The Beginning Of The End For The — страница 2

  • Просмотров 257
  • Скачиваний 5
  • Размер файла 17
    Кб

hope that the service would once again consider privatization. If the Postal Service did privatize, it would be the tenth largest company in the U.S. The USPS attempted reorganization again in 1983, and once more in 1993. Both attempted reorganizations failed miserably. The Zone Improvement Plan (ZIP) codes were introduced 1990?s; this code added 4 non-required digits, for 9 in all. Since 1958, the price of a postage stamp has increased in 1963. In the early by 825%, and in the last 20 years, that price has increased by 18 cents. On January 10, 1999, postage rates for non-profit organizations increased by an average of 9.6%, while business rates only increased by 1.79%. Is there some particular reasoning for the USPS to pick on non-profit organizations? So far, there is no proof

of this. There are over 39,000 post offices in the U.S., and about 130 million delivery points. The USPS processes about 38 million address changes annually. In some rural areas, mailboxes are placed as far as 40 miles away from the home, for the convenience of the deliverer and the inconvenience of the homeowner. This seems strange because UPS and FedEx both target rural areas. In fact, 40% of UPS? delivery spots are in rural areas. The Postal Service receives close to 50 times the amount of mail of FedEx and UPS combined. There are also some unfortunate laws that the Postal Service has helped Congress pass. By law, the mailbox that you buy and install on your property belongs to the government. The Postal Service reserves the right to cut across people?s lawns when delivering

mail and postal vehicles are immune from parking tickets. The USPS reserves the right to search the mail for ?contraband? ? something that looks funny or out of place. UPS and FedEx are both strongly against these so-called contraband searches. Federal Express and the United Parcel Service are the two main competitors the Postal Service, but there are also 300 other alternative delivery firms. By law, private companies must charge at least double the amount that the USPS would charge for the same letter. Furthermore, the USPS has its own police force that can search packages sent through competitors if it believes that the sender is violating the service?s monopoly laws. Of course, the USPS doesn?t do this as much anymore after a lot of bad press and over $0.5 million in fines.

Private companies, unlike the USPS, can?t just raise their prices because of increasing costs. How do these companies stay in business? Here?s how the employees compare: The average UPS employee moves three-times as fast as the average Postal deliverer, and the average FedEx employee moves twice as fast. There is one manager per 10 workers at the USPS, compared with one for every 15 at FedEx. Other ways to send letters without using the Postal Service include fax and e-mail. It is estimated that 43% of faxes represent a diversion of communications of the mail, and in the 1990?s, e-mail has also taken a chunk out of the Postal Service. The Postal Service is entirely exempt from complete compliance with the Occupational Safety & Health Administration. Basically, the OSHA may

not fine the Postal Service for unsafe working conditions. This should not be, because their employees do a lot of stressful, repetitive tasks. In fact, in 1994, Postal Employees counted for 29% of federal agencies working compensation claims. Also that year, the service paid over $521 million in workers compensation claims, death benefits, medical expenses, and other expenses. The Postal Service tried changing its public image in 1997, spending millions of dollars on ?What?s Your Priority?? ads for Priority Mail. In one month, they spent $275,000 on ads in the New York Times, telling the public how hard they will ?deliver for you?. The ads seemed to pay off though; they have generated more than a $500 million increase for Priority Mail. But unlike its competitors, Priority Mail

2-day delivery is not in any way guaranteed. In the Postal Services latest cry for attention, they have introduced a new ?Postal Notes? advertising campaign. These ads tell little known facts about the service. For example, one ad says that the Postal Service uses donkeys to deliver mail to the bottom of the Grand Canyon, bush pilots to deliver to the Arctic Circle, and mail-boats for along the bayous of Louisiana ? all for the price of a 33 cent stamp. These ads have cost about $12 million. The USPS also spent about $7 million to change their long outdated logo to the ?Sonic Eagle? in 1997, and almost $4 billion to put together over 5,000 pieces of automation equipment. The service spent $232.4 million of its $143 million budget on advertising, nearly $90 million over budget.