SUFFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — Employee issues at a local post office have caused some residents in Suffolk to go nearly two weeks without mail delivery.
Brenda Johnson said she has not received mail since last Wednesday, and her daughter is expecting important papers to be delivered.
“[There are] some documents that she has to have to take to her attorney,” said Johnson, who lives near downtown Suffolk.
Her neighbor tried getting answers.
“And when they went to speak to the manager, I was told that she didn’t come out and address the situation,” Johnson said.
That left her feeling more stressed.
“Like we’re not important,” she said. “That someone’s not doing their job.”
Casey Downey also lives near downtown, and while he has received deliveries from other services, he hasn’t gotten mail, and neither has her neighbors.
“UPS and Amazon and FedEx, they’ve all been delivered,” Downey said, “but my … entire neighborhood [has] not gotten mail.”
He’s owned Clean Cut Image Lawn and Landscape for 20 years. He feels his concerns are falling among the weeds while his business is taking a hit.
“We send invoices,” he said. “A lot of them are emailed, but a lot of the older customers, we actually mail invoices. People that don’t pay online, they mail checks either to our office or our house. Most of them come to our house. We’ve already, obviously, paid our vendors, so we’re waiting on money to come in to keep our business rolling.”
He said delivery has been sporadic since the pandemic.
“We typically do not have the same courier,” Downey said. “Sometimes in uniform, sometimes they’re not. Sometimes it’s two or three days before we get mail.”
He feels USPS is beating around the bush and can’t get answers.
So, we reached out to USPS, which sent us a statement that reads in part:
“There have been some recent unforeseen employee availability issues at that office. When possible, we implement contingency plans, such as bringing in employees from nearby offices and staggering routes. We expect delivery to return to normal very soon, and we will continue to monitor delivery in the area.”
But for some, “soon” isn’t soon enough.
“Just wishing you get results,” Downey said, “so we can move forward.”
If you’re experiencing mail issues, call 1-800-ASK-USPS.
