Must have gotten lost in the mail:
"Post Office can’t meet its own lower standards as late mail soars" by Lisa Rein Washington Post August 31, 2015
WASHINGTON — Amid a significant downsizing of the money-strapped Postal Service, the number of letters arriving late has jumped almost 50 percent since the start of the year.
And that’s as measured against the agency’s own newly relaxed standards.
Go try waiting in line for a window.
Delays are so serious that the Postal Service’s watchdog issued an alert recommending that officials put all further closures of mail-sorting plants on hold until service stabilizes.
Postmaster General Megan Brennan has temporarily halted the closings; it’s unclear when they’ll resume.
‘‘The impacts on customer service and employees have been considerable,’’ Inspector General Dave Williams wrote.
Mail that’s supposed to take two days to arrive took longer anywhere from 6 to 15 percent of the time during the first six months of 2015. Letters that should take three to five days took longer anywhere from 18 to 44 percent of the time.
First-class mail has been traveling more slowly since the Postal Service started closing dozens of mail-sorting plants in 2012. But in January, to prepare for another round of plant closings, the agency eliminated overnight delivery for local first-class letters. And up to half of mail traveling longer distances was given an extra day. The longer delivery times became the new normal, or ‘‘service standards’’ in postal parlance. Mail was considered on time if it took four to five days to arrive instead of three.
The NEW NORMAL in AmeriKa: PAY MORE for LESS SERVICE (while all the wealth is sucked upward).
But postal officials have struggled to meet even the lower standards. Delays have been compounded by two factors, the inspector general found: Severe storms last winter and changes in plant operations. Thousands of workers were reassigned and shifts changed, resulting in disorganization.
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Snail mail is a dying business for the post office, which is ramping up its e-commerce business. But Americans sent or received 155 billion pieces in fiscal 2014. The slowdown ‘‘is a huge issue for many nonprofits that rely heavily on mail to fund their critical missions,’’ said Stephen Kearney, of the Alliance of Nonprofit Mailers.
Service gradually has rebounded since January. But the inspector general cautioned that mail still is not reliable.
‘‘We remain totally committed to identifying and correcting errant processes in our operations as early as possible,’’ said Postal Service spokesman David Partenheimer.
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Congre$$ is succeeding at destroying the one decent thing the AmeriKan government has given you over all these centuries.
I'm still waiting for them to show up today, although I'm not expecting anything at all.
Found out it was because the postal van crashed.
