Articles about USPS service performance, measurement, and reporting.
Traditionally, a postmark would provide evidence of timely mailing, and would be critical to ensuring mailed-in ballots are accepted by election officials. However, both voters and the agencies that oversee elections are concerned that ongoing Postal Service operational changes may eliminate postmarks or end their relevance to when a ballot was mailed. For example, as reported September 26 by the…
Read More
In the July 14 issue of Mailers Hub News we initiated an award – the bull trophy – that would be given to the Postal Service when it makes an announcement that is no more than transparent spin, or issues a proposal that is egregiously self-serving, and thus worthy of being equated to what the trophy animal produces. We’re making…
Read More
The Postal Service’s attitude toward the Postal Regulatory Commission became more confrontational and dismissive under the tenure of former postmaster general Louis DeJoy, and apparently continues to be so even now that he’s gone. Background Docket SS2022-1, Special Study on Issues Related to Flats Operations, was opened on July 14, 2022, to fulfill a requirement of the Postal Service Reform…
Read More
Deep in an appropriations bill passed by the 52nd Congress on March 3, 1893, was the clause “For free-delivery service, including existing experimental free-delivery offices, eleven million two hundred and fifty-four thousand nine hundred dollars, of which the sum of ten thousand dollars shall be applied under the direction of the Postmaster-General to experimental free-delivery in rural communities other than…
Read More
In “Postmarks and Postal Possession,” a proposed rule published in the August 12 Federal Register, the Postal Service sought to establish a distinction between the date shown on a postmark and when the USPS was actually in possession of a mailpiece. After a lengthy exposition about the history of postmarks and how the Postal Service has applied them, the crux…
Read More
After five years of contentious relations with former postmaster general Louis DeJoy, many in Congress may see the arrival of his successor as an opportunity for fresh thinking at L’Enfant Plaza and different perspectives on some of the issues that nettled Congress the most. With memories of last December’s confrontations at House and Senate hearings still fresh in their minds,…
Read More
It’s hardly a report for the evening news, but Sioux Falls (SD) station KSFY reported July 14 that Lewis Drug and Hy-Vee stores would no longer be able to “sell postage or mail packages” for the USPS by the end of September. When asked for comment, a USPS representative stated only that “the Postal Service determined that nearby postal facilities…
Read More
After reading the Postal Service’s July 1 Industry Alert (“USPS to Implement Second Phase of Service Standard Refinements on July 1”) it’s clear that the agency’s PR writers have again shown their singular ability to spin anything the USPS does into a great benefit for its customers. Accordingly, we’re proposing that an award be developed that can be given out…
Read More
In a May 30 filing with the Postal Regulatory Commission, the Postal Service announced changes to its service measurement process. As stated in the filing: “In this filing, the Postal Service provides notice to the Commission about revisions to the SPM Plan and Methodology Documents related to necessary changes to allow the Postal Service to collect and report service performance…
Read More
PQ II/FY 2025 service performance continued an unimpressive pattern; the Postal Service’s own data reveals that most district and area scores continued to be below targets, even though the targets were significantly lower than in FY 2024. Moreover, only mail “in measurement” is reflected in USPS service scores and, for Marketing Mail, little other than destination-entered mail is measured, clearly…
Read More