Quote of the Day

“The real communication networks have to be 24/7,” Ms. Goldway said. “The Postal Service in fact should be expanding its accessibility and delivery capability to meet those needs. The long-term future of the Postal Service may be limited by their interest in reducing service today.”

I've posted before about the ol' Post Office, since I used to work for that august agency a while back. The last post discussed the possible curtailing of Saturday deliveries, and why I thought it was a bad idea - mostly because postal management is blowing smoke up our kiesters.

The Postal Regulatory Commission is set to hold hearings on July 12 on the subject and to submit recommendations (which basically means the USPS will get marching orders) on rates and future plans. Major mailers have geared up to argue their cases for or against ending delivery on Saturday.

But I really, really like the quote above from Ruth Y. Goldway, chairwoman of the regulatory commission. She just boiled the future of the USPS down in a nutshell.

If Postal Management gets their way, they've basically assured the long term dissolution of the Service. This should be an opportunity to position themselves for the future, rather than clinging to past strategies. Doing it "the way we've always done it" is comforting and maybe even secure for some of them short term, but it will be the death of the USPS in the long run. There will be cries to cut service even more to relieve the budget, because of lower revenues caused by crummier service. There will be no investment in new tech or even maintaining what they have because there won't be enough money. New strategies would require new attitudes from management and the unions - past practices ain't cuttin' it, people. Both sides need to grow a pair or three.

My 'ol Daddy (God rest his soul) used to say (and I hear him with his nuggets of wisdom daily, believe me) "Either piss or get off the pot." It's that time for the USPS.