Are You Concerned MN’s USPS Performance Is 4th Worst In Nation?

It's one of the busiest times of the year for package and mail delivery. Christmas and Holiday cards are being sent out, as well as any packages or gifts from relatives that you bought online. For our friends at the United States Postal Service, it often means long days at the office sorting packages and mail, plus even longer days for the carriers, having to dash through the snow to deliver mail and gifts. A recent Inspector General review of the 50 districts' service performance showed Minnesota/North Dakota as having the 4th worst score.

How Are Postal Districts Scored & What Was Minnesota's?

According to the Office of Inspector General's website, the 50 postal districts are reviewed quarterly and are scored/rated based on different criteria.

The criteria that the districts are scored on are: scanning of mail by post office employees at "randomly selected collection and delivery points" for all eligible mail to estimate total transit time for the mail. Those scans are then compared to the standards people are paying for, so in other words, is the mail you paid to be delivered in 3-5 days actually getting to that destination in that amount of time or not?

"The Office of Inspector General reviews service performance and makes recommendations on where and how the USPS can improve. Our work encompasses nationwide performance, as well as specific areas of particular concern."

The most recent review conducted showed 22 districts were exceeding service performance, which was the target score of 87, and the remaining 28 districts were below average in their service performance scores.

In fact, the Minnesota/North Dakota region, which encompasses all of Minnesota and a majority of North Dakota, had the 4th worst average, scoring an 82. Three other regions had lower scores than Minnesota/North Dakota, those were:

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Florida 3, which includes Miami and the Florida Keys - 78.30

Illinois 1, which includes Chicago and the Northern third of the state - 79.60

Illinois 2, which is the Southern two-thirds of the state - 80.70

Minnesota Representatives Calling For Better Performance

One member of Minnesota's congressional delegation has called for improvement, including Representative Angie Craig. In the past, both Senators Klobuchar and Smith have called for answers for missing or undelivered mail during 2024's holiday season.

What Does That Mean For Your Holiday Packages & Cards?

What these performance scores are saying is leave a few extra days for sending those cards if they need to get to where they are going before the holidays, but if what you are sending isn't extremely time sensitive, you shouldn't have much to worry about.

It's A Stressful Time Of Year. Show Patience & Kindness; It's Free To Give

Personally, the folks in the post office are being pushed hard this time of year to make deliveries on time, so show some patience at the post office when you are dropping off your mail and packages, as we know many of the employees are doing the best they can, as many Minnesota post offices are still understaffed. 

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