Back in the day, hometown post offices werea hub of activity. A trek to the post office box or to the counterto buy stamps or to mail a letter was a chance to meet and greetand swap the latest gossip.

    But times have changed. The same tide that washed away Blockbusterand Movie Gallery is sweeping over rural post offices.

    Customer habits have evolved, the Postal Service says, noting that35 percent or more of the agency’s revenue is now generated by theInternet, retail stores and kiosks. Meanwhile, the Postal Servicealso has lost first-class mail to the Internet, and advertisingmail has decreased as a result of the recession.

    Citing loses of $8 billion last year, the Postal Service announcedlast week that 3,700 post offices nationwide are under review forclosing. Included are 61 Mississippi postal outlets, including postoffices in Union Church in Jefferson County and McCall Creek inFranklin County. We’ve also learned Oakvale in Lawrence County wastold they would be targeted for shutdown.

    Unfortunately, the shuttering of rural post offices will mean yetanother empty building in towns that may already be suffering fromlost stores. And residents will have to drive farther to find apost office.

    The review stage is not necessarily the end, however. Customershave 60 days to file objections, but chances are, if people aren’tusing a service, they aren’t going to file a complaint about losingit.

    That’s really the crux of the matter, whether it be post officeclosings or video stores that closed down due to competition fromthe Internet and self-service kiosks. The marketplace is simplyadjusting to consumer demand. If we don’t use a service, we can’texpect it to be there indefinitely.

    To survive, any business – and the Postal Service needs to be runlike the business it is – has to anticipate market changes, manageits budget, tighten its belt when necessary and, above all,remember that customer service is paramount.