# Goodbye, Saturday delivery **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 6, 2013, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-saturday-delivery/649502 "2013-02-06T17:15:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2013, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-saturday-delivery/649502/41 "2013-02-07T13:31:34Z")
> [@Furious\_Marmot](#): > > What about a system where the customer has the option to pay some amount per year to avoid delivery of junk mail? The Post Office gets the money and saves money by not actually having to deliver crap no one wants. As I sifted through the envelopes, a match flared and cast a brief glow on a figure leaning in the dark beside me. Swarthy, sneering, hunched in a leather blazer with a familiar eagle design embroidered on one breast. “Nice box you got there. Be a real shame if someone _stuffed_ it.” ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2013, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-saturday-delivery/649502/42 "2013-02-07T13:34:09Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > “Nice box you got there. Be a real shame if someone _stuffed_ it.” That’s what _he_ said! ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2013, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-saturday-delivery/649502/43 "2013-02-07T14:06:38Z")
I was listening to NPR yesterday, and a woman whose name and position I don’t recall said that cutting service is a poor way to resolve the problem. She said this move would accelerate the Post Office’s demise. My SO had not heard of the Saturday non-deliveries. When I told her she said, ‘They raise rates and then cut service? Screw them! I’ll stop using them unless I absolutely have to.’ ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2013, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-saturday-delivery/649502/44 "2013-02-07T14:15:09Z")
> [@Canadjun](#): > > You guys still have Saturday delivery?! Holy sh-t! I don’t remember when Canada did away with it; it was certainly a long time ago. This was my response. All the new neighbourhoods in Calgary don’t have home delivery at all - they have superboxes, where you go get your own mail. Somehow they survive. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Missy2U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@Missy2U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Missy2U)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2013, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-saturday-delivery/649502/45 "2013-02-07T14:56:58Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > Me too. I won’t miss Saturday deliveries any more than I miss twice a day deliveries. I’d rather keep the Post Office alive by shaving costs than running it out of business with services few people care about. There used to be twice a day deliveries? Really?? Tell me about this - I have seriously hever heard anything about such a thing. When WAS this? ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2013, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-saturday-delivery/649502/46 "2013-02-07T15:09:26Z")
> [@PandaBear77](#): > > The government can’t handle delivering the damn mail yet people want government run healthcare :rolleyes: The post office does a fantastic job of mail delivery, far better than any private company has, or could for the price. They get mail to places that UPS and FedEx has never _heard_ of, reliably and inexpensively. The only real problem that the USPS has is that a segment of Congress is ideologically opposed to its existence, and determined to sink it with deliberately burdensome requirements, unlike those any other agency has to work under. Shit, we can _dream_ of health care as effective as the post office. Cutting Saturday service is a damn shame, and should have been unnecessary. ---
**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:** [February 7, 2013, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-saturday-delivery/649502/47 "2013-02-07T15:10:21Z")
> [@Missy2U](#): > > There used to be twice a day deliveries? Really?? Tell me about this - I have seriously hever heard anything about such a thing. When WAS this? The USPO used to have twice a day deliveries at least in dense city areas. It was [discontinued in the 1950s:](http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-postal-service-saturday-delivery-20130207,0,4072490.story) > [@](#): > > The end of Saturday delivery would be the biggest change to mail service since the end of twice-daily delivery in the 1950s. If they can cut costs by eliminating delivery for one day, think how much they could save if they eliminated 4 more, and only delivered one day per week? They’d be rich! ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2013, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-saturday-delivery/649502/48 "2013-02-07T15:10:48Z")
A woman moved to a very rural location. She asked how often mail is delivered. She understands that mail is delivered ‘tri-weekly’, and comments that three times per week is acceptable. The postmaster says, ‘We _try_ weekly. If we don’t make it, we try again the following week.’ ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2013, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-saturday-delivery/649502/49 "2013-02-07T15:14:46Z")
> [@Missy2U](#): > > There used to be twice a day deliveries? Really?? Tell me about this - I have seriously hever heard anything about such a thing. When WAS this? From about the 1880s through the 1950s, there was twice-daily delivery to city residences, and as many as four deliveries per day to businesses. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2013, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-saturday-delivery/649502/50 "2013-02-07T15:15:33Z")
> [@Peremensoe](#): > > The post office does a fantastic job of mail delivery, far better than any private company has, or could for the price. They get mail to places that UPS and FedEx has never _heard_ of, reliably and inexpensively. > > The only real problem that the USPS has is that a segment of Congress is ideologically opposed to its existence, and determined to sink it with deliberately burdensome requirements, unlike those any other agency has to work under. > > Shit, we can _dream_ of health care as effective as the post office. > Cutting Saturday service is a damn shame, and should have been unnecessary. I agree with everything you said except the last line. I think that reform of the ridiculous requirements would go far to put the Postal Service back in black, and even _with_ those artificial burdens it’s a great value, but we also don’t need Saturday service any more. Perhaps we could bring back Special Delivery, that would deliver on weekends for an additional charge, and those letters could be delivered along with the packages. But other than time-sensitive deliveries, I don’t see that big a deal with Saturday deliveries: I always thought it a bit wasteful, myself. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2013, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-saturday-delivery/649502/51 "2013-02-07T15:25:26Z")
Why not cut Wednesdays too, then? Why not deliver only on Mondays? The whole _point_ of the post office is to move the mail, basically continuously. We traditionally rest many parts of our society on Sunday, but apart from that I want the mail to move. Cutting a day, any day, is something like sabotage; it reduces the value of the agency more than it reduces the cost. I’m sure that, in some minds, this is exactly the point. ---
**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:** [February 7, 2013, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-saturday-delivery/649502/52 "2013-02-07T15:26:34Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > … but we also don’t need Saturday service any more… Would you support dropping Wednesday and Thursday deliveries also? Who needs 'em? ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2013, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-saturday-delivery/649502/53 "2013-02-07T15:30:41Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > Would you support dropping Wednesday and Thursday deliveries also? Who needs 'em? Oh, definitely. I also support raising the marginal tax rates to 100%, and the drinking age to 55. ---
**Author:** ![Missy2U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@Missy2U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Missy2U)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2013, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-saturday-delivery/649502/54 "2013-02-07T15:31:43Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > The USPO used to have twice a day deliveries at least in dense city areas. It was [discontinued in the 1950s:](http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-postal-service-saturday-delivery-20130207,0,4072490.story) > [@Peremensoe](#): > > From about the 1880s through the 1950s, there was twice-daily delivery to city residences, and as many as four deliveries per day to businesses. Thanks you guys!! I learn something new every day! ---
**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:** [February 7, 2013, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-saturday-delivery/649502/55 "2013-02-07T15:44:20Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > Oh, definitely. I also support raising the marginal tax rates to 100%, and the drinking age to 55. No problem, but I posed a serious question. How many days per week is the best number? There no magic to 5; we were just used to 6. If mail volume continues to decline, maybe once or twice a week is fine. Maybe not, and that’s why I’m asking. What’s your comfort level? And I just thought of an unintended consequence of the Saturday delivery change. Our local newspaper is printed twice a week and arrives in all mailboxes on Wednesday and Saturday. After August 1, the newspaper may have to adjust their publication schedule or become increasingly marginalized by other media. It’s ironic that I cancelled home newspaper delivery to a non-USPO “mail tube” a few years ago because it arrived 5 hours later in the day than the US mail did. Maybe we’ll have to revive that kind of delivery. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2013, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-saturday-delivery/649502/56 "2013-02-07T15:46:18Z")
I guess I’m confused as to why people are glad they’re cutting Saturday service. Even if you only get junk mail and never receive any other mail, what is the difference if you get 3 pieces of junk mail on Saturday and 4 on Monday? Now you’ll just get 7 pieces on Monday. I still get Netflix by mail, so I check the mail on days that I’m expecting a DVD. I’ll also check daily if it’s near my birthday or a holiday since I still get some greeting cards. Otherwise, I’ll check the mail every couple of days or so. But, I’d rather empty it out over a weekend than know i"m getting extra mail on Monday. If I actually thought the service cut would help the postal service, I might be more inclined to support it. But, as others have pointed out, it is congressional meddling that has caused the postal service to lose money, not email and electronic billing. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2013, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-saturday-delivery/649502/57 "2013-02-07T16:21:57Z")
> [@Stan\_Shmenge](#): > > I would cut further. Do businesses on MWF and residences on T Th. I can’t for the life of me think of anything in the mail that so important it can’t wait few days. And if it can’t, there is the parcel service. carriers do routes long term and get good at it. also there are fewer business routes than residential routes. you would eliminate a lot of developed efficiency. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2013, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-saturday-delivery/649502/58 "2013-02-07T16:27:39Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > No problem, but I posed a serious question. How many days per week is the best number? We could cut down on more, probably, but one is definitely doable. Cutting more than one day _might_ be cutting too much, but cutting one definitely isn’t. I personally recieve less than half the mail (including junk mail) than I did even just 6 years ago, and I don’t rely on time-sensitive physical letters. But I acknowledge that my experience is not universal. Plus, others have brought up the union question for why saturday cuts might not save us money (i.e. “will they have to pay someone to NOT delivery mail on Saturday anyway, due to union agreements?”) While I’m not sure if that’s true for Saturday, I wonder if it has a chance to be true for _mid-week_ deliveries, since you’d be taking away a consecutive 5-day 40-hour work day for some delivery people. So while I personally would not complain about axing at least one more additional day from the week, I think one is a slam dunk. Similarly, do you support twice-a-day delivery? If not, why? > [@dalej42](#): > > I guess I’m confused as to why people are glad they’re cutting Saturday service. Even if you only get junk mail and never receive any other mail, what is the difference if you get 3 pieces of junk mail on Saturday and 4 on Monday? It’s a cost to the taxpayers for a marginal benefit (not to mention, in the bigger picture, a waste of resources.) Similarly, some people think that we shouldn’t get rid of the penny and think that people opposed to the penny just hate it for some reason, when the actual reason is also expense in the face of a lack of an actual need. ---
**Author:** ![artemis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/91b2a8/32.png) [@artemis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/artemis)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2013, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-saturday-delivery/649502/59 "2013-02-07T16:34:26Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > I still get Netflix by mail, so I check the mail on days that I’m expecting a DVD. I’ll also check daily if it’s near my birthday or a holiday since I still get some greeting cards. Otherwise, I’ll check the mail every couple of days or so. But, I’d rather empty it out over a weekend than know i"m getting extra mail on Monday. Same here. I suspect those of us who are unhappy about the loss of Saturday delivery are still receiving things other than junk mail in our mailboxes. Heck, I’d prefer 7 day a week mail delivery! I’d b less unhappy if the decline in service was being prompted entirely by declining usage, but it’s not. It’s almost entirely caused by ridiculous laws passed by a Congress that is ideologically hostile to any shared public services. (At least is sounds like the actual Post Offices will be open for business on Saturdays. I’d be livid if that had changed, as going in at any other time means having to arrive late to work.) ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2013, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-saturday-delivery/649502/60 "2013-02-07T19:38:04Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > My guess is that in rural communities, where distances between services are greater than cities, or for those unable to drive, some people can’t just walk down to the corner for supplies, but rely upon them being delivered to their door. If they have no Saturday delivery, they may have a 3-day wait for whatever they need immediately, or pay a higher cost for custom services. In particular a lot of people have medicine delivered by mail. Elderly people and people in rural areas are likely to have a harder time finding an alternative, and medicine is often needed very quckly. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-saturday-delivery/649502.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goodbye-saturday-delivery/649502.md?page=4)