MuskogeePhoenix.com, Muskogee, OK

Letters

Discussion

December 28, 2008

THE PEOPLE SPEAK: Why this is happening to customer service

First, it is important to note that the U.S. Postal Service does not rely on tax revenue to perform its operations. In other words, your hard-earned dollars do not subsidize Postal Service functions. All the while, we interact with the American public on a daily basis, providing extraordinary service at a reasonable price.

However, the Postal Service, one of the most honored institutions in America, is being systematically dismantled by a management group intent on following corporate ideology that prioritizes downsizing and outsourcing (even at higher costs) rather than growing our business through dedication to service. Postal Service management is fostering the long lines that now pervade local post offices.

Why?

To discourage you from conducting your transactions with a window clerk, forcing you to seek alternatives and thereby justifying their predetermined and particularly self-fulfilling staffing cuts.

If you do decide to conduct business at a window, be aware that the clerk is under strict instruction to “up sell” our products. If they were to advise you of a less costly but wholly reliable method, they could face disciplinary action.

So while our members retain a great deal of expertise, they are not allowed to share it with you. This is a disingenuous scheme to increase profit margins at the expense of the public.

Such impacts are not limited to transactions conducted at our windows either.

Additional services, such as P.O. box delivery, now occurs later in the day even though customers pay a premium for this supposed benefit. In general, customer service is quickly becoming a thing of the past. Downsizing is certainly not a new concept, but in our case it equates to longer lines, deceitful business practices and needless delays of the mail. 

Paul E. Evans, president Muskogee Area Local 007, state president for the Oklahoma Postal Workers Union

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