USPS Office of Inspector General

There’s been a lot of talk recently about the Postal Service making changes and “slowing down the mail,” using terms like service standards and service targets. Don’t understand what any of this means? Don’t worry, you are not alone. Shedding some light on this subject is the topic of our recently released report, A Primer on Service Standards.  

It’s hard to imagine a single part of our daily lives that hasn’t been changed by the seemingly unrelenting advances in technology. At the same time, it’s vitally important that businesses strive to keep up with the latest and most promising innovations to remain competitive and meet the demands of their customers. The U.S. Postal Service is no different.

In the best of circumstances, the peak mailing season — typically from November to January — puts the U.S. Postal Service’s network to the test with higher volumes of mail and packages. Add in the effects of the pandemic — namely, increased package volume and decreased employee availability at the processing plant — and you’ve got more volume than the plants can handle.