July 25, 2004
Shift in business
Some interesting observations came out of my issues of getting Tara's care package this week to her.
I finally was able to send her package from a Kinko's. I inadvertantly found out that FedEx very recently bought out Kinko's, creating some weird hybrid called FedExKinkos. Yes, it is all one word.
For $4 bucks I was able to send a decently large box from Norwood to Burlington overnight. Unfortunately since Tara didn't have a chance to get to her mailbox, and I decided to come up for the weekend, I actually saw her before she got the box.
This new company shift was very impressive. Now FedEx has an instant "Brick and Mortar" network of facilities where consumers can access their services. Previously, the services of companies like this were focused on the business market and this change makes them much more accessible for people like me.
Then I realized something. When Tara came up to Burlington a few weeks ago she had to setup a mailbox. The place she has a box, is a UPS store. While sitting in the parking lot I noticed the following sign on the ground.
So I checked out the UPS website and found out that:
"The UPS Store
UPS acquired Mail Boxes Etc. in April 2001. In 2003, over 3000 Mail Boxes Etc. locations in the domestic US and Puerto Rico adopted the UPS brand, becoming "The UPS Store", with new low rates direct from UPS."
While the quality of thier rates is yet to be seen, the overall change between these two shipping giants emphasizes why our local post offices are going the way of the dinosaur. They are not adapting quickly enough (or at all) to meet the needs of their customers. Instead, they cling to the standards of the past where they controlled the market on shipping, and could dictate the terms of use.
Bye bye post office.