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Why the Postal Service is going broke
By Al
Ruechel | 09-20-02
I don’t pretend to be an economist.
But I think I know why the postal service is going broke. No, it’s
not the high cost of labor, or the fact more of us are using the
Internet to send letters than Uncle Sam. They are going broke
because they have failed to recognize one simple principle: The
shortest distance between two points is a straight line!
About four weeks ago I ordered a gift for my wife. It was supposed
to arrive within 5 to 7 business days. To make it more fun for the
consumer they included a USPS tracking number, which I could use to
follow the progress of the gift on a daily basis. Now I’ve ordered
other items and followed the progress using FedEx and UPS. It was
cool. I watched the packages leave the regional warehouses, head for
the airports, arrive one day and see it placed on a regional truck
carrier, and usually within a day or two it arrives in my city, and
presto it arrives at my door the next day. Isn’t it amazing how we
tend to take this overnight and next day shipping for granted? And
if you ever get the chance to visit a UPS facility you should. It’s
the old “Industry on Parade” show times 100. The giant warehouse
buildings are filled with long conveyer belts with automatic sensors
and pushers (I am so stinking scientific) that separate packages
based on bar codes and street addresses. The trucks are all lined up
in a row and parade out each morning like a mother duck with her
little ducklings following closely behind.
Now consider the path of my package. According to the USPS tracking
software, which I can access each day, it was picked up in San
Bernardino, California on August the 16th. The 30-pound package then
made its way to Seattle Washington. Of course this makes no sense
given the straight-line principle. There’s no need for panic just
yet. They told me 5 to 7 business days, which doesn’t count the
weekend. They can get it here with time to spare. Three days later
the package heads to Chicago by truck. But two days out it arrives
in Denver. The next day my little package is sent on a side trip
back to Oakland, California where it arrives two days later. I still
haven’t picked up the phone to call the postal service because,
quite frankly, this is all pretty amusing to me. Larry. Curly and
Moe must be in charge.
Another two days pass and that little square traveler is off again,
this time to Oklahoma City. At least it is headed in the right
general direction. It then heads to Chicago and is sent to
Charlotte, North Carolina, where it arrives according to the
tracking service two days later. Harkening to the sounds of the sea
and sun those men and women in blue send my wife’s gift off to
Jacksonville. I’ve been here before with those other carriers. It
will be in Tampa tomorrow. So it’s about two and a half weeks late.
At least it will be here before the weekend.
No way. After waiting two more days I call them. My package is
nowhere in the system. What about all those numbers and the tracking
software? What was that! They don’t know. As far as they are
concerned it does not and never did exist.
“We’ll I’m not sure what to tell you. But if the package is insured
we’ll cover the cost!
“Fine, but what happened to the package? And what was your tracking
software following, phases of the moon,” I asked.
“I’m really stumped by this one. It’s
possible a package could be misdirected by the wrong address or a
label, and then lost somewhere along the line.”
“Yes, but my address is in Florida.
Why would you send it to Seattle or even Chicago!”
“We have contracts with bulk carriers and sometimes the routes will
deviate because it ends up being more cost effective.” Let me guess;
lowest bidder gets the contract!
To their credit the postal service said they would contact the
shipper and handle all the arrangements for sending a new product at
their expense since I could provide them all the original paper work
and copies of the tracking report. It’s due to arrive tomorrow.
Here’s the kicker. A few minutes ago my postal carrier knocked on my
door and finally delivered the original package. It looked like one
of those old suitcases with stickers from all over the world. Most
of them had been partially removed so as not to confuse the sorting
machines or the humans responsible for sorting them out.
With great delight I began opening the box, which I immediately
noticed, was feather light.
“Hey, there’s nothing inside. The box
is empty”
“Don’t look at me,” my carrier almost
laughed.
Late today an “official” from the post office called to apologize.
These are exact quotes from our tape-recorded conversation.
“ It seems my original package my have been sent to me by the
manufacturer prematurely.” “The factory has no record of the product
being placed in the box to be mailed.” Huh? “The original mailing
label was double printed, (whatever that means,) sending the gift to
three different regional warehouses. At one of those warehouses the
label must have come off or the product lost.” “The tracking number
given to me was for the wrong package.” “We’ve never seen anything
quite like this.” “We are updating the software.”
I’d love to do a cost accounting on my package or on any others that
have encountered the same fate. That little 30-buck gift most have
cost USPS a bundle given all the places it visited and all the hands
that touched it.
And I don’t think those guys really know what happened to it along
the way. With overnight you take it from the warehouse to the plane
and out it goes… two stops to your door. With standard ground
delivery, good luck! When we use computers and tracking software
we’d like to think we are in better control. True, only if we input
the correct information and all the stuff works. Technology is a
wonderful thing, but sometimes its better to just dump the
explanation. Just tell me somebody goofed. I can live with that.
Now, where the blank is my package!!!!!!!!!!!
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(Please read John Leo’s column
called: “Americans are avoiding judgment.” I’ve used some
information from Leo’s superb column in this commentary (noted by an
asterisk *) because it echoes what I’ve been writing about for
months now. John writes for Universal Press Syndicate and is widely
published.)
Al Ruechel, copyright 2002, all
rights reserved
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