The President’s Commission on the United StatesfromConducted byModern Technology and Business Management Cited As Top PrioritiesConclusionsTHE PRESIDENT’S COMMISSION ON THE UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE SUMMARY OF FINDINGS REPORT FROM A CONSUMER SURVEY ABOUT THE U.S. POSTAL SERVICE CONDUCTED BY Black & Veatch Peter D. Hart Research/American Viewpoint under CONTRACT GS-10F-0291M REQ 03-RQ-01739, DELIVERY ORDER 001 June 9, 2003Page 1 Executive Summary On behalf of the President’s Commission on the United States Postal Service (USPS), Black & Veatch, Peter D. Hart Research Associates, and American Viewpoint conducted a nationwide consumer survey among 760 adults. The survey was formulated by members of the President’s Commission, Black & Veatch, Peter D. Hart, and American Viewpoint, and was designed to examine Americans’ attitudes toward the USPS, including perceived strengths and weaknesses, various proposals to reform the USPS business model and its operations, and the value placed on its current products and services, as well as the potential value of new ones. Respondents were selected at random according to standard national sampling procedures, and interviews were conducted by telephone on May 19 and 20, 2003. The margin of error is ±3.6% for results among all adults and larger among certain subgroups Americans have an overall positive attitude toward the USPS, citing neither substantial weaknesses nor a desire for major reforms. A majority express the need to keep technology and business practices up to date, and to maintain the focus on the USPS core competency of delivering letters and small packages. Current USPS services are valued at about the same level as those provided by private competitors such as UPS and Federal Express. This report summarizes the survey’s top-level findings. When available, the survey provides trend data from surveys conducted in November 1994 and June 2001. Most Americans View USPS Favorably Americans have an overwhelmingly favorable view of the United States Postal Service, as four in five (79%) say that they feel positive about it, including 47% who say very positive. Fewer than one in ten (9%) have negative feelings about the USPS, and 12% are neutral. Midwesterners are the most favorable (89% very or somewhat positive), whereas those in the western United States feel slightly less favorable (71%). Unlike all other delivery services and methods tested, the United States Postal Service has 100% name recognition among Americans. Peter D. Hart Research Associates, Inc./American ViewpointPage 2 Most Have A Favorable ViewOf The U.S. Postal ServiceVery positive Somewhat positiveVery negative Somewhat negativeUnited StatesPostal ServiceOvernight packagedelivery services,such as UPSOvernight expressdelivery services,such as FedEx79%78%71%9%4%3% Today, more Americans think that the quality and reliability of the USPS generally is getting better (36%) than think it is getting worse (16%). A plurality (46%) say that the USPS is neither better nor worse today than it was five years ago. These results are substantially more positive than are the results from the same question asked in 2001 (28% getting better, 15% getting worse) and 1994 (24%, 22%). USPS on Par With the Competition Americans’ feelings toward the USPS are statistically identical to their feelings toward package delivery services such as UPS (78% positive, 4% negative), and on par with their feelings toward overnight express delivery services such as Federal Express (71%, 3%). UPS enjoys a somewhat higher name recognition (7% do not know enough to rate) than does Federal Express (14%). Less familiarity with Federal Express may explain its slight favorability deficit. Nearly half (46%) of Americans say that the USPS is doing about enough to stay competitive when taking into account the challenges it faces from other package and letter delivery services. An additional 13% think that USPS is doing more than enough to compete. Despite these encouraging reports, 29% say that it is not doing enough to stay competitive, Peter D. Hart Research Associates, Inc./American ViewpointPage 3 including 14% who say that the USPS has made far too few changes and has fallen behind the competition. In a second, stricter assessment of the USPS’s ability to compete, a strong majority (57%) of Americans say that they are satisfied with the USPS’s ability to compete with other package and letter delivery services; only one in ten (10%) are dissatisfied. All in all, the USPS’s ratings are strikingly competitive for a government agency in comparison with the ratings of its heavily advertised private sector rivals. Few Americans See Need for Major USPS Overhaul Only one in five (22%) Americans believe that major changes or a complete overhaul is necessary to make the United States Postal Service work extremely well. More than two in five (43%) think that it requires only minor changes, and three in 10 (30%) say that it works extremely well as is. These findings are a strong improvement upon the results of the 1994 survey (39% felt a complete overall or major changes were necessary), which followed several media reports of undelivered mail and other USPS shortcomings. Indeed, the proportion seeing little need for change in 2003 is up 16 percentage points from 57% in 1994. Although this change may reflect little more than time passing since the disturbing findings and negative media coverage of the 1990s, it may reflect real performance improvements that have increased the public’s confidence in the Postal Service. When asked to volunteer an area that USPS could improve, 14% mention long lines at the Post Office as the problem they would most like to see addressed. Nearly as many (13%) suggest earlier delivery times or other delivery schedule changes. Other areas for improvement include lower stamp prices (9%), longer hours (7%), and greater accuracy in mail delivery (7%). Peter D. Hart Research Associates, Inc./American ViewpointPage 4 Rates Evoke Some Concern, but USPS Personnel Receive High Marks More than a quarter (28%) of Americans are dissatisfied with the 37-cent cost of mailing a first-class letter, however, fully half (50%) report that they are satisfied with the current stamp price. Moreover, by 64% to 15% Americans say that in terms of the price they pay, they are satisfied with the value they receive from the USPS. Postal rates are