Leave it to the government to find the best way to poke us in the eye with a sharp stick.

I guess they think it will make the 45 minutes I waited in line last week seem shorter.

This may also give them an excuse for when packages "guaranteed" to arrive by a certain time get there late. "Sorry, we don't have a clock anymore. We didn't know it had been a week."

"The post office is not a casino. People aren't going to lose themselves in the fun and mail more letters than they'd originally intended."

nice one meg! perhaps they need to install slot machines that pay you in stamps?

Next thing they will do is remove windows, just like the casinos!

I'm almost in awe of how ridiculously stupid this is. It's incredible.

I wish I had a reason to go to the Post Office. Then I could take a full sized, battery powered wall clock with me and keep checking it.

A useless, deplorable, government-sponsored monopoly.

Allow FedEx/UPS/DHL and anyone else to tender for contracts allowing them access to the postal mailboxes that are currently the exclusive domain of the USPS. Watch the USPS shrivel and die like the worthless refuse that it is.

One day.

Perhaps if their stamp vending machines weren't so damned difficult to use, people wouldn't wait that long...

The other day, the person in front of me dropped coins in and they kept coming out...he gave up and got in line. I tried and got the same result. Then I pushed the code for the stamp I wanted and then the machine took my money :P

I think that bluegus32's user icon is from the webcomic Least I Could Do makes his comment all the better.

At the post office I always used in my hometown, they had a sign that said "Service in 5 minutes or you get a free stamp!" I got at least four free stamps. Then they took the clocks down.

@Rectilinear Propagation:

Ha! You could do like Flava Flav and wear it around your neck.

I guess he has people who can go to the post office for him, though.

I waited nearly an hour last week just to mail a 10oz package. There was only one USPS worker, I guess they should concentrate on hiring more workers than taking down clocks, but then again maybe they plan on selling those clocks to pay wages to new clerks.

@Rectilinear Propagation: Skip the wall-clock, and go for a giant-sized novelty stopwatch. Click the button when you step into the line, then show them exactly how much time you waited.

Better still, get a bunch of cheap stopwatches at the dollar store or wherever and hand them out to other patrons as they enter.

If they're going to be like casinos, does that mean free cocktails? If so, I might start going to the post office again.

Hooray for government monopolies!!!

I noticed this at my local NY DMV recently. When I looked around to see what time it was, there wasn't a single clock in the place. I even peered through the 3 inches of bullet-proof glass to the employee area beyond.

Coincidence?

@Danilo: Completely agree. Time to privatize the postal service.

I don't know about privatization -- the post office's mandate is to serve all citizens; what about unprofitable rural areas? Private co's won't want to deliver there.

Privatization: A subsidy could work, I suppose. Vermont pays Amtrak a little dough to get their trains service.

But, you know, the private companies aren't all that great, either. UPS is slow and loses packages. The USPS is much faster.

@Mr_Human: Exactly, it's like the cable companies. Lots of places can't get cable because they're too rural for the companies to profit after laying out the money to get them connected. Of course, as it is they also don't get home mail delivery in many places, they have to pick it up at a local PO. I would imagine UPS/FedEx/DHL would utilize the same building or build their own.

Oh, and hear hear to the cocktail idea. I'd totally start going to my post office if they did that. Woo!

@IC18: Oh trust me, adding more workers won't make a difference. The closest branch to me in Chicago always has about 4-5 workers around, and it's still a 45 minute wait to mail a package:

One who is pretty good, one who is really slow and tied up with the idiot who decided to mail 5 packages at once none of which he's addressed or sealed yet, one to stand there and yell at people to use the vending machine, and one to walk through (very slowly) every once in a while doing nothing just to frustrate you more as you wait.

@formergr:

And don't forget the one who waits until the line is nice and long and then puts a "Closed" sign on the counter, so they can take their union-mandated break. Which apparently must be taken at the specified time, no matter how busy it is.

I think the USPS is an amazing service. I don't frequently have to go to the post office, but when I do, I'm always treated well by the staff. Further, if I don't feel like going there, I can arrange for a pick-up at my home after printing my postage label at my desktop. No charge, beyond the price of postage. Now that's service!

dm515- where are you located? In brooklyn, NY we have horible post offices' and postal workers.

I too print as much of my postage at home and I don't use stamps.com or any of those charge per month places...If you are doing priority or express you can use USPS.com, if you'd like the flexibility to use media mail and first class and don't mind using paypal:

https://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_ship-now

is the link for ebay's ship it now thingy and it lets you print postage for all classes of mail.

I avoid going to the Post Office as much as possible. I try to buy stamps and send packages through authorized USPS agents, like the ones found in mail box rental shops. Shorter lines and friendlier people.

My feelings are a mixed bag. The time I went to mail a package, it took 2 days (estimated 5-10), and it arrived in good condition.

Except they just left it sitting in front of the apartment for anyone to take when they delivered it.

But on the whole clock bit, why? Improve your damn service and people won't get sick of standing in lines.

I get the feeling that when they decide to change the policy on this, they'll end up buying all new clocks.

And I was a postal worker for almost a decade. It's a good organization with good workers.

They've just let the shit float to the top, same as any bureaucratic mess. In every case, while I worked for them, the nastiest and most combative employees got promoted to management.

Once there, they were no longer allowed to be part of the union and received quarterly bonuses for keeping costs low.

This would have been fine, had they been otherwise competent managers. But the guy who always has his eye on the bottom line never has the quality of the service in mind, let alone the work environment.

I got out after nine years, when the stress was beginning to damage my health.

The service is exemplary. It's the government that runs it that screws everything up.

I guess it's either that or they raise the rates of stamps AGAIN. They're just really putting themselves out of business. I hope the Chinese eat them for lunch.

They call this fixing it? I know at my local PO, I can go in at 10:30 AM on a Wednesday and find the counter lined with employees with no customers inside. Other times, I can stand in line for 30 minutes to work with the only employee at the counter while 10 or more people stand behind me.

That's something I really don't understand.

How much does FedEx charge to send a letter? How about DHS? UPS?

A _lot_ more than the horrible government monopoly. And yet, despite it being a horrible government monopoly, these alternatives exist. Huh. Interesting.

But yeah, let's just privatize it. That makes a lot more sense than trying to change the organizational structure to reward people for doing their jobs _well_, as opposed to as cheaply as possible.

Err, DHL, I meant. 'scuse me.

@Danilo: Do you really believe that any of the other major shipping companies could come close to rivaling the USPS? I wouldn't be surprised if the post office handled as much mail in a day as FedEx did in a year. Granted, more than half of it is probably junk mail, but still.

Before I moved to London, I could send a card across the country, for what, $0.39, and it would usually be there within 3 days. FedEx and UPS would charge me $15 to get it there a day quicker. DHL would charge me $8 and it would take 5 days.

I'll agree USPS can be improved a lot, but it's not broken to the point where we have to give up reasonably priced mail service.

@formergr:
Which one, Rogers Park, Lakeview or Ravenswood?
The 3 worst PO's in the country!

Thank you, Tallanvor, for posting the prices I was too lazy to look up. :)

Actually, I rather like the USPS. Priority Mail is cheap and fast (like a good woman), whereas UPS and FedEx both suck balls. I don't know about DHL; I've never used them. The only thing I remember hearing about them was that they were, in the early 90's the only company willing to ship a package overnight to Suriname. I can't say I have much call for that myself, though.

They could also use the Las Vegas tag line
'Whatever happens at the Post Office, stays at the Post Office'

Can the postal workers work topless? Just a thought...I'm putting it out there...

@Greasy Thumb Guzik: That's weird, I always had great experiences with the Roger's Park PO, and was sad when I left the 'hood. I'm talking about the one at Clark and Devon, not the one at 3400 Devon. My carriers all sucked, but the folks at the counter were always so helpful, really above and beyond. I've had them go around digging in the back for packages my carrier attempted to deliver that day 5 minutes before the station closes, once a manager sent someone over to my house to hand deliver a package my carrier repeatedly neglected.
The Roger's Park carriers may not be perfect, but that PO is pretty great. The Uptown one (where I live now) is just terrible. Really awful. Ten windows with one person working on any given Saturday, surly and slow. I'm so glad I have a carrier who knows where to safely leave packages, I never go to the PO if I can avoid it now.

@Greasy Thumb Guzik: Lakeview, baby!

The only time I'm anywhere near the PO is, of course, right about the time of year everybody else is so things are slow but no where as near as slow as UPS is at their offices.

Besides, they show up every day at my house, around the same time every day and even manage to give me some personalized service from time to time. My postal service guy leaves packages where I tell him to--under the eves behind the bush where they are both out of sight and going to stay dry if it rains. Both UPS and FedEx are just dumb as rocks when they leave packages-- they not only don't listen to what I ask but routinely leave packages were they are likely to be easiest to swipe AND are going to get wet as hell if it rains.

Finally, personal anecdotes aside, I, for one, have absolutely no interest in privatizing the only government service I know of that posts a profit. Yep-- that's right: the USPS posts a profit. They don't turn a huge return on their budget and if they were publicly traded there'd be some pissed stockholders but they don't operate at a loss.

The dept of motor vehicles in Indiana took down all their clocks for same reason. Our "brilliant" govorner also mandated that the DMV employees all dress alike and gave them 3 weeks to update their wardrobes. They all have to wear blue pants and I don't remember what color the tops have to be...red or white. Anyway, they all end up wearing a similar combination of blue, white and some red. It's so stupid looking.

Back to the clocks issue, I've heard of hospitals taking the clocks out of patient rooms for the same reasons. I guess the people who make these bright decisions never owned a watch.

Our post office always has a long line. If you had a parcel to pick up, you could skip the line and go to a dutch door, ring a bell, and get the parcel. In and out in 5 minutes. In order to make the long line even longer, the new hours for the dutch door are 7 to 8am. Now we get to wait in line for 30 to 40 minutes. Even if you get there between 7 and 8am, no one is there to help anyway. The post office could care less about customer satisfaction. Please feel free to email the usps about the Panther Creek Post Office in The Woodlands, TX about this logical move.

@itmustbeken:
Whatever's sent at this post office stays at this post office.

(Yes, I live near Las Vegas.)

I used to love to hate the USPS... but in recent months, they've become one of my better friends. Management at USPS *DOES SUCK*, which is why we have, to quote the BBC, "the uniquely American phenomenon known as going postal." (2000) There are some great USPS workers, and now that I've moved to an area with relatively good workers, it has made a difference.

The closest PO to me does have staffing problems when it comes to the counters. Invariably the line snakes out the front door (and it's a newer building). Usually only half the counter windows are open, BUT, the workers have been friendly, dare I say helpful, when I've had to go to the counter.

2 things about USPS which I absolutely love:

1) Postage meters / PC(Internet) postage. This has to be the greatest thing yet. I use Endicia.com. If I have the program open, all I have to do is highlight & copy an address to my clipboard. If there's a package already sitting on my scale, it weighs it, sets up the label and prompts me to print it. No more 1 lb max limits (because the postage meter/PC postage account defines me as a "known mailer"), no more taking packages to the PO, and dirt cheap/hassle free shipping insurance, oh, also free/discounted delivery confirmation. The address standardization/verification in the program + barcodes it prints seems to make a huge difference in transport times. I had a 3 lb Media Mail (a.k.a. book rate, the slowest/worst mail class of USPS) package go from FL to California in 3 days flat. $2.69. I had to ship 14 books today. The whole process of mailing them took about 3 minutes, at most, including me sticking the labels on the appropriate boxes. For those who only need to mail things occasionally, the paypal link above isn't a bad deal. They don't charge you any extra fees that I'm aware of and they don't have any monthly fees.

2) Carrier pickup. I just leave my packages by the mailbox or go online to USPS Carrier Pickup and my cute PostalChick(TM) will knock on my door and take the packages. This alone is worth the $4 for Priority Mail.

I agree with Kornkob -- UPS at their own offices, SUCKS donkey-balls. These people are the slowest, most inept people. I'm assuming the UPS staff who hand out misdelivered packages at the end of the day are the same workers who load/unload the truck, as in bottom of the totem pole (and gene pool.) Additionally, I've NEVER had a UPS package arrive in good shape. The boxes appear like someone used them as footballs or to play Forklift Soccer with. Then there's the whole UPS delivery time roulette. Have a package arriving at home which needs a signature? Forget it. They'll try a few times, invariably when you're NOT home, then tell you to drive to their HQ to pick it up....which in my case is an hour away.

www.unitedpackagesmashers.com has a few fun stories and lots of pics of UPS' work, along with pictures showing how the damage is inflicted upon packages, almost by design.

Oh, the USPS, I how hate thee...

I live on a rural route in Michigan. The driver is constantly complaining about the approach to my mailbox, which I groom smooth and long enough in which to launch and land jet aircraft. Last summer I took all my leftover materials from a paver project and made the approach 9" of 3/4 aggregate and 4" of slag; better quality than most roads. Yet I get form letters from the local postmaster complaining that there's pot holes in the approach and it doesn't meet safe standards for the driver to deliver the mail. The pot holes are in the center of the road and not my responsibility, yet the letters keep coming.

Last month, I had a stack of these letters because of the snow. I'd clear out the approach, and the snow plows would fill it back up with snow while I was at work. I'd come home, clear it out, it would be clear when I left and the plows would fill it back in by the time the rural route bitch came to deliver my mail. These people actually expect you to stay home from work to make sure that when the snowplows push snow onto the approach, that you're there to clear it before the rural route driver comes to deliver the mail. That is what the postmaster told me. The best part is that they'll shove a form into your mailbox telling you why they're not delivering your mail. Absolutely the beauty of our government agencies, isn't it?

So, for half of February, they held my mail because I decided that I'm not taking time off work just so I can be their lackey. I moved all my bills to autopay on my credit card and I can pay that online. Screw 'em, the USPS is just another organization moving into irrelevance.

Back when I worked at Enterprise Rent-A-Car we were told by our corporate office to take the wall clock out of the lobby where the customers could see it. I haven't read all of the comments but I assume this becoming a common practice among businesses that tend to make you wait a long time.

For THIS, they want to hike the price of a stamp?

What happens at the US Post Office, stays at the US Post Office.

There almost seems to be a revolving door hiring process between the USPS, the DMV & most union workers. But that can't be because like circuit court judges they're hired for life. Or death, whichever comes first.