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Two Different Worlds

Two Different Worlds
By Robert “Bobby” Bock
NAPS Southeast Area Vice President

As an active member who still goes to work every day and as a member of the NAPS Executive Board, I live in two different worlds. When I attend board meetings at NAPS Headquarters, I hear about all the futuristic things the Postal Service is developing that will bring us into the 21st century.

Then, I go to work the next morning and it takes me over an hour to get into a program on my workstation. As I speak with members around the Southeast Area, they, too, are complaining about computer issues that tie up their day. For those of us who are up to our necks in work at work, the future can’t come soon enough!

At our most recent board meeting, I was seated next to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy. I had an opportunity to speak face to face with him. I articulated the issues we all are having with the inability of the computer system to meet our needs.

Recently, I visited a small office that had a sign on the door, “Cash Transactions Only.” When I asked the postmaster what was going on, they explained the credit card system had been down for over a week.

You guessed it! The lobby was empty because so many people use debit or credit cards when they come to the post office. Customers were unnecessarily inconvenienced and took their business to another office or, even worse, to a competitor.

DeJoy said the Postal Service is already committed to spending $2 billion on improvements to the computer system. In my opinion, the planned upgrades cannot happen soon enough.

At our meeting, DeJoy touted his 10-year plan again, as well as the infrastructure improvements. He sounded very convincing in his presentation. I only hope Congress, the business community and postal customers give him the support and time he needs to get his plan implemented.

As we enter peak holiday season, remember to deliver our best to our postal customers. I wish everyone a happy and healthy holiday season!