U.S. Postal Service Maintains High Performance Scores

Postal Customers in Dakotas Receive Top Service

Sioux Falls, SD — The Postal Service’s Dakotas District met the national on-time performance scores for the delivery of First-Class Mail during the fourth quarter of fiscal year FY 2008.

National overnight delivery service scores maintained a 97 percent on-time delivery for the second consecutive quarter, matching the scores recorded locally.

The fourth quarter covers July, August and September 2008.

Since 1990, the Postal Service has contracted with an independent agency to objectively measure First-Class Mail service performance. IBM Global Business Services reviews and measures the delivery performance of First-Class Mail from the time it is deposited into a collection box or lobby mail chute until it is delivered to a home or business.

“These successful delivery scores are the product of postal employees who work together to give the American public the best service possible,” said Sylvester Black, Vice-President for the Postal Service’s Western Area. “Customers can rely upon the Postal Service to meet all their shipping and mailing needs.”

“We continue to make every effort to exceed our customers’ expectations,” said Dakotas District Manager Clem Felchle. The Dakotas District encompasses North Dakota, South Dakota and the northwestern corner of Minnesota.

National fourth quarter of FY 2008 delivery service scores for all three categories of mail the Postal Service tracks are:

Overnight service, 97 percent on-time for the second consecutive quarter.
Two-day service, 94 percent on-time and
Three-day service, 93 percent on-time

With the beginning of the new fiscal year, the Postal Service has implemented new service standards with a new measurement system which will result in expanded and more accurate guidelines for customers on how long it should take for the Postal Service to deliver different types of mail from origin to destination. The first reporting of the new service standards will occur early next year following the conclusion of the first quarter of FY 2009.

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An independent federal agency, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that visits every address in the nation — 146 million homes and businesses. It has 37,000 retail locations and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to pay for operating expenses, not tax dollars. The Postal Service has annual revenues of $75 billion and delivers nearly half the world’s mail.