Hard to Chase the Train

Super Bowl Sunday is tomorrow. Valentine's Day is mid month. President's Day is a week later. How does Plotnik know? Super Bowl Sale! Valentine's Day Sale! President's Day Sale! If it weren't for ad circulars the Post Office would go out of business even sooner.

Walk into Bernal Heights Post Office on 29th Street now (which isn't in Bernal Heights) and it's empty. The clerks are sweet as sugar. They used to smile like executioners and take a break right in your face with a long line and no other clerks in sight.

No longer. "Hel-LO Sir! What can we do for you today! Would you like stamps with that?"

You're history, Dear, and Plotnik is only sorry in theory. The Post Office was the employer of choice, along with the military, for a generation of minorities who could not get hired anywhere else. But they got fat and complacent and then they ignored the technological revolution. And they're too tired to run after the train now that it's left the station.

How about a machine in the lobby to weigh your package, sell you stamps and take your credit card? Charge a quarter for the service. No one would stand in a line at Christmas if they could help it.

How about hiring someone at the Diamond Heights Branch who speaks English you can understand? Nothing wrong with Chinese, boys, lots of people enjoy speaking it, but the majority of them are in China.

How about actually bringing the package to the door, not just bringing the already-made-up "sorry we missed you" yellow sticker? How about actually ringing the doorbell?

Well, it doesn't matter, does it? We will be down to no weekend service before the year is out and after that probably three days a week. Lots of people will lose their jobs. That's not good at all. And you can't blame China this time.