A letter carrier’s acceptance of a cup of coffee from a business along his route has led to an almost $190,000 boost in revenue for the Postal Service.
Joe Freitas of San Leandro, CA, regularly visits Proyecto Diaz Coffee while delivering the mail. The company’s owner, Fernando Diaz, often offers Freitas a cup of coffee.
During one such visit, the carrier and Diaz struck up a conversation, and Freitas learned the business was using a competitor to ship its wholesale orders.
Freitas took the opportunity to talk about Priority Mail with free packing and pickups, and that sparked his host’s interest.
The letter carrier then submitted a lead through Customer Connect, a partnership between USPS and the National Association of Letter Carriers that encourages carriers to identify sales opportunities.
Joshua Javaheri, a Bay-Valley District business development specialist, followed up with the customer and signed a First-Class Package Service and Priority Mail shipping deal worth $189,945.
Revenue generated from Customer Connect leads is counted toward the Postal Service’s Race for a $Billion campaign goal.
The initiative — which aims to raise $1 billion through employee-provided sales leads before the fiscal year ends Sept. 30 — passed its goal on Aug. 12 and now stands at $1.2 billion, according to a Sept. 24 ranking of all district contributions.
“Even something like a conversation over a friendly cup of coffee can present a way for our carriers to help our customers,” said Mary Anderson, small-business engagement director at USPS headquarters in Washington, DC. “Our customers know and trust our carriers as a good source of information about the services we offer.”
The Sales Blue page has more information about Customer Connect and the Postal Service’s other lead-sharing programs, which include Business Connect, Clerks Care, Mail Handlers, Rural Reach and Submit a Lead.
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