Post Office Closures

[handy]

I can understand why the USPO is seeking to close post offices. I truly can. The Post Office has such competition from the Internet, UPS, yadda-yadda, I can understand why the need for closures.

What I can't understand is this logic:

Boise has 6 Post Offices within a 3 mile radius...they are closing one branch.
Nampa has 8 Post Offices or UPS Stores with post boxes within a 7 mile radius...they aren't closing any of them.

Meridian has 9 Post Offices or UPS Stores with post boxes within a 4 mile radius...and they aren't closing any of them either.

Eagle has 6 Post Offices or UPS Stores with post boxes within a 6 mile radius...nope none of them are closing either.

We have 1 (one) post office within a 20 mile radius, no alternatives...and they are closing it. 2

 

[jasoncran]

I can understand why the USPO is seeking to close post offices. I truly can. The Post Office has such competition from the Internet, UPS, yadda-yadda, I can understand why the need for closures.

What I can't understand is this logic:

Boise has 6 Post Offices within a 3 mile radius...they are closing one branch.
Nampa has 8 Post Offices or UPS Stores with post boxes within a 7 mile radius...they aren't closing any of them.

Meridian has 9 Post Offices or UPS Stores with post boxes within a 4 mile radius...and they aren't closing any of them either.

Eagle has 6 Post Offices or UPS Stores with post boxes within a 6 mile radius...nope none of them are closing either.

We have 1 (one) post office within a 20 mile radius, no alternatives...and they are closing it. 2

volume that is why.

and uh its the usps not the united parcel service (the men in brown that arent with the federal govt)

 

[Christ_empowered]

That's terrible, handy. Do you have a UPS store or something similar nearby?

 

[handy]

That's terrible, handy. Do you have a UPS store or something similar nearby?

Nope, the next nearest post office is 20 miles from here, then after another 20 there is a town with both a post office and a UPS store.

volume that is why.

and uh its the usps not the united parcel service (the men in brown that arent with the federal govt)

I know...but at least with a UPS store there are alternatives. In the larger communities that have both post offices and UPS stores, there are choices. Here, the USPO has a monopoly...not an overwhelming amount of business, but if you count both our community and the community up the hill, our post office is the only mail choice for around 200 people. I really feel sorry for the folks in that community up the hill. They are 8 miles beyond us. If the post office closes, they'll have to drive 28 miles just to mail a Birthday card or thank you note.

 

[jasoncran]

Nope, the next nearest post office is 20 miles from here, then after another 20 there is a town with both a post office and a UPS store.



I know...but at least with a UPS store there are alternatives. In the larger communities that have both post offices and UPS stores, there are choices. Here, the USPO has a monopoly...not an overwhelming amount of business, but if you count both our community and the community up the hill, our post office is the only mail choice for around 200 people. I really feel sorry for the folks in that community up the hill. They are 8 miles beyond us. If the post office closes, they'll have to drive 28 miles just to mail a Birthday card or thank you note.

no sattelites. surely when the uspo closes they often have sattelites in place. in fact i have one less then three miles from me that just opened. of course my hometown is just as bad in that we have 4 to five uspo within 20 miles. my zip code home uspo is less then 5 miles away,the main one for the entire county seven and aslo two more with in 10. those are actual post offices. only mine is scheduled to close. i hardly use that service anyway as well i dont need to. i work near the ups shipping hub.

 

[reba]

Our PO is on the list.... the closest one will be 16 miles down the road....I didnt check that one ...

 

[handy]

Wow Reba, so you're in the same boat...sorry to hear it.

Jason...nope, no satellites. As a matter of fact, it could very well be that our post office is considered a satellite itself. It's quite small, the whole office is housed in a 10 x 15 building...

Last night, Steve and I were talking about checking into some of the private postal businesses and possibly buying the building and opening a private post office ourselves...

...something to think about. We would start with a customer base of about 200.

 

[Nacho]

My hometown post office is on the list and the closest one is 28miles away.

And there are no other options in smaller towns here, so my parents are going to be affected by this. Guess I better get them a better computer so they can email more.

 

[reba]

Will they do a rural delivery? I have not read enough to know.

I dont have need of mail delivery daily.

The postmaster here works 6 days a week 6 hours week days 3 hours Sat and makes well over 20.00 per hour.

She does not work 6 hours per day she is there for 6 hours. Only at Christmas time does it take more than 30 minutes to put the incoming into the boxes.. She is a sweetheart, an over paid sweetheart. I do hope for her she can take over the job down the road as that postmaster is well beyond retirement age....

Times and things change we no longer use the pony express

 

[stovebolts]

I know they are re configuring and consolidating a lot of the routes in the rural areas and for the small towns that are loosing their primary post office, but I've heard that the small mom and pop country store would become the satalite hub for your rural carrier to pick up packages etc. For instance, if you have a package that needs signed for and your not home when the postal carrier comes to deliver, the carrier would take it to the satalite location where you could sign and pick it up instead of driving 28 miles to the real post office.

I actually think this is a good thing for some of the smaller communities because it brings money into the mom and pop store.

Also, they have already gotten rid of a lot of the postmasters and the clerks are doing some of the work of a postmaster. Postmasters also over see multiple offices now, instead of just one like it used to be.

 

[reba]

When i had to close the store( the only store/cafe in town) that left only the PO as a gathering spot Now it will be gone also...

 

[handy]

I know they are re configuring and consolidating a lot of the routes in the rural areas and for the small towns that are loosing their primary post office, but I've heard that the small mom and pop country store would become the satalite hub for your rural carrier to pick up packages etc. For instance, if you have a package that needs signed for and your not home when the postal carrier comes to deliver, the carrier would take it to the satalite location where you could sign and pick it up instead of driving 28 miles to the real post office.

I actually think this is a good thing for some of the smaller communities because it brings money into the mom and pop store.

Also, they have already gotten rid of a lot of the postmasters and the clerks are doing some of the work of a postmaster. Postmasters also over see multiple offices now, instead of just one like it used to be.

Why am I smiling, Jeff?

Because when this town first got on it's feet at the turn of the last century, a man opened the Mercantile. The Mercantile was a general store, restaurant with a partial liquor license (you could buy a beer). It was also the post office. Everything was sent basically "General Delivery" and the guy who own the Mercantile would just put the mail of his neighbors into boxes and when the neighbors came to the Merc, they'd pick up their mail.

The Mercantile changed hands and with the onset of automobile travel in this area, the new owner added a couple of gas pumps and operated a full service station.

After a while, the USPO opened an official Post Office here in town...and at about the same time the Mercantile ceased to be a general store, but folks could still go out to eat there...and get one's oil changed and tank filled while one was eating. At that point, it was no longer known as the "Merc" but rather the "Station". Over the years, later owners dispensed with the gas sales and service and the mid-'70's the gas pumps were removed. It was always confusing to me when I moved to this town and people would say, "Oh just leave it at the Station"....by which they meant the restaurant, which was named the "Inn".

New owners have recently taken over the Inn, and, cashing in on the summer traffic that goes to the various fishing spots further up the road, they've also opened up an area that sells various items like ice, milk, canned goods, pop, sun tan lotion, toilet paper, mosquito repellent...general items. It's the only business in town, but it's a great restaurant with wonderful food...and although the prices are naturally spendy...if I find I'm running out of toilet paper, it's cheaper to buy a roll there than drive the 40 miles to the store.

Now, who knows? It very well might become a postal satellite.

Which means that in it's 105 year history...the building has gone from being a general store, restaurant and post office to being a...general store, restaurant and post office.

 

[handy]

When i had to close the store( the only store/cafe in town) that left only the PO as a gathering spot Now it will be gone also...

I hear you on this, Reba...

Steve and I were talking about this last night...at how there used to be other communities in this area...thriving communities. However, when the state consolidated school districts, the other small communities lost their schools...then the USPO built the post office here and they lost their post offices...and now the communities are just ...gone... Gross was once a town not far north of here. Had a school which doubled as the church on Sundays, a post office, a couple of businesses. You can google "Gross, Idaho" and it will show up. But, if you drive up there...there's nothing.

 

[Rhea]

I think it's a shame and a bad equation to close those rural post offices. Sure they "only" serve 200 people, but just like rural electrification, it is the collective good of the people (the "government") which has the will and mandate to make sure no one gets left without services. No for-profit will ever voluntarily do an inefficient service just to make sure all get served.

It is, IMHO, the Post Office's JOB and mandate to make sure the PO closings are NOT going to leave people more miles away from an outlet. By that logic the rural electrification project should also "close down" rural lines like mine. Then the phone company, too.

The PO should consolidate urban and suburban post offices, not rural ones. My town lost its post office long ago, but at least the ones in the neighboring town are only 10 miles away. The rural folks are perfectly happy to cut hours and have limited deliveries, as long as they have *some* delivery. The post office can be open only 20 hours a week and deliveries (if any) only 3x a week. As long as it's something. We're good with that stuff. Meanwhile urban people can wait in line longer, but they are all better equipped to do so much by internet that they have an alternative. The rural folks usually lack both the PO AND the internet.

 

[stovebolts]

Rhea,
I said this a couple years ago, but if you want to save your post office, then start by sending one letter a week, and get your friends and family to do the same.

The sad reality is the post office is spending more money than they are making. Something has to give and there isn't light at the end of the tunnel. As more and more companies go electronic, less and less will be hand delivered in the mail.

Now, as far as closing post offices, that does not mean that they are going to stop delivering mail to your house. You will still get mail every day, unless they cut Saturday delivery which they have been talking about for a few years also.

Again, just because they close a post office does not mean they are stopping delivery and as stated earlier, the mom and pop market should take up what the rural post office was doing.

It's really a win win for everyone. Our tax dollars are better spent and it helps the local economy. As far as the carriers, they keep their routes, but they'll make more because their route is further from the post office. It all works out and believe it or not, the Post Office is hiring...

The post office can be open only 20 hours a week and deliveries (if any) only 3x a week

That reduces employment to part time, which cuts the postal workers income in half... I wouldn't want my wages cut in half.

 

[reba]

I am rural because i want to be.... I am pleased to be as far from government as i can be. I dont want other folks to pay to cover my mail expenses.

I dont want the PO to close but i will adjust.

Around here the UPS driver knows everyone by name and they are not bound by the same restrictions as the USPS

 

[handy]

Now, as far as closing post offices, that does not mean that they are going to stop delivering mail to your house. You will still get mail every day, unless they cut Saturday delivery which they have been talking about for a few years also.

Jeff, one thing to keep in mind is that in many rural areas there is no home mail delivery. We have to go to the post office to get mail...no house to house delivery here!

Our Post Mistress will be losing her job...and unless they do allow the Inn to be a satellite, the carrier that brings the mail from the Emmett post office to here will be out of a job as well. The Post Mistress is probably close enough to retirement to just do so...the carrier? She'll need to get a job elsewhere...

 

[stovebolts]

Reba, I'm rural too. Wouldn't change it for anything! BTW, my wife is a rural carrier.

BTW, I'm building a dirt bike track in our back yard :yes So far I've got three "bumps" and then a 3 foot jump which goes into a burm, then I've got a 5 foot jump that isn't completed yet... almost got my kid in trouble yesterday :bigfrown He jumped all the way over the jump and landed on his front wheel... Hit his head on the handle bars and jarred his body pretty good. Looks like that $150 neck brace payed for itself :yes

 

[stovebolts]

Jeff, one thing to keep in mind is that in many rural areas there is no home mail delivery. We have to go to the post office to get mail...no house to house delivery here!

Our Post Mistress will be losing her job...and unless they do allow the Inn to be a satellite, the carrier that brings the mail from the Emmett post office to here will be out of a job as well. The Post Mistress is probably close enough to retirement to just do so...the carrier? She'll need to get a job elsewhere...

Wow, you're really out in the boon docks then huh? I didn't think there were many people like you. I'm really not sure how that's going to work unless they just have P.O. boxes setup elsewhere close by. I can't imagine them cutting everyone off or making you drive 40 miles.

I do know that there will be more carriers that loose their jobs, especially if they drop Saturday. It's sad, but the money just isn't there to support the industry.

Emmett.... I miss that country!

 

[reba]

Adjust the length of the jump! You KNOW he will go all out full throttle totopic