Over the last year or so, a number of analysts, consultants, and observers of the United States Postal Service have found themselves in a position of being less supportive of the USPS than they have traditionally been aligned. I include myself in that group.

You've probably been reading articles, blogs, and Tweets from these people. Speaking for me, this personal switch from supporter to detractor has been surprising. I have always admired the job that the USPS does. I still do. And I know there are a lot of really great people within the Postal Service who are doing everything in their power to serve mailers as they adjust to new rules and help them take advantage of new opportunities. But there are a number of decisions and strategies made on a national level that just don't seem to be in line with what mailing customers require in these difficult economic times.

What is Happening at HQ?
That's where I start to have a problem. There are just so many things going on that, regardless of how much I want to, I just can't get fully behind the USPS right now. I have a responsibility to my clients. They count on me to interpret trends and events and to tell them what those factors can mean to their businesses. Right now, it is difficult to present them with an optimistic view.

I realize the Postal Service has its own financial problems. And I realize that they presently don't have a lot of control over some of the factors that are contributing to the difficulties. But the USPS preferred road to financial stability seems to include strategies that do not address the needs of the majority of their mailing customers. Nor do the proposed changes seem to prepare the Postal Service for continuing their historically important contribution to commerce in America over the long haul.

Flying in the face of reason, the Postal Service has proposed the triple-whammy of a rate increase, a reduction of service, and more stringent regulation enforcement and fine assessment. We've all heard experts claim that the USPS should be allowed to operate as a business. It doesn't appear that they are prepared for that. I can think of few private enterprises that tried to increase business by raising prices and lowering service.

The Mailing Professionals Get It

Those of use who have spent our careers in the document mailing business probably understand what a great deal the United States Postal Service represents. Where else can you get delivery service six days a week, to any address in the USA, at those kinds of rates? Even during economic times that are tough on everyone, I think a lot of mailing professionals would be fine with a modest price increase or a move towards five-day delivery. This group knows what a job it is to move mail through a nationwide distribution network and get letters delivered within a reasonable time frame.

Unfortunately, a lot of the people paying the bills don't see it that way. It's not the mail center managers that the USPS needs to convince about changes they see necessary to survive. And it is not the handful of mega-mailers who seem to always have the ability to whisper in the USPS' ear. It's the CEO's, CFO's, CMO's, and business line managers of all organizations who really make the decisions about which documents get mailed and which ones don't. Without their support, there's not much that the mailing professionals can do.

END OF PART ONE

READ THE CONCLUSION ON MY BLOG www.printmailconsultants.com/blog