Regular mail delivery is vital for so many of us. So when several days pass without a carrier coming by, it's sure to cause some frustration. Over the past few years, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) has been hit with a significant amount of backlash from customers across the country who have complained about missing mail. But now, you may no longer have to wonder whether you're dealing with delivery delays or something else entirely. The USPS has created a new service for customers to help them better understand what is going on with the mail in their area. Read on to find out more about how you can see just how bad delivery delays are where you live.
READ THIS NEXT: USPS Is Making More Changes to Your Mail, Starting June 13.
The USPS has launched a new online tool for customers.
DimaBerlin / ShutterstockIf you're struggling with your postal service, you may now be able to get more insight into what's going on. In a May 19 press release, the USPS announced that it has just launched a new online service performance dashboard. By entering your exact location, you can use this tool to find out how the Postal Service is doing in your area in terms of the speed and reliability of deliveries.
"After prompting users to enter only a ZIP Code, the website provides customers with a variety of useful information, including the percentage of on-time delivery for specific mail and shipping products in each USPS district," the agency said.
You can compare your current service times to those in the past.
ShutterstockIn order to accurately gauge its service performance, the USPS says it measures mail from the moment it is collected down to the minute it is delivered to the customer. "This data, updated weekly, is based on scans collected when mail enters the network, during processing and at the point of delivery," the agency explained in its press release.
For the Service Performance Dashboard, users must enter a specific ZIP Code and filter their search by one of four mail types: First-Class Mail, USPS Marketing Mail, Periodicals, or Bound Printed Matter, Media, and Library Mail. You also have the option to filter down further by a specific mail product, such as flats, letters, or postcards.
For every ZIP Code, the agency will show you how many days it takes them to deliver mail in your area on average and the current on-time rate of mail delivered within your area. They will also tell you what this data was in your area for the same time last year so you can compare how their service has changed.
This new service tool is part of the agency's major overhaul.
iStockBack in 2021, the Postal Service unveiled Delivering for America—which is the agency's 10-year plan for achieving financial sustainability and service excellence. Customers have already seen a number of postal changes in the last two years as part of this initiative, and this new Service Performance Dashboard is yet another upgrade made for this overhaul, according to the USPS. Through the Delivering for America plan, the Postal Service is striving to reach performance levels where it can deliver at least 95 percent of all mail and shipping products on time.
"This new website marks an important milestone as the Postal Service strives to reach that goal," the agency explained. "It also demonstrates efforts to measure the organization’s delivery service, while better serving and informing the American public on the journey to become the high-performing, operationally precise Postal Service detailed in the Delivering for America plan, and that will provide customers with excellent service for decades to come."
The USPS said it's been showing improved service performance across the country.
ShutterstockDelivery delays and missing mail are still a common complaint in various parts of the U.S. But according to the latest data from the USPS, the agency's service performance has actually improved recently. As of right now, 98 percent of the nation is receiving their mail and packages in less than three days, the Postal Service reported on May 5. And the average time the agency takes to deliver a piece of mail or package across the country is sitting steadily at 2.5 days.
"Our service performance has increased steadily week after week," Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said during a May 9 meeting for the Postal Service Board of Governors. "In fact, the velocity through our network has so improved that approximately 50 percent of First-Class Mail gets delivered a day early."
But even DeJoy noted that not everyone is seeing this better results from the USPS right now. Rural areas, for instance, "are not receiving the improved service experience we have delivered to the rest of the nation," the Postmaster General said. "[But] going forward we have ambitious plans to improve our service in those areas."
