Thank You, Fort Lauderdale!

Give a Shout Out ('Yahoo') to Donovan

"Yahoo" for Palms Central City Carrier Rory Donovan.  Last month, Rory earned a Million Mile Award from the National Safety Council.  WPBF Reporter Shelly Lockhart heard the good news and interviewed Rory about his stellar safety record.  The television station's video went “global" with Rory’s story posted on Yahoo News at http://news.yahoo.com/video/safe-drive-25-postal-carrier-160211107.html.

Grow Your Business Days Seminars

The U.S. Postal Service is partnering with the Indian River State College Small Business Development Center to host free valuable workshops on ways Direct Mail can energize your business by generating new customers.

Learn about Every Door Direct Mail (EDDM), a simple, low-cost service that allows local businesses to market to every address in their neighborhood without the need to rent mailing lists. EDDM Retail is ideal for any kind of local business that is not currently using the mail. Every Door Direct Mail saves mail preparation time and is delivered by the local, trusted Postal Service carrier. Dependent upon your business’ advertising needs, permits may not be required or special fees added.        

  

Register to attend one of our free upcoming Grow Your Business Days seminars.  Workshops include social networking, refreshments and an informative presentation.

Wednesday, July 11, 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm, IRSC Chastain Campus, 2400 SE Salerno Road, Building C, Room 102, Stuart FL 34994
Thursday, August 9, 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm, IRSC Main Campus, 3209 Virginia Avenue, Building Y, Room 108, Fort Pierce FL 34981
Wednesday, September 12, 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm, IRSC Chastain Campus, 2400 SE Salerno Road, Building C, Room 102, Stuart FL 34994  
            

Reserve a seat now at www.usps.com/growyourbusinessdays or by registering through http://www.IRSCbiz.com.

On June 26, 2012, Corporate Communications announced a procedural change with respect to the use of Tag 57 to identify political campaign mailings.  Prior to today, Tag 57 was permitted for use in identifying Political Campaign Mail from Political Candidates, Campaign Committees and Political Party Committees.

Today’s announcement from Corporate Communications expands the definition of mail which is eligible to receive Red Tag 57 identification.  The expanded definition now includes Political Message Mail, which will be eligible for Tag 57.  Political Message Mail is mail that is political in nature and is entered from various politically-minded entities.  Some examples of political-minded entities that can enter Political Message Mail are PACs, Super PACs, and other organizations engaging in issue advocacy or voter mobilization.  As with all other mailings which are identified with Tag 57, Political Message mailings should be logged and tracked.

A Day in the Life ... By the Numbers

Each day the Postal Service picks up, processes and delivers millions of letters and packages. No single operation in the world comes close to this level of connectivity to so many households and businesses. Here's ONE day in the life of your United States Postal Service. (Figures are averages.)


216.9 million — revenue received, in dollars
554 million — number of mail pieces processed and delivered
242.6 million — pieces of First-Class Mail processed and delivered
279.5 million — pieces of Advertising Mail processed and delivered
159 million — dollars paid to postal employees in salaries and benefits
214,520 — number of packages picked up through Carrier Pickup
4 million — number of miles driven by letter carriers and truck drivers
8,250 — number of letter carriers who deliver mail entirely on foot — The USPS Fleet of Feet
136,964 — number of address changes processed
2,100 — number of addresses added to our delivery network
1.2 million — number of people who visit usps.com
778,877 — dollar amount of online stamp and retail sales at usps.com
1.5 million — amount of money spent on postage for Click-N-Ship labels
18,701 — number of passport applications accepted
382,256 — number of money orders issued
284,000 — number of transactions processed on 2,500 APCs
1.7 million — dollars spent at APCs
6.1 million — customers served at more than 36,000 retail locations
0 — tax dollars received for operating the Postal Service


A self-supporting government enterprise, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation, 151 million residences, businesses and Post Office Boxes. The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations. With nearly 32,000 retail locations and the most frequently visited website in the federal government, usps.com, the Postal Service has annual revenue of more than $66 billion and delivers nearly 40 percent of the world’s mail. If it were a private sector company, the U.S. Postal Service would rank 35th in the 2011 Fortune 500. Black Enterprise and Hispanic Business magazines ranked the Postal Service as a leader in workforce diversity. The Postal Service has been named the Most Trusted Government Agency six consecutive years and the sixth Most Trusted Business in the nation by the Ponemon Institute.

Inspection Service Preserves Trust

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is mandated to safeguard the entire Postal Service system — from the more than 546,000 employees who process and deliver the U.S. Mail to the millions of customers who use it daily.

• One of the country’s oldest federal law enforcement agencies, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service has a long, proud and successful history of protecting the Postal Service, securing the nation’s mail system and ensuring public trust in the mail.
• Postal Inspectors arrested more than 5,500 suspects for crimes involving the mail or against the Postal Service in 2011. About half of the arrests involved mail theft and more than 750 involved mail-related fraud.
• Postal Inspectors arrested 83 suspects in conjunction with Operation Homeless, which targeted mail thieves who recruit homeless people to cash stolen checks. Victim losses exceeded $7 million.
• Postal Inspectors are members of the Identity Theft & Economic Crimes Task Force, national and state Joint Terrorism Task Forces and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, among others. They work closely with the financial service, airline and mail order industries to maintain America’s confidence in the U.S. Mail.
• To quickly respond to incidents such as natural disasters, the Postal Inspection Service has 18 mobile command centers and a mobile mail-screening station ready for action.
• Postal Inspectors deploy state-of-theart screening equipment designed to identify hazardous substances and suspicious items in the mail and to ensure safety at postal facilities while keeping the mail moving.
• In 2011, Postal Inspectors responded to more than 3,550 incidents involving suspicious items, substances, powders or liquids in the mail or at postal facilities. Of those incidents, 212 involved improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
• Postal Inspectors seized $13.1 million in proceeds related to illegal drugs from the mail in 2011.
• Postal Inspectors participated in Operation Due North, a multi-agency effort targeting criminal networks specializing in telemarketing and lottery fraud. This initiative resulted in disrupting 11 major criminal networks operating out of Montego Bay, Jamaica. A large amount of cash and dozens of high-value items were seized and 14 suspects were arrested.
• The Inspection Service participated in national mail fraud initiatives with the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission. The Gulf Coast Oil Spill Fraud Initiative focused on fraudulent claims related to the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. Operation Empty Promises focused on business opportunity fraud initiatives targeting small businesses and work-at-home schemes.
• Postal Inspectors intercepted over 5 million foreign lottery mail pieces containing counterfeit checks totaling over $675 million.
• In 2011, Postal Inspectors seized approximately 143,000 counterfeit postal and non-postal money orders worth nearly $155 million mailed to the U.S. from criminal groups.
• Postal Inspectors participated in National Consumer Protection Week (NCPW) in March 2011, holding over 600 events nationwide. The national theme “Your Information Destination” highlighted consumer education resources. Over 375,000 pounds of documents were shredded for consumers in conjunction with the NCPW event.
• Postal Inspectors, investigating those who use the mail to sexually exploit children, identified more victims under the age of 5 than in previous years. In 2011, courts ordered more than $1 million in restitution to child victims identified by Postal Inspectors during these investigations, a 100% increase over the previous year. 

At Your Service: 10 Post Offices Join Customer Contact Concierge Program

     EAS and craft employees who are working together in the Customer Contact Concierge Program understand that outstanding customer service is our “bread and butter.”  This program aims to improve customer satisfaction, which in turn, creates customer loyalty, and results in revenue generation and retention for the Postal Service.

     “Customer perception is really how we measure!” said an enthusiastic Lillian Castro, district program coordinator.  “Earlier this year, we implemented the program in 42 Post Offices in ZIP spans 331, 333, and 334, and our Customer Experience Measurement (CEM) scores improved.  Now we’re training employees in the role of ‘concierge’ at 10 Post Offices in the 330 area.”  
     Just what is a concierge?  A hotel staff member who assists guests by handling the storage of luggage, recording and delivering messages, and making reservations for tours.  A caretaker who lives on the premises of an apartment or a hotel and oversees people entering and leaving the building, handles the mail, and provides janitorial services.  In the Postal Service, a concierge is an employee who takes ownership of a customer issue, focusing on the resolution from start to finish “closing the loop.” 

     Participating Post Offices were selected based on the high volume of responses to the CEM survey and the most opportunity for improvement.  One EAS and one craft employee from each location are enrolled in the program.  During training sessions, Marketing instructors reviewed procedures and specific job aids to ensure that consistent and accurate information is provided to the customer in field offices.

     At your service are the 330 participating Post Offices added to the Customer Contact Concierge Program: 

Bright Station                                  Hialeah Main Office

Central Carrier Annex                    Hollywood Main Office

Hallandale Post Office                   Miami Gardens Branch

Hialeah Carrier Annex                   Palmetto Lakes Branch

Hialeah Lakes Branch                   Promenade Postal Store