OIG Finds USPS Mystery Shopper Program Compromised
USPS responded by basically saying No harm, no foul. But bonuses were given out based on mystery shopper scores. Some managers had an unfair advantage.
The USPS Office Of Inspector General Released the following audit report:
The Postal Service uses the Mystery Shopper Program as a diagnostic tool to measure conditions that impact customer satisfaction, promote safety, educate customers about products and services, and foster revenue growth. Management includes the program results in the National Performance Assessment (NPA) score, which is part of the Pay for Performance (PFP) evaluation system. The program uses independently contracted individuals to pose as customers (known as mystery shoppers) to evaluate Post Offices. Read more
USPS Second Guessing Decision To Change Mystery Shopper Program
After USPS implemented changes to the unpopular Mystery Shopper Program, some postmasters and managers are second-guessing the decision. PR note: Three clerks in my office were disciplined for not asking all the questions under the old format. Although it is agreed that clerks cannot be disciplined for failing a Mystery Shopper Survey, Bay-Valley District management claimed “internal mystery shopper surveys” are not included in the agreement. So hopefully changes in this program will remain the same.
After years of APWU complaints about the program, in January the USPS vice president of Post Office Operations issued instructions to Area vice presidents: Retail Associates (RAs) would no longer be required to ask a scripted set of questions when waiting on customers. Instead, they would be permitted to “customize their questions to best address customer needs.”
The questions, which were designed to increase sales of higher-priced services, were a source of frustration to window clerks and the public because RAs were required to ask every customer mailing a package a litany of inquiries – even customers the RAs knew well and whose needs they understood.
In a Dec. 27, 2010, letter to the APWU , the USPS said the decision was based on “confidence in RAs product knowledge.”
Despite the change in policy, retail clerks should continue to promote USPS products and services. Why? Simply put, the USPS needs the revenue.
Recently, priority mail sales have declined, while sales of less expensive parcel post services have increased. The latest sales figures are troubling to management, and some postmasters and managers want to return to the old script.
We hope Vice President of Post Office Operations stands his ground and continues to permit RAs to use their judgment about asking the questions. In the meantime, our clerks will have to continue to demonstrate that they are true professionals.
USPS Mystery Shopper Program Changes
PMG Wants to Reduce Customers Wait In Line Time At Post Offices
Postal clerks will stop holding up the line with all those questions when you mail something.
Some questions will still be needed for security reasons, but clerks no longer have to run through a litany of whether each customer wants a return receipt or insurance or other special services.
It was like “Do you want fries that that?” Postmaster General Patrick R. Donahoe said Friday, and it wasted time and slowed lines.
“Lines at post offices are a major issue for me,” Donahoe said at a briefing before being sworn in as the nation’s 73rd postmaster general.
Donahoe said another step to easing the lines is encouraging people to do more postal business away from post offices, such as buying stamps online or at retailers.
Already, he said, about 35 percent of retail postal business is conducted outside of the agency’s official offices.
Reductions will continue, said Donahoe, who is currently planning to cut 7,500 administrators and supervisors, or about 20 percent of the administrative staff.
via Associated Press
USPS Announces Changes To Mystery Shopper Program
APWU: USPS Announces Changes To ‘Mystery Shopper Program’
Filed under: APWU, mystery shopper, postal, postal news, usps
APWU Web News
After years of APWU complaints, the Postal Service has notified the union that the Mystery Shopper Program will be altered beginning in January 2011. Retail Associates (RAs) will no longer be required to follow a precise script when waiting on customers; instead they will be permitted to “customize their questions to best address individual customer needs.”
The questions have been a source of frustration, both to window clerks and the mailing public, in part because RAs were required to ask every customer mailing a package a litany of questions – even customers they knew well and whose needs they understood.
APWU Clerk Craft Director Rob Strunk praised the decision. “Finally, a manager with authority has realized that our Sales and Service Associates can determine on their own an appropriate method for communicating with our customers.
“The Mystery Shopper program has been misused, abused, and violated in so many ways,” he said. “We can go forward now demonstrating our professionalism.”
The Mystery Shooper program, which was recently renamed the Retail Customer Experience Program, has been a source of contention between the union and management since its inception. The program relies on management designees posing as customers and scoring retail clerks based on adherence to the script.
According to management’s Dec. 27, 2010, letter, the Product Offerings and Product Explanation categories will no longer be scored, and scoring in other categories will be revised.
USPS Renames Mystery Shopper Program
As the Postal Service embarks on the new fiscal year, USPS has decided to refocus its Mystery Shopper program to improve desired employee behavior and influence customer loyalty and brand recognition.
“To better align with the program’s objectives and feedback from the field, the Mystery Shopper Program will become the Retail Customer Experience”, said Dean Granholm, vice president, Delivery and Post Office Operations.
One of the objectives of the program is to provide real-time data that lets the Postal Service evaluate its performance from the customer’s point of view. USPS also uses the feedback to provide recommendations for improvement in the program categories.
The Postal Service uses the program as a diagnostic tool to correct conditions that can stand in the way of customer satisfaction and revenue growth. The Retail Customer Experience program will give the Postal Service an objective view of interactions with customers.
The name change is a result of feedback received from area and district Customer Relations managers.
USPS News Link