The Postal Service has updated Providing Exceptional Customer Care, a training program to help employees sharpen the skills needed to respond to customers’ concerns and resolve their issues. The updated program is now available through the HERO learning platform. Improving customers’ experiences is a core priority for USPS, which wants to drive loyalty and boost […]
I enjoy reading Link stories about my co-workers. The “On the Job” and “Heroes’ Corner” columns give me a look into their lives and their good deeds, which often are unseen by the masses. […]
Distribution operations supervisors Robert Gorny and George Luckey were on the job at the Buffalo, NY, Processing and Distribution Center one day last fall when Clerk Jim Pientka collapsed. While 911 was called, Gorny and Luckey — both of whom serve on the facility’s medical emergency response team — rushed to Pientka’s aid and found […]
Eric Chavez has been named Northeast Area’s vice president, a position that oversees 90,000 employees in a region that encompasses New England, parts of New York and New Jersey, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. Chavez, who has held the position on an acting basis since February, is a 33-year Postal Service employee who […]
Women’s History Month begins Friday, March 1. The annual observance, which traces its roots to the early 1980s, honors the contributions of women to American history and the shaping of contemporary society. The USPS workforce includes about 288,000 women, or about 45 percent of employees. “Throughout the Postal Service’s history, women have made significant achievements […]
The Office of National Drug Control Policy — in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the Postal Inspection Service and other federal agencies — has announced a global competition to find tools to help detect illegal opioids in international mail. The Opioid Detection Challenge is a $1.55 million prize competition to attract the best ideas for […]
Here’s Link’s latest “News Quiz,” a weekly feature that invites readers to test their knowledge of recent stories. The correct answers appear at the end. 1. Fill in the blank: In his latest “Dollars and Change” video, Chief Financial Officer Joe Corbett calls (blank) “one of our most important enhancements to mail.” a) Informed Delivery […]
Letter Carrier Christopher Petersen was delivering mail on Christmas Eve in a Cary, NC, neighborhood when a customer yelled out from a nearby doorway: “Somebody help me! I think my husband is having a heart attack!” Petersen rushed to the scene, where he found that Mike Hodgin had collapsed while cooking. While 911 was called, […]
“A selfless act,” the article about how Ogden, UT, employees ensured a military widow received condolence mail, brought tears to my eyes. Our customers always appreciate it when we help mail with missing information find its way to them. […]
To help you prepare for National Peanut Month — which the National Peanut Board declares each March — here are five facts about the versatile legume. 1. George Washington Carver didn’t invent peanut butter. The trailblazing African-American agricultural scientist — who was featured on postages stamps in 1948 and 1998 — didn’t create the famous […]
Postal Service employees across the nation helped welcome the Lunar New Year’s arrival in February. The Lunar New Year is the most important holiday in several East Asian countries. The holiday marks the start of the Chinese lunar calendar, which operates on a series of repeating 12-year cycles that are each associated with a different […]
Postmasters, plant managers and customer service managers will soon receive a kit to help them sign up customers for Informed Delivery. The kit is part of the Inform 5 VIP Club, which is part of a broader effort to encourage employees to tell five customers each day about Informed Delivery. The free feature allows users […]
After being 73 years overdue, a children’s library book explaining how mail makes its way around the world recently completed its own international journey. “The Postman,” written by Charlotte Kuh and published in 1929, was checked out from the Silver Spring, MD, public library in 1946 by Mora Gregg’s mother. Later that year, Gregg and […]
I look forward to reading Link every morning. I work out of a small Post Office, and the articles are helpful and informative. […]
Postmaster Gregory Harrison was recently on his way to work in Charleston, AR, when he spotted a house on fire. Harrison stopped and asked a bystander to call 911 while he rushed to the scene, where he helped four adults and several pets reach safety. The Postal Service employee also moved a vehicle in the […]
In his latest “Dollars and Change” video, Chief Financial Officer Joe Corbett reviews the Postal Service’s financial results for fiscal 2019’s first quarter (Oct. 1-Dec. 31, 2018). “The major trends in our business continue,” he says. USPS recorded $19.7 billion in total revenue, but operating expenses were $21.2 billion, leaving the organization with a net loss […]
The Postal Service has announced new higher education discounts for employees and their immediate family members. Through a new partnership with USPS, New England College is offering a tuition discount of 10 percent to postal employees and their immediate family members. The private college is located in Henniker, NH. American Military University and American Public […]
The Postal Service will release a stamp Saturday, Feb. 23, to mark Alabama’s bicentennial. Alabama became the 22nd state Dec. 14, 1819. Alabama’s history includes its settlement by European colonists and its participation in the nation’s space program. The state also was at the center of many important events in the civil rights movement of […]
Here’s Link’s latest “News Quiz,” a weekly feature that invites readers to test their knowledge of recent stories. The correct answers appear at the end. 1. How many Priority Mail Express packages did USPS deliver in fiscal 2018 (Oct. 1, 2017-Sept. 30, 2018)? a) 28 million b) 1 billion c) 1.2 billion d) 3 billion […]
Buffalo, NY, Business Mail Technician Jack Harzynski was recently delivering newspapers while off duty when he spotted a police officer in trouble alongside a road. A man had tackled Wyoming County Sheriff Gregory Rudolph and was holding a knife to his throat. As Harzynski pulled over, he heard Rudolph yelling desperately: “Please save me. Help!” […]
Stories like “Caught on camera” — the profile of Ronald Murphy Jr., the letter carrier who was recorded carefully delivering a customer’s package — show why USPS employees are important to the public. […]
After learning last year about the Green Book, the African-American travel guide that inspired one of this year’s top Oscar contenders, Postal Service employee Mark Curry wondered if his family might have a connection to the publication. Curry’s grandmother, Mamie Sanders, owned a beauty salon in Kansas City, KS. After some online sleuthing, he found […]
The Postal Service is reminding employees about the proper handling of mail transport equipment (MTE) labels. The labels identify the destination for each mail container, which means a misplaced label can send the mail to the wrong destination. Employees are responsible for removing all labels and tags from sacks, trays and tubs when they empty […]
Refrigerators, coffee makers, fitness equipment and other internet-enabled household devices and appliances could become targets for online hackers seeking personal user information. These devices and others that incorporate smart audio speakers, TVs, light switches and home security systems — as well as voice-controlled personal assistants — operate on a concept known as the “internet of […]
To help mark the release of the Alabama Statehood Forever stamp this week, here are five facts about the state known as the “Heart of Dixie.” 1. Alabama pioneered two holidays. The first Mardi Gras in America was not held in New Orleans, but rather in Mobile, AL, reportedly in 1702. Alabama was also the […]
“Caught on camera” was a wonderful article about the viral video that shows Tacoma, WA, Letter Carrier Ronald Murphy Jr. carefully delivering a package. He should make everyone proud to work for USPS. […]
Rural Carrier Bradley Cook was recently delivering mail in an Edmond, OK, neighborhood when he encountered a family in distress: Paul and Olivia Makanya were scrambling to save the life of their 2-year-old son, Prince, who had fallen into their swimming pool and wasn’t breathing. Cook immediately called 911 and helped Paul perform CPR on […]
Post Offices across the nation will soon be blooming with Cactus Flowers. The organization’s newest stamps celebrate the beauty of cacti, flowering perennial succulents that are abundant in the Southwest and other parts of the world. Most cacti grow very slowly and are tough, adaptable and low maintenance. Cactus flowers are often large and flamboyant, […]
Here’s Link’s latest “News Quiz,” a weekly feature that invites readers to test their knowledge of recent stories. The correct answers appear at the end. 1. True or false: Last week, USPS reported total revenue was $21.2 billion during fiscal 2019’s first quarter (Oct. 1-Dec. 31, 2018), while total operating expenses were $19.7 billion. a) […]
The Postal Service is reminding facility managers and others about the federal reporting requirements for storing hazardous and toxic chemicals. USPS locations that store certain quantities of hazardous and toxic chemicals must complete and submit the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) Tier II Form by March 1. The form must be submitted to […]