Is there any way to get ahold of the postmaster at my local post office?

[inhawaii]

Is there any way to get ahold of the postmaster at my local post office with a complaint?

I just spent over 1 hour on the phone with 1-800-ASK-USPS and kept going in circles.

[a_c_green]

If you go to usps.com and look up your own ZIP code, you should be able to find a reference to your post office there, which may include their local phone number. I successfully brought up mine that way just now, though I understand that not every PO lists their local phone, nor do they necessarily bother to answer it when it rings. Good luck.

[inhawaii]

Thanks for that advice. I was able to find a local number but it goes unanswered.  Our tax money hard at work.  😃 

Here's the reason i wanted to complain to the postmaster.

I ship on the average 1-5 orders a day.  Sometimes all of my orders will fit in my mailbox for pick up. Sometimes it will not fit, in which case i leave a homemade laminated 5"X7" placard in the mailbox that says (in bright red letters)  "more packages on the front porch".  This system has been working fine for years. 

Recently i got a new mail carrier.  3 times in the past 3 weeks he would take the mail from my  mailbox, totally disregard the  placard and leave without picking up the mail on my front porch. The last straw was Christmas eve when he left 10 packages on my front porch. I was really **bleep** off.

This after i left my mail carrier a box of candy and a $25 gift card for Christmas.  Merry Christmas!

[buyselljack2016]

Do you have the street address for your Post Office?

It should be possible to have a polite one-on-one in person conversation with someone to relate to them the importance of having the mail picked u, and possibly come up with a solution that works for you , and "all" the carriers.

If not the Post Master, possibly a "carrier supervisor" that you could explain the situation to.

Next step would be "consumer affairs office".

[a_c_green]

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@inhawaii wrote:

I ship on the average 1-5 orders a day.  Sometimes all of my orders will fit in my mailbox for pick up. Sometimes it will not fit, in which case i leave a homemade laminated 5"X7" placard in the mailbox that says (in bright red letters)  "more packages on the front porch".  This system has been working fine for years. 

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Your previous carrier was probably doing that as a favor, but a new replacement would have no similar obligation. For that matter, ours are told to not get out of the truck except under specific circumstances, and especially during the recent holiday season, when several delivery trucks (USPS and others) were stolen when the driver got out. 

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@inhawaii wrote:

The last straw was Christmas eve when he left 10 packages on my front porch. I was really **bleep** off.

Um, yeah, well... for 10 packages, I would have definitely requested a pickup through proper channels. I know you'd have to have made it the previous evening, but with the system already churning at maximum capacity, I doubt that a sub would have been willing to leave his truck to pick up 10 packages on the spur of the moment with no official request to account for his time doing so. I'm afraid I'm with the USPS on this one, and I suspect that your postmaster is going to say something similar. (If you did make the proper request on-line before the deadline, then certainly they do need to own that particular problem.)

[inhawaii]

Thanks for the input.

Well if you're right, a little note saying "sorry i can't do this" or "contact our office" instead of just leaving packages on my front porch knowing they need to go out would have been nice. 

If this is the case i would have to schedule 2 days later because by the time i know if i have any orders and how many orders i have, it is already too late to schedule pick up for the following day. 

[iaintdoingit]

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@inhawaii wrote:

Is there any way to get ahold of the postmaster at my local post office with a complaint?

I just spent over 1 hour on the phone with 1-800-ASK-USPS and kept going in circles.

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Here is an idea for you!  How about you get your friends here tickets to come help you.  It may take us several days to accomplish your task -- but we will!

[fern*wood]

The minute I get one order, I schedule the pick-up.  I don't worry about the number I end up with.  I can also schedule up to 2 am I believe.   A few times I've not scheduled and can leave in the mailbox if they are small for pickup, but I don't bother trying the porch.  I have 2 day handling which helps too. 

[inhawaii]

I guess i may have to start doing the online pick up request thing.  Kinda dumb being that my placard system works fine ... unless the mail carrier is A) a stickler or B) lazy.   It's litteraly 10 feet from my mailbox to my front porch. 

I try so hard to have a good rapport with my mail carrier.   Oh well. 

[epowerbargains]

Hi - I do both the notes in the mailbox AND the online pick-up.  I have a really nice relationship with our postal carrier and she even looks at my front door when she drives by just to check.

Where it breaks down is when there is a substitute carrier - if i have a mailbox pick-up ( ours is in a ganged box at the end of the street)  and a front door pick-up the door pick-up on the same day, sometimes it gets missed by a substitute carrier - even with a note in the mailbox "there is a package pick-up at the front door".  I changed to 3 day mailing so if something is missed I don't have a problem. 

 I have noticed that substitute carriers will sometimes ignore the note in the mailbox for a front door pick-up when I was unable to do a online front door pick-up request  ie: orders after midnight. Maybe there is some kind of credit system in place for pick-ups due to the extra work or perhaps some carriers are sticklers for process. 

As you can see I will do ANYTHING to avoid a trip to our local very busy post office.  🙂

[inhawaii]

Does anyone know what is official USPS time?  In other words what is the latest (Hawaii time) i can request a electronic pickup for the next day?

[epowerbargains · Accepted solution]

I'm in California & I have found that after Midnight I cannot open a request for next day pick-up. 

[inhawaii]

Thank you!   I guess that will be 10:00 PM Hawaii time.   I can work with that.  😃

[loveyourimagination49]

[anneecakes]

Because USPS is such a big part of my business, I sometimes creep/lurk on the USPS sub-Reddit. It's about 15% consumer questions and 85% support/gripe-session/info exchange for postal employees. The employees on there go crazy (in a positive way) when someone with a lot of mail (coming and/or going) along their route upgrades to a turbo-big, industrial sized mail box. They even post pictures when their customers do it and everyone expresses appreciation and envy... 

My point in bringing that up is to wonder whether you have a set-up where you could switch out your post box for one of the LARGE Reddit-revered ones (?).