U S Postal Service Stinks: Alleged Gag Order Placed on Postal Employees

Last month I wrote an editorial about the lousy delivery time for mail. I had mailed my taxes in Keysville on June 5th. The check arrived in Charlotte Court House on June 17th. It took 12 days for a piece of first-class mail to travel less than 10 miles.

First I will reiterate that most of the problems with local mail are not caused by local postal workers.

Before the newspapers had time to settle on the racks my phone started ringing. According to my callers my mail service was good, 12 days wasn’t a record. One lady sent out invitations for a party that arrived several weeks after the party. I received over 100 calls with horror stories of poor service.

Over the past ten years I have spoken with customers of ours who do not receive our newspaper for weeks. One post office in Georgia held a customer’s Messenger for over three months because the address was incorrect.  She had contacted that office numerous times and was told to contact us. Not once did they inform her that her newspaper was at the office but was not being delivered. They kept a stack of Messengers on a back table.

What is supposed to happen with an incorrectly addressed piece of mail is the incorrect mailing label is removed and returned to the sender who pays 50 cents for the return and can then fix the address.

I frequently receive multiple labels for the same customer in one envelope and am charged 50 cents each. How can I fix the address if I am notified months later?

Since my first editorial I attempted to talk with several postal workers who informed me they were not allowed to talk to me or anyone else regarding mail delivery problems. However, from past conversations with postal employees in many locations the consensus is that the problem is in the Sandston sorting facility.

Since the Postal Service closed the Richmond facility (in about 2008), all of our mail goes through Sandston which apparently holds it for a few days or weeks before processing it.

This week Senator Kaine is sending a representative to Charlotte County to hear what the public thinks about the Postal Service. He could save some time and taxpayer money. The public knows service stinks, and he should already know that. If he wants to find out WHY service stinks he should be sending someone to talk to postal employees. They know what the problem is and they know how to fix it.

Just for fun I am going to sponsor a contest for the longest delivery time for mail in the Southside area. The winners will receive a meal for two at a local restaurant (to be announced later). Send us any 2015 postmarked envelope with the date it was delivered. The longest delivery time will win. Contest ends August 31. Or if you don’t receive much mail just mail us a letter with your contact information. The longest delivery time from you to me will also win a meal for two. Note: This part of the contest must be postmarked by August 31. However, to give the Post Office time to deliver them, entries received before Sept. 30 will be valid.