Good Lifestyle

Whether you're waiting for a check in the mail or need to ship a package across the country, there are certain standard services we've all come to expect from the U.S. Postal Service (USPS). But the agency is hardly on solid footing, as it has been battling a number of challenges over the past few years, from staffing shortages to financial shortcomings. These problems have trickled down to customers, leading to a considerable amount of complaints about mailing delays and increased costs.

The situation has become so dire that President Joe Biden signed the Postal Service Reform Act on April 6, which will provide nearly $50 billion in relief to the USPS over the next 10 years as an attempt to help the agency get back on track. But even before this bill was signed, the Postal Service has been making a number of adjustments to its service to try to combat these ongoing issues. Read on to learn all the ways the USPS has already changed and is planning to change your mail service in the past year.

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If you've felt like some of your mail deliveries have gotten slower over the past few months, you're not imagining things. On Oct. 1, 2021, the Postal Service implemented "new service standards" for First Class Mail and Periodicals. "A service standard is the number of days between the acceptance and delivery of a piece of mail that the Postal Service considers to be timely delivery," the agency explained on its website.ae0fcc31ae342fd3a1346ebb1f342fcb

In other words, the USPS has slowed down the timeframe in which it has to deliver some of your mail. The agency increased its time-in-transit standards by one or two days for First-Class Mail and Periodicals that are traveling longer distances. "The current service standards are challenging to meet reliably. Adjusting the service standards will provide customers with more stable and realistic expectations," the USPS said when it announced the change.

The agency added that as a result of these new standards, customers should adjust by mailing certain items earlier. "If it would take you more than a day to drive your mail to its destination, make sure to give your long-distance mail some extra time to travel with USPS," the Postal Service recommended.

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As soon as the new year rolled in, the USPS decided to pare down your shipping options. The agency first announced in August that it would be phasing out its Priority Mail Prepaid Flat Rate Stamped Envelope in 2022. "The envelope, which is only sold online … will remain available until January or while supplies last," the Postal Service said at the time.

By Jan. 12, the envelopes were no longer available to purchase on the USPS website, eSeller 365 reported. The agency said the decision to discontinue this shipping option was largely due to the fact that demand for the product had tanked. "The Postal Service is discontinuing the envelope because orders have steadily declined over the years, while production and fulfillment costs continued to rise," the USPS said.

One of the most recent USPS changes has impacted the cost to ship certain certain packages. On April 3, the Postal Service introduced two new shipping surcharges: Nonstandard Fees and the Dimension Noncompliance Fee. Ayon saFederal Register, the new fees affect customers trying to ship certain domestic retail and commercial mail that fall into one of the following categories: Priority Mail Express, Priority Mail, First-Class Package Service, USPS Retail Ground, and Parcel Select.

With the Nonstandard Fee, the surcharge starts at $4 for any package longer than 22 inches but less than 30 inches. For packages over 30 inches in length, the fee goes up to $15. You will also have to pay an additional $15 if your package is greater than 2 cubic feet in volume. And the Dimensional Noncompliance Fee is targeted toward customers who try to get out of paying Nonstandard Fees. With this new fee, you will be charged $1.50 for packages that are greater than one cubic foot or longer than 22 inches if you did not provide dimensions or if they are incorrect, per the USPS.

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The Postal Service's mga plano upang madagdagan ang mga gastos Hindi tumitigil sa ilang mga bagong bayad, gayunpaman. Noong Abril 6, ang USPS ay nagsampa ng isang paunawa sa Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC), na nagpapahayag ng mga plano na itaasMga presyo ng first-class mail ng 6.5 porsyento. Kasama sa paglalakad na itopagtaas ng gastos ng first-class Mail Forever Stamp mula sa 58 sentimo hanggang 60 sentimo.

Kasama rin sa mga iminungkahing pagbabago ang pagtaas ng solong-piraso na sulat ng karagdagang presyo ng onsa sa 24 cents, ang metered mail 1-ounce na presyo sa 57 cents, isang presyo ng postkard stamp sa 44 cents, at ang presyo ng isang-onsa na mga titik na ipinadala sa ibang mga bansa sa $ 1.40 cents. Ang lahat ng mga bagong gastos ay magkakabisa sa Hulyo 10 "kung kanais -nais na susuriin ng PRC," sabi ng USPS.

Kapag tinanong sa isang pakikipanayam tungkol sa pangangatuwiran sa likod ng iminungkahing pagtaas ng presyo, Postmaster GeneralLouis Dejoy sabi, "Dahil kailangan namin ng pera, "Iniulat ng Reuters.

Ngunit bago maganap ang mga bagong pagtaas sa presyo, pinaplano ng USPSPabagal ang oras ng paghahatid Para sa higit pang mail. Noong Abril 18, inihayag ng Postal Service na magigingpagpapalawak ng oras ng paghahatid para sa halos isang-katlo ng maliit, magaan na mga pakete. Ayon sa ahensya, ang mga bagong pamantayan sa serbisyo ay magkakabisa sa Mayo 1 para sa mga first-class packages at sa pagbabagong ito, ang oras ng transportasyon para sa 32 precent ng mga first-class packages "ay tataas ng isa o dalawang araw."

"Ang pagbabago ng mga pamantayang serbisyo na ito ay magbibigay-daan para sa karagdagang oras ng transportasyon para sa mga paghahatid ng pakete ng long-distance at nadagdagan ang mga kahusayan sa network," sabi ng USPS.

Sa flip side, ang pamantayan ng serbisyo para sa 64 porsyento ng dami ng package ay mananatiling hindi nagbabago, habang ang 4 porsyento ng dami ng first-class package service volume ay talagang makakakuha ng isang mas maikling oras ng transportasyon ng dalawang araw sa halip na tatlong araw. Ang ahensya ay nag -aalis din ng isang dagdag na araw ng paghahatid para sa priority mail ground na paghahatid, na inilagay sa Abril 2020 bilang isang paraan upang mabigyan ang labis na oras ng USPS para sa paghahatid sa ilaw ng mga isyu sa pandaigdigang supply chain at pagkakaroon ng empleyado sa gitna ng covid pandemic .

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