Standup Talk for Letter Carriers

Express Mail Sunday/Holiday Delivery

Beginning March 3, the Postal Service will charge a premium price for Express Mail delivery on Sundays and holidays. The premium will be $12.50. That’s in addition to the regular Express Mail price. To put that in perspective, our competitors charge a rate equal to this amount for Saturday delivery, a day when we deliver at regular prices.

To ensure customer satisfaction and maintain our pricing strategies, only Express Mail items committed for Sunday or holiday delivery should be delivered on those days. Label 25, the new yellow-and-white Express Mail Sunday/Holiday sticker, should be applied to all Express Mail items that have been sold at retail counters. Label 25 is available at each retail unit. Every retail unit will receive a roll of 250 labels prior to the March 3 implementation date. Additional labels may be ordered from the MDC (see the ordering information that appears earlier in this article).

Customers using Automated Postal Centers (APCs) or who use Click-N-Ship service to purchase Sunday/Holiday Express Mail service will be able to obtain designation of the service electronically on their mailpieces.

It is important that all Express Mail items receive the appropriate scans of the barcode on the Express Mail label. Express Mail pieces picked up from customers or collec­tion boxes and brought back to the delivery unit are not officially in the system until the acceptance scan takes place.

Carriers scheduled for delivery of Sunday/Holiday Express Mail should deliver only Express Mail items that have the following identifier or marking on the mailpiece:

• Label 25, a special yellow-and-white sticker that is applied to all Express Mail shipments received through retail acceptance.
• Labels produced online through Click-N-Ship ser­vice, through PC Postage vendors, or on the APC and that contain the text “Sunday/Holiday Delivery Guaranteed.”
• Express Mail manifest pieces with label numbers beginning “EA” or “ES.” These items might not have Label 25 on them, but they must still be delivered on Sundays and holidays if available.

Express Mail Corporate Account customers should receive Sunday or holiday delivery unless the “No Holiday Box” is checked on the label. Express Mail Corporate Account holders will be charged the premium for Sunday/Holiday guaranteed service if the item is available for Sunday or holiday delivery and the “No Holiday” box has not been checked.

Express Mail International items should not be delivered on Sundays or holidays. Express Mail International items are delivered only on regular delivery days.