Postal Customer Council Weblog

Everyone can use a little help in the current economy. This month, select in-stock items such as matted and framed artwork, plush toys and stationery are available at a 30 percent discount. Why has the Postal Service become the bearer of these discounted delights? To better meet its customers’ needs. The Postal Service is changing the merchandise it offers in Post Office lobbies. Later this fall, you’ll find enhanced product displays and a different mix of merchandise, including expedited package supplies. This improvement is about simplifying the Postal Service’s product offerings and focusing on our core products to satisfy customers’ mailing and shipping needs. Shop ’til you drop at the Post Office!

– Tim Healy, vice president, Retail Products and Services

Do you know where your mail is? Are those checks really in the mail?

You will know for sure when you sign up for OneCode Confirm and Intelligent Mail services. Then, when your customers call, you’ll have the information you need to respond more quickly and more accurately. Knowing where your mail is will help your finance department monitor and predict payments more easily. This will reduce your collection calls, re-billings, and need to cancel then reinstate accounts.

These are just two examples of the many ways that Intelligent Mail services will help you improve customer service.

– Tom Day, senior vice president, Intelligent Mail and Address Quality

To address business customer service needs, the USPS has a dedicated team known to many as the Business Service Network (BSN).  The BSN is a dedicated nationwide network that provides service support to key Postal Service business customers. They are the voice of the business customer and serve as a critical link between customers and Postal operations.  The BSN gives customers access to an entire network of knowledgeable professionals. They collaborate with experts in each of the various functional departments of the Postal Service. A cohesive network of experts ensures that no question/comment or concern is overlooked. The BSN is proud of their fast response and strives to continuously foster strong relationships by providing excellent service, communications, and information. 

The BSN also offers eService, an online self-service access link to the BSN.  Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, this program adds flexibility to a customers’ access with reporting service issues and monitoring activity and progress around service requests.  For large companies this option also provides insight on issues reported from different locations within an organization.  eService is password protected for security and confidentiality.  An online customer satisfaction feedback process gives the BSN current insight of customer needs. 

– Susan Plonkey, vice president, Sales

Our Priority Mail flat-rate services offer businesses a simpler, more economical way to ship.

There’s no need to weigh anything up to 70 pounds when you use a Priority Mail Flat Rate Box. Some flat-rate pricing can even be less than Parcel Post.

We have four convenient package sizes:

We have two Medium Flat Rate Boxes: 11″ x 8-1/2″ x 5-1/2″, similar to a shoe box, and 13-5/8″ x 11-7/8″ x 3-3/8″, similar to a clothing box.

There’s a Small box at 8-5/8” x 5-3/8” x 1-5/8” and a Large box at 12-1/4” x 12-1/4” x 6”.

Priority Mail Flat Rate Boxes also can be used for international shipping. All Priority Mail flat-rate packaging is free of charge, eco-friendly and can be picked up at Post Offices nationwide or ordered online at usps.com.

No weighing, no zone charges, no hassle. It’s the better way to ship.

– Steve Kearney, senior vice president, Customer Relations

More than a half-billion envelopes and packaging material provided to customers by the Postal Service annually are nearly 100 percent recyclable and created using environmentally friendly materials. USPS is the only shipping or mailing company to earn Cradle to Cradle Certification™ based on the quality of raw materials used to produce Priority Mail and Express Mail packaging, cardboard signs in Post Office lobbies and Ready Post® packaging and shipping supplies — including tape and labels.

• More than 375 suppliers worked with the Postal Service to set materials standards for sustainability.
• About 3,000 individual component materials were scientifically evaluated against 39 human and environmental criteria, including renewable energy, water use and recyclability.
• All firms providing USPS boxes, envelopes and other certified materials must adhere to Cradle to Cradle standards.

Everyone — consumers, businesses, nonprofit organizations — uses the mail, and the U.S. Postal Service is committed to managing resources wisely to minimize mail’s environmental impact. Across the organization, from supply management to facilities to delivery, the Postal Service is integrating sound environmental business practices into day-to-day operations. Leading by example, USPS is meeting the needs of the present without compromising the future.

– Sam Pulcrano, vice president, Sustainability

Just two hours away – blog live with Postmaster General Jack Potter at the National Postal Forum. Join the conversation from 10 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. EDT. The Postmaster General’s online chat starts immediately following his keynote address at the Forum. You can submit questions now here at 2blogpcc.com.

Be sure to check the PCC Blog frequently during the NPF for updates from Postal Service officers, who will be sharing their insights on issues important to the mailing industry.

You’ll also be able to follow the Forum on Twitter, the free social-networking service. Mailers can send “tweets” to other attendees as well as get the latest forum news. You can use an existing Twitter account or visit twitter.com to create a new one. While signed in, go to twitter.com/DCForum09 and check the “follow” button to automatically receive updates and special announcements.