Summary
The Brentwood and Merrifield post offices and the Curseen-Morris and Merrifield P&DCs left remittance mail unattended and did not supervise courier pick-ups, did not maintain courier logs, and had no caller service standard operating procedures (SOP) for local couriers. These conditions occurred because management did not implement sufficient controls to adequately safeguard and ensure proper delivery of courier mail. As a result, several customers with large mail volume have experienced extensive mail delays, missent mail, and mail returned to sender. Until these control issues are resolved, large volumes of mail remain at risk for loss or theft.

Recommendations
We recommend the district manager, Capital District, and the acting district manager, Northern Virginia District, develop remediation plans to include the following:

1. Safeguard Caller Service mail and supervise courier pick-up of mail on loadingdocks.
2. Establish and maintain courier logs.
3. Develop standard operating procedures for caller and courier service.
4. Establish activity control logs to record misdirected mail returned by couriers andevaluate possible causes.
5. Implement a formal communication process between customer service and plantmanagement concerning Caller Service changes to ensure timely notification andconfirmation of receipt.

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Source: Management Alert – Capital and Northern Virginia District Courier Service | USPS Office of Inspector General