U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan

WASHINGTON – Following a request from U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan, a member of the committee that oversees the United States Postal Service (USPS), the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a comprehensive report detailing how USPS handles customer complaints. The report found that despite implementing a new online system to track customer complaints, the Postal Service is still not meeting its performance goals for customer service – which includes timeliness in responding to customer complaints.

“The COVID-19 pandemic furthered underscored our reliance on mail delivery for everything from food to medication, and I know how problematic it can be when those important packages arrive late or don’t arrive at all,” Senator Hassan said. “When these delays do occur, Granite Staters deserve to have their complaints resolved quickly and efficiently. This report shows that the Postal Service still has a ways to go to improve its response time to customer complaints, as well address ongoing mail delays. I will keep pushing the Postal Service to improve its operations so that Granite Staters can receive the consistent and quality service that they expect and deserve.”

The GAO report found that in Fiscal Year 2020, Americans made 10.7 million customer complaints to the Postal Service, the majority of which were related to late or missing packages. The report also noted that USPS installed a new software system in 2019 to better collect and track customer service and complaint information, which USPS officials say may help the Postal Service better identify service issues and analyze issues resulting in complaints.

Hassan is working to improve the Postal Service, which is especially vital for rural communities in New Hampshire, and recently joined in introducing bipartisan legislation to strengthen the Postal Service and improve the agency’s long-term financial stability. Additionally, last year, Senator Hassan led negotiations to include $10 billion for USPS in the COVID-19 relief and government funding package that was signed into law in December to help the agency address pandemic-related mail delays. Furthermore, following a request from Senator Hassan, the Postal Service Inspector General issued a report that found that the main cause of postal delays and poor service in New Hampshire was due to a lack of permanent staff. Since the report came out in December 2020, the Postal Service has hired more than 150 new permanent employees in New Hampshire.

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