The agency is working on a new proposal to fix their budget woes that could have your mailman doing jobs you wouldn’t expect.
A new report by the Inspector General outlines a plan to have the mailman stop in to help the elderly, by assessing their health and even setting up their new TV.
The IG wrote, “The postal service could coordinate and collaborate with wellness organizations to offer new and far-reaching services to older Americans nationwide.”
The ideas included delivering groceries and medications to senior citizens.
USPS OIG:
Existing programs suggest letter carriers can perform additional services during their routes, while still completing the core mission of delivering mail
“….the Postal Service, like posts in other parts of the world, could offer a service where individuals or
their loved ones could pay a fee for letter carriers to check in on older Americans that may not have regular contact with others. La Poste [France] offers a variety of programs for the elderly, depending on which company is sponsoring the services and in which region the elderly person resides. In some regions, the letter carriers check on patrons to ensure they are safe, but they also deliver medicine and library books to those who have trouble traveling. Additionally, elderly residents can also pay for letter carriers to help them install appliances or fill out different types of forms.”
“In Japan, elderly individuals or their family members can sign up for a fee-based service with the post that includes regular check-ins by postal carriers, called the “Watch Over” service. The services in this program include a 24-hour telephone hotline for medical and lifestyle issues, monthly deliveries of hard-to-carry groceries, and a daily service that will call to check in on them. The postal carrier reports the subscribers’ health and living conditions to family members, who often live far away from the elderly individuals. More recently, Japan’s post introduced a program where letter carriers will also help elderly people use specially designed iPads, provided at no cost, to communicate with family, friends, and health care professionals. Japan’s Watch Over service costs the user or their family the U.S. equivalent of about $8.40 per month.36 If the Postal Service were to offer a similar program for the same price, and 1 percent of the 12.5 million older adults that live alone sign up for the service, it would generate revenue of $12.6 million annually.”
USPS proposal includes mailmen checking on the elderly
I was doing this for free 30 years ago, probably subjecting myself to potential disciplinary action.
Any decent carrier knows that the people most in need of this type of service are usually not well off, socially isolated and are not connected to anyone willing or able to pay for such services.
What it really would take is a commitment from the service to once again have full-time regulars assigned to every route. Something that hasn’t been true for going on 3 years at my house. How about I stop receiving random mail from all over town and having my own mail forwarded in error before we attempt anything more complicated.
After I stopped laughing, i realize the intent is good, the possibility of additional revenue is getting desperate, and the remarks of others is hilarious. I agree that postal carriers do indeed check on their aging customers, always have and that was never mandated, just good ole people looking out for one another which shows the character of mail carriers despite what their upper management and HQ think about them. I have also noticed the new CCA’s and younger crowd do not seem to think this is relevant. While I understand postal carriers and the Post Office already have in place a great system to reach each and every US citizen with their correspondence (mail) medications, periodicals, etc. I can understand why the USPS would want to capitalize on this. It is a source of comfort that the mail man is at (or close to their home) each day Monday-Saturday when most elderly people never have a single visitor for months as a regular visit. Lets be honest, we are ALL going to get old and feeble, its inevitable. What would WE like to see happen? While I’ve never been one to say its not our problem, because it is everyone’s business to see their neighbors and the elderly are not considered waste. The Postal Service can offer this ‘concierge’ service for a flat rate but not without extensive training for the employees, awareness of the liability at hand, and the enormous responsibility. As I said, the intent is good but it cannot proceed without extensive planning nor should it be mandated that every carrier must participate. Personally, I would like to take part to insure my city’s elderly are cared for , but I am not a carrier, I am a clerk. I used to be a Rural carrier.
This is ludicrous. We can’t even get the mail delivered. What about privacy issues and liability? Postal management is really grasping at straws.
Are you kidding me? They don’t have the time to do what the M39 and M41 says they are supposed to do. Besides they already check on everybody, elderly, young alike if they haven’t picked up their mail in a while
I’m calling post office to see if they can stop by Sears and pick up the new fridge I ordered. Then bring it in the house and level it up for me. And I’ll see if the carrier can get the poop smudges out of the toilet bowl for me. That sounds like a good idea.
Well, How about gynecology exams at the Playboy Mansion?
Scan MSP, Check.
Find New sales Lead, Check.
Check on Mr. Jones, Check.
Check on Mrs. Brown, Check
Scan next five pieces of mail,(per order of Scanner) check.
Oh crap, I forgot to deliver the mail.
This is stupidity that is nothing short of inspirational. I have all the mechanical skills of an armadillo, probably less, so if I have to help set up a new TV, with all the shit you have to have now, converter boxes, etc., will I be sent to TV set up and repair school? Do they think we’ll be allowed to do stupid crap like this and still be tracked stop by stop?
We old vet carriers already keep eyes on the elderly customers, and know when to investigate, but the younger runners wouldn’t notice an Abrams tank in somebody’s driveway. Where do you go to sign up for making stupid suggestions and those idiotic stand up talks like drinking a lot of water when it’s hot, but usually not getting around to it until Halloween? At least I get paid to have my intelligence insulted.
What?! Didn’t postal reporter just report that Upper Management just spent millions of dollars to track letter carriers on their routes… Like a yellow dot means the carriers are 5 minutes late and a green dot means that the carrier is ten minutes late???? Once again… Management talks out both sides of their mouths and proves that there is no Accountability for the open checkbook mentality..
Should be hanged. Pictures should be hung. People should be hanged.
No extra time to complete your route. I will have a ten hour street time
we could wash peoples car to.or shovel snow and pick up doggy do as well..and rake leaves..and pull weeds…great idea..whoever proposed this should be hung.
well, i think this is just further evidence that the OIG or office of the inspector general is nothing but
a bunch of clueless knuckleheads set up to cover up the abuses in the federal government and give the appearance to the gullible public that there is a watchdog watching over their government agencies.
i believe this idea of the carriers somehow acting as caregivers is the stupidest idea i have heard in my life. obviously, the OIG has no clue about who is carrying the mail or what their skills are. the liability issues
and risks are off the charts! disband the OIG offices everywhere today and save the taxpayers
hundreds of millions and all you lose is a bunch of morons making silly decision like having the
mail carriers taking care of granny and pap. it is just such a dumb and ridiculous idea, i am amazed it was even brought up. i’m sending two more ideas to the OIG, so they can propose 2 more stupid things. have the female letter carriers provide seamstress or sewing services on their routes. need a pair of jeans sewed. just stop your carrier that day and they’ll sew them and maybe hem a dress or two. and the 2nd idea is to
have the window clerks in associate offices also double as day care center providers. folks drop off their kids in the morning and the kids get to run around the post office all day and the post office gets paid!
the clerks can watch them in their spare time and besides all the stamps and crap in the post office will keep little jimmy and suzy busy all day.
Maybe carriers can give sponge baths and change their Depends too. No liability possibilities with this proposal, huh?!
Carriers would really have to pick up the pace. The new GPS scanners would be going off in the supervisors pocket saying they are staying in one place too long.