# Cutting postal service by a day or two: So what? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [January 29, 2009, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cutting-postal-service-by-a-day-or-two-so-what/483504 "2009-01-29T04:17:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![BlinkingDuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eada6e/32.png) [@BlinkingDuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlinkingDuck)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cutting-postal-service-by-a-day-or-two-so-what/483504/21 "2009-01-29T16:43:08Z")
> [@catsix](#): > > Aren’t FedEx and UPS both prevented by law from direct competition with the USPS for letter delivery? > > Neither of them have an equivalent to USPS ‘First Class Mail’, but if they did, why would it necessarily be more expensive than the USPS? I think the reason is that they would cherrypick…say delivery around NYC but not pursue letter delivery in Podunk Montana. ---
**Author:** ![lost4life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@lost4life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lost4life)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cutting-postal-service-by-a-day-or-two-so-what/483504/22 "2009-01-29T17:14:08Z")
Aside from the aforementioned Netflix, I only seem to get crap on Saturdays. There never seems to be anything important :dubious: What’s up with that? ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cutting-postal-service-by-a-day-or-two-so-what/483504/23 "2009-01-29T17:59:40Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > What does that mean? Tuesday is the day on the other side of Monday? Nah, just that most mail takes two days to get to the most likely location in the continental US. Eg, most mail is less than two-three states away, so on. So Tuesday is the day most mail that would be mailed on Sunday would be delivered. Generally, Tuesday tends to be a lighter day than the rest of the week, therefore. Rule of thumb thing more than anything. These are the things you learn when you play D&D with a guy who works in the post office. Accuracy… eh, it’s a rule of thumb, so somewhat. ---
**Author:** ![Razncain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9d8465/32.png) [@Razncain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Razncain)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cutting-postal-service-by-a-day-or-two-so-what/483504/24 "2009-01-29T18:16:53Z")
Now that I’ve thought about it some more, I think it would be even better if delivery was only for Monday, Wednesday and Friday’s. If we can get by without weekend delivery, surely skipping Tuesdays and Thursday would be a piece of cake too. This would only mean getting your mail only one day later. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cutting-postal-service-by-a-day-or-two-so-what/483504/25 "2009-01-29T18:33:50Z")
I’d rather they remove one of the mid-week days than Saturday. Removing Saturday means that if a delivery doesn’t make it by Friday, it’s three days later when it comes. Two single-day gaps in delivery is much better, in my opinion, than one two-day gap. Not to mention that some people can’t make it to the post office during the week, so they should be open at least one weekend day. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cutting-postal-service-by-a-day-or-two-so-what/483504/26 "2009-01-29T18:37:21Z")
I never knew you had mail delivery on Saturdays! Heck, unless you were part of an established subdivision before community mail boxes became popular in the 1980s you don’t even get mail delivered to your house in Canada. Instead the mail comes to one of [these.](http://aspotoft.typepad.com/a_spot_of_t/images/2007/06/21/community_mailboxes_2.jpg) We’re lucky if we remember to check the mail 3 days out of 5; it’s at the end of the street a half mile away. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cutting-postal-service-by-a-day-or-two-so-what/483504/27 "2009-01-29T18:39:14Z")
> [@sharding](#): > > I don’t care all that much, but I will say that making the service less convenient is not likely to be the best way to slow the loss of customers. Clearly the convenience of email (and even fax), and the speed and reliability of FedEx et al. has driven much of the dropoff in business. But another reason I try to avoid using USPS is that the customer service is typically horrible, post office locations and hours are inconvenient (compared to UPS/FedEx stores, for example) and speed of delivery is very unpredictable. It’s just not a pleasant experience, so the alternatives are even more attractive than they’d otherwise be. Some of those things should be fixable without increasing costs substantially, and in the long run it’s better to stop losing customers than to keep losing them and cut costs to make up for it. What do you mean inconvenient locations? Right across the street is as convenient as it could be. 😉 That being said, I have never set foot inside of it. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cutting-postal-service-by-a-day-or-two-so-what/483504/28 "2009-01-29T18:57:32Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > I never knew you had mail delivery on Saturdays! > > Heck, unless you were part of an established subdivision before community mail boxes became popular in the 1980s you don’t even get mail delivered to your house in Canada. Instead the mail comes to one of [these.](http://aspotoft.typepad.com/a_spot_of_t/images/2007/06/21/community_mailboxes_2.jpg) We’re lucky if we remember to check the mail 3 days out of 5; it’s at the end of the street a half mile away. I get my mail at the post office, which is only open until 11:30 on Saturdays (and the window closes at 11:00). For a late sleeper like me, it’s as good as having no Saturday delivery! ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cutting-postal-service-by-a-day-or-two-so-what/483504/29 "2009-01-29T19:50:30Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Heck, unless you were part of an established subdivision before community mail boxes became popular in the 1980s you don’t even get mail delivered to your house in Canada. That’s because you Maple Leafers are on the metric system. A metric week doesn’t have Saturdays. Makes for quite a jolt between Fridays and Sundays, eh? ---
**Author:** ![buttonjockey308](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@buttonjockey308](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buttonjockey308)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cutting-postal-service-by-a-day-or-two-so-what/483504/30 "2009-01-29T19:55:41Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > In this case, the “because it’s always been done this way” folks may have a point. If the Post Office, who knows that “it’s always been done this way,” is actually considering changing things, you know something must be Terribly, Terribly Wrong. That’s a fact, Jack. Sorta points to what could be construed to be a depression, when the people who never change for anything, change to stay alive. ---
**Author:** ![HelloKitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecccb3/32.png) [@HelloKitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HelloKitty)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cutting-postal-service-by-a-day-or-two-so-what/483504/31 "2009-01-29T20:22:13Z")
I’ve always thought they should do residential mail deliveries on Mon, Wed, Fri and business deliveries Mon-Fri. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cutting-postal-service-by-a-day-or-two-so-what/483504/32 "2009-01-29T20:28:39Z")
But what if I am running a business out of my house? Hmm? What then? Dump Saturday deliveries, but be prepared for it to cause The Total Downfall of Western Civilization. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cutting-postal-service-by-a-day-or-two-so-what/483504/33 "2009-01-29T20:40:45Z")
> [@razncain](#): > > Now that I’ve thought about it some more, I think it would be even better if delivery was only for Monday, Wednesday and Friday’s. If we can get by without weekend delivery, surely skipping Tuesdays and Thursday would be a piece of cake too. This would only mean getting your mail only one day later. Then I would definitely expect to pay less for Netflix. And my job would suck even harder. On days when our assistant is out I process usually two postal bins of newspapers in the morning and some odd number in the afternoon. When Gerald Ford had the nerve to die next to a federal holiday and the newspaper guy was in the fucking Bahamas I had murder in my heart, let me tell you. It’s hard enough to explain to patrons that no, we do not pay for every newspaper we get (about a hundred, give or take) to give us same day delivery. ---
**Author:** ![Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tastes_of_chocolate/32/3232_2.png) [@Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tastes_of_Chocolate)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cutting-postal-service-by-a-day-or-two-so-what/483504/34 "2009-01-29T21:25:34Z")
I wonder how big of an issue the Netflix crowd would be. Per Netflix, they have about 8.7mill subscribers. With 6 days/week delivery, I can rotate through 2 movies a week. (I watch movie A over the weekend, mail out on Monday. Netflix gets it Tues, and mails movie B to me. I get movie B on Wed and watch it. I return movie B on Thurs, Netflix gets it Friday, mails movie C, which I get on Saturday. Netflix doesn’t work on Saturdays.) Any missing mailing day, and I can no longer do that. I’m sure there are a lot of other subscribers that have done the same math. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cutting-postal-service-by-a-day-or-two-so-what/483504/35 "2009-01-29T21:42:11Z")
I suppose postal workers would complain. They would have approx. an extra 20 % of mail to deliver in one day.,heavier loads,and longer days. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cutting-postal-service-by-a-day-or-two-so-what/483504/36 "2009-01-29T22:06:06Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > It would affect Netflix customers a lot. Not really. Netflix doesn’t ship DVDs on weekends or public holidays anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cutting-postal-service-by-a-day-or-two-so-what/483504/37 "2009-01-29T22:12:54Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > Not really. Netflix doesn’t ship DVDs on weekends or public holidays anyway. Yeah, but you can GET your DVD on Saturday. ETA - in other words, if you would normally have gotten it on Saturday and they cut Saturday out, you don’t get it until Monday. Which would piss me right off. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cutting-postal-service-by-a-day-or-two-so-what/483504/38 "2009-01-30T01:08:17Z")
> [@buttonjockey308](#): > > That’s a fact, Jack. Sorta points to what could be construed to be a depression, when the people who never change for anything, change to stay alive. Not to undercut someone who agrees with me (:D), but I’m not sure looking at the Post Office is the best way to judge if this is a depression or not. It’s been in trouble for so long (with the 'Net and delivery services) that it seems that attention would be better paid to an industry that’s been steady so far. I wouldn’t judge things based on the publishing business, especially newspapers, for the same reason. ---
**Author:** ![ThirdOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@ThirdOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThirdOne)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cutting-postal-service-by-a-day-or-two-so-what/483504/39 "2009-01-30T01:19:16Z")
Makes me giggle. “It’s always been done that way” isn’t quite accurate. When my mother was young (and she’s no longer on this planet lol), mail was delivered twice a day… she grew up in Los Angeles city proper, many, many years ago. I don’t much care if days are cut… most of what I get is junk, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cutting-postal-service-by-a-day-or-two-so-what/483504/40 "2009-01-30T01:32:30Z")
At least then I’d know what days I wasn’t going to get mail, instead of not getting it on the random days that the mailman just doesn’t feel like going to (literally) the last mailbox on his route. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cutting-postal-service-by-a-day-or-two-so-what/483504.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cutting-postal-service-by-a-day-or-two-so-what/483504.md?page=3)