At our January Council Meeting, we continued to discuss the customer service surveys. (Some may say we were beating a dead horse with our continued belaboring, but others found the information useful.)
Postmaster Crawford was back in attendance and he brought some statistics regarding the surveys. Survey responses increased from 16 in the October report to 71 in the January report. This makes sense because so many more people are frequenting the post office during the holidays. The only negative responses on the surveys were related to the clerk’s attitude. Other questions include clerk’s knowledge, wait times and staffing. Postmaster Crawford said he was open to hanging signage in the post office to inform customers of the surveys, but needs to stay within the standard prescribed by the USPS.
Oak Park will be one of the first on the list to receive new vehicles and new scanners. The new vehicles will be better equipped to handle the large amount of packages the USPS will handle. The new scanners will have GPS to aid in delivery patterns.
Now that the holiday rush is over, the Postmaster needs to schedule a meeting with the village of Oak Park to discuss the education and enforcement of the snow removal ordinances. Suggestions from the Council included a note in the VOP Newsletter, a mention during Village board meetings and a piece on the local TV station. Members also suggested that the post office reach out to residents by hosting a booth during A Day in Our Village (a community event during the summer) and having an information table at the Farmers Market (which runs May-November).
We were reminded that as council members, it is our jobs to help to educate the public about the USPS. So here’s my PSA: Please keep your walks and stairs clear of snow and ice to help make your letter carrier’s job a little bit easier. And if you have elderly neighbors, give them a hand with clearing their walks and stairs. Your letter carrier will thank you for it.
Even though–at the time of the meeting–our area had not seen a large amount of snow or severely cold weather, Postmaster Crawford said he felt very confident that this season would be much better than last season* because of increased staffing and training. We had a huge snowfall on Sunday, 17+ inches and blizzard conditions. My building did not receive mail on Monday but delivery resumed on Tuesday.
That’s all we were able to cover since we spent such a large portion of the meeting discussing the surveys. Hopefully next month will be more productive.
As always, if you have any questions or feedback, I’d love to hear it!
*Last season’s mail delivery issues, chronicled here, were the catalyst for starting the council.
During week three, I definitely slowed down a bit, but I don’t have that “burnt out” feeling that I’ve experienced in previous years. Something was written and sent every day (except Saturday’s package–I missed the drop off time because I had book club and didn’t get my act together in time!) The top picture shows Sunday, Monday and Tuesday’s mailings–Monday was a holiday so everything got sent on Tuesday. I found myself relying on postcards again, and I sent a thank you note, a note to a friend and a birthday gift. This week–the last week of Letter Month–I am planning to finish strong. I want to end on a high note and be all caught up in my letter ledger for March. I also want to visit two of my neighborhood blue boxes that I haven’t used yet. It has been incredibly cold, so I found myself relying on our lobby mailbox and using the ones that are near work and the grocery store (the only two reasons I’ve been leaving the house.)
kimberly ah 