USPS touts results of new “customer experience” survey
TweetWASHINGTON — When it comes to customer service, the U.S. Postal Service doesn’t rest on its laurels, so it recently launched a new measurement system designed to better understand customers’ total experience doing business with USPS at every level of the organization.
The Customer Experience Measurement (CEM) assesses end-to-end service with the Postal Service by allowing customers to provide ratings on four separate Postal Service experiences: receiving mail, sending mail, visiting the Post Office and contacting the Postal Service for assistance.
“Through added insights and actionable data, CEM will help the Postal Service more precisely identify customer needs across all channels and find new ways to provide greater customer service,” said Delores J. Killette, vice president and Consumer Advocate. “We will now be measuring and reporting on areas that really matter to our customers, and this information will help Postal Service managers take actions to improve service,” added Killette.
CEM replaces the measurement system that has been used since the early 1990s. The new system provides ongoing assessment of customer experiences through a series of diagnostic questions for both residential and business customers. The surveys are administered by an independent market research firm using both mail and online surveys. And, unlike the previous system, CEM allows customers to provide separate ratings for various kinds of experiences.
For the Postal Service’s first fiscal quarter, beginning Oct. 1, 2009, and ending Dec. 31, 2009,
86.2 percent of residential customers and 81.3 percent of small and medium business customers surveyed reported being “very satisfied” or “mostly satisfied” overall with doing business with the Postal Service. Other responses included:
Customers surveyed who were very/mostly satisfied
- Receiving mail: 89.7 percent for residential and 86.1 percent for small and medium business customers
- Sending mail: 88.8 percent for residential and 84.7 percent for small and medium business customers
- Post Office experience: 81.8 percent for residential and 76.6 percent for small and medium business customers
- Contact experience: 61.7 percent for residential and 51.4 percent for small and medium business customers
“These results set the baseline,” said Killette. “Now that we have more specific, actionable information, we will be able to target improvement initiatives and monitor progress.”
The Postal Service also maintained high levels of delivery service performance during the first part of its fiscal year. On-time national performance for single-piece First-Class Mail overnight was 95.8 percent, up slightly from the same period last year (95.6 percent). Other results were as follows:
- 92.3 percent on-time service performance for two-day single-piece First-Class Mail
- 89.1 percent on-time service performance for three-day single-piece First-Class Mail
- 83.8 percent on-time service performance for single-piece First-Class Mail international
Lifestyles and ways of doing business have changed dramatically over the past two decades. Better understanding of customer patterns is an important part of expanding access to Postal Service products, creating increased choices and convenience for customers.
March 26th, 2010 07:20
I am a very seasoned full time clerk. The customer experience program at the window needs fine tuning. Instead of brow-beating our customers to death with our NINE questions we are required to ask each time they walk in, let us customize the visit. Lines are long because of the rediculous script we have push. Customers roll their eyes at me, and about 90% of them seemed irritated from the chirade. We’re loosing customers because of it. Give us more flexability, instead of mandating this program and forcing us to shove it down everyone’s throat that walks in the door.
March 26th, 2010 11:29
EXACTLY!! ENABLE me to do the job you have trained me to do. MOST customers KNOW what he or she wants when they approach the counter. To harangue and harass with useless, waste-of-time questions only irritates them and wastes the time of him or her, me, and those waiting in line. Mnaagement needs to get a clue.
March 27th, 2010 10:02
SOME OF THE CHALLENGES WE FACE TODAY ARE BUDGET CUTS AND ATTRITION. WE CAN LIVE WITH MINIMAL SUPPLIES AND EQUIPMENT, MAIL RECEIVED UNSEQUENCED AND A PO BOX UPTIME THAT IS UNREALISTIC TO MEET 75% OF THE TIME. WHAT IS DIFFICULT FOR ME TO WORK WITH IS OFFERING OUR CLIENTS A PROMISE THAT THE AGENCY HAS MADE ACROSS OUR NATION. WE AS AN AGENCY HAVE HAD EMPLOYEES RETIRE UNDER THE BUY OUT PROGRAMS. I UNDERSTAND THESE PROGRAMS MAKE US MORE VIABLE FOR THE FUTURE.
THE VACANCIES CREATED BY THE RETIRING EMPLOYEES HAVE NOT BEEN FILLED ( ONCE AGAIN, I UNDERSTAND), WHAT I DONT UNDERSTAND IS THE PROMISE MADE BY THIS AGENCY OF OUR CLIENT WAIT TIME IN LINE OF FIVE MINUTES OR LESS ???.
UNIT DISTRIBUTION OF LETTERS,FLATS,PARCELS ACCOUNTABLES,SCANNING,PO BOX MAIL UP TIME, MARK UP,CONNECTING MISSENTS JUST TO MENTION SEVERAL TASKS. YES, WE CAN COMPLY 75% OF THE TIME (WITH THE VACANCIES NOT BEING FILLED) BUT NOT ALL THE TIME. HOWEVER, TO PROMISE OUR CLIENTS THAT THE WAIT TIME IN LINE WILL BE FIVE MINUTES OR LESS EVERY TIME IS BEYOND ME. SCHEDULED DAYS OFF, VACATIONS, REQUESTED LEAVE, LATE ARRIVING MAIL, UNPROCESSED MAIL ARE JUST SOME OF THE DAILY FACTORS THAT DICTATE THE MAN POWER THAT CAN BE OFFERED AT OUR RETAIL COUNTERS.
THIS AGENCY HAS IMPROVED IN MANY AREAS AND AS EMPLOYEES WE SHOULD BE PROUD TO BE PART OF THAT IMPROVEMENT. WHAT WE CANNOT DO IS OFFER A SERVICE THAT AT BEST (WITH MANY VACANCIES) COMPLY 75% OF THE TIME.
June 9th, 2010 19:52
No doubt the postal service is facing challenges. In my opinion, there are problems in certain offices being over looked. In my office, this shortage of supplies is one of the very things turning customers away. Over and over and over again I see customers come in for certain things and we don’t have them. We don’t have coils of stamps, we don’t have a certain size box, we don’t have stamped postcards. You can see them turn and leave in disgust. I’ve even seen clerks tell customers that the postmaster has that in his draw but i don’t have it in mine. Or, i’ll go to another office on my lunch and get it for you but you’ll have to come back later and get it!!!!!!!!! What the hell is going on???????? I’ve witnessed all this even during Christmas, our busiest time of year. It makes no sense. In my office, the manager doesn’t ask any of the 9 questions. So you can ask all 9 and bore people to death or you can ask none of them and it seems like no service is being given at all. How about asking atleast a couple. That way you seem to be alittle concerned and are giving people service without over doing it. I think a watch dog group should start going into offices in plain clothes, without anyone knowing your coming. Come to the counter as a paying customer and see what could be improved upon. There doesn’t seem to be anyone watching the manager side of things or that counter experience people are dealing with.