I went to the post office the other day, and the line was so long that I left and planned to use FedEx or UPS instead. The USPS seems to have a problem doing load balancing, a management technique that was more or less perfected in lo-tech industries like the one they’re in about, what?, 50 years ago? I was reminded of something that another patron in Macy’s said to me not long after I got out of college–a while ago. We were both waiting–for some time–for a clerk to show up at the only cash register around, so that we could purchase our items. “The first rule of retailing”, he said, “is to make it easy for people to give you their money.” So the USPS is whining that they’re losing money, yet they make it difficult for you to give them some!
Moral: Have you, the CEO or CMO of your organization, tried to make a purchase from your own company lately, to see just how difficult it is for your customers to give you their money? Gotta keep on top of it; it happens a lot.
