From USPS notice submitted to the Postal Regulatory Commission:
Pursuant to 39 C.F.R. §§ 3020.90 and 3020.91, the United States Postal Service (Postal Service) hereby gives notice of minor changes to the Mail Classification Schedule (MCS). The proposed changes reflect the Postal Service’s plan to rename Express Mail® and Express Mail International® as Priority Mail Express™ and Priority Mail Express International™. To effectuate these changes, the Postal Service will be revising its regulations in the Domestic Mail Manual (DMM®), International Mail Manual (IMM®), and other related publications. The proposed name changes will take effect on July 28, 2013.1
While Express Mail has long served as the Postal Service’s fastest mailing/shipping service, revenue and volume figures for this product have stagnated in recent years. In an effort to refresh the public’s awareness of Express Mail, the Postal Service decided to change the product’s name to Priority Mail Express. The name of Express Mail International is also being changed to Priority Mail Express International to reserve the current naming/packaging relationship between the products. It is hoped that these name changes will help reinvigorate Express Mail by leveraging the widespread recognition of, and positive associations with, the Priority Mail® brand. As an added benefit, the proposed name changes would effectively consolidate most of the Postal Service’s shipping products under a single brand identity.
Based on the above, the Postal Service submits to the Commission the conforming name changes listed below. The Postal Service requests that the Commission approve the proposed name changes and incorporate them into its recently issued draft of the MCS.
Current Text: Revised Text:
Express Mail Priority Mail Express
Express Mail Corporate Account (EMCA) USPS Corporate Account (USPSCA)
Express Mail International Priority Mail Express International
via http://www.prc.gov/docs/86/86866/PRC%20Notice%20(EM%20Name%20Change).pdf
As an ex-window clerk,what a STUPID idea. This will confuse the customer and the needless expense of changing signage etc.
Hey, why not just change it back to what it USED to be called….. Pony Express, and it will prbably get there quicker.
just another way to excess express drivers, The management can give these express mail parcels to carriers or parcel post truck drivers because they now call them priority mail express, not express mail.
When you rank last in expedited mail delivery and are loosing revenue as all other products other than parcels are loosing money and bottom line is billions of dollars in the red quarterly with no means of creating new revenue steps must be taken to reduce cost or continue to play post office with lawmakers and PRC having their turn on AMATEAUR night to illustrate their business-economic ignorance. Getting elected or appointed to a position does not reflect knowledge of issue to be handled.
USPS will change the Priority Mail Service Express to just Priority Mail and charge more pushing the priority mail volume to shift.
The name Priority Mail Express is going to make the customers confused, frustrated, & possibly angry. It will seem like a premium product (“Express”) is being downgraded (to the Priority category.) Retail service scores, wait times, etc. will drop like a rock as clerks explain to bewildered customers what in the heck has happened to the products & service standards they’ve depended on. New envelopes, boxes, forms to be printed; existing stock thrown away. Just pray this does not go into effect right before Christmas.
Look for yet another round of “Struggling Postal Service” headlines.
But hey, that would be great news for those who support postal privatization.
Other than management’s crony nephew getting a high paying fat paycheck, the name priority mail express will only confuse people trying to determine if this 2-3 days priority mail or Express. This has to be deliberate, no one could be that dumb.
Priority Mail Express is a rather clunky name change. The customers are aware of Express mail. They call it over night or next day. Not one of them is going to call it priority mail express.
Service, that’s just a dream some of us had.
This is a typical USPS job justification project. The good ol’ boys network keeps on hiring friends and family at HQ and these projects justify there 150K plus annual salary. It’s just sickening. These people are running amok and destroying our Postal Service while grabbing as much cash as they can as fast as they can. No one to answer to…no true oversight at all.
“Dav”…You’ve got that right…S E R V I C E ! It seems as tho the Post Office has forgotten the magic word that sets us apart from our competitors. We are seen by the public more than the clerks are, definitely more than mngmnt is, but we are being kept from having any relationship with our patrons, barely have enough time to say “Hi! How are you today?” esp to the elderly that may not see another person all day. I’m almost afraid to stop at a lemonade/Kool-Aid stand and buy a drink from a kid…have to explain why it took 2 minutes longer to carry a relay that day
Only one comment as I write this one , and I can’t top it ! Now if somebody who counts will just read it and pay attention to that magic word – – > SERVICE < ! !
So how many millions will that cost the Post Office? All the paperwork, packaging,signs etc. This is why the service is struggling for money, it is squandered on things that don’t make a difference to the business. Things like sponsoring Lance Armstrong, how did that make the Post Office money?
Management just does not get it. The service they are greatly reducing is the key to success. Closing offices or reducing the hours and delaying mail by closing plants all over the country will only chase away business.
Every time a customers bill is late being paid, causing late fees to be charged, the post office will lose business. At least if that person can afford a high speed internet connection or has access to one.
The millions of people that do not have an alternative, are the ones that will suffer the most. The plan underway to reduce the size and service is about attempting to keep costs low for the largest mailers.
Since many of these mailers have been subsidized by 1st class mail, this plan will not succeed.
Standard or junk mail represents over half of the 500 million pieces of mail delivered every day, but only generates 30% of the revenue.