Monday, January 28, 2013

My Postal Dollars at Work

I'm not into all the ins and outs when it comes to the operations of the USPS in Dayton, Ohio, but I did know that if I mailed a letter from my house to downtown Dayton, they'd get it the next day. Two, at the latest. Not so anymore.

Apparently the Dayton processing plant has closed down. Mail now gets shipped to Cincinnati for initial mail sorting, which makes sure the mail is all upright with the stamp in the upper right hand corner for cancelling. Then it is shipped back to Dayton for the automation machines, which sorts the mail for the appropriate post office.

This added a day to the delivery (at least).

But wait. That's not all.

On June 23rd, the automation process is being transferred to Columbus. So instead of Cincinnati sending the mail back to Dayton, they'll now send it to Columbus. Once the mail has been sorted, then it will be shipped to Dayton for delivery.

This means, when I mail a letter from my house to downtown Dayton, I shouldn't expect it to get there in less than four days. Four days to travel nine miles.

I can only assume the volume of mail has reduced so much to cause this "consolidation." Seems like when I have to pay more for postage (of which I believe has increased by a penny today), I should at least get the same or better service, not worse. But hey, maybe that's just me!

Okay, end of rant.

On Saturday I had a wonderful time with the Central Ohio Fiction Writers group as they put on a workshop featuring Donald Maass. That guy is funny! And I learned so much. I'm so glad I was able to attend and I've been able to put some of his processes to work. I love workshops that make me crave writing and this one did just that.

I found out my guest post with the Romancing the Genres Blog will occur on Saturday, February 16th. That is also the day I am to be on a romance writers panel at the Wilmington Stroop branch of the Dayton Metro Library in Kettering, Ohio. And it's my dad's birthday. Popular day, huh? Let's hope I don't go into media overload!

Hope your Monday starts the week off with a blast! I'll be spending some of my time at Time Warner Cable, swapping out our failing DVR and checking into getting a whole house system. Should be fun. Not!

 

 

 

15 comments:

Maria Zannini said...

On top of that the rates went up to 46 cents for a first class letter.

B.E. Sanderson said...

Yep. Stamps went up a penny today. I don't even want to know how much it went up for media mail and other packages. :shudder:

Have fun looking into getting your house wired for cable. =o)

Stacy McKitrick said...

I know, Maria. So glad I bought those forever stamps before that happened, so I won't see the increase for a couple of months (at least).

Stacy McKitrick said...

Thanks, B.E. We record soooo much television (since my husband teaches at night), and I won't watch anything but HD programming (yep, spoiled), so I'm hoping it won't cost much more to go that route. It should give us more room to record, though. At least, that's the way I understand it. I'll find out more today! Still don't like to talk to them, though. Don't know why that is. :)

Jennette Marie Powell said...

Hard to believe how the postal system consolidation is going to save money, isn't it?

I'm looking forward to being on the library panel with you!

Stacy McKitrick said...

Jennette - Looking forward, freaking out. Same thing, right???

By the way, my husband has threatened to come. Not sure if I like that. Maybe if I keep him busy taking pictures he won't be able to harass me (because yes, I wouldn't put it past him).

Jennifer Shirk said...

Very cool about hearing Donald Maass! I would have loved to been to that workshop.

Stacy McKitrick said...

Jennifer - It was a great workshop. If you ever have a chance to hear him speak, I highly recommend you do it. That guy is funny!

LD Masterson said...

Dang, I wish I'd known about that workshop.

I'm not sure how the postal service has less mail. My daily junk mail sure hasn't gone down any.

Stacy McKitrick said...

Linda - You got that right!! No lacking in the junk mail here, either!

Michael Seese said...

"On top of that the rates went up to 46 cents for a first class letter." They did? Wow! Shows how much I pay attention. I guess that's why I buy "Forever Stamps."

Though I'm no huge fan of the USPS, I think they are handcuffed by the Congressional law which prohibits them from making a profit. Twenty years ago, I would say that, instead of raising the rate a penny every other year, they should just make it 50 cents and be done with it.

Stacy McKitrick said...

Michael - My husband couldn't tell you how much they are, either. I bet the last time he purchased a stamp was in 1987, when he was stationed in Korea. I think if he'd have thought of it, he'd have told me to mail him some! :)

Judith Ashley said...

Hi Stacy, Sarah and I are looking forward to your being our guest at Romancing The Genres, especially with it being such a busy day!

BTW: USPS is actually under seige and a portion of our government is trying to shut it down i.e. privatize it. When I mail something from Portland to another Portland address, it goes to Seattle (3 hours away) to be sorted and then brought back to Portland to be delivered. I'd love to have those jobs remain in my home town but am glad there are jobs out there for someone. I think you've pointed out a process that worked better in 'the good ole days'.

Stacy McKitrick said...

Thanks for visiting, Judith!

The Happy Whisk said...

Stamps and all that is just one big mess. But I'm glad you had a workshop with DM. That's very cool indeed.