news-record.com

Counterpoint:

By Ronald L. White
 

This is in response to the mention of changes to letter carrier Robert McCance’s delivery route in your Aug. 8 edition.
As you and your readers may know, the U.S. Postal Service is experiencing financial difficulties because of declining mail volume and loss of revenue. We expect a decline of 20 billion pieces of mail by the end of this fiscal year.

First-class mail has seen a decline because of the use of the Internet and fewer mailings by industries impacted by the recession (financial, mortgage, banking and insurance).

The Postal Service employs more than 280,000 mail carriers who deliver to more than 149 million homes, businesses and post office boxes. At the beginning of the year we notified customers that the Postal Service was making adjustments to carrier routes because of the unprecedented drop in mail volume and advances in mail processing technology.

We have been able to adjust mail delivery routes and eliminate the pivoting of routes (carriers delivering other routes or parts of other routes after their regular route is completed), and match the deliveries with the actual mail volume.

In Greensboro, we reviewed 200 routes and made adjustments that would be cost-effective while maintaining customer service.

We are extremely proud of the fact that our customers are fond of their mail carriers and consider them part of the community. While the adjustment to McCance’s route means that portions of his route will change, he will undoubtedly earn the praises of his new customers who are also experiencing a change in carriers.

And, we are confident that the carrier who will now deliver to portions of McCance’s former route will measure up to our customers’ expectations.

I’d like to thank Greensboro customers for their confidence in our letter carriers and assure them that we will continue to focus on providing excellent customer service.

The writer is Greensboro postmaster.