The End of the U.S. Post Office, Part 2 of 3

The Adventures of Mail Forwarding

In Part 1 of my rant on the USPS, I raised a few examples of horrendous customer service.  One could easily argue that the USPS is not a customer-oriented or hospitality-based service.  Understood, but if not, they better be able to execute their services adequately.

During the 2 years I lived in the Raleigh-Durham area of North Carolina, I consistently received mail from the past half dozen residents of my house.  This was despite having a laminated card inside the mailbox stating the names of the current residents.  The mis-delivered mail I was receiving was “real” mail: tax notices, legal summons, collection demands, etc.  What are you supposed to do with this mail?  It doesn’t make sense to throw away, and I’m sure it’s illegal to open.  So whenever I went out to check the mail, I got in the habit of taking a pen and circling the recipients, writing DOES NOT LIVE HERE, and putting them back in the mailbox with the flag up.  Perhaps those pieces of mail were forwarded or returned to sender; regardless, I continued to receive mis-delivered mail.

So when it came time for me to move, I wanted to be prepared and not suffer the fate of my residential predecessors.   I purchased “premium” address forwarding, I attached a notice of my new address inside the mailbox, and I filed notices both online and in person at the local branch.

After moving to California and living here for 6 weeks, I still hadn’t received any mail.  I called the main Post Office number, and the customer service agent I spoke to sounded surprised and concerned.  He said that I would receive a call from the postmaster of that branch within 2-3 days, and he even provided me a case number.

After 5 days and not hearing anything , I called, provided the case number, and was told that my case was being investigated and that I'd receive a call within 2-3 days.

After a few more days, I tried again, and was literally told the same thing.  My mail finally started getting forwarded a couple months later; however, about half continued going to my North Carolina address (the people who moved in after us kindly forwarded us our mail).

I used to think that the branch in North Carolina was bad, but it seems that the former tenants in my apartment building in San Francisco are suffering the same fate.  Below is a picture of undeliverable mail in our mail room.  The postman apparently just leaves it for anyone's taking.

Just some pieces of mail on one of the nooks in one of the mail rooms in my apartment complex.

What I find ironic is that most banks and other companies concerned about privacy refuse to fax or email documents.  Instead they insist on mailing documents through the USPS.  I'm genuinely curious where they get that false sense of security.

Next, in Part 3: The Post Office’s Very Own Ponzi Scheme

The End of the U.S. Post Office, Part 1 of 3

I’m grateful that nowadays I rarely have to step foot into a Post Office.  With email and social networking, the only things I mail are packages and any official correspondence.  I have a great FedEx business discount, so nearly all parcel and express deliveries are cheaper than the USPS.  Even when I need to mail a letter or if the recipient has only a PO Box, I tend to use a Pitney Bowes machine or print out my own postage.

But every now and then, I do indeed have to step foot into a post office.  It’s not the worst thing (for that, we have the DMV), and it’s probably not even the next worst thing (which would probably be Navy PSD; for civilians who cannot relate to a PSD, imagine that your HR department was run like the DMV).  But all said, the USPS is pretty bad.

I had to mail a letter via “Certified Mail” last week, so I stepped foot into the local Brannan Street post office (2 stars on Yelp).  Despite it being the middle of the day, the counter windows were closed, and taped to the metal curtain was a sign that said, “Computer broke, try again tomorow.”

I want to be surprised, but how can I?  Everyone knows the US Post Office is a poorly run organization.  Surely, they can’t be blamed for all their problems; after all, everything they do requires an act of Congress.  But “Computer broke, try again tomorow”? 

I’m not sure when my disgust for the Post Office started, but it may have been as early as the 90's.  Around 1997 or 1998, I was mailing a large package via the USPS.  Everything was nicely packed, except I needed one piece of packing tape to secure it.  After waiting in line to purchase the postage, I asked the agent if she could tape it, and she said, “We don’t have tape here.”  (This is no surprise today, but at the time this was a huge shock.)  I asked, “What do you mean you don’t have tape – you’re the post office.”  She not so kindly said I could buy tape, and pointed me to the retail shelves.

Being the activist/complainer I am, I called the 800 number to file a suggestion/complaint that the Post Office wasn’t giving its customers tape.  The customer service agent I spoke to sounded surprised and concerned, and said that I would receive a call from the postmaster of that branch.

I actually did receive a call later that same day, but the conversation went nowhere: the call was from the SAME agent who refused me tape to begin with.

Again, let me emphasize that getting “free” tape at the Post Office is no surprise today.  Hell, you can’t even find a pen nowadays.

Next, in Part 2: The Adventures of Mail Forwarding