Entry bubble Will We Have 5 Days of Mail Delivery?

By: Joanne | August 18, 2009 | Category: Home and Family

postal carrierThe issue is still on the table, you know. The Postal Service is pursuing the idea of cutting back to a 5-day mail delivery schedule in order to save money.

In spite of a postal rate increase earlier this year and the reduction of overhead costs, the Postal Service is projecting a 7 billion dollar loss this fiscal year. It appears that the problem is simply a drop in mail volume. We’re using commercial services to deliver packages, paying our bills online, sending e-mails and e-vites to our friends and family instead of the old snail mail. This change in our communication habits is having a big impact at the post office.

Personally, the idea of no mail delivery on Saturday doesn’t much bother me. My mail consists mainly of catalogs I don’t want, junk mail and an occasional bill. It’s rare to find a card or letter in the mailbox anymore, so I really don’t think I will miss Saturday mail delivery, if it's eliminated. Maybe I’m missing something and Saturday mail delivery is more important than I think. I wonder though. In the modern era, is 6-day mail delivery still a necessity, or is it a comforting holdover from our past?

If you’ve got a strong opinion on the matter, I encourage you to contact your representatives in the House of Representatives and the Senate to let them know how important it is to you.

| View Comments [19] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: delivery   joanne   mail   office   post   postal   service  

 

Entry bubble The case of the missing mail

By: Jess | April 23, 2009 | Category: Home and Family

mail box

About two weeks ago my mail didn't show up one day. I thought it was a little odd because I usually get some kind of junk mail, circular or bill every day, but other than that I didn't think too much of it.

But then the mail didn't show up the next day, or the next or the next. It didn't show up the following Monday either.

So I called the Post Office to see what was going on. Because it was after hours, I called the 800 number and spoke with an extremely friendly guy who told me someone at my local Post Office would call me back by end of business the next day.

I wasn't totally sure if I believed that would actually happen, but to my surprise around lunch time the next day I got a call from my local Post Office wanting me to tell them what was going on. I explained that I hadn't gotten my mail in almost a week and no one had put a hold on it.

After assuring me he'd talk with my mail carrier, we hung up.

When I got home from work that day my mail was there. Not a whole bunch of it to make up for the days I missed, but something was there. And a few days later, I was surprised when I got a follow up phone call from the Post Office to check on the situation. The man on the phone told me my mail carrier said I just didn't get any mail those five days. I find that a little hard to believe, but at least my mail is coming again.

Overall I was extremely impressed with the customer service from the Post Office. They called me back promptly and fixed the situation really quickly. If you're having problems with your mail delivery, you can find more information on filing a complaint.

Feel free to share your Post Office stories in the comments.  

| Post a Comment | View Comments [4] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: jess   mail   post_office  

 

Entry bubble Credit Card Offers

By: Colleen | May 07, 2008 | Category: Home and Family

Few things are consistent in life. The alarm clock doesn't always go off when it's set. The Patriots ruin a perfectcredit card season by choking in the Super Bowl. A bright and sunny Saturday can turn to thunderstorms in the blink of an eye.

As far as I can tell, I can guarantee only two things:

  • If I am wearing white to dinner, something with spaghetti sauce will be served.
  • At least three times a week I will find a credit card offer in my mailbox.

Wearing white will never stop me from eating spaghetti, but I can help eliminate the seemingly endless stream of credit card offers.

Receiving these offers makes you a target for identity theft. To prevent your information from falling into the wrong hands, you should "opt out" of pre-approved offers.

You can opt out for five years or permanently.

Eliminating these offers helps protect your identity and is also eco-friendly. You're saving paper and creating less waste. It is reported that my generation is in an endless cycle of post-graduation credit card debt—so the fewer offers you get, the less temptation you have to add another card to that bulging wallet.

| View Comments [9] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: card   colleen   credit   identity   mail   offers   theft  

 

Entry bubble Opt Out of Catalog Mailing Lists

By: Joanne | May 06, 2008 | Category: Home and Family

big stack of catalogsDo you get too many catalogs in the mail? There was a time, back in the dark ages before the internet, that I was a committed catalog shopper. But those days are over, baby—I’m an online shopper now, and the catalogs are nothing but kindling to get the fire started. If I’m not ordering from the catalogs, why do they continue to arrive every day!?! It’s like they’re hunting you down! Recently I ordered some shoes from an online retailer and a few weeks later a catalog filled with ugly, horrible shoes arrived in the mail. Look out, someone’s gotten wise to the fact that my family wears shoes!

When you think about it, unwanted catalogs are a terrible waste of resources. There’s the paper and the ink and distribution and the processing all for something that I’m going to throw directly into the recycle bin. I’ve finally decided to do something about this shameful waste in my life.

If you think you have no control over these mailings, you’re wrong. You can register your mail preferences with the Direct Marketing Association to be removed from (or added to) the mailing lists of your choice. Or call the number printed on the catalog and ask them to remove you from their list. I’ve been doing this a lot lately. As soon as the catalog comes in the mail, I just pick up the phone—it doesn’t take long, and I’ve never had one hassle me about it. They tell me that it takes a number of weeks until you’re really out of the catalog mailing cycle, but that’s ok—by summer I’ll be catalog free!

If you’re interested, there are ways to opt out of unwanted credit card offers, unsolicited email, and cell phone spam, too.

| View Comments [4] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: catalog   joanne   junk   mail   marketing   opt   out