RE: USPS policy?

["Morris, George" <gmorris at kester_com>]

I've always been very happy with my USPS service and I  don't like the talk
I've been hearing from the Bush administration about overhauling the post
office, cutting back on manpower, "doing more with less" etc.  I'm sure that
our priority mail service will suffer from it.
GM

-----Original Message-----
From: Koran, David HQ02 [mailto:David_Koran at HQ02.USACE.ARMY.MIL]
Sent: Thursday, August 21, 2003 2:52 PM
To: 'killietalk at AKA_Org'
Subject: RE: USPS policy?


Thanks Al,

You just negated all of those bad feelings about USPS the retired  Frank
Ruggiero gave us from Rochester for the last 25 years!  Valuable information
indeed, thanks.

-----Original Message-----
From: Al [mailto:alsup at localnet_com]
Sent: Thursday, August 21, 2003 3:01 PM
To: killietalk at AKA_Org
Subject: Re: USPS policy?


Hi everyone,

I hope that I can put this thread to rest. I worked for the USPS for 30
years, and part of that was as a supervisor in Mailing Requirements. What
that means is that I was the guy every Postmaster between Saratoga Springs,
NY and the Canadian border called if there was ANY question about mailing,
whether the item in question was live animals or "junk mail."

As someone alluded to, the USPS is a quasi-autonomous business. There is
Congressional oversight as well as oversight by a separate Board of
Governors unconnected to the USPS or Congress. This means that the USPS does
NOT set up arbitrary rules or rates. Imagine, if you can, being a business
that cannot offer special pricing to large users, as FedEx does. Imagine
also not being able to set your own prices for your service/product, and not
being able to come up with a new service/product without getting permission
to market it.

Yes, Express Mail and some Priority mail does go on feed planes. However, as
of the time I retired in 1998, most Priority mail and all regular First
Class mail went by surface if it was within 300 miles, assuming that faster
air transport was not available. All other Priority and First Class went by
air.

NO POST OFFICE has the right to refuse your shipment of fish or eggs if they
are properly packaged, AND if the PO you are using has transportation to
reach their main area PO in time to meet dispatches of mail. If the delivery
PO is not on the accepting PO's network, they can tell you which PO can
accept your shipment.

The absolute best service may be obtained by sending your shipments by PO to
PO Express Mail from an Air Transfer Office to a recipient at another ATO.
I'm 50 miles away from my nearest ATO, Albany NY (ATO's are AT THE AIRPORT,
not downtown!!!!!!!!!!!) The intended recipient should be told when and
where his shipment will arrive. Any ATO can give you this info. Then have
the recipient waiting at their ATO, and they will have the shipment
delivered right there, at their ATO, in the least time possible. I once got
Blue Gularis from Seattle to me in under 12 hours, coming back against the
time zones.

The questions about contents are about 9/11 and the anthrax scare. However,
NO PO may refuse a properly packed shipment. If they do refuse, ask for the
phone number for their overseeing PO. I don't know the terminology now, but
it used to be "their Sectional Center PO." Call them and ask why the
shipment was refused. Insist that they consult the present-day equivalent of
Mailing Requirements, if it is still refused.

Al


----- Original Message -----
From: <athensaquatics at juno_com>
To: <killietalk at AKA_Org>
Sent: Tuesday, August 19, 2003 6:09 PM
Subject: Re: USPS policy?


> Hi Edd,The questions being asked by the PO window person started about 2
> 1/2 years ago here in Catskill,NY.  It was asked by an unfamiliar
> person.My regular gal,"Karen" said it was because the USPS had just
> signed a contract with another carrier to handle the mail(Fed Ex).What a
> lot of customers do not realize is the USPS is now a private business
> concern(losing money by the way) trying to abibe with the US government
> overseeing it.
>         I used to be able to mail fish orders from whatever PO I was near
> at the time,but since the anthrax scare and 9/11 and FedEx carrying their
> mail :I can only use Karen at my local,Catskill PO.For a short time there
> I used to put on the exterior of the boxes "Contains pure Catskill
> water".My idea of a joke!  At any rate as Dr.Cooper points out if your
> local PO window person is familiar with you and what you mail,You will
> not be quizzed as a suspected terrorist. Sincerely,Athens Aquatics
> On Tue, 19 Aug 2003 12:40:47 -0600 "Kray, Edd" <Edd_Kray at rf.doe.gov>
> writes:
> >
> > Yesterday I took a couple pair of fish to the PO to send to Dick
> > Martino
> > with the shipment to the KFN show. (Which by the way, I encourage
> > you
> > all to participate-in, although he needs the fish this week, even
> > tomorrow as I remember).
> >
> > I sent them priority mail as we normally do. The lady behind the
> > desk
> > asked me: "Is there anything live, perishable, liquid or hazardous
> > in
> > the box?"  The question seemed to imply that if my answer was yes,
> > they
> > wouldn't ship it. I won't tell you what my answer to her was. The
> > fish
> > are on their way to Dick.
> >
> > Is there some new postal policy that disallows packages that are
> > live,
> > perishable or liquid? I asked my delivery person about this and she
> > said
> > unequivocally "NO": "I've been delivering fish to you for 15 years
> > and
> > there's nothing that forbids me to continue".
> >
> > Your experiences? Seems you all are shipping priority mail with no
> > problems. Is my post office manager being arbitrary and capricious?
> > Would he have had to take them if I said there were fish in the box?
> >
> > As a government (state) worker myself, I don't trust government
> > workers!
> >
> >
> >
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> >
> >
>
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