USPS has selected 3,100 Post Offices to participate in its Premier Post Office program — designed to create a core of retail offices with the highest customer service skills and best customer experience.
Like all Post Offices, the offices selected for this program represent the retail face of USPS. However, the offices selected for this program also account for 44 percent of all Post Office walk-in and self-service kiosk revenue. The Premier Post Offices program is focusing resources on the few offices that generate a significant amount of Post Office revenue.
According to Channel Access VP Kelly Sigmon, the new program will improve the customer experience, maximize revenue and preserve cost efficiency. “The Premier Post Office program is designed to improve our brand image at retail and provide our retail employees with the tools needed to give the very best customer experience in a standardized manner,” she said.
The program includes a certification process. To attain the initial or “bronze” certification level, retail associates in each office must complete modules for telephone courtesy and the It Begins With a Smile initiative launched last year as part of the Customer Experience Essentials. Premier Post Offices also must incorporate and maintain several standardized retail processes and be up to date on their Facilities Data Base certifications.
The deadline for bronze certification is July 31, 2013. To date, 346 Post Offices have received bronze certifications. Capital District is the first to certify 100 percent of its offices at the bronze level.
The higher levels of the certification process — silver and gold — require more training and standardized processes. Offices in the program must attain silver certification by March 31, 2014. The ultimate goal is for all 3,100 offices to be gold certified no later than Sept. 30, 2014.