Post Office Constantly Closed - How Can I Change This?
May 2, 2022 4:47 PM Subscribe
What’s a girl need to do to get a post office opened around here?
Hi everyone,
I’m at the end of my rope here. My local post office here in Brooklyn, NY has been closed or closed early ever since January. It’s a small post office that’s really a weigh station, and only has one or two employees on at a time. There might only be those two employees now because I never see anyone else. They have never communicated why, how long, or when they’ll be closed. At first, i thought it was a combination of Covid-19, lack of staff in other post offices that resulted in the closing through january and february. In march they opened back up but very inconsistently. They started to put signs up when they would close early such a as “This station will close at 11 am. Sorry for the inconvenience!”. This is extremely regular and 4/5 times that I go, they’re closed. It’s now May this hasn’t gotten better. The nearest post office is a mile away and doesn’t get packages out in time- they can sit for up to 3-4 days before they leave, which doesn’t work for my small business, with anxious customers messaging me because they packages haven’t updated since I dropped them off, which makes me really anxious. I can’t get package pickups despite requesting them because this is NYC and the mailmen and women aren’t driving trucks, they’re walking with a handcart and I guess most of them find it to be an inconvenience. I can’t find a good solution to this, and I’ve talked to so many people who also show up at the post office and are also impacted by the lack of communication and access. I’ve reached out to our local Congresswoman, and I’ve posted on community forums, but what else can I do? I would really like to get this post office open and with regular reliable business hours and I’m not sure who else I can talk to or what else steps I should take to get this resolved. If anyone has any ideas at all, I’d love to hear what you have to say! Thanks so much!
Hi everyone,
I’m at the end of my rope here. My local post office here in Brooklyn, NY has been closed or closed early ever since January. It’s a small post office that’s really a weigh station, and only has one or two employees on at a time. There might only be those two employees now because I never see anyone else. They have never communicated why, how long, or when they’ll be closed. At first, i thought it was a combination of Covid-19, lack of staff in other post offices that resulted in the closing through january and february. In march they opened back up but very inconsistently. They started to put signs up when they would close early such a as “This station will close at 11 am. Sorry for the inconvenience!”. This is extremely regular and 4/5 times that I go, they’re closed. It’s now May this hasn’t gotten better. The nearest post office is a mile away and doesn’t get packages out in time- they can sit for up to 3-4 days before they leave, which doesn’t work for my small business, with anxious customers messaging me because they packages haven’t updated since I dropped them off, which makes me really anxious. I can’t get package pickups despite requesting them because this is NYC and the mailmen and women aren’t driving trucks, they’re walking with a handcart and I guess most of them find it to be an inconvenience. I can’t find a good solution to this, and I’ve talked to so many people who also show up at the post office and are also impacted by the lack of communication and access. I’ve reached out to our local Congresswoman, and I’ve posted on community forums, but what else can I do? I would really like to get this post office open and with regular reliable business hours and I’m not sure who else I can talk to or what else steps I should take to get this resolved. If anyone has any ideas at all, I’d love to hear what you have to say! Thanks so much!
Could it be a Contract Postal Unit? I have one near me, and it's not really a post office, but it sort of seems like one. I don't know how this fact would help you other than possibly explaining why they don't keep regular hours.
posted by jonathanhughes at 6:50 PM on May 2, 2022 [6 favorites]
posted by jonathanhughes at 6:50 PM on May 2, 2022 [6 favorites]
Someone I know contacted our local postmaster to make a complaint, and got a response, so there's a chance that might work. As a temporary alternative, are you near a mailing service center? My old neighborhood in Bk had a place called Brooklyn Postal Center that was good, and there was one called Cobble Mail near my office.
posted by pinochiette at 6:52 PM on May 2, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by pinochiette at 6:52 PM on May 2, 2022 [2 favorites]
The nearest post office is a mile away and doesn’t get packages out in time- they can sit for up to 3-4 days before they leave, which doesn’t work for my small business, with anxious customers messaging me because they packages haven’t updated since I dropped them off, which makes me really anxious.
This may not change even if this closer office is open. Things have been bad during the pandemic and staffing is pretty low. On Paperback Swap, many people report packages getting no scans until delivery.
I'd ask them directly: Call: 1-800-ASK-USPS® (1-800-275-8777)
Hours of Operation:
Monday – Friday 8 AM – 8:30 PM ET
Saturday 8 AM – 6 PM ET
posted by soelo at 8:27 PM on May 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
This may not change even if this closer office is open. Things have been bad during the pandemic and staffing is pretty low. On Paperback Swap, many people report packages getting no scans until delivery.
I'd ask them directly: Call: 1-800-ASK-USPS® (1-800-275-8777)
Hours of Operation:
Monday – Friday 8 AM – 8:30 PM ET
Saturday 8 AM – 6 PM ET
posted by soelo at 8:27 PM on May 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
→
Some USPS sorting offices have given up on scanning incoming mail. The US branch of the mail order company I work for sends mail through a couple of sorting offices, and one of them just doesn't. Tracking typically only comes live on the day the item gets delivered.
posted by scruss at 9:47 PM on May 2, 2022 [2 favorites]
many people report packages getting no scans until delivery
Some USPS sorting offices have given up on scanning incoming mail. The US branch of the mail order company I work for sends mail through a couple of sorting offices, and one of them just doesn't. Tracking typically only comes live on the day the item gets delivered.
posted by scruss at 9:47 PM on May 2, 2022 [2 favorites]
The things that helped when this happened in my town:
Calling the local postmaster
Getting our state representative involved
Getting our select board members involved
Although the post office is a national organization, you're likely to get more response from local officials who are part of your community.
In our case the problem was just staffing: they couldn't find people to work there, and the workers they had got sick sometimes. It eventually worked itself out.
posted by Winnie the Proust at 6:36 AM on May 3, 2022
Although the post office is a national organization, you're likely to get more response from local officials who are part of your community.
In our case the problem was just staffing: they couldn't find people to work there, and the workers they had got sick sometimes. It eventually worked itself out.
posted by Winnie the Proust at 6:36 AM on May 3, 2022
I don’t think one office (the one that’s further away) is slower than the the small one that’s closed. There may be individual cases, but permanent differences in shipping times between post offices are not reasonable.
Alternately, you can use a shipping company which provides faster service, or a delivery service which will take your packages to the main post office in Brooklyn or Manhattan.
posted by oberon_1 at 6:55 AM on May 3, 2022
Alternately, you can use a shipping company which provides faster service, or a delivery service which will take your packages to the main post office in Brooklyn or Manhattan.
posted by oberon_1 at 6:55 AM on May 3, 2022
This thread is closed to new comments.
You can also file a formal complaint.
posted by emjaybee at 5:36 PM on May 2, 2022 [1 favorite]