In response to my complaint to the US Postal Service about delayed mail and their handling of it, I have received two letters. I also received a couple of phone calls, during which I informed the callers that I had no time to discuss my complaints with them on the phone, so if they had anything to say to me, they should say it in writing.
The first letter:
November 14, 2007
Dear Mr. Kamens:
Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is [elided] and I am the new Manager of the Brighton Post Office. The reason for this letter is to apologize for the poor service you received over this past summer. Any type of delay or retarding of the mail is unacceptable. I also want ot [sic] apologize for my predecessors [sic] lack of follow through in regards to this important matter. I want you to know that I personally will see that this never happens to you and your family again.
In the event that you would like to contact me, please use the phone number listed below and I will help with whatever I can. My sincere hope is that from here on, I can restore your faith in the Postal Service.
Sincerely,
[name elided]
Manager, Customer Services
Brighton Post Office [phone number elided]
The second letter:
November 21, 2007
Dear Mr. Kamens:
Thank you for your letter to Delores Killette, Vice President and Consumer Advocate, Washington, DC. Ms Killette requested that I review and investigate your concerns and provide you with a direct response. The Postal Service is aware of the frustration and disappointment we can cause when we do not live up to our commitment of safe and reliable mail service. There can be no acceptable excuse for poor service.
The mishandling of any mail is certainly unintentional, and we work very hard to eliminate such mistakes when brought to our attention. After learning of your concerns about the delay in delivery of your mail in August, 2007, I contacted [name elided], Manager, Customer Service, Brighton Post Office. It is my understanding that Mr. [elided] sent you an apology letter for not previously addressing your mail delay concerns. I want to assure you that Mr. [elided] has taken specific actions to prevent problems of this nature from happening again. We have renewed the importance of devoting proper care and attention of hold mail with our employees. The Postal Service has the responsibility to maintain an efficient system for delivery of mail.
I want to extend my sincere apologies on behalf of the United States Postal Service for the inconvenience this matter caused you and I wanted to provide you with additional copies of this documentation in the vent that you would like to notify your correspondents that this problem occurred through no fault of your own. I wanted to let you know that we appreciate your efforts in taking the time to report your concerns. It is often through feedback such as yours that we are able to learn about service deficiencies and make adjustments to improve the level of service we provide.
When our system fails, as it did with your request, it is very unfortunate. We realize that you entrusted us to handle your mail with care and I are [sic] sorry that you experienced such difficulties. If you have questions or concerns you can contact me at [number elided] or I can be reached via email at [address elided]@.usps.gov [sic].
Sincerely,
[name elided]
A/Manager, Consumer Affairs
Not bad!
I too am having delivery issues in Melrose MA (mis-delivered mail, the carrier refuses to pick up metered mail for delivery etc..). I had tried to work with the Malden Postal officials but they have basically been unable to correct the problems probably because of union regulations that prevent addressing performance-based issues with its members. They generally won’t return phone calls or answer my letters requesting improved service and an explanation of the issues leading up to the problem and how they were to be fixed (the answer provided was a thinly-veiled attempt to absolve the carrier who was doing a poor job – other customers on the route have also complained). I also sent a letter to Washington and their response was almost identical to the one above. Good luck!
Nice!