Facts the United States Post Office Doesn't Want You to Know

USPS has been a thorn in my side on numerous occasions. This entity is given so many luxuries not afforded by any other company in any other industry. Googling "I hate the Post Office" will net plenty of disgruntled people who know this for themselves, but it is far more important to learn this information before it can ever have an adverse affect on you, your family, or even your business.

The United States Post Office is one of the few companies that isn't accountable for its service - It's not uncommon for the post office to damage, delay delivery or outright lose a package, yet rarely do they accept responsibility.With most businesses, when a customer receives less than acceptable service, they have recourse. For example, if you order something from Amazon and it arrives too late or damaged, they will happily refund your money. If you eat at a restaurant and the service is less than stellar, you can speak to the manager. In other words, customer service is paramount to a business. The Post Office isn't hindered by this outlook on business. Instead, they require you to pay extra, in the form of insurance, just to guarantee that they do their JOB.

The United States Post Office is a Monopoly - USPS has a monopoly on delivering letters to mailboxes, a luxury not afforded to any other parcel service. In fact, it is technically a felony to deliver anything to a mailbox if you are not authorized by USPS, to steal mail, or to attack a USPS employee. Heck, postal vehicles even technically have the right-of-way in most situations, though thankfully I have never seen one take advantage of this. If employees of this organization are to be protected so heavily, then there needs to be a reason for this, i.e. they need to be held to the highest of standards.

The United States Post Office has its' own law enforcement agency - The United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), one of the country's oldest law enforcement agencies, has the power to conduct search and seizure raids, for "crimes" such as sending mail via a USPS competitor using an overnight service that is not actually urgent. In 1993, the USPIS performed one such raid to Equifax to determine if the mail being sent via FedEx was actually urgent mail. It was determined to be mail of a non-urgent classification, and Equifax was fined $30,000.

The United States Post Office is considered environmentally friendly, but in actuality produces huge amounts of waste - USPS has been praised and honored for being a "green" entity, often citing the fact that they recycle approximately 2 trillion pounds of materials every year. While it is true that 2 trillion pounds is a lot of recycling, but recycling for recycling's sake is NOT good for the environment. While I don't want them to stop recycling their materials, they SHOULD be focusing on reducing the amount of materials that would even need recycling. Especially in the era of the internet, the post office should be discouraging sending letters and other mail that could be sent electronically. Instead, they develop new stamps all of the time, costing even more money and using even more paper, glue, and other materials. I will also point out that there are no reports to be found discussing the effects on the environment of the machines that make stamps.

The United States Post Office's "tracking" means nothing - As an eBay seller, I get tracking on almost every package I send. I do not do this because the USPS tracking system is reliable. I do this because a tracking number is necessary when dealing with Paypal disputes. On numerous occasions I've had tracking numbers show the origination of the package incorrectly, simply say that electronic information has been received about the package without ever having a further update, or even no data at all.

The United States Post Office branches don't all have the same hours - Contrary to the belief many people have, different Post Offices have different hours. This is not so much a jab at USPS, but it is important to know that a location you plan on visiting may not have the hours of your normal USPS location.

The United States Post Office loses money - USPS never turns a profit, yet they are always hiking their rates. Instead of putting their money to better use, the Post Office wastes countless dollars commissioning the designing of new stamps and producing free boxes for their customers. Just imagine how much it costs each time the Post Office invests in a new stamp. Changing the printing presses to accommodate the new stamp designs doesn't happen without costs. While I have enjoyed the benefits of the Post Office's free boxes, it doesn't change the reality that it's just another needless expense. A company that is always losing money should NOT be constantly giving things out for free, it's just common sense.

The United States Post Office fee hikes are not related to inflation - If they were, then that would mean since 1960 until now, inflation was at just over 20%. While I do understand that gas prices vary, that is about the only major impact that USPS has from the economy. Inflation is generally a one-digit number, but the postal fee hikes seem to have no correlation with inflation. There have been a total of 27 fee hikes on first-class mail since 1863, at least one of which was temporary during World War I. Of those 27, there have been 6 since the year 2000, for a 24% fee increase. Currently gas is below $2 in many states, a recent record low, yet we will not see a DECREASE in postage.

Reviewing this information, as I often do, I am stunned at the inefficiency (or greed) of the United States Port Office. Is it too much to ask for reliability from the people who proudly display the words "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds." on the U.S. Postal Service building in New York City (this is not their official motto, by the way, contrary to popular belief)?