New Zealand moves to three days a week mail service
Times are changing with postal services around the world thanks to people's reliance on smartphones and email.
New Zealand recently agreed to cut its mail delivery to three days a week in urban areas and five days a week in rural areas, since they're more reliant on mail, by 2015. Normally, mail is delivered six days a week.
The New Zealand Post fought for the change since it currently barely breaks even. If the normal delivery schedule continue, the service would be put it in the red, according to the Telegraph.
During the last 10 years, the amount of mail sent has dropped by a quarter and it's expected to continue rapidly dropping. The nation continues to lose another eight per cent each year, the communications minister told the Telegraph.
Anyone looking for daily mail deliveries can sign up for a premium courier-type service, but it will be interesting to see how businesses and newspapers adjust to this change.
Meanwhile, Canada Post looks like it is in a boat that is steadily sinking. The Crown Corporation saw a $104-million loss in Q2 of this year and it expects a huge loss in 2013. As if that was not enough, they are expected to face a yearly loss of $1 billion by 2020, according to a report produced by the Conference Board of Canada.
It's important to point out that its letter delivery dropped by 51 million pieces since Q2 of 2012, while parcel packages have grown thanks to more online shopping. Unfortunately, the letters, otherwise known as transaction mail, which includes bills and statements, account for 50 per cent of the company's revenue. Tough times are ahead, especially with companies pushing paperless billing.
At least there is some hope for Canada Post's parcel delivery. Canada Post recently announced a partnership with Walmart, Best Buy and Indigo to try same-day delivery. Anyone who orders items by midday can expect to receive it in the evening. A pilot program is being tested in Toronto.
Some of the cost-cutting options floated around include getting rid of door-to-door delivery mail in urban areas, which is available to one third of Canadians, which could cut the bleeding by about half, the Conference Board told the CBC. Canada Post is also looking into consolidating mail processing, implementing new technology for sorting and shortening hours at slower retail locations.
While residential owners might not mind a shift in the number of deliveries a week, apparently it will be a bigger issue for small business owners who are more reliant on the regular postal service.
But let's face it, drops in mail service are being felt around the world. The U.S. Postal Service planned to cut Saturday mail service, but it faced resistance, while Britain recently privatized its mail service, Royal Mail. Who knows if other countries' mail services will follow New Zealand's route.
Would you mind less frequent mail service?
Josephine Lim, MSN Money
Posted by: Steve | Nov 2, 2021 12:41:33 AM
Fine with me. My bills are all set up as pre-paid so the only thing that surprises me is the amount of junk mail and flyers I get. I have a super mail box at the end of the street. I usually only go to the mail box two days a week. I really don't care if they have delivery one day a week. It's unfortunate a lot of people would likely lose their jobs. And that's the bottom line. They don't want to spend the time thinking about ways to cut costs. They'd rather cut jobs. It's easier and its a solution that will earn nice cost cutting bonus's for upper management.
Posted by: Brian | Nov 2, 2021 1:37:17 AM
I am a small business owner and I need my mail every day. There is no substitute as my account wants the hard paper trail. Mail is needed still as the internet and my computer can be hacked at any time.
Posted by: Fern | Nov 2, 2021 5:52:18 AM
Fine by me as well. Horse driven carriage drivers lost their jobs over time as well. I imagine they adapted or just didn't travel down that career path. Much of mail delivery is already privatized already. Getting mail delivered only twice or three times a week means I only have to toss out the flyers that I have asked them not to deliver less often.
Posted by: Mike C | Nov 2, 2021 6:50:23 AM
No surprise, times are changing, we don't even have a landline phone any longer! My wife is a Canada Post employee, and the last strike was the nail in the coffin. Very well paid, and greedy.... The last people who hadn't switched to online billing were forced to do so, and realized how simple it was. Once gone they are never coming back. The writing is on the wall, why should we absorb a huge loss to provide outdated service by grumpy staff? Sometimes you don't know what you have got until it is gone.
Posted by: sam | Nov 2, 2021 8:05:35 AM
thanks to all your computers and cell phones to put the post offices out of business
people cannot even take time to send a letter all this texting is a joke people cannot even spell
anymore thanks to texting everyones life is too busy or they think it is
I have never seen so many people texting all the time when I see that tells me they have a lot of free time on their hands...and what they pay out to these cell phone companies is a joke
if they sat down and figured out how much money they would save in a year..
down the road when they get older they would be amazed on what they would save for retirement
and they better start saving off these cell phones because the government will start to cut pensions
in years to come
I wondered if some cheques ever had to be sent by mail, if that ever would be a concern to people then or one day all your computer technology went down and nothing could be processed...
people might still be happy to have the postal service..
Posted by: bob | Nov 2, 2021 8:13:17 AM
canada post needs to come into the 21st century, their way of doing business is dying a horrible death, they need to cut their work force by at least half and eventually shut the entire operation down. There are large private businesses like UPS, Fedex, ect, ect that could do what they do without tax payer subsidies and pick up the small but remaining work after cp.
Posted by: me | Nov 2, 2021 8:55:14 AM
Canada Post have always made profit until someone up top decided to spend billions on machines and vehicles that were not necessary. They bought into the failed U.S. system, why?
Posted by: Neon | Nov 2, 2021 11:54:34 AM
@sam: Your comment pokes insults at those people who cannot spell very well due to their texting habits. While that may be true, your comment may be taken more seriously if your own spelling and grammar did not have numerous mistakes as well. Seems to me that your focus on the written form to ensure proper spelling and grammar did not help you much.
Posted by: John L. | Nov 2, 2021 12:09:19 PM
I've been receiving and paying my bills online for the past 2 to 3 years. Not only is it fast and secure, but by the time you factor in the cost of postage, and the 'free' chequing, I save over a $1 per transaction.
Sadly, Canada Post is a legacy system, that is now primarily a deliverer of junk mail. I am in favor of cutting home delivery to 2 or 3 times a week. The money saved could be put to better use on health care, education, and other infrastructure.
Posted by: Tone Naylor | Nov 2, 2021 12:55:40 PM
As an employee of Canada Post for 10 years, what half of you are not realizing is The GREEDY CORPERATION has constantly been spreading woeful propaganda of how its been losing money and bussiness is declining and blah blah blah!As they are not as bad off as they imply!
They forced us, the Corperation into a "new system" of sortation and delivery "service" taken from the failing US mail system (because someone gave them a "really good deal" on sortation machines!), and then they blame the failing system on everything/everyone else!
Yes the mail had decreased during certain parts of the year, but not as much as The Corperation says it is!!! We know how much it has decreased, WE DELIVER IT!!!They've always been good at "fudging" the numbers! What corporation dosn't?!
With this new "system" the company has been losing money since its insertion due to its illogical parameters, making the routes longer, which obviously takes longer to sort/longer to deliver, and adding to the workload, thus creating longers hours n hours of overtime.
Not to mention the dollars they have been dishing out to WSIB from all the injuries that have occured from people getting hurt from trying to do the new 2 bundle system safely in the dark, total contradictory to the ways they trained us to do the job to begin with!!!
So you can try to blame the corporations loss on the economy or emails/epost progress all you want.
The bottom line is the Corporation isnt as bad off as they make out to be!
And if the Company is doing so bad, it puzzels everyone as to how all the managemnet staff and excutives still get rediculous bonuses every year?!!!
Just sayin, dont believe the hype!
Posted by: muci | Nov 2, 2021 1:02:42 PM
About 10 years or so ago the mailman delivering the mail in my neighborhood was reliving (urinating) on my flower bed.Still nothing grows there, not even weeds.Called Post office and complain...nothing happenedEventualy he was transferred to another area only to return to my neighborhood past year. Booo.Man is old,grumpy, miserable, extremely unfriendly and walks across people's lawns without delivering any mail to their houses.Who needs mailcarier laike that? Post Office should weed them out.
Posted by: Jyl | Nov 2, 2021 3:43:39 PM
No, I would not mind. I buy a stamp a couple of times a year, only. The world is ever changing - what choice is there but to accommodate the changes?
Posted by: blankman | Nov 2, 2021 4:31:56 PM
Thirty years ago (in my student days) we only got "real" mail three days a week. On Tuesdays and Thursdays we got junk mail. And it wasn't just our postie. My girlfriend lived across town with her parents in a very upscale neighbourhood and she experienced the same thing.
Meanwhile our mailman would regularly turn up at the local gym at about 11:30 and work out till about 2:00 when he'd go on his way.
Posted by: wrmd | Nov 2, 2021 6:37:58 PM
Three times a week maximum. Mon., Wed., Fri. Costs are getting completely out of control for a service that would never be accepted in the private industry.
Also a good number of their personnel (letter carriers mostly) appear to work when they want to. Remember Air Canada flight attendants years ago? Surly, rude, arrogant and whatever else is how I remember them and the post office is no different.(Again not everywhere but its far and few between)
Posted by: t | Nov 2, 2021 8:15:19 PM
Canada Post and Sears are pricing and poor service themselves out of market shares
Posted by: mosher | Nov 2, 2021 11:20:32 PM
Did not bother to read all the posts but if not mentioned I believe Canada Post owns Puralator. In any case whichever one it owns it sends the best contracts/mail there way so they can use the loses on the losing Canada post to cut now and in the future.
Posted by: val | Nov 5, 2021 12:17:27 AM
I LOVE having my mail hand-delivered by my mailman into my home box! Britain still has 6 days per week delivery down from TWICE daily about 10 years ago. I love to get my birthday & Christmas cards by mail - so much more personal than all this electronic crap.
Posted by: iduna | Nov 5, 2021 12:25:06 AM
I would hate to see a drop in mail service. Lets face the truth. Canada Post is shooting it self in the foot by its messy performance. It only lost money one year in the past ten. Don't believe everything you are being told. Its a group of company's. Which one part is loosing the money. real Estate? Their Card factory's? Investments? Purolator? Why would they invest a billion(yes a billion) dollars in higher capacity sorters if they were worried about mail volumes. Bonuses paid to the president and management for poor performance perhaps might be a problem? This has everything to do with the current governments policy's and nothing to do with profits and losses. The PC government hates unions. That's my opinion. They want to destroy Canada Post. Break it up and sell the pieces for profit. That's my opinion. Canada Post has proven itself profitable over the past years. Why not ask employees what they think is the best way to keep Canada Post on their feet? Why? Because they really don't want to know. I say that as a Canada Post employee. Not on behalf of Canada Post. I do not speak for them and the opinions express are my own and do not represent those of Canada Post. This is here because if |I don't say it, I could be fired without saying it. These opinions and statements are my personal opinion only. I love Canada Post and its a great company. I personally think it just needs to have the government keeps its hands off it and proper management in place.
Posted by: Rita Klein | Nov 5, 2021 12:32:55 AM
About ninety five percent of the mail I recieve is junk garbage, mostly flyers from people trying to sell me stuff I am not interested in whatsoever. Just like commercials on t.v. Uninteresting and worhtless to me. So if mail was only delivered twice a week, that would be fine by me. Even once a week would be o.k. And mail people are paid waaaaay too much just to sort out mail and parcels and walk from house to house taking mail to our homes. Come rain or shine, how hard can this really be? I walk to work in snow, rain, blazing sun, and all that good stuff and don't make very much money, so what's the big deal? People always make their jobs out to be harder than they really are. If it is that hard, then quit complaining and get another job. Sorry. And if their profits are dropping becuase of texting and whatnot, well, that is the way it is. Either find a way to keep the revenue afloat or cut costs. That is the price of doing business. And the postal service is nothing but a business. Remember that. Nobody would carry and sort anybodies mail if they weren't getting paid big bucks. Life is a bitch and then you have to work with one. Tough.
Posted by: dickie51 | Nov 5, 2021 1:10:49 AM
please dont assist canada post in getting rid of any more postmen. I want what i have had for many decades....my own mailbox on my little home....we need good jobs to have a middle class...plus I GET SOMETHING OUT OF IT. just cause you dont have a good job..dont think helping get rid of more middle class jobs is gonna help you! my child needs a middle class job BTW....;-)
Posted by: Elm City Hobbies | Nov 5, 2021 1:50:24 AM
@bob, I use CP every day. Reason all of those other companies are making money, is because they charge 20-30% more than what CP does to delivery the same package.
Furthermore, while I am not here defending CP in anyway, as I have had my issues with them as well, they don't get subsidized by the Canadian Taxpayer. CP is self-sufficient, and is about the only gov't owned business that is. Mind you with the losses they are talking, it may be just a matter of time before they start asking, but up until now....they don't get funds from taxpayers, everything is paid for via the services they offer.
I too as a small business owner rely on CP to deliver bills to me, as well as deliver parcels to my customers. Sure I could use another service, but it would be more expensive, and with a business where the customer pays for the shipping, then it would be a lose, lose situation all around.
Posted by: HMSS | Nov 5, 2021 3:10:39 AM
@ Elm City Hobbies, thank you for your fair~est and most accurate comment about CPC.
I've been with CPC for over 26 years and I have seen the decline of mail volume. To think that the "mail service" portion of CPC can still make a profit is simply a pleasant dream. There are just too many things that we, as employees, cannot see. Do you know CPC doesn't get paid by delivering overseas mail? Do you know CPC is obligated to provide delivery to the farthest corners in Canada, even if the population is 1 or under? Unfortunately many of these questions were not "cascaded" to the employees, let alone the general public.
6 more years for me before retirement. Am I worried? Hell YES!
Before anyone criticize me as one of the management puppets who doesn't know anything, I was a letter carrier for over 18 years.
Posted by: Valerie Richmond | Nov 5, 2021 6:35:44 AM
As usual, there is no plan for what is happening now and will only increase in future - people are increasingly shopping online and the demand for delivery services will only increase - whether by the mail service - if they are smart - or by courrier service.
Posted by: Maria | Nov 5, 2021 7:11:16 AM
I'm looking forward every day to the mail carrier to come to my house ! I love having mail every day and Canada Post is a profitable company today and will be tomorrow , they will find the way to do it . Please have some positiveness in our mail system and have respect for the hard working people at Canada Post ! Before you disrespect anyone try to the job your self to understand what they doing everyday for us.
Posted by: Larry | Nov 5, 2021 8:02:23 AM
Time to send em packing. Do we really miss the Doe Doe Bird?
Get with the times. I love the e mail thing.
Tired of listening to the carrier carp about how bad they are treated by management.
Posted by: You auto know | Nov 5, 2021 8:33:08 AM
Canada post needs to go the way of the Canadian Senate..................Abolish it! It is run by a bunch of Communists in Quebec. Postal workers are over paid and under worked and have an elitist attitude.
Posted by: Earl | Nov 5, 2021 8:40:26 AM
I pick up my mail once or twice a week from a box situated two blocks away from my
residence, so please, by all means, go to 3 times a week delivery. This should help
cut the CP deficit and still keep it up and running. The too many strikes over the years
by the mail service unions has soured me on the service and I have changed over to
courier and on-line services for more efficient results. The wages that are dished out
to postal employees to do "trained monkey" jobs have esculated to the point that
the CP system will soon be in the red forever. CP management is probably most to
blame due to their short-sightedness in thinking they were at the helm of a ship that
was never going to sink, so do whatever they could to get their yearly bonuses.
This would include spending money that could not be recovered from shrinking profits.
Yes, 3 day a week service is fine by me!
Posted by: Mavis | Nov 5, 2021 8:43:53 AM
There are so many ways that CPC could cut costs. CPC has rural routes that have 10 or less customers that receive mail delivery 5 days/week, the Canada Post rural route drivers are paid very well (wage & vehicle expenses, benefits, etc. etc.). Saturday mornings many Post Offices are open yet there is no mail truck; therefore, the employees drink coffee, read, visit, and kill time. Customer service is non-existant, the employees have no customer relations skills, they are rude. The union has killed the Post Office.
Posted by: slayer | Nov 5, 2021 10:33:20 AM
This isn't supposed to be a discussion of unions, disgruntled employees, or executives that have been raised to their highest level of incompetence.
Would I mind less frequent mail service? Yes, I would mind. The question is rather ambiguous. Is mail service supposed to represent all services provided by Canada Post or just letter/paper delivery. There is no doubt that they deliver less paper/mail in this day and age. There is the other side of delivery, packages, which has increased ten fold or more.
"Theses times, they are a changing", has never been a more accurate quote. This is the electronics age.
There is no doubt that the Canada Post Office also needs to change to keep up with the times.
The CPO may get away with reducing paper/mail delivery to three days a week, but if they include package delivery in that schedule, it's a guarantee that they'll put themselves out of business.
Posted by: Minus | Nov 5, 2021 1:17:16 PM
The issue I have with ePost and other online methods of getting bills et cetera is that Internet access now becomes a basic requirement for Canadians. The cost is paid by the customer, not the company sending the bills. And, since Internet access is now devolving into a basic service instead of the premium service it started as, Internet service failures or disconnections will have far-reaching consequences to the average Canadian.
Consider that we still have copyright holders pushing for forced disconnection of alleged "pirates". How would this affect a family (and their credit rating) where the alleged “pirating” being done by a 12-year-old looking for Katy Perry’s newest single results in Internet service being terminated. Until Canada deems Internet access a basic right (like hydro or phone service) and regulates the price and defines minimum service requirements, pushing everything to the Internet may pose a risk to people being able to pay their bills and the like for reasons beyond their control. To be certain, failure to pay one's Internet bill would still be cause for disconnection.