USPS customers are livid as packages, bills, and important documents continue to be delayed.
For weeks, frustrated residents in Louisville have been reporting problems with the postal service, leaving them without critical deliveries.
Recently, a USPS employee shared a video showing piled-up packages in a Louisville location.
The USPS argued the delays were caused by the recent winter storm.
But the employee revealed the delays were like this long before bad weather plagued the area.
The employee also added that the post office was overwhelmed with mail and the situation would likely persist for some time.
USPS delays are not limited to Louisville and have started affecting other regions, causing frustration among customers nationwide, as reported by local Fox affiliate WDRB.
In Denham Springs, Louisiana, online business owner Lonnie Honeycutt was feeling the pinch, as package disruptions wreaked havoc on his operations.
Though the snow has cleared, Honeycutt’s USPS tracking still cites “weather delays,” a frustrating excuse he says is hurting his business.
While the USPS has been quick to address insurance claims for lost packages, the persistent delays are shaking customer trust and satisfaction.
“It’s affecting confidence,” he said.
After 15 days, Honeycutt advises customers to file insurance claims for lost packages.
But he pointed to a bigger problem – manpower shortages.
“It’s not just about weather—there’s a real lack of staff,” he says.
To cope, he’s now shipping more orders through UPS, despite the hassle.
Postal union president Art Campos believes the situation will improve soon, insisting workers are doing their best.
These delays are not just causing slight inconveniences for individuals like Honeycutt; they are actually impacting sales and affecting those who depend on on-time deliveries for crucial items such as checks, medication, and important documents.
What to do when mail is missing
Step 1: Check the Current Status
Before you begin your search, if your package or mail has tracking, check USPS Tracking to see its current status.
Step 2: Complete a Help Request Form
Complete the USPS online help request form before you start a missing mail search. Please use a desktop computer to submit your form.
Your request will be forwarded to your local Post Office facility to help locate any missing items.
Step 3: Submit a Missing Mail Search Request
If your mail or package has not arrived within 7 business days of submitting an online help request form, you can initiate a Missing Mail search request by providing the necessary information.
- Sender mailing address
- Recipient mailing address
- Size and type of container or envelope you used
- Identifying information such as your USPS Tracking number(s), the mailing date from your mailing receipt, or Click-N-Ship label receipt
- Description of the contents such as what it is and the brand, model, color, or size, if applicable
- Pictures that could help us recognize your item
Step 4: Start your missing mail search
“What about the people waiting for their medicines?” he asked.
Earlier this month, the USPS released a statement acknowledging the service delays.
“Back-to-back severe weather events have significantly impacted our operations both locally in Kentucky and across our network,” Susan W. Wright, U.S. Postal Service Corporate Communications said in a statement obtained by WLEX-TV.
“These weather-related challenges, coupled with an increase in employee availability issues following the storms, have contributed to temporary mail and package delivery delays in the region.”
Wright confirmed that the USPS is working to fix the situation and restore normal operations.
The USPS has seen its on-time delivery rate for First-Class mail drop to 83% as of February 2024, its lowest in three years.
This decline follows an 86% delivery rate in the previous quarter and a 91% rate in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023, Government Executive reported.
The U.S. Sun reached out to the USPS for a comment but has not received a response.
