… or she might have to start a franchise of Renny & Mark’s Boob Dusting & Hot Wax business.
Post office posts $1 billion loss
WASHINGTON — The Postal Service had a net loss of more than a billion dollars in the third quarter of the fiscal year, the agency said Wednesday.
For the quarter ended June 30, the loss was $1.1 billion, which officials blamed on reduced mail volume in the slowed economy, coupled with rapidly rising transport costs because of high fuel prices.
Operating revenue for the quarter was $17.9 billion, down $437 million, or 2.4 percent, compared with the same period last year.
Operating expenses totaled $19.0 billion, an increase of $178 million, or 1.0 percent, from the third quarter last year.
Total mail volume was 48.5 billion pieces, a 5.5 percent drop from the same period last year.
The agency said its fiscal 2008 year-to-date net loss totals $1.13 billion.
Postage rates went up a penny to the current 42-cent price in May. Another increase is expected next May.
Meanwhile, the post office said on-time delivery reached record highs for all three categories of first-class mail the Postal Service tracks. Overnight service was 97 percent on-time, up from 96 percent the same period last year. Two-day service was 95 percent on-time, up from 93 percent, and three-day service was 94 percent on-time, up from 91 percent last year.
The Post Office said that some customers even noted that at least one of their workers always got complements on the way she smelled. A Post Office spokesman said customers, especially men, said she smelled “good, really good”. They said they are investigating what perfume she wears so they can get all their female employees to wear it an an effort to increase business.
Note: Last paragraph is fiction. Sorta. But the rest of the article is real.