[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by Bill14564

Amazon charges a lot more (as do FedEx and UPS) and may not guarantee delivery to every home every day.

It's been too long since I read up on financing of the Post Office but if I remember correctly, delivery of mail is paying for itself (or close to it) but demands for pre-funding of retirement benefits put them in the red.

You want good service to every home in the country at a low price while email is cutting into your income PLUS put billions into a retirement plan - something has to give.

Funding of retirement benefits is an actual cost that needs to be paid for by the taxpayers. But, even the U.S. Postal Service admits that they lose billions every year and they need to improve their efficiency. Read their own reports. The Postal service loses billions by delivering junk mail at below their cost which no profit-making company would ever offer. How many junk mail deliveries have you ever received from UPS or FedEx? All junk mail comes from the U.S. Post Office. Why can't they at least allow customers to cancel their Postal account? It would be illegal for any private company to mandate that every person in the country must have an account with their company. Why can't the Government allow customers to opt out?

[billethkid]

22 years using mail hold 2-3 times per year.....never a problem.

[shaw8700@outlook.com]

All I know is that am sick and tired of going to my mailbox once or twice an week and throwing everything away. I do zero business through the mail. Perhaps l should stop going there and let it pile up?

[bopat]

Here’s an idea - let usps give us email addresses. Get rid of mail, deliver packages.

[Bill14564]

Originally Posted by shaw8700@outlook.com

All I know is that am sick and tired of going to my mailbox once or twice an week and throwing everything away. I do zero business through the mail. Perhaps l should stop going there and let it pile up?

Look into Informed Delivery and then yes, let it pile up.

[dougjb]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

I noticed that you said nothing about the cost and how many billions of dollars they lose every year that the taxpayers need to pay for. Read the IG reports and other audit reports, including the Postal service's own reports. Amazon does a much better job and they make a profit. I will not stop complaining until the U.S. Postal Service is abolished as it should be.

I am sure you will be willing to cough up $139 each and every year to the post office as you do for Amazon! Then add in the extra amount you pay to buy an item on Amazon as an even greater incentive for the USPS.

Keep complaining ... it will shorten your life. Enjoy the wonderful things we have like a post office and you will be much happier! By the way, most people who complain about paying too much in taxes rarely pay much in taxes. I hope you are not one of them.

[Franee621]

You have to take the form to the post office yourself not leave it in the box

[Marmaduke]

Originally Posted by shaw8700@outlook.com

All I know is that am sick and tired of going to my mailbox once or twice an week and throwing everything away. I do zero business through the mail. Perhaps l should stop going there and let it pile up?

Ditto. Everything gets thrown away. Junk mail, such a nuisance.

Everything has been on-line with us for many years. Nothing but junk mail, except Christmas Cards from our older relatives throughout December, still a nicety of yesteryear.

[jimkerr]

Originally Posted by dougjb

The USPS is an amazing organization!

When you consider how many billions of pieces of mail are handled each and every day, no other organization does as good a job as the Post Office!

We have all heard the stories about "the check is in the mail" right? Well, I can tell you that when the check is in the mail, it invariably gets through. Very very very few pieces of mail do not get to where they were addressed.

We all like to find fault with the Post Office. But, I for one, think it is one of the greatest institutions we have. Besides, where else can you put a flimsy piece of paper in the mail shoot for less than a buck and have it delivered thousands of miles away in just a few days.

Stop complaining and celebrating this institution which has been around longer than our country has existed!

They’re a great institution alright. Great at losing billons of dollars every year. They are on the worst run organizations we have.

There’s a lot to love in our country but our mail system isn’t one of those.

[USNA87]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

Yes, it is pointless because Government employees or contractors are never held accountable for anything they do or don't do.

That is quite the stereotype you are throwing at all government employees and contractors. As a government employee myself, I work with some of the hardest working people on the planet. I am certainly held accountable for what I do and I definitely hold my employees accountable.

[jedalton]

Correct

[jedalton]

Correct again

[Priebehouse]

I have used hold mail and forwarded mail probably 15 times in the last 5 years (Snowflake). The key is to do it online AT LEAST 2 weeks before you leave. With the exception of three pieces, one time, it has worked perfectly. The ladies at the Glenbrook station are very efficient. Usually, by the time I leave, they have the backside of the box blocked off with paper to remind them that we aren't there. I go to the Lady Lake USPO to pick up whatever is there and it works fine.

[Ea327]

Originally Posted by Bill14564

What did you expect the hold mail to do?

How did you think your hold mail would work:
1. Keep the mail in Lady Lake then put it into your secured box on the day your hold ends?
2. Keep the mail in a box on the floor of the postal station then put it into your secured box on the day your hold ends?
3. Put your mail in a box on the floor if it doesn't fit into your secured box?

Had you not come back early you would not have known which of the three had been used. And what difference does it make? Your mail wasn't blowing around your yard, it was safely secured while you were away, and it was available when you returned. What is the problem?

The hold mail service *might* stop some junk mail (or might not, that's why the word "might"). What it accomplishes is letting the mail station people know why you haven't emptied your box. Rather than thinking you simply haven't picked it up, they know that you are away.

The problem is that they went out of their way to go through the process of getting a mail hold and the idiots who were supposed to follow it couldn’t even handle that.

[Meyerro]

Last year was my first extended stay anywhere during the winter. It was just one month away from Michigan winter. I set up the mail forwarding online. I got mail in TV one time. The rest was stuffed into my mail slot up north.