Postal Service Puts “Petal-To-The-Metal” On 5-Day Delivery The USPS has rolled out it’s propaganda campaign for the reduction of the Service week from six to five days. While on the surface it appears to be their objective. The underlying reasons probably fall short of that.

Postmaster General Potter has rolled out this plan as his main reason to “save” the company. But it is basically his only plan. They have and continue to reduce routes and “cut the fat” from the company. They are doing small things with advertising the Priority Mail Campaign. These things have not and will not “save” the company. So, the 5-Day delivery campaign is basically a diversion to make him and his cohorts look like they are trying to do what’s best for the company against the advise of so many(the PRC-Postal Regulatory Commission, Senator Susan Collins, (r) Maine, and the Unions who actually do the work).

There is a huge opposition to this move which says that it will be the down fall of the company. Mostly because it will allow many companies to come in and do the work that the USPS does. Namely, the movie companies such as Netflix, Blockbuster, Gamefly, etc, mail order drug companies, and many others who count on 6-Day delivery to get their products out. And Saturday is always a day when most traditional jobs are off and allows for the acceptance of these deliveries (especially ones that require signatures).

If you think these companies are inconsequential, think again. Netflix, the movie rental company pays the USPS over $680.00 annually with projections to go over $1 billion in the next few years. Their business model depends on daily delivery of their products. This is true for most of the companies that the USPS serves. So from Saturday to Monday their customers would not get their products. Won’t the Postal Service have to reduce their prices to reflect these lack of services.

The Postal Service has a mandate of “universal service”. That is not only do they have to deliver to almost every address in the country, but many (including Senator Susan Collins) think 6-days of delivery is included in “universal service”.

Many also think that the Postal Service won’t stop at 5-days of delivery. Projections are that they will not stop until they have it down to 3 or 4 days of actual delivery. Does that sound like “universal service” let alone service at all?

The propaganda put out by the USPS is that it will save the company “x” amount of dollars. But what about the other issues. Will it increase revenue? Will it make them more creative in competing with the UPS’s, and FEDEX’s? Will it take away the unfair burden placed on the company buy Congress which requires them to pre-fund the retiree’s future healthcare at a rate quicker than any other company in the county? Does it take away the miscalculation that made them over pay the CSRS by $75 billion dollars? Oh no, that would make too much sense. Especially in light of Postmaster General Potter’s recent answer before a Senate subcommittee that if the $75 billion discrepancy is solved they would not have to go to 5-day delivery. Mr. Potter, 5-day delivery is either a good idea or not!

This position and many others make one leery of the Postal Services motives with respect to 5-day delivery. When Congress passed the latest Postal Transformation Act, it gave an edict to Postal Management to find ways to generate more revenue and adjust to the changing times. And this is what he came up with. The elimination of 10,000 jobs with benefits and potential loss of revenues and business.

Maybe the Postal Service can’t do the latter. But they certainly can act like they are. So, every time Mr. Potter is before a Congressional committee, he can say with authority that he is doing “everything in my power” to make the company profitable again.