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Four members of the 1st Ward post office Customer Advisory Council (CAC) along with a representative from 1st Ward Alderman Manny Flores office met with Chicago Postmaster/District Manager Gloria E. Tyson's Chief of Staff Ms. Gerrie Campbell and five of her managers from the U.S. Postal Service in the ninth meeting of the CAC at the 1st Ward Service Office on Western Avenue in Chicago. The CAC members were from two zip codes (60622 & 60647).
The post office managers were the Station Manager for Wicker Park Station (60622) and the Customer Service Operations Manager for Area 2 along with the Customer Care representatives assigned to 60618 and 60647. An additional USPS guest was the Chicago Manager of Human Resources. 60647 has been without a regular Station Manager since October 2007 but the USPS managers announced that a selection has been made and that a permanent manager will be named pending final approvals. Ms. Valerie Cranford continues as acting manager until then. Roberto Clemente Station filled 10 open full-time carrier positions in early February, 4 more start on February 21 and an additional group on March 1. Employee stabilization and employee attendance continue to be District priorities for all locations. Ms. Rochelle Israel, Chicago Manager of Human Resources, said that although the initial search had been expanded in two stages beyond Chicago to the Great Lakes Region and finally nationwide, the selected candidate is familiar with Chicago. Daniel Doffyn Station (60618) renovation is now nearing completion of Phase 3 (of 5). While shortened counter lines are the intended result the CAC noted that recent experience there, during the construction, included a 35-minute wait in line at 11AM on a weekday. Mr. Larry Miller, the Area Manager responsible for Roberto Clemente Station (773-316-1574), ordered that the Customer Care rep assigned to 60618 be diverted to assist lobby customers during peak hours at least until the construction is completed. The Chief of Staff, Ms. Campbell, discussed opportunites to use "light duty employees" (employees who have for various reasons been temporarily reassigned from their regular jobs) as "lobby directors" to assist customers in all post offices. She stressed that window clerks were best suited for this area of customer service but that carriers unable to perform their regular route duties could also be used for some lobby assistance functions. Lobby directors are meant to screen customers waiting in line and help them find and fill out any necessary forms before approaching the window and can direct customers to the Automated Postal Center (APC) which can often substitute for services provided by window clerks. The lobby directors can also demonstrate how to use the APC which is similar to a bank's ATM. Wicker Park Station (60622) Manager Mr. Carlos Johnson reports that the recent increase in customer complaints there is related to a consolidation of some routes which led to more senior carriers "bidding" for other routes, thereby "bumping" carriers already familar with those routes. He estimated that the resulting ripple effect caused reassignments in 95% of the 60622 routes. Newly assigned, substitute and rookie carriers are the cause of most misdelivered mail and late deliveries. He also explained that after reorganizing routes and obtaining vehicles for 49 of the 56 newly consolidated routes that remain, most carriers are now able to "case" (sort) their own letters and carry their own packages which should reduce confusion over final responsibility for accuracy. Mr. Johnson indicated that most of the complaints had been presented to him by the CAC or the Alderman's office prior to the February meeting and that many had already been resolved. Other recent 60622 customer complaints include apparent improper parking by USPS employee which is causing problems for residents living near the Post Office building. Mr. Johnson pledged to investigate that issue and to report back to the Alderman's office on the resolution. The CAC noted that Chicago Postmaster Gloria Tyson's order to place suggestion boxes in all lobbies and to make lobby customers aware of how to contact the CAC had not yet been acted upon at 60618, 60622 and 60647. She had also asked that all three locations install lobby bulletin boards. Only 60647 has complied. 60618 is awaiting the completion of lobby renovations. Now that a final "Helpful Hints" (or "Do's & Don'ts" self-help list) has been completed the CAC again requested that USPS distribute it to all lobby customers in Chicago. The CAC also suggested that items from the "Do's & Don'ts" list might be distributed by USPS to customers on a "Helpful Hint of the Month" basis. Materials to help customers be aware of the CAC will also be made available to the Customer Care reps for distribution. Jeanine Otte, Director of Constituent Services to Alderman Flores, will meet on February 22 with Richard Rodriguez, Chicago's Building Commissioner; Gloria Tyson, Chicago Postmaster; and, Richard Newton and Michael Armstrong of USPS New Development. This meeting is meant to find a practical way to change the building permit process so that a developer is required to comply with USPS regulations regarding proper placement, sizing and labeling for newly installed or relocated mailboxes. Creation of "new" addresses by developers is also a Chicago-wide problem for USPS and will be addressed in the meeting. These issues have apparently been successfully solved in other communities. The CAC thanked Ms. Campbell, Ms. Israel and Mr. Miller who participated in the February 6 Bucktown-Wicker Park "Town Meeting" sponsored by the Wicker Park Committee. 60622 Customer Care rep Kelly Wells, Area 5 Operations Manager Loretta Wilkins and Chicago District Customer Relations Coordinator Carmen Santiago also attended the Town Meeting. Feedback from audience members was very positive and indicated appreciative surprise at the candor and straightforward answers to their questions from senior USPS managers. The next CAC meeting is scheduled for 5:30PM, Wednesday March 19, 2008 at Alderman Flores 1st Ward Service Office, 2058 N. Western Avenue (60647). |
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