Those of us who work at the United States Postal Service often wonder why the company is losing so much money. There are the obvious reasons that everyone knows. But one overriding reason is that most people don’t know the services that we provide and that we are the best at it. So, it’s ironic that the one thing that the Postal Service gets out clearly and yearly is the rule that says we are not allowed to accept cash as a gift for the holidays.

Recently, I was listening to a national sports radio program.On this show, the host went on and on about why he has to tip everyone for the holidays. Then he went too far when the issue of letter carriers came up. As he started in on what we do to deserve a tip, he was interjected by his producer who said “you are not allowed to tips them money, etc”. Another producer jumped in on the conversation as well. They espoused all the rhetoric that the Post Office publicizes each year at this time.

Along with the obligatory story done by every television station in the country, there is also the story that informs them about our “crisos”. While there are probably some good reasons for the initial rule on tipping postal workers, why does the common person on the street (or on the radio) understand this and not the services that we provide. Not only that, but do they publicize their bonus system (pay for performance (PFP))? No, no, no. Many supervisors and managers still deny that this exists.

Now, we postal workers understand their mentality. But unfortunately, the national radio show did not. After the short dissertation by the host, he was inundated with calls from letter carriers from Pennsylvania one after another. Way to go carriers. Keep fighting for what we believe in. And let me know the next time you see a story on your local television station explaining the management bonus system.