Postal service to close or consolidate 140 sites

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Postal Service will move ahead with a plan to shut or consolidate mail-processing facilities as part of its cost-cutting effort but will spread out the closings to maintain overnight delivery of local mail.

The agency said on Thursday it would consolidate processing at 140 of its 461 facilities by February 2013 and shrink the area where customers can expect mail to be delivered the next day.

A second round of closings, which would begin in February 2014, would involve consolidating an additional 89 processing sites, USPS Chief Operating Officer Megan Brennan said.

The agency previously had said it would close or consolidate about 220 processing sites and eliminate next-day delivery to reduce overnight work.

“This two-phased approach essentially stretches our time-frame to implement the consolidation. It does so in a way that gives our customers and employees the time to plan and adapt to the changes we are making,” Brennan said. CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE

This represents only .63% of the total required closings and many more closings are expected in the future. These closings have become the chief driver for the explosive migration from a governmentally assisted system to the new free market approach that is being offered by companies such as The Mail Box Stores – which is the largest developer of these independent shipping and mail centers in the United States.

We interviewed Theresa Whitley, the general manager of The Mail Box Stores to shed some light on how this sea change is happening and how her company is working to create opportunities for entrepreneurs all over the country to fill the gaps that are left.CLICK HRE TO READ MORE

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Even so, the rise of email, a drop-off in first-class mail, labor costs and the growth of shippers such as The Mail Box Stores along with franchise businesses such as UPS and FedEx have left the Postal Service losing money. By fall, postal officials have warned, they may not be able to borrow money.

To shed a little light on the Postal closings and how that is changing the landscape of America we have Theresa Whitley, the General Manager of The Mail Box Stores. Her company is building retail post office businesses across America which are filling the widening Postal vacuum with independently run Mail Box Stores that offer everything the post office does and much more. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

Testimonial Excerpt

The store is GEORGIOUS! I’m just amazed at how everything looks and how professional it is. How it all came together so quickly and so efficiently. Definitely professionally. My favorite section of the store is the WHOLE THING!!! I love it all! But if I have to pick one thing I’d have to say office supplies because I love office supplies and I can’t wait to sell them. The build-out process efficiency was AMAZING. We had the shell ready to go and when our build-out supervisor came in on Sunday and we came in on Monday there was already boxes and furniture and everything came together so fast and it looks amazing. The training program that we received was great. We went to Las Vegas for 4 days and it was very extensive and the best part is that the training doesn’t end it keeps going – if we need help we can get it. The real estate department was GREAT they gave us several locations to choose from and they really went to bat for us and got us a fantastic deal on the lease. The customer service from The Mail Box Stores was awesome. All through the process we have never been lost. They were always there. The customer service at The Mail Box Stores was exemplary. What impressed us the most was the customer sales process, talking with operations working with everyone was great. They were all so professional and friendly, it was all very impressive. I would recommend The Mail Box Stores because they really help you wade through the muddy waters of opening up a new business. They give you the things you need to get started, I would absolutely recommend The Mail Box Stores!

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Testimonial Excerpt

I’m very excited and I like my store very much! It looks very nice and very neat, I’m looking forward to opening up tomorrow! My favorite section of the store is the cash register because that is where all the money comes in! The store build-out happened very efficiently and everything is very nice and where it is supposed to be. The quality is great, they provide everything to run your store and you don’t need anything else when the store opens. The training program was very nice, the people were very helpful. Training at the working store in Las Vegas was great and the review training we just got in our own store was great too. The finance department was very helpful. Those finance guys are awesome, step by step they are always with you to the end. What impressed me the most was how helpful and friendly they were and patient with me too. I would recommend The Mail Box Stores because everything ran so smoothly I liked the way it all came together.

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