Americans give USPS high ratings in new poll

In a recent Gallup poll, the American public overwhelmingly rated the U.S. Postal Service as the agency doing the best job, despite a recent cyber attack and bu...

By Jory Heckman
Federal News Radio

When the American people think of agencies that are doing a good job, they think of the Postal Service, but are critical of the Department of Veterans Affairs, according to recent Gallup poll.

USPS’ approval rating, a new addition to Gallup’s poll, stands in stark contrast to the other agencies included in the survey. While 73 percent of women and 70 percent of men surveyed told Gallup that USPS was “good” or “excellent,” none of the other 12 agencies broke 50 percent approval.

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Agency Excellent/Good Only Fair Poor
Postal Service 72% 20% 8%
FBI 58% 27% 8%
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 50% 30% 16%
NASA 50% 25% 8%
Central Intelligence Agency 49% 28% 11%
Department of Homeland Security 48% 32% 16%
Federal Emergency Management Agency 47% 31% 14%
Food and Drug Administration 45% 34% 19%
Environmental Protection Agency 44% 32% 20%
Secret Service 43% 30% 16%
Internal Revenue Service 41% 29% 27%
Federal Reserve Board 38% 35% 14%
Department of Veterans Affairs 29% 29% 35%

(Source: Gallup)

“Americans are probably more likely, to some degree, to come into direct contact with the Postal Service and the IRS than with any of the other agencies tested — and clearly that experience has resulted in a very positive image for the service, compared with Americans’ negative image of the IRS,” Steve Ander and Art Swift wrote in an executive summary of the survey’s findings.

Amid the controversy over Ebola, the Centers for Disease Control fell from 60 percent approval — rated “good” or “excellent — in May 2013 to 50 percent.

The VA, however, received the worst criticism from the public, viewed as “poor” by 35 percent of the polling sample and only rated as excellent/good by 29 percent. Gallup speculates that the VA’s poor public image resulted from news reports detailing long wait times for veterans in need of medical care. More bad headlines came Monday as the agency fired Phoenix VA Health Care System director Sharon Helman after placing her on administrative leave.

The Postal Service, the nation’s second-largest employer, received top marks in the poll despite a flurry of negative press, including a recent cyber attack and ongoing multi- billion dollar budget deficits. Amid the agency’s troubles, Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe recently announced his retirement. USPS also plans to close 82 mail sorting centers in 2015 in an effort to reduce costs, but the measure could affect delivery rates in parts of the country.

The youngest demographic, respondents 18- to 29-years-old, viewed the Postal Service most favorably at 81 percent. Gallup found that older Americans — those most likely to have mailed letters — hold a less positive view of the USPS.

Gallup explained that younger Americans may be replacing mail service with Internet communications, but are counting on their mail carriers for delivering their orders from services like Amazon or eBay.

“If the way in which Americans consume the agency’s services affects its image, future ratings could trend upward as the market shifts,” said Ander and Swift.

RELATED STORIES:

Cyber breach at Postal Service leaves employees vulnerable

Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe to retire

Unions push back on beleaguered USPS

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