POSTAL SERVICE BOASTS IMPROVED PERFORMANCE

Local on-time mail delivery is improving in Southeast Missouri.

Post office officials say the post office delivered up to 95.9 percent of local mail on time this winter.

In addition to improved on-time deliveries, the consumer satisfaction index has rated the Southeast Missouri areas from good to outstanding during the same period.

"Our on-time numbers were very good this winter," Cape Girardeau Postmaster Mike Keefe said. "For stamped mail overnight, we had 92.8 percent on-time delivery."

The on-time rate was even better for metered mail, Keefe said, adding: "We had on-time delivery of 95.9 percent."

In addition to improved on-time delivery, the consumer satisfaction index gave Southeast Missouri ratings ranging from good to outstanding in the four ZIP code areas, 636, 637, 638 and 639.

"We just received our consumer ratings," Keefe said, and they ranged from scores of 84 in the 639 ZIP code (Poplar Bluff area) to 95 in 638 (Sikeston area). In between the 637 ZIP code (Cape Girardeau), received a score of 88, and the 636 code (Farmington) received an 85.

"We're proud of these numbers," Keefe said. "During the past couple of years, we've had some problems." During the move to 911 many new addresses had to be recognized by the post office.

Southeast Missouri postal officials, including Keefe, are involved in the Heartland Work Group to improve area mail deliveries in four states -- Southeast Missouri, Southern Illinois, Western Kentucky and West Tennessee.

"We're trying to take care of our customers," Carbondale Postmaster Bob Gryzmala said. "We meet every two months with officials from Paducah, Ky., Jackson, Tenn., and Cape Girardeau to discuss how we can improve delivery.

Gryzmala said the delivery rates in Southern Illinois ranged between the national and the Southeast Missouri.

The on-time rate in Southeast Missouri surpassed the national on-time rate of 85 percent.

The U.S. Postal Service said this week it delivered 85 percent of local mail on time nationwide this winter, the best showing since the agency started measuring its performance five years ago.

The Postal Service's performance standard calls for overnight delivery within varying distances of each major city. The accounting firm Price Waterhouse monitors performance by sending out test mailings.

The 85 percent on-time rate was measured in a sample of 332,000 items mailed between Dec. 10 and March 3.

Chicago's rate jumped 13 percentage points to 79 percent. The city has been plagued by mountains of undelivered mail stacked in post offices, stashed in mail carriers' homes and burned in the street.

Postmaster General Marvin Runyon told the Associated Press he sent in a team of 28 outside experts to Chicago last year to fix the problems, and the area's top three postal officials were replaced.

Among other traditionally poor performers, New York jumped 24 points to 76 percent, Washington improved 17 points to 75 and Detroit improved 6 to 80.

The top on-time score in the nation, Runyon said, was posted by Billings, Mont., with 94 percent. Other communities with 90 percent or better were Seattle and Spokane in Washington, Erie and Harrisburg in Pennsylvania, San Antonio, Macon, Ga., Wichita, Kan., Buffalo, N.Y., Long Beach, Calif., and Columbia, S.C.