I was at the post office yesterday and overheard a conversation about privatization.
One party stated that if the USPO ever became privatized the other should immediately stop sending packages. He claims Italy privatized their postal service and it's worse than sending a parcel through Mexico because of the thefts.

Since we have a resident Italian (MPesc.) I thought I'd throw this up here.


--Steve

Here in our office complex our regular mail carrier is a retired Marine.  He can't stand the inefficiency and civilian gov't work rules.  He tells me all of the time how much waste there is, how much laziness exists at the big sorting stations, how everyone makes sure to use every hour of sick leave, etc., etc.
He was actually paid for serving for one whole month serving on some sort of disciplinary hearing panel, meting out various BS, small penalties to people who sit on the toilet for too long, reading magazines.

Like any other group of people, there are great ones, good ones, and lousy ones.
The basic problems are horrible inefficiencies that come with any gov't service, petty grievances and grievance hearings wasting so much time.

Paraquat wrote on 02/26/14 at 06:09:14:


Well, for starters, "the Italian Postal Service is privatized" is the typical stereotype said by the typical Anglosaxon who can't tell socialism from working economy...

...nor adequate common sense for googling out fact from fiction from BS...


The Italian Postal System is NOT privatized, it was simply reorganized and instead of being owned 100% by the Dept. of Communications,
it is now owned in part by the Dept. of Communications, in part by the Dept. of Economy (they provide banking services as well now,
and credit cards too) and part by other Depts. of State, so that you can:
- send&receive mail,
- have your banking account and credit cards,
- pay the bills,
- even have a cellphone account ALL with the one and same organization!
WHICH
among things, has offices throughout National Territory open 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. so that you can be a Milanese on holiday in Sicily,
go to any Post Office and have exactly the same services you'd have at your local teller back home.
ALSO
It has its own Postal Police Force which investigates on internet crime, from internet fraud to cyberbullying... just walk to your local Post Office and ask for assistance!  
CAN YOU GUYS DO THAT ?
By the way, have you ever heard of "Registered Mail"? I'm sure you have.
Often Registered Mail is the only way a Lawyer will write in order to have physical evidence to show in Court that mail was actually sent and received.
WELL, WE HAVE CERTIFIED EMAIL !
Italy is the ONLY Country in Europe with government-certified email services which have the same juridical validity as Registered Mail.
CAN YOU GUYS DO THAT ? The Germans, Swiss and French can't...

Can you go and collect cash, recharge your prepaid cellphone, and pay the bills all at the same ATM ? Out of town while on holidays ?
We can ...

I do not have an account at the Post Office, but my wife does for professional reasons, and from many points of view she claims she gets better service than our "family" bank.

The many "Michaels" I have done business with across the ocean have never had any problem receiving my materiel, nor shipping it back to me...
I have always received everything on time, in good shape.

We do not hire Albanian nor Romanian refugees, nor other people who can't speak the official language.
All employees are "federal", meaning they can't be hired nor fired on a "local" whim.
So...   go on ahead and copy...  

I have a good friend that started work at the PO in about 1985, and is still there. To be sure there is a lot "crap" that goes on, rather like a union shop in many respects. However, from what I can tell, most postal workers are glad for thier job, and want to perform well. I can't think of any time that I was displeased with the service of the PO locally. I do think that at some point there will need to be a re-vamp of the system, just so it fits with modern times, but I have no wish for drastic changes.

Please do, I for one would love to hear what the everyday common man thinks about the "Deluded States". I do get a lot of that from reading posts on SF, but...

As I said, it's "anywhere else but here", meaning "far far away from where I live.

I'll start with Italy, to give you all the understanding I am NOT shooting at the pianist.

ITALY

- don't go there, they're all mafia hit men
Yes, to the point INTERPOL once again confirmed Rome as the safest Capital city in Europe.

- the food's odd, they make lousy hamburgers and they charge you for sitting at the table
The food is good, you're the one who goes cold turkey because you can't find McDonalds...

- it's full of illegal immigrants
Yes, and they sell umbrellas and other paraphernalia, and THEIR crime rate is lower than the natives'...

- the people there are noisy and move their hands when they talk
Look who's talking... Greek philosopher Hippocrates was the first to diagnose people as "deaf and mute from Birth" (you say "deaf&dumb", it's a bit rude) and St.Girolamo (Hyeronimus?) in the 4th Century A.D. first devised a way to teach the Gospels to the deaf.

- coffee's impossible, they give you a sip and you have to drink it standing
Coffee comes from the Arabic Peninsula (ancient city of Mokha in Yemen) or, according to Others, from Ethiopia. What is certain is that it was introduced to Costantinople via the merchants from Babylon and Persia, and thence to Europe. Italian espresso and "turkish" coffee are renown as the best possible way to enjoy coffee, which in both circumstances comes in small sip-sized cups. You want "big cuppa joe"? Ask for "Americano"...

- won't they ever eat anything but pasta?
Italians have been eating rice since the Paleolithic... it's not "just from China", rice is a grain like barley, oates and wheat, you'll find it anywhere...
French cuisine was so horrid in the Middle Ages Queen (of France) Catherine de'Medici (from Florence) had to bring her own chefs to Paris, and that's when the French realized you can do more to meat than just boil it or pour molten butter on it...

- you mean you have coffee breaks and lunch breaks at the office? Don't you guys ever work?
Experience shows that an athelete running 5 miles will be less tired and will require shorter rest periods than a Marathon man; similarly, workers can toil for 90-120 mins. full steam, but then they need a breather.

- what do you mean, I can't park my car at the office? You expect me to ride a bus?
What do you mean, you tear down buildings when they're 50 years old? Don't you have an "Old Town" in the city center? Do you think Old Williamsburg or Georgetown were built in the 17th century with wide roads so that YOU could park you car 400 years later?

- can't you guys build proper cars? They're awfully tight!
If we built road barges they wouldn't fit in our medieval alleys...

- Italians make lousy cars! FIAT : Fix it Again, Tony!
Tony is a h3ll of a lousy mechanic, find yourself a better one
Also, quoted from Henry Ford: "Whenever I see an Alfa Romeo drive by, I take my hat off in respect"
Last, Ferrari and Lamborghini are the only ones who can still manufacture a V12  and make it work...
Bugatti V16 engines are made in Campogalliano, just north of Modena

 

Next post, the French & English

 

justin_o_guy2 wrote on 03/01/14 at 08:37:42:


Who's swatting? Genuine interest since your "average Joe Shmuckatelly" American is about as worldly as a dried out run over dog dropping...

I even tried to get discharged from the Navy while stationed in Spain. Had a career lined up in Cadiz, had a drop dead gorgeous Nordic girl that wanted to "bring me home to meet the parents", and at the time Spain was affordable because it still used its own currency instead of Euros.