by Peg R

Created on: March 18, 2010   Last Updated: March 19, 2010

There isn't much in the history of the US Postal Service of real significance.  Big events listed are things like when the first self-adhesive stamp was issued. But if we look at those truly important dates like 1775 when Benjamin Franklin was appointed the first post master. Then there is 1855 when we required pre-payment or postage or 1860 when the Pony Express began. 

We have the Zip Code in 1963 and then the more complex Zip Code +4 digit in 1983 which no one uses unless forced to on a web-site. Express mail I believe to be a big highlight in 1970 but didn't work to compete with UPS and FedEx to make the biggest impact on revenues.

These are historical events and yet I don't want to see added to the list the day the postal service went from 6 days to 5 days.

I believe it is critical that there be Saturday service. Closing all or a few post offices on Wednesday would make better sense to me than closing on Saturday. There is the need of businesses that can be argued for Wednesday service, however there are 5 post offices within 7 miles from my home. 

There are two post offices within three miles. In the City of Atlanta there are 7 offices under a mile from the center of town. This is overkill and with larger offices, updated technologies and perfect site selection focusing on ingress and egress to the site, the postal service can eliminate many of their offices all together without cutting the 6 day a week service. 

Residential route delivery could be cut on Wednesday and probably not be felt in the least while continuing business services M - F. Business service could be suspected for route delivery on Saturdays - but the offices should remain open.

There are so many more creative ways to cut costs that I don't believe have been fully explored. The process of handling mail has not changed that much in the last 50 years. Postal workers are generally rude at the counter. Mail often miss delivered. Improvements need to be made to not only make the system most efficient but to improve performance and customer service.

Post offices are critical to very rural communities. Offices need to remain open 6 days a week. 

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