What has happened to the United States Postal Service? The last few months their service has been spotty and very slow. For example, it took almost two weeks for a Christmas card to get from Lewistown to Millersville.
Some of my granddaughter's wedding invitations mailed in State College never were delivered to folks in Lititz.
In late November I ordered five books from David Jeremiah as Christmas presents with their promise that they would be delivered by Christmas. But the order got stuck in a postal office in Georgia with a label created there on December 11. Then it sat there until it was finally picked up on December 30 and promised for delivery on January 5. But it didn't make it January 5, instead it finally arrived January 11 - exactly a month after USPS received it. So much for Christmas. Maybe Christmas 2021!
I also ordered a humidifier online early in December. My credit card was quickly charged for it with a promise to have it delivered in less than a week. Then I watched the tracking information and for two weeks it was also being held, with a label created, waiting for USPS to pick it up. Finally I canceled the order and bought one instead from Lowes who delivered it a day later. Unfortunately, yesterday on January 15, the order placed and shipped on December 14 showed up at our house. Now I must start the process of returning it and trying to get my money back. Thank you USPS!
We've also had a couple of days when we received no mail. And a few days it came when it was already dark outside. And since our mailbox is along a street which I call the "Millersville Speedway" it is too dangerous to go there in the dark. One explanation that I heard is that when a carrier is out sick they have no substitutes so they double the routes for those carriers who are there.
My son recently received notice that they owed on two accounts which were now overdue. They received the actual bills - two days later.
Now I'm not alone with these concerns. I belong to an internet website called Nextdoor Digest where folks in our area contribute news, needs, complaints and other information. A comment about the USPS recently gathered more than 145 comments on this site. These included ... I've gone four days without mail delivery ... a package from Berwick to Lancaster took 17 days to be delivered ... a letter from Philadelphia took over a week to get here ... a letter from New Jersey took nine days to be received ... I was charged $10 as a late fee for a payment which arrived 17 days after being mailed ... it took over 18 days for Christmas presents to be delivered ... I have had real trouble getting my medicine on time. And there were many more of the same type of complaints. I especially pity those who get their meds by mail or get their bills by mail ... or order Christmas presents to be delivered by mail. What has happened to USPS?
Now I know that there are many fine postal workers who work very hard. I am not being critical of them. They have a very difficult job to do. But somebody must be responsible for this mess. A few days ago WGAL-TV tried to do a story about this problem but the USPS refused to answer their questions or let them come in. What are they hiding - the truth?
From what I hear there are several reasons for these problems. First, the huge number of mail-in ballots for this election put a heavy and probably unexpected burden on the postal service. These ballots had to be delivered on time. I'm not sure if they all were.
Then there was the huge increase of online orders for Christmas gifts which had to be delivered by various delivery companies. I know that we did almost all of our purchases online to prevent having to go to stores where Covid might be spread. I doubt if USPS was prepared for this heavy demand.
And then there is the pandemic itself. I imagine that scores of employees throughout the country were infected by Covid and could not work. This certainly placed a heavy burden on the postal service and workers who remained well and available And I imagine that during this time it was a real challenge to hire and train additional workers.
Now my question is what will happen to delivery now that we are in a new year, past Christmas purchases, Christmas greetings and an election. What will happen if and when the pandemic is over?
Even though much correspondence is now done electronically, mail service is still a vital need in our country. We depend upon it for so many essential needs. Hopefully there will be some solutions without having to raise the price of stamps and services once again. I guess we just will have to wait and see.
Suggestions - Mail things like birthday presents/cards a week earlier than usual. Get electronic bills rather than waiting for paper bills to arrive. Pay your bills electronically. If possible, get your meds locally rather than in the mail. Only order online from reputable companies such as Amazon, LL Bean, Home Depot, etc. - don't order specials offered on Facebook since they most likely come from China. Unfortunately I had to learn that the hard way, but maybe that is a story for another blog.
Well the answer might be in a merger. I hear that UPS and FedEx might merge. The merger will be called FedUp.
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