U.S. Postal Service Highlights Performance Scores

Local Dakotas District leads nation in service once again

SIOUX FALLS, SD — Postal customers in the Dakotas District, which covers North and South Dakota and the northwest corner of Minnesota, received some of the best overnight mail delivery service in the nation for the fourth quarter of Fiscal Year 2007 (July 1 to Sept. 30). With 97 percent of on-time delivery of First-Class Mail, the Dakotas district tied a number of other postal districts for the nation’s highest delivery performance.

“Providing excellent service to our customers remains the top priority of the U.S. Postal Service,” said Dakotas District Manager Clem Felchle. “This measurement system has helped transform the way the Postal Service conducts business and we are pleased to be a national leader."

The Dakotas District employs more than 5,000 people working in more than 700 postal facilities. They process and deliver an average of 4.6 million pieces of mail each day to more than 810,000 addresses.

National on-time performance scores for the delivery of First-Class Mail hit all-time highs in the fourth quarter of FY 2007 for all three categories the Postal Service tracks. National overnight performance was 96 percent on-time in the final quarter —a first for the last quarter and for two consecutive quarters.

National two-day and three-day performance also hit new record all-time highs of 94 percent and 93 percent respectively.

First-Class Mail performance is measured independently by IBM Global Business Services. The process measures First-Class Mail from the time it is deposited into a collection box until it is delivered to a home or business.

Customer Satisfaction also high
During the same period, residential customer satisfaction was at 92 percent, as measured by the Gallup organization. In the Dakotas District, 96 percent of residential customers rated their overall service as excellent, fair or good.

“While there’s always room for improvement, we’re pleased that our local scores remain strong and that our commitment to providing a high level of customer service is reinforced every day,” said Felchle.

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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, six days a week. 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.