(This week, PR News editors Phil Hall and Aaron Jenkins go postal over the USPS' PR problems.)
PHIL: If anyone needs a boost of good PR, it is the U.S. Postal Service. They keep raising their rates (last January's boost will be superseded by another next
year), which is causing more people to send documents and messages via the Net. Private carriers Fedex and UPS are more trusted for overnight and bulk shipments.
Even the USPS' philatelic offerings aren't scoring PR hits (witness recent commemorative stamps with yesteryear pop culture icons Hattie McDaniel and Judy Garland). So, how can
we fix the USPS' PR problem?
AARON: Just like any other company, the USPS is feeling the pinch from high fuel costs (it's pricey gassing up its 260,000-plus delivery vehicles) and steeper health
care costs for employees and retirees. So the jack in rates in the beginning of the year didn't find any stamps of approval, but then again, it wasn't unforeseen. Anticipating
the PR blowback of a 42 cent stamp for 2007, the USPS is attempting to curb public disfavor with the "forever stamp" - the only postage needed for a letter no matter how much
rates soar in the future. But this forever stamp is a finite move for the USPS, who will need to do much more than save consumers two or three cents during the next price
hike.
PHIL: The "forever stamp" is terrible PR; people will equate it with rate increases going on forever. If the USPS wanted to generate goodwill and profits, they should
issue more stamps along the lines of the popular breast cancer research stamp that covers first class postage with a few extra cents for helping to fund the research process. If
that program was expanded to cover other medical or charitable causes, you'd find more people standing in line at the post office.
AARON: And standing in line at the post office is never a pleasure, as it's not too far off in echoing a scene from the "Soup Nazi" episode on "Seinfeld"
(Next!!!). Understandably, the occupation of a postal agent is one of high intensity, but constant interaction with the public demands a constant disposition that warrants
the customer to feel welcomed and assisted. Perhaps a portion of the rate hike can be allocated for revamping USPS's customer service, which in turn could make the next postage
spike a little more tolerable.