CREEPSTAKES

TEXAS RETAIL ASSOCIATE HELPS CUSTOMER AVOID SCAM

Dallas, TX, Retail Associate Sylvia Haynes.

She already had purchased money orders worth $3,500. But the elderly woman didn’t mail them, instead trusting the judgment of Dallas, TX, Retail Associate Sylvia Haynes.

When Haynes noticed the customer was having difficulty filling out the money orders, she started asking questions. The retail associate soon learned the customer was responding to a notification she had “won” $1 million in a sweepstakes. To claim the money, the woman said she had to mail $3,500 in money orders for processing and handling.

The woman was convinced she had won the contest. Her husband was suspicious. Haynes agreed with the husband. “I think it’s a scam,” she said.

Haynes convinced the customer not to respond to the scam. She returned the money to the woman and cancelled the money orders.

“Top-notch retail associates like Sylvia can spot a scam in seconds,” said Dallas Postmaster Pat Williams. “This time, Sylvia’s advice saved a customer a lot of money.”

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NAME THAT ACRONYM

A LOOK AT USPS ALPHABET SOUP

Postal acronyms and abbreviations may be practical. But at USPS, there are lots of them, and it’s difficult for anyone to know them all.

Luckily, there’s help. Publication 32, Glossary of Postal Terms, first published in 1974, has been the main source for deciphering common postal terms.

Neil Berger, manager, Transformation, Office of Strategic Planning, says Publication 32 is popular with new employees and mailers. “It helps them make better sense of nearly every function within the Postal Service,” he says.

There currently are about 2,200 postal terms. Over the years, new terms have been introduced and some have become obsolete. The 140-page publication hasn’t been updated since 1997, so the Office of Strategic Planning has been redrafting the publication and its online version. The plan is to release a new online version before the end of September.

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ENSURING A VIABLE FUTURE

BOARD CHAIRMAN STRESSES NEED FOR FLEXIBILITY, SPEED

USPS Board of Governors Chairman Louis Giuliano

USPS Board of Governors Chairman Louis Giuliano last week discussed the Postal Service’s 10-year action plan with major business mailers from across the country.

“Speaking for the Board of Governors, I fully support management’s plan in its entirety,” said Giuliano. “It’s a balanced, comprehensive approach which includes many solutions rather than just one.”

Giuliano said for the Postal Service to remain a viable organization in 2020 and beyond, it must become a flexible, agile agency able to respond to change. To that end, Giuliano said all of the plan’s components are necessary, including Congressional action to restructure the retiree health benefits prefunding mandate to a pay-as-you-go system and a change to five day delivery.

“If we are going to self-fund like a business, we need to make decisions and take actions like a business, while maintaining our universal service obligation,” said Giuliano. “That is what management’s plan addresses, in all of its components — each of which is vital to our postal future.”

Giuliano made his remarks at a meeting of the Association of Postal Commerce in Washington, DC. 

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STAY FOCUSED

STAY FOCUSED

DISTRACTED DRIVING IS LEADING CAUSE OF MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENTS

According to a report issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, driver distraction is the leading cause of motor vehicle crashes. In nearly 80 percent of accidents and 65 percent of near-crashes, driver inattention occurred within 3 seconds before the crash.

Distracted driving is any non-driving activity that has the potential to distract a person from the primary task of driving, increasing the risk of an accident. Distracted driving activities include eating, drinking, reading, reaching for mail or parcels, or operating electronic devices.

Any of these activities can lead to a serious accident. Drivers who use a mobile device to send text messages are 23 times more likely to be involved in a crash or near-miss event.

“The primary responsibility of a USPS driver is to operate a motor vehicle safely,” said Deborah Giannoni-Jackson, vice president, Employee Resource Management. “In some circumstances, even a second or two can make all the difference in being able to avoid a crash.”

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NEW FLAT-RATE BOX AD CAMPAIGN

NEW FLAT-RATE BOX AD CAMPAIGN

ANIMATED AD FEATURES DISNEY*PIXAR’S ‘TOY STORY 3’ CHARACTERS

“Toy Story 3” Priority Mail Flat Rate Box ad.

Secure the area, Sheriff Woody. The Postal Service is playing in the “Toy Story” world.

Some of the characters in the Disney*Pixar movie franchise “Toy Story” and Al — the letter carrier seen nationally and online touting the virtues of Priority Mail Flat Rate Boxes — are appearing together in an animated advertisement, in a direct mail campaign, on usps.com and in Post Offices.

Al appears as himself. But this time, he shares top billing with a second letter carrier named Hamm, a familiar animated piggy bank voiced by John Ratzenberger, who taps into his role as postal worker Cliff Clavin of “Cheers” fame.

The new commercial is the newest in a series that began almost a year ago. This latest chapter in the Priority Mail Flat Rate Box advertising campaign includes several additional features that also incorporate the “Toy Story 3” association:

• Beginning Monday, business and residential customers of the DISH satellite TV service can use their converters to order a free Priority Mail Flat Rate Box kit during the commercial. Customers also can order the kit online at the DISH website.
• USPS has launched a direct mail campaign to 4 million businesses promoting the Priority Mail Flat Rate Box service and featuring the “Toy Story 3” characters. The campaign includes an e-mail blast to 1.4 million large and small concerns.
• “Toy Story 3” characters also are appearing on usps.com with banners and other content.
• The “Toy Story 3” characters will be featured in posters and displays in 12,000 Post Office lobbies.

Susan Plonkey, acting president, Mailing and Shipping Services, says the Postal Service’s association with Disney*Pixar builds on the notion of USPS as an American institution. “We’re proud to be associated with Disney*Pixar in promoting our flat-rate box services,” she said. “Our benefits are universally recognized, and the relationship established with the animated characters that are so popular with the American public reinforces the reliability and popularity of the USPS brand.”

“Toy Story 3” opens in movie theaters June 18.

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