[sneak]

Replace "disrupt" with "replace with an improved version" and you have accurately characterized my view.

The USPS does an absolutely terrible job, by objective measure. Many of their locations are significantly understaffed, with 30-60 minute waits for basic services (for paying customers!). Rude, unhelpful employees are the norm.

Why should package and letter delivery be a public service? Their approach is not working.

[brendoelfrendo]

With the exception of wait times for in-person service, I don't really get the impression that the USPS does a worse job than any other delivery service. Mail arrives consistently, on time, and at competitive prices.

> Why should package and letter delivery be a public service?

Because everyone needs equal access to those services. Everyone, no exceptions, regardless of how profitable it is or not.

[spfzero]

For most shipments in the weight categories I use, USPS is the least expensive. It's as reliable as Fed Ex or UPS in my experience. I do go into the post office fairly regularly, and have a PO box as well. Everyone's nice enough, they can answer pretty much any question you have. They're experienced, career employees, rather than franchisees. Yes, you usually have to wait in line for some things, but they have kiosks for simple tasks.

I'm sure others will have had other anecdotal experiences, both bad and good, that's just the nature of a large organization. I've lived in several different cities over time and USPS has been consistently fine.

[sneak]

> Mail arrives consistently, on time, and at competitive prices.

That's absolutely not true in most parts of their coverage area, especially the extremely dense ones (for example in Manhattan). With FedEx, it is.

> Because everyone needs equal access to those services. Everyone, no exceptions, regardless of how profitable it is or not.

This, even if we take its premise on faith, seems like an argument for subsidy, not necessarily a publicly operated service like the USPS. Food access is required for all people but we don't have government farms, we give people food credits. We have private hospitals and Medicaid, for another example.

I'm also not sold on the idea that in 2021 (that is, email, webapps, and government subsidized smartphones with browsers and government subsidized network service) that equal access to postal mail is the necessity it once was. Many services now are unusable without an email address, and while they require a postal address the stuff there can be ignored forever if you can access the website and receive email.

[midasuni]

> Because everyone needs equal access to those services. Everyone, no exceptions, regardless of how profitable it is or not.

I can see that argument about food, water, healthcare, maybe even electricity and internet but postal services? It’s pretty low down the “need” pyramid.

[technofiend]

You'll never please everyone: any replacement service will have the same complaints magnified by the fact they'll be unable to operate at the post office's scale. My local post office can have lines but they greet me and any other regular by name. They're also down the street from me. In fact there are several within a three mile radius and that's a good thing.

My experience going to FedEx and other post office competitors is the polar opposite. Everyone there is pissed off they're forced to schlep across the city to some grubby terminal staffed by permanently disaffected employees. FedEx is fortunately a couple of miles away but if I'm forced to go to UPS that's a ten mile drive and DHL is more like 23 miles and that's in traffic because I'm not taking a day off for a package pick up.

So I don't agree aggregation down to a few physical places for package pick up when otherwise service will be for me worse and equally bad or worse for everyone else is an improvement. The only change will be a publicly traded company will be chasing new levels of poorer service every quarter because their #1 duty is not to their customers but their shareholders. It's exactly the opposite of what you want in a customer-facing service.

You only have to look at customer ratings of the local competitors to see what the public thinks of corporate run delivery services now. They hate them. I am skeptical yet another delivery service could improve much less disrupt anything, other than ruin a public service. Hate the post office? Then engage in the political process and help it improve.