U.S. Postal Service

New Focus on Improving Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction Gao ID: GGD-96-30 December 20, 1995

Above all, Postal Service customers want and expect prompt, reliable mail delivery. When dissatisfied with traditional mail services, customers increasingly turn to alternatives, such as electronic communication or other suppliers. According to the Postal Service, on the basis of current customer satisfaction levels and if customers could use another service at the same price, more than 40 percent of the residential customer market could be vulnerable to competition. This report examines the Postal Service's efforts to measure, report, and improve customer satisfaction. GAO discusses (1) the extent to which the Service distributes customer satisfaction data for use internally and by Congress; (2) whether the Service can improve the distribution of that data; (3) what steps it is taking to use customer satisfaction and other performance data to improve customer satisfaction by improving customer service; and (4) any additional steps it could take to improve customer satisfaction.

GAO found that: (1) USPS widely distributes residential customer satisfaction data for internal use to improve customer service, but has reduced the amount of performance data it provides to Congress; (2) USPS does not distribute business customer satisfaction data internally or externally because USPS fears compromising its position in an increasingly competitive market; (3) adequate distribution of business customer data could help USPS assess and improve business customer service; (4) although USPS has initiated numerous innovative efforts to improve customer service and satisfaction since 1990, residential customer satisfaction has remained relatively constant; (5) USPS has not developed a well-coordinated overall national strategy for improving customer service or focused on areas causing the most customer dissatisfaction; and (6) USPS has not always made the best use of customer satisfaction and other performance data to evaluate its initiatives, but it is studying ways to improve the use of all of its performance measures to improve customer satisfaction.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

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