Canada Post Strike To Finally End

It truly has been an unfortunate couple of weeks for many Canadians. Since the beginning of the month, mail has been delayed and then inevitably halted due to the Canada Post strike. Add to that, the fact that the Synergy Merchant Services Blog took a vacation! These simultaneous occurrences have created a time when there was practically nothing for the nation to read! Sorta…

Embellishments aside, we are glad to be back, providing our great clients and colleagues with more great blogs. At least, we didn’t go on strike! And although it is reported that the Canada Post strike is set to end tomorrow, the suspension of mail delivery these past few weeks has caused havoc for small businesses throughout the country.

Earlier today, QMI Agency’s Sharon Singleton reported that entrepreneurs throughout the nation are incredibly frustrated with not being able to send and receive mail since early June. It has produced a decline in sales, as products have been “trapped within the postal system”.

Singleton reveals that a CanadaOne survey conducted last week found that a whopping 85 per cent of small business owners felt that the strike was hurting their companies. Larger businesses, of course, are generally able to eat the costs of delayed shipments. Either that or they can afford such postage options as FedEx or UPS.

Singleton notes that some Canadian small business owners have reported a deduction in sales as high as 80 per cent! Chantal Clermont of Gym Star Apparel in Regina, Saskatchewan has upwards of $1,200 of inventory “being held hostage by Canada Post”. And Alexis Corbin of Little One Treasures reports losses of about $800 to $900 a week!

Said Corbin: “The only good thing is that we have been picking up local customers and that will be good in the longer term. A lot of my American customers are not buying at all as they are not prepared to wait.” Singleton suggests that the frustration of small business owners across Canada is bound to bring about some change.

Perhaps, an alternative to shipping items through Canada Post will have to materialize to avoid such financial losses in future. Singleton writes that Derek Silva, president of Orpheum Hosting Solutions, feels that the strike may “encourage small business owners to invest in upgrading their technology to move more operations online.”