Photo of Marc McCrery, Vice President, Customer Experience
Making Life Easier
USPS works hard to ensure our services and products are useful and stress-free.
One of the many joys of working for the Postal Service is seeing how we make our customers’ lives easier and less stressful. Some ways are more visible, like delivering medicines or picking up return packages, but for me, our commitment to customers is most evident in the seemingly mundane services that people don’t think about until they need them.
Take the process for changing addresses, especially as we enter the spring revival of home sales. Ensuring your mail reaches the correct address becomes critically important during one of life’s most stressful experiences. Here at USPS, we understand that the last thing our customers need at this time is one more thing to worry about, so over the years, we have created a secure, quick, and hassle-free process that ensures mail follows customers to their new home. We’ve also picked up a few perks along the way, including discount coupons on new furniture and in-home internet, to help make that move a little less stressful.
The same goes for vacations, another event than can prompt anxiety. That’s why we offer customers two simple options on usps.com to help make going away a little easier. You can find out more on the website, but in short, customers can temporarily stop delivery of their mail for between three and 30 days or, for longer trips, have their mail forwarded to their new location. You can schedule that hold up to 30 days before you go and as late as the day before you leave.
These types of services rarely cross anyone’s mind until they become a necessity, but when they are needed, delays and errors can be aggravating, to say the least. That is why it is so critical that my team and I ensure we meet the highest standards of service every single time. We are also continually looking for ways to improve our services with products like Premium Forwarding Services Residential® and Premium Forwarding Services Commercial® options, which ship all mail from a permanent address to a temporary address in a weekly Priority Mail® package for up to one year. From snowbirds to college students, this service can be a real game changer.
We are making further refinements with the help of Informed Delivery® mail and package notifications. Not only does Informed Delivery® provide a visual record of all letter mail, it also allows eligible customers to verify their identity at set up and skip that process in all hold-mail requests.
Improving the customer experience is key in our 10-year Delivering for America plan. With investments in technologies like the Informed Delivery® feature and a broader range of government and commercial offerings, USPS will continue to develop services and products, all delivered with an unparalleled focus on our customers’ needs.
Marc McCrery
Vice President, Customer Experience