Should I escalate? (USPS related)

[draggar]

I have an issue with USPS and since we have some current and/or former mail carriers / postal employees I figured this was a good place to ask.

Last month we took an almost 2 week vacation and scheduled a pause in our mail delivery. I set it up early and set it so it would start the day we left and start up the 2 days after we get back (in case we stayed an extra day) w/ home delivery of the mail.

When we got back (Sunday 5/1) our mailbox was STUFFED with our mail plus a small box (wouldn't fit in the mailbox) in our front bushes (I asked our normal carrier (see below) to leave boxes in our back patio (closer to the mailboxes and not in plain view of the street) which she does). It looks like the interruption never happened.

Annoyed my wife filed a complaint in regards to this the next day (5/2) and 5 days later (5/7) we got this response (odd the next day I got a survey, though):

I am very sorry that this unfortunate mistake was made. Please be aware that your regular mail carrier is away on a family emergency and we do not have permanent coverage for your area at the moment. You may contact me directly in the future if you would allow us to provide you with any other services.

I am not doing to dispute the family emergency, I'll take in good faith that they are being honest with this. I understand family should take priority over work - I am not going to argue this point at all.

My issue is that the mail still wasn't interrupted. Factoring out the normal carrier, shouldn't the local processing facility have processed the interruption or is it up to the carrier to enforce the interruption?

What would the standard procedure be? Is this normal in regards to requested interruptions when the carrier is absent (including vacations - I'm sure they take them! ).

Should I escalate it or should I just drop it? (BTW - I don't know if any other mail went "missing' during this time but it seems that everything that should have been delivered was and the contents of the box weren't damaged due to good packaging on the shipper's end).

[Aethian]

Unfortunately it's the carriers that get the hold notices. If there had been a glitch in the system then it's possible that the slip never printed. And seeing as how I normally have people only pick up mail once every two weeks this could have been thought to be normal for your residence. Specially if it was several different carriers picking up pieces every day or a temp that ran the route and really doesn't know anyone or their mail habits on the route.

I always suggest to people on the routes I have been on to not only fill out the request online but to leave a note as well. That way in case there is a computer error your still going to be covered. It seems tedious but I'm sure most of us have experienced a computer error or two out there.

As for escalating it or not, I leave that fully to you. You could to make it so every carrier, in your home district, has to go through a service talk on the matter. As well as the zip carrier supervisor gets a ding from higher up. OR you could chalk it up to their having been a emergency and not enough bodies to cover everything.



As for this being normal procedure, no it's not supposed to be. But as we loose TE's to contracts running out were not being able to replace them as quickly or even at all. Normal procedure would have the T-6, what I am, run the route for the regular and have others in on their days off OR have a TE or Reserve run the route while the regular is away. But there have been times I've seen routes chopped up six or seven ways to be able to make sure all the mail gets delivered.

[Ree]

Admittedly, Aethian has "inside info" on how the USPS works, but this seems unacceptable to me.

You gave plenty of notice requesting the interruption, so I still don't see how a family emergency with the carrier is relevant. I would think good service would mean passing on that type of information, regardless of who took over.

It seems strange that it is left up to the mail carrier to make sure the delivery is stopped, and if the regular carrier is away, even for an emergency, it seems odd that the information is not passed on. I could understand there being a mixup on the first day if it was a last minute assignment, but it seem to me, at some point, that somebody should be supervising to make sure messages and special circumstances get passed on to the people filling in, especially when it was 2 weeks, in this case.

I understand that gaps occur, and I understand budget and staff cutbacks but I would think that just letting it drop and saying, "Oh well...$h*t happens" does nothing to ensure it doesn't happen again.

There is a difference in acting like a sucky customer and being a consumer who is just requesting the service one has paid for or expects from a professional company.

How is a company going to see how their decisions are affecting service if we don't speak up? The key is to do it in a respectful manner.

[crazyofficeclerk]

Not only this, but wouldn't it seem strange to someone that the mail kept stacking up. I admit I don't always get my mail every day, but if I don't get it for a couple of days, the mailman asks my mom (who lives next door) if everything is okay.

[wolfie]

I always suggest to people on the routes I have been on to not only fill out the request online but to leave a note as well. That way in case there is a computer error your still going to be covered. It seems tedious but I'm sure most of us have experienced a computer error or two out there.

Part of the reason for requesting a "hold" when going on vacation is so the mail doesn't pile up and alert burglars that nobody's home. Presumably the note would need to be on (or in) the mailbox - so a burglar checking mailboxes would see it, and know not only that the person probably isn't home, but also for how long they're expected to be away.

For your sake, I hope nobody you've advised to leave a note has their house broken into while they're away - considering how sue-happy some people are, the USPS (and you personally) are at risk due to your giving this advice.

[Aethian]

Part of the reason for requesting a "hold" when going on vacation is so the mail doesn't pile up and alert burglars that nobody's home. Presumably the note would need to be on (or in) the mailbox - so a burglar checking mailboxes would see it, and know not only that the person probably isn't home, but also for how long they're expected to be away.

For your sake, I hope nobody you've advised to leave a note has their house broken into while they're away - considering how sue-happy some people are, the USPS (and you personally) are at risk due to your giving this advice.

The note doesn't stay in the box, it's brought back to the office to mark a tray we put the hold mail. I don't know why you would think we would leave such a note IN the box.

[iradney]

The note doesn't stay in the box, it's brought back to the office to mark a tray we put the hold mail. I don't know why you would think we would leave such a note IN the box.

To be fair, Aethian, your original post said:

I always suggest to people on the routes I have been on to not only fill out the request online but to leave a note as well.

There wasn't any mention of where the note would go, so it's not completely unreasonable to assume it would go in the mailbox.

[draggar]

Please don't take this to fratching, I'd say just agree there was a misunderstanding.

Maybe I'll ask the customer service rep to evaluate this situation and see if they can work on a contingency, like the supervisor should check for holds and let the carriers know (etc.).

[Ree]

I think that's a good idea.

Your situation could have just been an isolated incident or a "Murphy's Law" thing that might never happen again, or it could be a problem with your particular branch.

One way to help ensure continued good service is to speak up when situations like this happen.
Asking for an evaluation of your situation will help to see what did go wrong so it can possibly be prevented in the future.