US Post vs. Canada Post

[da]

A minor rant.

On Tuesday morning at 9am, I dropped two theatre tickets in the mail for friends here in town. The tickets didn't arrive in Friday's mail, which meant it won't arrive until Monday- two days after the theatre show.

We drove to Ithaca on Friday. Friday afternoon at 4pm, I dropped sixty holiday cards at the post office. On Sunday, we saw some of the people who were sent cards. Every single one of them had already arrived.

*makes eye-daggers at Canada Post*

I still haven't gotten totally used to no Saturday mail; I guess I'm OK with it. But: 4 business-days vs. less than one? Both systems are overloaded with Christmas mail. Both systems are running a 2.5% profit.
In fact, the per-capita profits of both institutions are surprisingly similar, roughly $4 (US and CAD respectively).
Grr.

Comments

[insaint.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty sure Canada Post is still alive on Saturdays and only dies Sundays. But not 100% sure, cause I never pay that close attention.

[poeticalpanther.livejournal.com]

Nope, no deliveries on Saturdays here, not the entire time I've lived here.

You've discovered our Achilles' Heel, sir. Our postal system blows big chunks, or it would if it hadn't lost them.

If I had any sympathy for them (which I don't; Canada Post is an example of the worst excesses of the union system of labour, courtesy of a series of annoying strikes through the 70s and 80s), it would be about population density; with a density something like 1/15 or so of the US, things are (or should be) considerably more expensive to post here - the USPS has economies of scale on its side, in that respect, because the density is sufficiently higher to make efficient delivery a lot more cost-effective.

That said...there is such a thing as being TOO inefficient, and I think Canada Post is a prime example. And I say this as a dyed-in-the-wool union girl, always have been. Sometimes, people have taken it too far, and it costs us.

[da-lj.livejournal.com]

Yes, I think my take on this is perfectly aligned with yours.

I'm not sure what the solution is. catbear's note about subsidized bulk mail in the US has something to do with it, I think; though I won't accept getting a ton of junk mail in exchange for more efficient service.

I don't think a private service is the answer; it could succeed, but I'd rather the public, unionised, service did better.

[ketzie.livejournal.com]

I hate Canada Post. The service is horrible compared with USPS.

[catbear.livejournal.com]

Thirded, fourthed, whatever. Canada Post is abysmal. Which is odd, because generally the people I deal with (mail carriers, clerks) are quite efficient and diligent. Although, infuriatingly, for a while, the carrier would leave "not at home" notes instead of knocking with our parcels. I think we have a new carrier now.

I think the real reason Canpost sucks ass is because there's hardly any junk mail here. In the US you'd rarely have a day without 4-8oz of crap in your mailbox; catalogs, flyers, just random garbage. It's cheap to mail that stuff in the states due to bulk rate being dirt cheap, but the infrastructure for supporting bulk mail is also dead simple (give a carton to a carrier), and those fees can support many upgrades to the first class system.

My ex wife ostensibly sent me a priority mail package two weeks ago from Georgia. If I lived anywhere in the states, I'd have gotten it in 2 days, 3 max. It doesn't take two weeks to cross a border, it's just an envelope. It's just Canada post being dead slow.

[da-lj.livejournal.com]

You're onto something with the junk mail. I relish the fact that we go days with no junk mail, but you're right that it's a sector that would be pushing them to be more efficient.

[chezmax]

They're normally quite efficient for in-town mail (next day or two days at most).

I have no idea where they went :/

[da-lj.livejournal.com]

Maybe they'll show up for Christmas. Hah.