BajaNomad - USPS to help Mexico

USPS to help Mexico

Al G - 8-16-2007 at 07:28 AM

August 14, 2007

MEXICO CITY -(Dow Jones)- The Mexican government plans to upgrade the country's
much-criticized postal service and signed an agreement Tuesday with the U.S. Postal
Service to help in the process.

Communications and Transport Minister Luis Tellez said the Mexican Postal Service, or
Sepomex, has been neglected for years, while the USPS is "an example of modernity,
efficiency and quality."

Under the agreement signed Tuesday, Sepomex staff will visit U.S. facilities to analyze
procedures and equipment, and the two will also cooperate to improve cross-border
services.

The agreement also includes the development of a tracking and location system for the
implementation in 2009 of a payment-by-performance agreement for packages.

The USPS will also support Mexico in setting up a postal inspection group, including
selection, recruitment and training of inspectors.

U.S. chief postal inspector Alexander Lazaroff said at the signing event that the agreement
will address security concerns in both countries with enhanced security procedures.

Tellez told reporters the government plans to make significant investments in the
modernization and automation of the postal service.

At present, "a lot of letters get lost that our countrymen send to their families from the
U.S., sometimes with money, sometimes with some object of value," he said.

At the same time, Sepomex has only two corporate customers - phone company Telefonos
de Mexico (TMX) and Citigroup Inc.'s (C) local unit, Banamex. The rest use package
delivery services because the postal system didn't give them the service they needed,
Tellez said.

"I can assure you that within two or three years, let's say closer to three years, we'll have a
postal service we can be proud of," he added.

As part of its modernization strategy, Sepomex also signed an agreement Tuesday with
Mexico's Federal Electoral Institute, which will provide the postal service with its database
of addresses of registered voters.

Officials said the information, which will be provided twice a year, will help the postal
service improve, given frequent problems locating addresses in both urban and rural
areas.

The Communications and Transport Ministry said Sepomex is prohibited from marketing
the information in any form.

In 2003, there was an outcry in Mexico when U.S. data-gathering concern Choicepoint Inc.
(CPS) sold U.S. law enforcement agencies confidential information from Mexico's voter
registry that it had obtained from Mexican companies.

-By Anthony Harrup, Dow Jones Newswires; (5255) 5080 3450; anthony.harrup@
dowjones.com

Bruce R Leech - 8-16-2007 at 07:38 AM

"I can assure you that within two or three years, let's say closer to three years, we'll have a
postal service we can be proud of," he added. :lol:

don't hold your breath on this one :light:

Reeljob - 8-16-2007 at 08:34 AM

USPS is a joke in most places.

I watched a Cabo postman (on a scooter) empty his mailbags, which contained mostly Telmex bills, in the desert behind the Costco. Couldn't get my Camera in time to get a pic, but went up and picked up some of the mail and took it to the PO in Cabo. They were not interested & told me to just put them in the trash.

CaboRon - 8-16-2007 at 09:07 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Reeljob
USPS is a joke in most places.

I watched a Cabo postman (on a scooter) empty his mailbags, which contained mostly Telmex bills, in the desert behind the Costco. Couldn't get my Camera in time to get a pic, but went up and picked up some of the mail and took it to the PO in Cabo. They were not interested & told me to just put them in the trash.

Is it any better to pick up your mail at the post office?

- CaboRon

A Joke ?

MrBillM - 8-16-2007 at 09:27 AM

"The USPS is a joke in most places" ?

Funny, I've never heard the joke. Having used the U.S. Mail for over fifty years, the number of problems I've encountered have to be a small fraction of one percent.

We can only hope that the real joke, the Mexican Postal Service, one day approaches the efficiency of its U.S. counterpart. The Mexican businessmen I know have P.O. Boxes on the U.S. side of the border for receiving important mail.

I've witnessed a recent good example of that efficiency when I signed up for Netflix. I would receive a DVD one day, send it back that day or the next and it would be received and the next one shipped within a day.

Hook - 8-16-2007 at 09:49 AM

I agree with Bill here. The post office has always worked for me, whether it was residential or a PO Box. Vacation holds have worked like a charm, etc.

I thought I had an issue with USPS over continuously late (or never) delivery of WON when I used to subscribe. I had visions of a fishing employee delaying it. Turns out it was WON all along, after talking to others who experienced the same thing in different cities.

No complaints with their special delivery services, either. Now, you can go on line and tell them you have a package for pickup, pay for it on line, set it on your porch and your local carrier picks it up. What more could anyone ask for now..........

I have never understood the complaints with the USPS.

I can imagine, though, that you might get a bad carrier and the union would just support them no matter what. That could change one's opinion fast about the USPS.

[Edited on 8-16-2007 by Hook]

CaboRon - 8-16-2007 at 09:58 AM

I have to agree as to the generally great service at the USPS.

And Priority Mail was a godsend.

- CaboRon

toneart - 8-16-2007 at 10:57 AM

I have never understood the criticism of the U.S. Postal Service. Another thing I have never understood is how they can be so efficient and courteous for the minuscule cost of postage. :yes:

However, I do understand the criticism of the Mexican Postal System. We have all been the losers there. Upgrading the system is long overdue.

bajabound2005 - 8-16-2007 at 01:06 PM

Any help the USPS can give Mexican Postal Service will be a GRAND improvement!

DENNIS - 8-16-2007 at 03:08 PM

The last time I was in a Mexican post office, a few years back, you had to put your own glue on the stamp.
Thank God and Al Gore for e-mail.

Bob and Susan - 8-16-2007 at 03:31 PM

Reeljob

did you EVER think those letters were not deliverable and were NOT to be "returned to sender"????

so YOU picked up trash and brought it back... :lol:

what do you think the USPS does with all the trash it get daily???
the DUMPSTER!!!! :yes:

JZ - 8-16-2007 at 03:53 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Reeljob
USPS is a joke in most places.

Huh??? Where did that come from and what is the basis. I couldn't disagree more.

Cypress - 8-16-2007 at 04:02 PM

The USPS is one heck of an operation. Get's the job done, rain or shine. :bounce:

neilmac - 8-16-2007 at 04:23 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Bob and Susan
Reeljob

did you EVER think those letters were not deliverable and were NOT to be "returned to sender"????

so YOU picked up trash and brought it back... :lol:

what do you think the USPS does with all the trash it get daily???
the DUMPSTER!!!! :yes:

Actually, I think they put it all in my mailbox.

Seriously, I must not have the same USPS as the rest of you. Fortunately, with electronic bill pay, email and Fedex, I almost never have to use them any more. After my experiances, I'll never trust them with anything of any importance.

Neil

bajajudy - 8-16-2007 at 05:09 PM

We have been in some sort of mail order business for over 20 years and we always used the USPS and still do for our orders from our website which ship out of Colorado. UPS ticked us off over some damaged merchandise and we swore to never use them...and we didnt. Have never had any problems with USPS.

As for the mail here. We have had an apartado for 6 years and seem to get most of our mail, if we pick up the mail regularly. I have gotten cd's, clothes, sample books, all kinda of stuff here. The people who work in the Correo here in San Jose are very helpful and usually know when I walk in if I have a package and tell me. The main problem here seems to be mail within Mexico. We cannot get catalogues or packages from D. F. They have never made it.....maybe 20 tries on various occasions.

flyfishinPam - 8-16-2007 at 05:15 PM

It sounds like great news!! However does that mean my address will change from "domicilio conocido" to ???

Al G - 8-16-2007 at 05:23 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by flyfishinPam
It sounds like great news!! However does that mean my address will change from "domicilio conocido" to ???

I just read that in Todos Santos there is a government group going house to house checking property ownership and assigning house numbers...and street names where needed. Did not connect it here until now.

Bob and Susan - 8-16-2007 at 07:11 PM

pureto rico has areas like "domicilio and conocido"

they are called "urbanizations"...

postal software has alot of trouble automating these names

also spanish names like "rio del sol" and "la fortuna"

future software will be written to include these but the don't work for now

Mexican Postal Follies

MrBillM - 8-16-2007 at 09:11 PM

"The last time I was in a Mexican Post Office" brought back a few memories of times in San Felipe.

The strangest was once in June when I was forced to change the P.O. box I had received Five months earlier because the FORMER renter had come in and said he wanted back the Box Number that he'd let lapse in January.

On another occasion, I arrived at the Post Office during working hours and the door was locked. Next to the building, The postmaster was working under the hood of his pickup truck. I asked when he would be open and he said he had to get his truck running. Maybe Manana.

Speaking of stamps, I mailed a letter to the U.S. from the San Felipe post office and the clerk had to scrounge for an assortment of stamps to make the postage. I ended up with a half-dozen stamps on the letter. To top that, he couldn't make change for a 50 peso note.

I've never had anything like that happen in the U.S.

Bob and Susan - 8-17-2007 at 06:00 AM

then you've never been to a small town "contract station"in the states :lol:

oldhippie - 8-17-2007 at 06:52 AM

With the advent of the Internet and electronic banking, what important purpose does snail mail serve?

By far, most of the mail I received when I lived in the US in recent years went straight into the garbage can. Now I have a PO Box at a UPS store soley because so many American businesses and Government agencies require a physical address as part of their system for doing what they do.

I know it's a big jump to imagine things without the concept of a physical address for every person, but it can be imagined.

Just thought I'd throw that out there for consideration.

However, good for Mexico. The USPS does an excellent job keeping a huge and complicated system going and can certainly jump start Mexican mail.

Maybe someday there will even be street signs and numbers on each building. A necessary component.

Bob and Susan - 8-17-2007 at 06:59 AM

"what important purpose does snail mail serve?"

it keeps "other" businesses in business...
and the economy progressing

provides a cheap source of delivery and info
the USPS also buys ALOT of stuff
cars trucks paper...etc

then its the employees $$$$
there is a mailman for every 500 houses
1 clerk for every 10 mailmen

lots of employees
that's ALOT of spendable income

a $41 roll of 100 stamps costs $1 to make
lots of profit
:light:

oldhippie - 8-17-2007 at 07:12 AM

I don't think the USPS is a profitable business. It may break even. Didn't the US taxpayer pay for the difference in costs and money derived from stamp sales until recent years?

True, it provides jobs, and jobs that can be performed by people with no skills.

But perhaps the need to move around pieces of paper, which is all it really does, is becoming a thing of the past.

I've spent a good part of my working hours for years, eliminating the need for paper based systems.

Just food for thought.

DENNIS - 8-17-2007 at 07:20 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Bob and Susan

a $41 roll of 100 stamps costs $1 to make
lots of profit
:light:

Not to mention the commemeratives, Elvis and Jesus etc., that arn't even used. They could be made without glue and it wouldn't matter. Huge profit.

DENNIS - 8-17-2007 at 07:35 AM

If we got rid of the postal service, how would that effect on-line shopping and the economy? Seems the postal service is more vital today than ever.

oldhippie - 8-17-2007 at 07:56 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by DENNIS
If we got rid of the postal service, how would that effect on-line shopping and the economy? Seems the postal service is more vital today than ever.

UPS and Fedex like companies for parcel delivery.

Pieces of paper stuffed in envelopes with stamps on them don't seem to be necessary anymore.

Where to deliver the parcel could be expressed in latitude and longitude considering the universal and accurate GPS systems.

Perhaps establish parcel pickup stations at grocery stores or something along those lines.

Just thinking out loud.

[Edited on 8-17-2007 by oldhippie]

Al G - 8-17-2007 at 09:07 AM

I was wondering when we would get to this part...
I can see in the near future when the USPS tax burden will be lifted from our backs...it was necessary, but as generations pass...and the people die who did not adopt new technolgy...the digital age will replace all non skilled workers. Mexico needs improve their systems...that is true. Copying a "make job" system would only set them back. We are and will have a very difficult time supporting all the displaced unskilled workers of the USPS...why should the Mexicans go down this difficult road to no whereville :?:

I think oldHippie is right about GPS...it would work even for emergency services too. Online deliveries will/should be private enterprise...The day is coming...

oldhippie - 8-17-2007 at 11:36 AM

The USPS is certainly headed towards eliminating street addresses and using geodetic coordinates. There are 10s of millions 9 digit zip codes in the US and they can be fairly accurately expressed in lat/long.

Chances are, that in the US, if you simply addressed an envelope with only the 9 digit zip, it would get to the correct building. Of course high density populations decrease that chance.

The problem is that the system is one big kludge so that backward compatibilty can be maintained. It's a huge database lookup. There is no mathematical relationship between zip and lat/long. At least I've never seen one.

Starting with a clean piece of paper, which is essentially what Mexico is doing, no one would dream up the system the US has in place. It's derived from the pony express.

The USPS knows this. If done right, there's a good chance Mexico can come up with a system equal or superior in service for less money.

[Edited on 8-17-2007 by oldhippie]

Elitist Thinking

MrBillM - 8-17-2007 at 12:38 PM

Being egocentric is a common human trait and it is never more in evidence than some of the views expressed here.

It is an established FACT that a high percentage of people in the United States Do Not conduct their business on the Internet. The elitist view here seems to be that, since YOU do, everyone else should have to. Not a very Democratic view.

Maintaining the Postal System is a Constitutional obligation of the Federal government.

As to the BS view (Bob and Susan), I HAVE dealt with a variety of U.S. Rural post offices, including contractors, and have never had a complaint. The worst of them were better than San Felipe. I can't speak to other Mexican Post Offices.

toneart - 8-17-2007 at 02:07 PM

Today I received the following in my mailbox, at my curb:

2 packages from AMAZON.com (USPS is their preferred carrier).
It would seem that expediency, reliability and experience comparing optional carriers colors their decision to use USPS.

1 letter with clippings from an elderly woman who doesn't use the internet.

1 letter from my bank regarding a charge I disputed.
The bank has my email address, but this letter is a hard copy document that may later become a legal document.

1 check I had written to a plumbing company that I decided not to use. The check was a deposit on a big job; amount of check $456.00. I had only canceled the job and requested the return of the check yesterday. I had had no prior experience with this company and was nervous that they would possibly play games with this check. I would say one day service was a welcome relief.

1 L.L. Bean catalog.

All of this was delivered promptly to my curb in a rural mountain area.
Am I happy :?:

>>>>>>>>

Don Alley - 8-17-2007 at 03:03 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by toneart

2 packages from AMAZON.com (USPS is their preferred carrier).
It would seem that expediency, reliability and experience comparing optional carriers colors their decision to use USPS.

I get Amazon.com packages in Montana...they use UPS here. :biggrin:

We've had an internet mail order business

BMG - 8-17-2007 at 06:17 PM

for 10 years now. We started our company in 1981 and did some mail order early on but the internet really changed things. As for shipping, we use FedEx Ground, FedEx Express, USPS Priority Mail and First Class Mail. The Post Office does a great job. FedEx does a pretty good job.

My father-in-law lives in Sonora on the mainland. Sending him a letter by mail is a 50/50 proposition. Sending him a package by mail is more like 90/10 against him ever getting it. We'll see how things are in Baja when we move down there later this year, but I'm not expecting much.

People may not write letters like they used to and many businesses use the internet to communicate with their customers more and more, but the Post Office is still a needed service. I can't tell you how much I prefer a real Christmas card over an email card.

Bob and Susan - 8-18-2007 at 06:11 AM

oldhippie..."I don't think the USPS is a profitable business" :lol:

let's see...roll of stamps $41...cost $1= PROFIT
the congress pass bills that require the USPS to pay out of their "profit"
this way the burden of the costs of runing the country can be hidden from the public...kinda

oldhippie..."The USPS is certainly headed towards eliminating street addresses and using geodetic coordinates" :lol:

NO WAY

it took years of data to develope the zip+ four sortation system
there are NO plans to change it
also the 911 system is based on the address system in the states and that barely works

MrBillM... i thought you "knew everything" :lol:

sorry

nightmares in the USPS occur EVERYDAY
the "normal joe" just never hears about it

when you hear about the 1929 letter being found somrwhere there's a reason...
the USPS wants a new building or new equipment or money allocated to "clean" the old stuff

the USPS is ONLY around to support the economy...thats it
the letter fron grandma is gone
the christmas card volume is 1/8 of what it was in the past

soon the USPS will ONLY deliver packages and advertisments
the day is comming...

BigWooo - 8-18-2007 at 06:59 AM

I only have one experience with Mexico' mail system and it worked pretty good:

A while back, maybe the mid 90's, I was curious about a development in Panama. I didn't want them bugging me so in the online info form I gave my address as Domocilio Conocido, San Juanico, BCS..

Over a year later a friend of mine in San Juanico relayed information to us that there was important mail for me in the Delegado's office. By now I'd completely forgotten about the Panama thing and couldn't for the life of me figure out who would have sent me an "important" package in Mexico. We spent the next few months in anticipation until we could visit again.

When we finally went to the Delegado to get our package, he had been personally holding it in his desk for about 5 months. It was a big color brochure, on the cover it said: "Important Document, bla bla bla...Hurry only 5 units left!"

BMG - 8-18-2007 at 08:00 AM

Quote:

thats it
the letter fron grandma is gone
the christmas card volume is 1/8 of what it was in the past

soon the USPS will ONLY deliver packages and advertisments
the day is comming...

Maybe the day is coming when when the USPS will only deliver packages and ads but I doubt it. Here are the latest figures I could find in billions of dollars for the USPS per year:

1st Class Mail - $37B
Business Adv - $19.9B
Expedited Mail - $6B
Publications - $2.2B
Package Service - $2.3B
International - $1.8B

Not sure where the 1/8 drop in Christmas card volume figure comes from. According to figures I find, the average American household received 29 cards in 1984. This average dropped to 20 cards in 2004. Did that average drop to 4 in 2006?

I think Mexico desperately needs a postal system that works.

Loboron - 8-18-2007 at 08:37 AM

My wife is in the process of selling a home in Lazaro Card##as, MX.

The last of the documnets were mailed "Registered" to my wife here in Ensenada. The documents took 3 and half weeks to get here. She had to check the main post office daily, as they were not going to the house since she had to sign for them at the Post office.