Failure to Deliver

During testimony before a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs subcommittee yesterday, Postmaster General John E. Potter said that the U.S. Postal Service is in such a financial hole (they expect to lose $6 billion this year) that they may have to cut back from delivering mail six days a week.

I was surprised to hear this. Not because I'm surprised that the Postal Service is in financial trouble--who isn't these days? Not because the idea is so radical--the Postal Service has brought this idea up from time. Not because I oppose it--if they're hurting, they should be able to do what they have to do to survive like the rest of us are right now.

No, what surprised me was the idea that the Post Office delivers mail six days a week now, because I can say with absolute certainty that my local Post Office doesn't.

The days when a mail carrier hasn't ventured anywhere near La Casa del Terror are pretty bloody obvious. There are, of course, many occasions when I, as an individual, don't receive any mail. (Given that much of the mail I do receive consists of bills, this is often a blessing.) But if even one person in my building, which has eight units (six on my side of the street), receives mail, a plentiful supply of junk mail can be found in the bin below the mail boxes in the foyer. And yet, there have been many days (especially lately) when not only has the bin been empty, but there are no tire tracks in the snow from where the mail cart has rolled. I don't know what the carrier has been doing or where he or she has been doing it, but delivering mail to my building? That hasn't been happening often enough.

There are other peculiarities as well, like when the Postal Service's website tells me that they've attempted to deliver a Priority Mail package to my building and have left a notice telling me so, when no notice can be found. Or, even better, when the website tells me my package has been delivered, only to have it show up the next day (or, sometimes, a couple of days later).

If the Post Office is hurting for money and wants to cut back, fine. But I'd really like them to get their basic service right. So far? Not so good.