![]() ![]() I know of cases where USPS staff literally don't even respond to questions, say by a confused business shipper doing a drop-off of packages out back. I've never seen that except with government agencies. For example, the USPS is the only paid service, business-like organization that I know of with an 800 number where it is literally impossible to reach a person – 1-800-ASK-USPS leaves you stranded at every branch of their phone tree. But even that's hard to imagine, since the factors that would cause such a culture to sprout simply don't exist in a non-monopoly private-sector carrier context. We'll likely never see that kind of extreme complacency and entitlement in a private carrier for more than the couple of years it would take for it to go out of business as a result. USPS staff have striking dispositions and assumptions compared to say FedEx or UPS staff. All large organizations struggle with spending and waste issues as well, partly due to the incentive problems in that the money is never an employee's own money, but government agencies will perform worse on average. This feature will act as a selection filter for the kinds of people who will tend to pursue employment there, and it will shape behaviors and the culture for those who are hired. There's nothing inherent about government as such that would necessitate extraordinary job security for its staff, but it just tends to go together for whatever reason. This is understudied, probably because of political bias (I'm principally a social psychologist, who sometimes publishes research on political bias in the field and how it undermines research), but we know about the complacency and lethargy effects of monopolies and government agencies, especially where there is extreme or extraordinary job security. My interest in postal money order history isn't focused on security or forgery issues – it's a general interest, and I like the design history of important documents, stamps, banknotes, financial instruments, ephemera, etc.Īs far as comparative organizational issues, any monopoly, especially a coercive/government monopoly, is going to foster a different culture and behavior in countless ways. There was also that famous money order scam run out of a US prison around 1990 ± a couple of years, where inmates were doctoring money orders (postal, I think) to increase their amounts, then getting people to cash them on their behalf or something. The only money order thefts I've read about were by burglars breaking into post offices, sometimes stealing the machines as well. I don't think I've read of any cases of USPS employee theft of money orders, though statistically it must happen. Those OIG reports were about a station or annex missing tens of thousands of dollars in stamp inventory, and in some cases cash. John, by theft I wasn't referring to money orders.
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