By the end of the third quarter of fiscal year 2013, customers had submitted more than 28 million change of address (COA) notices to the Postal Service. Of these, approximately 65 percent were the hard copy versions from the Mover’s Guide.

With so many submissions, it’s not hard to imagine that some customers incorrectly complete their forms or that USPS may improperly process some of them.

There are ways to avoid errors that needlessly prolong the COA process. Employees can create a positive customer experience by following these tips to keep change-of-address complaints at a minimum:

• If a COA form is completed online or over the telephone, the first notification is a 3982-R label, “Do Not Deliver ‘Boxholder’ Mailings From These Mailers.”  Make sure these labels are printed daily.
• Check each COA hard-copy form for a signature, and make sure the form is legible and complete.
• Use collection mail to submit hard-copy forms.
• Don’t attach any documents to the hard copy form, which is processed by a high-speed machine. Attachments can damage the form or the machine.

Customer Relations Manager and Consumer Advocate Krista Finazzo says customers have a reasonable expectation their COA notices will be processed efficiently and in a timely manner. “Every day, our customers share their feedback with the Postal Service,” said Finazzo. “Failure to process a COA properly or in a timely manner affects the customer experience, but the feedback offers us an opportunity to improve our service.”

via USPS News Link