The Cupertino Courier

Mail service improved, new postmaster says

By Pam Marino

Cupertino's fourth postmaster this year said postal service is improving and customer complaints are down.

Acting Postmaster Carol-Ann Ackerman had no hard numbers to back up the claim, but she said that the reforms under way in the Cupertino Post Office were improving employee and customer attitudes.

According to a union spokesman, the "true test" of whether the Cupertino Post Office has improved comes between now and Thanksgiving, when mail is at its heaviest. John Spencer, president of Branch 1427 of the National Association of Letter Carriers, said service has been better during summer, the lightest time of the year for mail.

"Between Labor Day and Thanksgiving is our 'Christmas,' " Spencer said. The combination of catalogues, sale circulars, election materials and increased letters and packages creates a heavy work period for letter carriers, he said, increasing the chances of misdirected mail and mail delivered later in the day.

A year ago complaints from residents began increasing as some discovered their mail was taking several days to several weeks to arrive at destinations. There were also reports of mail coming after 6 p.m., and mail being delivered to the wrong addresses.

Workers inside the post office who did not want to be named fearing retaliation said communication was poor with management and that the post office had increased workloads after the installation of automated mail-sorting machines. They said workers who were unable to get days off would call in sick, leaving shifts short-handed.

Ackerman said the post office expects to hire a permanent postmaster before the end of the year. The postal service is seeking someone who will continue some of the reforms begun by temporary Postmaster Daryl Ishizaki, she said.

Two postal carriers have been hired, Ackerman said, and two more will be hired soon. Existing carriers are being retrained, if necessary, to improve performance and eliminate the occurrence of misdelivered mail.

Supervisors are being trained to handle customer complaints, Ackerman said.

Routes are being studied to see if the times allotted to complete them are justified, she said. Workers previously said routes had been unreasonably expanded after automation.

The placement of mailboxes is being reconsidered to protect the health and safety of carriers and to speed delivery of mail, she said. In the case of businesses, mail slots that are located low in a door can cause injury to carriers, who must repeatedly bend down, and in general slow delivery. On residential routes, Ackerman said the installation of central mailbox units in some areas is being considered in cases where narrow or hilly streets prevent carriers from safely turning mail trucks around.

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