Previous Page page 61 of 87 Next Page


The Postal Service is committed to continuously improving the quality and functionality of its customer services and continues to focus on customer convenience across various access points. Strategies to provide online access from the home or office are being enhanced for more services and products. In order to reduce waiting time in line at many post offices, automated postal centers (APCs) have been introduced and later evening and Saturday hours have been implemented. Call center performance has been enhanced to improve both online and telephone access for problem resolution.

To stay abreast of rising customer expectations, the Postal Service is committed to incorporating new features and technologies to further enhance customer access. It will pursue strategic alliances where partners can help speed development and/or reduce shared costs. It will continue to place special emphasis on enhancing online and self-service capabilities to further reach out to customers where they live, work, and shop.

Continue to Improve Delivery Service Quality

In multiple sections throughout this Plan, the Postal Service identifies areas where it is working to build upon the longstanding relationship between carriers and the customers they serve each day. Carriers will be more prepared to discuss customer needs and postal services. The strength of the carrier-customer relationship and the uniqueness of the Postal Service's daily connection to home and office is the basis for many business development strategies described in this Plan. In order for those strategies to succeed, however, current high levels of delivery performance must be maintained.

Under 2002 Transformation, the Postal Service implemented very rigorous efforts to isolate and eliminate problems in delivery service quality. Emphasis has been placed to minimize the largest customer dissatisfiers, notably time of delivery and misdelivery. Where these quality problems still exist, they will be reduced further. For areas where service levels are less than expected, additional focus will be received. The Postal Service will also step up efforts to minimize deliveries occurring late in the day.