Postal employee GETS IT.

One of the post office employees in the USPS reddit section writes:

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We no longer have overnight shipping? The best we have is 2 day “express”, which is the same price as overnight shipping was. At my facility now we also hold outgoing mail until the next day. I’m so confused on who and why these changes were approved. This company is doing things backwards. You don’t save your way to riches, you create your way to riches by putting customers first and ensuring you keep them satisfied.

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ON THE FUCKING DOT. This one short paragraph comprehensively nails down EVERYTHING that’s wrong with the Share Value and Wall Street way of doing things. Elon is Wall Street. Trump is Wall Street.

The Post Office is one of the few remaining BUSINESSLIKE parts of government, along with SS and Medicare and TVA. Its employees understand how BUSINESS is supposed to work. Treat the customers well and keep them loyal. Treat the workers well and keep them loyal. Ideally government should be a business, not a Share Value cult bombing the world to enrich the Holy Founder.

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A 1952 Hudson dealer training film uses similar language about creating. You don’t find a Hudson customer, you create a Hudson customer in the same way that you create a doctor or lawyer or barber. You infuse him with inspiration and let him experience the vocation of Hudson Owner in a positive way. The approach succeeded; Hudson customers were the most loyal in the industry for many years. Hudson failed for other reasons, possibly unavoidable by 1952. Barit was a competent manager but not visionary. He didn’t see the need for a unique niche. Hudson occupied the same niche as Nash, and after the postwar boom there wasn’t room for two independents in the same niche. Roy Chapin Jr was sales manager, responsible for this series of thoughtful training films. As son of the founder he inherited the company DNA and vision. If he had taken over as president earlier, he might have been able to chart a better course. Much later he took over as president of AMC and did his best to restore nichiness, but Abernethy had already made too many expensive mistakes by trying to imitate GM.