USPS: Efficiency at Its Best?
 | Author:
Victor Sample
Vic Sample: MT43 News Treasurer |
Victor Sample
When I was growing up here in Townsend, the post office had two slots for outgoing mail: one slot for in-town mail and the other for out-of-town mail. The in-town mail was sorted and delivered locally.
The USPS, in efforts to be more efficient, invested in high-tech sorting machines and set up distribution centers for handling letters, bulk mailing and packages. In Montana, there are 3 large distribution centers: Billings, Missoula and Great Falls.
All of the mail for Townsend is now handled through Great Falls for sorting and distribution. So, if you live on the first block of South Cedar or the first block of South Oak and you mail a subscription form (and check of course) to MT43News instead of taking a 3-minute walk to our office, your mail will make the 240+ mile round trip to Great Falls and back again – in the sake of efficiency!
I prefer to shop locally – first in Townsend, then in surrounding towns like Helena or even Bozeman. But sometimes I can’t find what I am looking for locally. So, like everyone else, I ordered it over the internet.
This Christmas the USPS treated my package to a tour of the United States!
My package was initially shipped from Harrington, Delaware:
• Went to Philadelphia
• Went to Wilmington, Delaware (just a side trip)
• Enough sightseeing. Back to Philadelphia
• On to Aurora, Colorado – nice to see real mountains
• On to the Billings Distribution Center – finally to Montana!
• Great Falls is our Distribution Center – but what is a trip to Montana without seeing Missoula? Note: a trip from Billings to Missoula will be on I-90 and pass within about 30 miles of Townsend.
• In Missoula, they realize the package really needs to be on its way to Townsend, so the package is sent to Great Falls. The contractors like Interstate highways, so the package went from Missoula on I-90 to Butte, then to Great Falls on I-15. Note: that goes through Helena and passes about 35 miles from Townsend.
• The efficient, high-tech sorting in Great Falls decides my package has not seen enough of the American West and decides to send it on to Salt Lake City. It gets on I-15 and goes all the way to Salt Lake: Note: the package again goes through Helena and passes about 35 miles from Townsend.
• In Salt Lake City, the efficient, high-tech sorting in Salt Lake realizes that Townsend, MT, is NOT in Utah and sends it back on its way to Montana. The package just made the trip from Great Falls to Salt Lake on I-15. The package does NOT go back the same way. It goes to Billings: I-15 to Butte, then I-90 to Billings. Note: the package again passes the Highway 287 interchange on I-90 about 30 miles from Townsend.
• The efficient, high-tech sorting in Billings decides to send it to Great Falls this time. I hesitate to think about the route it took to Great Falls; I am hoping they didn’t send it back to Butte on I90 to get on I15 to Great Falls!
• This time, the highly efficient, high-tech sorting in Great Falls decides to send it directly to Townsend back down I-15 to Helena, of course.
• It finally arrives in Townsend!
For those of you keeping score: the highly efficient, high-tech sorting mishandled my package 3 times (Philadelphia, Billings and Great Falls). And at least 4 times (maybe 5 or 6 times) it passed 30-35 miles from Townsend: I-90 at Hwy 287 at least twice; I-15 at Helena at least twice before going to Helena one last time on its way to Townsend. If, for some god-awful reason, the package did go from Billings to Great Falls via I-90 to Butte, then I-15 to Great Falls, it would have passed within 35 miles of Townsend 2 more times.
Another package arrived at the highly efficient, high-tech distribution in Great Falls and got to visit Harlem, MT. Fortunately, without the aid of highly efficient, high-tech sorting devices, the postmaster in Harlem was able to quickly determine they do not actually deliver packages to Townsend and sent it back to the highly efficient, high-tech sorting in Great Falls!
While I am making fun of the USPS, I do appreciate our local USPS office. When I post a mail letter or package, it is always handled quickly and correctly. When a letter or package arrives here, I always get it that day or next day (depending on when the package arrives).
In addition, our local post office has been very accommodating and willing to help MT43 News get the paper out when the holidays get in the way. They have stayed late to ensure that the paper could get delivered on time.
