Tags
beehive mentality, creativity, Diana Schwenk, drone, Hump Day Chronicles, ideas, missed opportunity, narrow mindedness, outside-the-box, rant
Sorry for dropping the *‘F bomb’ but nothing else seems to articulate as clearly how miffed I am!
I’ve been known to say, “If I wanted to just do my job and it leave it there when I go home, I’d work for Canada Post.”
That’s because they do what they do pretty much in the same way they’ve always done it. If everything stayed the same forever, Canada Post has the perfect plan to run their organization.
Their beehive mentality and procedural methods work in a world where there is no change in demand for services.
But HELLO!!! Nothing stays the same forever!
Canada Post recently announced that they are ceasing door-to-door delivery for 1/3 of Canadians in urban areas.
Thousands of postal workers will lose their jobs.
Postage stamps that presently cost $0.65 will go up to $0.85 each when a book of stamps is purchased, and an astonishing, unbelievable rate of $1.00 when purchasing a singular stamp!
Canada Post states that it has lost millions in the last quarter and if they continue this way they will lose billions in a matter of a few short years.
Look. I understand cutbacks, really I do but I want to point out something important.
And that is the words: ‘if they continue this way’
Listen up Canada Post. This situation isn’t something that suddenly happened. You should have picked up this ball 20 years ago. You should have been asking yourself what’s going to happen to us with the dawn of the internet? You should have let your CEO go and hired a mover and shaker!
“The best time to plant an Oak tree is 20 years ago. The second best time is right now,”
Maybe it’s not too late!
Give the old guy the boot. Get a ‘Steve Jobs’ type in there and remind us of the joy we had when we received a handwritten letter. Start a movement that touches our hearts and saves the jobs of thousands! If you don’t do it, someone else will.
~ HUMP DAY CHRONICLES ~
* As you may have noticed, this post is a deviation from the usual uplifting style you have grown accustomed to. I promise to deliver my usual optimism and rose-coloured-glass’ismness tomorrow in a special bonus post! 🙂
Related articles
- Canada Post to end home delivery (bnn.ca)
talktodiana 
Okay, just so you know, I didn’t read all the way through to check if I’m repeating anyone, but so far I think I’m the lone voice in the wilderness…
The only thing is – and logically so – that you’re all making the assumption that those making the decisions for Canada Post actually WANT the company to succeed. Just something to think about, hmm?
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Well if it doesn’t, their jobs are gone too….
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Um, no – think BIGGER – this is a Federal Corporation after all (and, BTW, have you never noticed that those who make the cuts are never on the block themselves?) So, I ask you this: who would gain from the demise of Canada Post? Who would benefit from there being 8,000 less real, full time jobs in Canada?
Other postal systems are not only finding creative ways to stay afloat in these troubled times, but actually INCREASING their services.
With corporations, it’s all in the bottom line; so, I ask again: Where’s the profit? In the bigger picture somewhere. In my opinion, this is sabotage. Plain and simple…
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Oh Diana, all of the Canada Post stuff I’ve read lately has made my head spin!
From the pension issues to cutting off certain areas for delivery, it seems like CP is on some seriously shaky grounds!
You’re right, it seems as though some innovation and some new perspectives are in order. These cutbacks seem like they’ll only get worse; I wonder, with the strong hold of the internet, what the sustainable answer will be.
Great post even if it is without your usual rose-coloured-glass’ismness! <- I love that!
~Andrea<3
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Thanks Andrea! My heart goes out to those who will lose their jobs and pensions. And I still think that there is a way for Canada Post to be relevant without drastic cuts. Reading everyone’s comments here makes me feel even more strongly that something could have, or something can still be done.
Diana
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Australia has about 23.3 million; Canada has about 35.1 million. More relevant, perhaps, is the population density, and the two countries are close there as well: about 3 people per sq km in Australia; about 3.5 per sq km in Canada. Compare that to the average figure world-wide (excludes Antarctica) of about 48 per sq km or the USA figure of about 35 per sq km. In ranking by density, the USA ranks 179th, Canada 228th and Australia 233rd.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_sovereign_states_and_dependent_territories_by_population_density
I suspect sometimes that “snail mail” may be a thing of the past. You seem to feel this is entirely the Post Office’s fault, but I think a big share of it has to lie with the fact that most people just don’t write letters anymore. Well over 95% of the mail I get is junk I have to recycle. On the rare occasions I don’t buy stamps directly from a convenient ATM, and actually go into the Post Office, Postal workers are almost universally surly. The minimum behavior seems to be unpleasantness. So there’s a part of me (and many must feel the same) that would be fine to see the PO become a relic of the past. Other than package delivery, there really is no longer any real need for paper mail. (And email is BETTER in many ways. Instant delivery and the ability to send pictures and video.)
But, still…
I can’t speak to the Postal services in your countries, but here, despite everything, mail gets where it’s supposed to go and in prompt time. That’s actually pretty amazing when you think about it. When you have some sense of the necessary infrastructure behind pulling that off, and when you realize the difficulties in pulling that off, you begin to see why there are the problems there are. Here, at least, companies like UPS and Fed Ex have seriously eroded the PO’s income. (All that junk mail is a big part of their income now, I believe.)
It’s not a simple equation, and I don’t think it’s ever going to get any easier. I really doubt that bringing in a visionary is sufficient. It’s not clear to me that even the best, most inspired, management in the universe can “fix” a situation that’s due to changing times and society.
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Wow! Thanks for looking all that up!
I remember with great fondness, the thrill of getting, cherishing, laughing out loud, crying, holding it close to my heart, pulling it out of, and returning it to its envelope many times, and reading and re-reading a handwritten letter.
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Yep. Book lovers are in the same boat. The way most people read (those that even do), physical books are increasingly irrelevant, and — outside of the love of them — electronic means really are better in most regards. (The ability to expand font size, that alone to these aging eyes is a huge win!)
So, too, the way most people communicate, snail mail is increasingly irrelevant. Books and letters become things we cherish for their beauty more than actual practicality. Sadly, for those charged with running a business, beauty is often not a factor.
I need to look into this further, but I’ve heard of a report suggesting that good customer service is actually not a win for a company. It costs money and does not have easily visible direct ties to income (something I think is short-sighted). People will apparently do business, even if the service truly sucks, if the price is right. The problems are due to peoples’ expectations and habits as much as the business itself.
There is much from our past that we cherished and now miss, all lost in the name of modern times. There is a relentless inevitability to it. And to some extent, our chickens are coming home to roost. We’re starting to pay the consequences of our obsession with growth in the last 50 years or so. This bubble had to burst — they all do.
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I imagine every generation has felt this way!
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I think it’s true that every generation bemoans change and what it perceives has been lost through progress. There’s a piece you sometimes see, ripping on the insolence and disrespect of the young, that turns out to have been written by some ancient Greek complaining about ancient Greek kids. The implication being, “It was ever thus.”
Certainly people haven’t changed much in 6000 years, but technology has been a real game-changer at times. Fire and the printing press being two commonly recognized ones. I think the intersection of ‘computers normal people can use’ and ‘high speed communications’ presents a major game-changer at least on par with (if not more significant than) those other two.
Never in human history has so much of the world been in such close contact. We are in the midst of a change unlike any the world has so far known. What comes out the other side is hard to predict. We’re just scratching the surface of what is possible in terms of “crowd sourcing” and community activation and information sharing and personal freedom. It’s already beginning to erode away totalitarian governments, and it’s possible it could eventually result in the first worldwide freedom from tyranny in human history.
Or we’ll all waste away watching reality TV and playing video games. As I said; hard to predict. 😀
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Interesting reply about the difference between Australia and Canada; and indeed about the modern age in general!
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I often wonder, what will future history record: Angry Birds… Innocent Distraction or Harbinger of The End of Civilization (and it always seems obligatory to add, “As We Know It!”).
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We must stop meeting like this Wyrd (on Diana’s blog). However, I have an interesting follow-up for both of you on Canada-post…….
I was talking to my son (who lives in Canada) about it and he told me that he was quoted $80 for “express” mail that guarantees delivery to Australia within 7-10 working days, whereas standard air rates of $1.20 will get your mail delivered in 7-10 days.
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That’s just crazy, eh? I hope your son is just sticking whatever it is in the regular mail.
I was just watching a Canada Post Truck trying to get out of a parking spot. He must have summer tires and like so many other loons out there, he’s convinced that flooring it, tires spinning and creating ice, is the way to go!
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Ha ha. Picturing that made me laugh.
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🙂 !
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Firstly, in my experience, I do not share your love of Canada post (or Australia post) as getting postage from Australia to Canada or vice verse has always left much to be desired (UK post is better.)
Secondly, Australia post is supposedly thriving since the internet age due to online shopping and all the extra deliveries.
is it that Canada lost ground to couriers (whereas Australia Post made sure they competed with couriers)? Is there another explanation?
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I don’t know. It would be interesting to know though…Just out of curiosity, what’s the population in Australia?
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Twenty million or thereabouts.
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Yes. Smitty did some research and posted it as well! t would seem you’re more sparsely populated than even Canada!
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You tell them…
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OK! It’s out of my system now…I seem to rant more in the winter LOL!
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Hell I hate that it posted the comment while I was still writing it how the hell did that happen, I wasnt talking about sagging anything who cares if on is sagging but getting the sack is a different thing and we don’t like that no bloody way
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haha! thanks for clarifying Joanne!
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Ok I have to say wtf too you pay more if you buy a single stamp then a book of stamps that is just wrong…………as for cutbacks and sagging6
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Ha! Always good to see you stop by Joanne. What does sagging6 mean though?
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So….first — love this post! Second. I think like horse drawn wagons and home milk delivery (and wine and beer when I lived in Europe) things we take for granted can become anachronistic — what the PO didn’t account for is that they too could become old news.
I do like your idea of booting the old boss and getting someone with a bigger vision in!
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Thanks Louise. I guess we (I) do take certain things for granted as much as the next guy. I have thought about Canada Post for years now and have been anticipating this type of thing. Did you get that flyer from them offering to email bills? I think that was an attempt on their part to catch up with the times, but honestly, I get my bills emailed to me directly from my suppliers and this particular effort does nothing to address their situation. The scary thing about cutting back vs. getting creative and reigniting a spark is that cutting back (getting smaller) is usually the beginning of the end…haha sorry for babbling…
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It may be unpopular of me to say this, but if only one third of Canadians are still getting door delivery, what is the problem with changing it so we all get our mail the same way? I mean if it’s good enough for two thirds of us to use supermailboxes and such, why not for all? I realize this will cause layoffs, but didn’t we see this coming with the internet? I don’t agree with the enormous hike in the cost of a stamp though, Diana. I agree with you there.
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Who knows what the logic is Jennifer. I still think there is a way to make home delivery work. I wonder how this will impact seniors, shut ins and charities.
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We’re not any smarter in this department — they keep consolidating services, we get our mail after dark most days, and the lines are way too long at the post office. Surely they all could have predicted where they might be and figure out how to reinvent themselves. That said.. they’re so little worthwhile that’s actually sent in the mail these days!
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Yes the mail is reserved for bills and junk, just like our landlines seem to have become the place for solicitors and robo dialing!
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I love your posts, no matter what colored glasses you’re wearing!
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Aww shucks, thanks Ann!
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copy that
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😉
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