USPS Office of Inspector General

It’s that time of year again, when we release our Semiannual Report to Congress (SARC) — a twice yearly look at our work that reflects our mission of ensuring efficiency, accountability, and integrity in the U.S. Postal Service.

It’s a lot less expensive to retain a current customer than to acquire a new one. That’s a timeless marketing adage for a reason: it’s true.

In fact, it may never be truer than in today’s economy. Customers have an unprecedented array of choices and easy access to global products and services. If you can’t keep them happy, they’ll find someone who can. That’s why businesses work hard to reduce churn, the attrition or turnover of customers.

Nothing gets the attention of stakeholders like mail service issues. Late last year, our audit report on delayed mail generated headlines about inaccurately reported counts of delayed mail.

In our latest audit report on the topic, we find the U.S. Postal Service accurately reported delayed mail in the Great Lakes Area, an important step in meeting USPS service standards.

Our blog from nearly five years ago about the U.S. Postal Service moving into Sunday package delivery remains among our most viewed and popular blogs. It seems Sunday delivery’s time had come and the continued growth in USPS Sunday delivery hubs certainly supports that assessment.

Surface Visibility (SV) may sound like a nautical or even aeronautical term, but to the U.S. Postal Service it refers to multiple systems integrated to scan and track mail transported within the postal network. In fact, if you've ever used USPS Tracking to find where a package is, SV scanning has helped provide the answer.