the mail, use e-mail very sparingly and everyone loves to get a card that shows a little bit of effort that you are thinking of them. For years people have saved their letters & cards (memories); what will they do now? The Postal Service is history, then & now, that made our country and we have to try & preserve that. I was in the post office one day & heard a very irritated customer complaining about the cost of a stamp. The clerk could not calm this person down no matter what explaination she gave the woman. A supervisor came out to the lobby and tried to explain the 2 cent increase to no avail. He finally said to her, "Where can you go to send a letter across the country & pay 44 cents?" I say....Good point!!! I wish that everyone could see what a typical letter goes through to get to it's destination. It AMAZES me that we only pay 44 cents!!! Remember that it is trucked and flown....talk about cheap; good thing that we are not having to pay the full cost of a gallon of gas to get it there! What this letter comes down to is that our country, businesses & families, are all in a financial downturn. If you do not like the changes that have to be made to keep the Postal Service afloat, then do your part & look at what you do every day. We all like to complain about what we have, but what if we didn't have it anymore? Thank you, Mr. Rooney! Kathie-Cape Coral, FL
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by rupertmom October 6, 2009 10:27 PM EDT
My grandfather, a retired mail carrier who loved his career, passed away exactly one year ago on 10/4, when this segment aired.

We think he was sending us a "letter" from the "big post office in the sky" as he used to call his version of heaven when he was alive. Andy delivered the message.

Thanks, Poppy. We miss you, too.
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by sgtsloop October 6, 2009 8:28 PM EDT
Well said, Andy, but the mail I receive in my mail box is addressed to XXXX or current resident. At least my e-mail is addressed to me and is from someone I know.
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by abbyrhode1 October 6, 2009 6:25 PM EDT
Mr. Rooney,
I enjoyed listening to your comments on the US Postal Service. The personal frustrationI have with the Postal Service is as follows: Some official postal person has removed all the mailboxes from my immediate neighborhood. I loved walking to the mailbox, silly as it may sound. Always an opportunity to walk the dog and run into neighbors you don't often see. I loved sending my children on one of their first big "solo trips", to the mailbox. To them it was an adventure. To me, a safe and important errand. I remember being entrused with this errand as a child and I passed it on to my kids. They are now young adults and have noticed the absence of mailboxes..."what's up with that?" was their question.
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by amdevine10 October 6, 2009 3:10 PM EDT
One more thing! Why does the post office need to spend money advertising and mailing out millions of order by mail flyers?...every week I get one. Everyone is well aware that the post office exists, but no one wants to visit one. The lines are long, the employees' low morale shows, and the parking is bad. It's easier to use UPS and Fedex from work than to try and send something from the post office.
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by amdevine10 October 6, 2009 2:59 PM EDT
It's not a matter of "liking" the postal workers or the work of the post office, it is a business...and a VERY poorly run one. The USPS is in so many different businesses that I would agree with the woman who says that the "suits" don't know what they are doing. For example, they are competing with small direct marketers and are now in the "send out cards" business. I have a hard time believing that all of these little entities are making money. Additionally, how in the heck did the post office get the Cradle to Cradle Certification. I ordered stamps ONCE on-line and every quarter I get a 34 page odd-sized, full-color magazine advertising all of their stamps. As a marketer, I know this is very expensive to produce. I don't want this magazine, have tried to stop it, but it keeps coming. Now, I'm getting an equally expensive piece for marketers that I never asked for. My husband and I have a small partnership and all of sudden that is getting junk mail by the post office. This is total waste and contributes to its $3 billion loss a year. Someone who knows how to manage a company needs to step in and take over.
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by donw68 October 6, 2009 12:09 PM EDT
Andy, you are off base on this. They need to close many of the P.O.'s that are currently open. Times have changed since these P.O.'s were opened. You now have UPS & Fed-Ex delivering package Every grocery store and bank sells stamps and other postal items, private shipping stores are on every other corner, e-mail, texting and the convenience of cell phones has replaced many letters, the computer has replaced many mail ads and catalogues and every new neighborhood being built has community mailboxes with slots for sending mail. You can even go online for pre paid postage for packages and have the mail person pick them up at your door. It is time for the post office and you to become part of the new technology and adapt accordingly.
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by Tour1MPE October 6, 2009 9:16 AM EDT
Over the 23 years I've worked at the Post Office, I've seen the decline in knowledgeable competent supervisors to what we have today. A good old boy network that congress will be proud of. Most of these morons can't even operate the machines, much less manage the people who do. I can't tell you how many times I've been called to a machine supposedly "not working" to find the problem was the supervisor hasn't loaded the sort plan or has loaded the wrong one or something equally stupid, like the supervisor who unplugged the computer to plug in his radio and then calls me to fix the machine. Most supervisors have little or no understanding of how the mail flows through their departments. We now have upper management who I remember from when they worked the floor, who were the biggest waste products back then. In our department we have exactly 1 maintenance qualified supervisor left on all 3 tours. All the rest are operations morons who have no understanding of the job whatsoever. When you try to explain a problem to these people, they look at you with a tilt of the head and the deer in the headlight look. I have a copy of a memo from our department head to all MPE's and ET's that if we are having a problem with a machine, the first thing we should do is check the fuses because they may be weak. (Those of you who have knowledge of machinery will understand why I shake my head at this.) This mentality (or lack of) goes right up the chain of command. You no longer have to be qualified to be a supervisor, but you do have to be willing to harass those under you. There is a severe morale problem that management either doesn't recognize or doesn't care about that effects productivity. Our MDO (our parking Nazi) who makes $80,000 a yr. spends more time in the parking lot looking for people parked illegally than he does inside the building running the plant. Our plant manager, in a game of CYA, has the trailers of mail waiting to be processed, moved around the yard to different spaces and the colored daily placards on the trailers changed so no one can tell what mail is late and delayed. In an effort to save money (and increase his bonus) our department head has eliminated many service routes on the machinery. I guess he never saw that old Texaco commercial "you can pay me now, or you can pay me more later". Many of these routes include mail searches of the equipment which leaves mail inside the machinery for days on end, and thus delayed. You can rarely find our supervisor because she spends most of her time out in the supervisors parking lot making out with her lesbian lover, or out on one of many coffee runs. Nothing will ever be done about these problems because from the top down, there isn't any accountability, not just in my office, but everywhere in the P.O. it seems. My wife, who is a window supervisor, has shared with me some of the memos that have come across her desk and some of the jewels that have come out of these "town meetings" as her boss likes to call them. Customer service has become a thing of the past. I have seen memos from our district manager, that we are no longer to give pieces of tape,
elastics, or other supplies to our customers at the window, but to sell them these needed supplies instead. Can you imagine the customers reaction being told they have to buy a roll of tape for that little piece they need? Management has shortened the window hours and installed an "automated self service kiosk". This kiosk intimidates most of our older customers. You can see their frustration when they try to operate it. They've also removed from the lobby, all our stamp vending machines. When the window is closed, you can no longer by a single stamp, you have to buy an entire book from the kiosk if you wish to post that letter immediately. Managements shortsightedness and incompetence,from HQ on down is what's going to doom the postal service, not the reduction in first class mail volume.

is going to doom the postal service
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by sfsdc1 October 6, 2009 2:58 AM EDT
Andy,

I am a total tech geek but really like your vlog...I mean video. There is something awesome about mail - something tangible. I combined both with an iPhone app that turns any photo into a postcard that is delivered by a mailman to a mailbox. Now, I still like getting emails but these shoot it postcards make me reminiscent of days gone by.
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by checkreality October 5, 2009 11:28 PM EDT
My mailman was caught using our community center office computer to order his viagra. He forgot to take the printout.

Look into the monies that are being abused. Address the number of mental breakdowns.

When were those pictures of the mailmen taken, 50 years ago? Don't they looked a bit staged?
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by suzzey10 October 5, 2009 11:28 PM EDT
thank you so much please every1 write just 1 letter a month to a loved 1 or friend there is nothing cheaper for communication then a stamp puters use electic you know
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by mendeldunn October 5, 2009 8:18 PM EDT
Dear Andy, Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Even the Post Office doesn't realize how important they are! There is something VERY special about a letter. With all the advertisement about shipping and convenience, yes these are so important, especially to stay competitive, but what about the importance of connection. Real connection with people. And civility, and etiquette. Things that last and outlast. The Postal Service need heed these opportunities to remind the world of it's importance in staying connected effectively. The value of a letter, so simple but profound. Getting an email or text message cannot compare in any way to receiving a letter. Emphasize that, Postal Service, and increase your letter volume and revenue!
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