In an effort to stop effectively pouring money straight into the gas tank, the United States Postal Service has taken the first step toward retiring its fleet of decades old, gas-guzzling trucks. The agency spent more than $539.7 million on fuel in its last fiscal year, partly because some of the trucks are just so darn old. [More]
USPS
Package With $4,000 Worth Of Electronics No Match For USPS Carrier’s Chucking Abilities
By 1.23.15
The other day we asked readers if they’d pay money to choose which carrier delivers their Amazon packages, and found that about 63% of you would be willing to pay some amount for that right. And it’s no wonder people want a choice, when the United States Postal Service has carriers chucking packages filled with delicate, expensive electronics inside onto porches like it’s a box filled with feathers. [More]
Would You Be Willing To Pay More To Choose Who Delivers Your Amazon Orders?
By 1.21.15
If you’ve ever been expecting a package only to find that the delivery person reports leaving a notice (which may or may not have happened) or “attempted delivery” (again, sometimes without actually doing so), you’re not alone. We’ve heard from many readers over the years and experienced it ourselves. So why can’t Amazon Prime members choose their preferred delivery service? [More]
USPS Proposes Price Increase For Postcards, International Mail; Cost Of First-Class “Forever” Stamps Unchanged
By 1.16.15
The United States Postal Service’s quest for financial stability might be hitting consumers’ pocketbooks come April if the agency’s proposed price increases gets the go-ahead. [More]
Outgoing Postmaster General: Job Of USPS Is Delivering The Mail, Not Being A Bank
By 1.6.15
While retiring Postmaster General Patrick R. Donahoe is on his way out, that doesn’t mean he’s not about to weigh in on the idea of the United States Postal Service acting like a bank. Offering basic financial services has been suggested as a way to help the USPS get some much needed cash, but Donahoe is having none of it. [More]
USPS Workers Say They’re Overworked Thanks To Delivering Your Holiday Packages On Sundays
By 12.17.14
Once upon a time, Sundays provided a much-needed day of rest for the nation’s postal service workers. But that all changed when the United States Postal Service and Amazon kicked off a partnership to deliver packages seven days a week, and now, a year later, workers say the deal has resulted in long hours and weeks without a single day off. [More]
Today Is The Biggest Shipping Day Of The Year
By 12.15.14
Today is it: traditionally, December 15 is the highest-volume shipping and mailing day of the entire year. The U.S. Postal Service will process 640 million cards, letters, postcards, periodicals, catalogs, and packages today alone. FedEx is doing its part, processing 22.6 million packages today. UPS says that its busiest day will be next Monday, as people try to get last-minute Christmas gifts to their destinations. [More]
Why A Village With 500 Residents Mails More Than 10,000 Christmas Cards From Its Post Office Every Year
By 12.10.14
How is it possible that in a village that boasts a population of only about 500 people sends more than 10,000 Christmas cards from its post office every year? Is it because each person in town has 20 friends? Or is it because the town has something special to do with Christmas? [More]
USPS Worker Allegedly Swiped 2,000 Pieces Of Mail Out Of Sheer Boredom
By 12.9.14
Eating all the candy out of the glass jar on your desk. Spilling hot coffee on your computer while trying to beat your personal solitaire record. There are bad things you can do out of boredom at work, but one U.S. Postal Service worker admits she turned to taking as many as 2,000 pieces of mail she was supposed to deliver just to have something to do. [More]
Texas Postal Worker Accused Of Delivering Meth On His Mail Route
By 11.21.14
While it might be convenient to tweak one job to allow for working a second at the same time, delivering methamphetamine while out on the postal route is the kind of thing that gets you arrested. A Texas postal worker attempted that kind of illegal multi-tasking, police say, dropping off drugs while doing his mail rounds. [More]
Just Because It’s Legal To Mail Live Birds Doesn’t Mean You Should Send 15 Baby Chicks To Your Ex
By 11.12.14
It might sound crazy to some that it’s actually legal to send live birds through the mail (with some strict conditions), but what sounds even nuttier is that a guy reportedly mailed his ex-girlfriend 15 baby chicks in some kind of prank/misguided statement about their break-up. [More]
Report: Breach Of USPS’ Networks Compromises Personal Data Of 2.9M Customers, 750K Employees & Retirees
By 11.10.14
Let’s all pick our jaws up off the floor because, and I know you won’t believe this, yet another security breach has compromised the personal information of millions of people. The latest in what has become an unfortunate trail of hack attacks has hit the U.S. Postal Service computer system, officials say. [More]
USPS Gets Go-Ahead To Expand Deliveries Of Groceries & Other Stuff
By 10.23.14
Last month, the cash-strapped street urchin that is the U.S. Postal Service pleaded “more gruel, sir” to the Postal Regulatory Commission, asking for permission to expand its test of delivering groceries and other non-postal items during those wee-morning hours when mail trucks mostly sit idle. Today, the PRC granted the USPS its wish. [More]
USPS Apologizes For Declaring Living, Breathing Man “Deceased”
By 10.21.14
Every parent dreads the possibility of outliving their children. So imagine the shock when one mom found out via the U.S. Postal Service that her son had died. Now think about how the not-at-all-deceased felt when he learned that he’d been declared dead by the post office. [More]
USPS Wants To Leave Groceries, Other Stuff On Your Doorstep At 4 A.M.
By 9.26.14
Earlier this month it was announced that the U.S. Postal Service was testing out how badly it could screw up the delivery of Amazon Fresh grocery shipments in the San Francisco area. But a recent regulatory filing shows that USPS has hopes of bringing its laid-back, carefree delivery approach to groceries and other items all around the country. [More]
USPS To Screw Up Amazon Grocery Deliveries In San Francisco
By 9.4.14
Like that desperate, failing business-owner who keeps convincing people to give them one last shot to prove that it’s not yet time to hang it up and find something else to do, the U.S. Postal Service has somehow made a deal with Amazon to give it a shot at delivering groceries in the San Francisco area. [More]
Hewlett Packard To Pay $32.5M To Settle Allegations Of Overcharging USPS
By 8.1.14
Breaking a promise and overcharging for products is a pretty shady deal to begin with, but when the company you’re taking money from is the already financially-strapped U.S. Postal Service, it’s like rubbing salt in the wound. Hewlett Packard has agreed to pay $32.5 million to settle allegations that it overcharged the USPS for nine years. [More]
USPS Vehicle Fleet Even Older, Crappier Than My Toyota Tercel
By 7.29.14
The U.S. Postal Service estimates that most of its current fleet of vehicles are going to crap out by 2017. Sure, they pretty it up by saying that the vehicles are “near or have exceeded their expected service life,” but we all know what that means. Yet the USPS has the same problem as many ordinary citizens: how do you acquire a reliable vehicle to get to work when you’re flat broke? [More]
