Residents sound off on Saturday delivery

FINGER LAKES—The U.S. Postal Service announced, Wednesday, Feb. 6, that home delivery of mail on Saturdays will be cut starting the week of Aug. 5, 2013.
The postal service explained office hours, mail deliveries to P.O. boxes, and package delivery will continue to be offered on Saturdays. The agency said that despite the overall drop in revenue, shipping and packing delivery is up 14 percent between 2012 and 2010.
The USPS said this move is expected to save nearly $2 billion annually. Due to fiscal challenges the postal service has previously announced it was cutting weekday hours in half at many rural branches.
Penn Yan, Dundee:
Ten people were asked at two area post offices about their thoughts on the announcement: six people in Penn Yan and four in Dundee. With this unscientific sampling, most people were in favor of the change.
“It doesn’t matter to me a bit,” said Penn Yan resident Jack Nielsen. He explained he has a P.O. Box, which will continue to be updated on Saturdays after the cut. Nielsen added if the postal service needs to save the money he is in favor of the reduction.
“It makes sense,” explained Jeff Gifford in Penn Yan. He pointed out mail usage is down as people use email more and more to communicate. Gifford added the postal service as a whole is “a vital service. If they can make cuts and stay in business it’s a good idea. I don’t think it’s an inconvenience.”
Jeanne Hansen also said it was a good idea because of the USPS’ fiscal issues. She too pointed out the P.O. boxes will still get mail on Saturdays which benefits many people. Hansen said, “We’re going to have to live with it.”
“It doesn’t bother me,” said Richard Carey in Penn Yan. “If it saves money, good. It’s a good idea. They’ve got to make cuts somewhere.”
Dundee resident Tom Boorom said he doesn’t get much mail, so he didn’t see it as a big impact. The one downside he saw was if someone was expecting a check to arrive in the mail. Boorom said that person would have to wait until Monday then.
“I feel they don’t have a choice. Mailing is way down. I see it at my business,” said Furman Kendall, of Douglas B. Miles Agency Inc. in Dundee. He explained the Internet lets people send documents electronically. He added he would rather see the Saturday cut than other reductions in services.
Not everyone was in favor of cutting Saturday home deliveries. Penn Yan resident Valerie Brechko said, “It’s awful. It’s in the Constitution of the United States.” She added, “no other business has to do what they’re putting on the post office.”
“I’m not happy about it,” said Anne Gunn in Penn Yan. “The post office is an incredible bargain. You can send a letter from New York to California for 96 cents.” She also said it’s sad elected officials couldn’t do something more about it.
“I think (Saturday delivery) is important to everybody,” said Dundee’s Dan Gilbert. He added Internet usage should be cut back instead. He also said, “(government officials) worry about the economy and jobs. But what do they do? Make it worse.”
“I don’t think they will save as much as they say they will,” said Melvin Burgess in Dundee. He added a lot of people expect it and will be disappointed by the change.
Watkins Glen:
Ten people were asked at the Watkins Glen Post Office about their thoughts on the announcement. With this unscientific sampling, most were in favor of the cut. Lori Paolucci, a former postal worker, said “it’s about time they made the change.” She explained the postal service has been considering the Saturday change for years. She added the USPS has also been mismanaged, leading to the problem.
“It’s a great idea. It should have been done a long time ago,” said Sue Knapp. “Also Tuesday (hours). There’s not enough (mail) on Tuesday.”
“It’s not that big of a deal,” said Jeremy Wilson. However he did add it would impact people who wanted to send mail overnight on Friday. Under the change, that mail would have to wait until Monday.
“I’m fine with them cutting Saturday. Most everyone doesn’t send mail any more,” said Charles Allen, citing the increased use of email and social networking websites like Facebook.
Gene Lane is a resident who won’t be as impacted because he has a P.O. box, which will still be updated on Saturdays. He said, “it’s a good idea. They need to cut somewhere.” Lane added, “Overall, I know we need to do something. Postage is still pretty cheap.”
“I think I’ll be fine with it. My husband does get the Wall Street Journal on Saturday. He’ll have to read it the next week,” said Chris Wagner. “It’s one less day to get bills. I don’t think it’ll impact me that much.”
Anna Jean DeDominicis also said she didn’t see it affecting her personally. She too said if the postal service needs to make cuts to save money, then it should remove home deliveries on Saturdays. DeDominicis added she didn’t think it would impact many people.
Some people were against the cut, to varying degrees. Suzanne Wigger, said “It’s absolutely important. I don’t want (the cut). We need the mail every day, Monday through Saturday. It’s a disappointment.”
“I like mail on Saturday,” said Heidi Yuhasz. She also said she knew something like this would happen eventually because of the service’s budget issues. However Yuhasz added, “it’s not the end of the world.”
While Ashley Hall said it wouldn’t impact her, she added the postal service shouldn’t cut Saturday deliveries. She said, “but it’s their time running around.”