Archive: Opinions

Around 3pm on November 19th a Ford F150 plowed through the front window wall of the Lansing branch post office, narrowly missing customers lined up at the counter.  That closed the branch for three months, though I contend that it was closed two months longer than it should have been.  Since writing in early March about my attempt to get three months of service added onto the contracts of Lansing Post office Box holders a month has gone by.  A number of readers have weighed in on the issue, some publicly, many privately.  I wanted to wait until the issue was resolved before reporting back.

Here is what happened.  I am one of the many Lansing box holders, and I was understanding through the first month.  After all it wasn't the United States Postal Service's fault that the woman had demolished their branch office.  But just before that first month was over I interviewed Lansing Plaza owner Dr. Elliot Rubenstein, who told me the reconstruction work was being completed and that the storefront would be ready to move into by Friday of that week.

I also interviewed Ithaca Postmaster William Hrynko, who told me several times over the course of the next two months that the branch should be opening at any time, but this or that had to be done before it could open.  He said they were waiting for a rack to display retail products, needed to order stamps, needed to get new hours approved by the district office in Rochester, as well as a new job description for the desk clerk.  On January 2 he said the branch could open a week later.  At the end of January he insisted the branch would reopen, but he was waiting for the OK from the district.  He acknowledged that the amount of time it is taking is a result of a giant bureaucracy grinding along slowly.

After about two months Mr. Hrynko told me he had the official OK from the USPS's district inspector, and Town Engineering and Planning Coordinator Jeff Overstom confirmed that the Town had issuesd a Certificate of Occupancy.

When it finally opened after three months I was told by a postal employee that the number of complaints had grown considerably.  That may or may not have finally gotten the branch reopened, or at least helped propel the reopening.

My family has a PO Box for our private mail, and our company, L-Star Publishing, Inc. also has a box.  Additionally my wife picks up the mail from the Lansing Community Council PO box.  When the Lansing branch was closed, it was a considerable inconvenience to us to drive twice as far to get our mail, only to have to stand in line.  I thought I was paying to go into a lobby, get my mail out of my boxes, and leave.  So I got madder and madder as time went by.

After the branch had reopened a friend had tried calling the 800 number to see about a refund.  After pressing three for this and seven for that she got through to someone who told her she would receive a call from the local post office the next day.  That call never came.

On March 4th I decided to send a complaint via the USPS Web page.  That page does not make it easy to contact the USPS, forcing you to choose options via a series of drop-down lists before you can send your mail.  But I finally managed it, wondering whether it would ever reach a human and having low hopes about ever getting a reply.

Much to my surprise I received a return e-mail from Renee only a few hours later.  "I apologize, for the inconvenience this has caused you," she wrote.  "I am sending this information to your Post Office for immediate attention. You should receive a call by the end of the next business day."

I did not receive a call.  So I wrote Renee again a week later to tell her this.  "I apologize that no one has called you yet," she replied early the next morning.  "I have re-documented your concern for a resolution. I am sending this information to the Consumer Affairs Office in charge of your Post Office for immediate attention. You will receive a call by the end of the next business day."

Not long after that I did receive a call from Mary Jane, who evidently works in the Consumer Affairs Office office in the Rochester area.  She had my case in front of her, and we had a very friendly chat about the situation.  I made the point that most people I knew were understanding during the first month, but three months was too much.  I said that I thought a fair resolution would be to credit every Lansing box holder with three extra months.  I didn't ask for money, which, considering the cost of PO boxes these days, I thought was reasonable.

She told me I would be receiving a call from my local post office, and seemed surprised that hadn't happened after I sent my e-mail.  I did not receive any call from the local post office.

On March 30th she called me again to say she had followed up with Mr. Hrynko.  She noted that he can't make the decision about refunds or credit locally, but said he was following up on the issue.  She promised to call me again to let me know what the resolution was.

This week she called again while I was out, and left a detailed message on my answering machine.  She was informed that the Post Office wasn't dragging its feet on reopening the branch.  The Postal Service blames the landlord for not getting them the certification that the storefront was inspected and suitable for occupancy.

"The Post Office feels that the box holders are not entitled to refunds," she explained.  "The service was provided during this time.  We can only apologize for the inconvenience of traveling and standing in line to pick up your mail."

First of all I want to say that I think Mary Jane is terrific.  The Postal Service is one of those behemoths that you feel it is hopeless to confront.  I now know what kind of stress David must have felt when he confronted Goliath, though the possible consequences, I admit, could have been a lot worse for David!  Mary Jane took hold of my issue and pursued it until the very end, making sure that I was informed and taking the initiative to call me back, even when others who evidently were supposed to respond to me did not.  I don't blame her for what happened and am very, very grateful to her for her excellent customer service.

But the endgame was not, I feel, a good one.  I happen to know that the landlord informed postal authorities when the storefront was ready for occupancy one month after it had been damaged.  I don't know if he got them all the paperwork, but they knew they could move in.  I heard a lot of excuses -- typical, I suppose in a large bureaucracy where nobody wants to take responsibility for anything and where it is easy to pass off responsibility to someone else.

I have to say that I also have considerable sympathy for the landlord, who had to deal with considerably more than $40,000 of damage to his building and who was forced to reimburse the Postal Service for the cost of sending an employee to watch over the contractors 'for security reasons.'

Most businesses would be concerned about their image and their customers, as well as about their bottom line.  Evidently this Goliath doesn't care what anyone thinks as long as it is somebody else's fault.  As a small businessman I wasted a lot of time I didn't have driving farther to stand in line, and then following up on the issue.  Maybe David had more tenacity than I do -- he succeeded where I failed.  But at some point I have to cut my losses and try to make a living!

When the USPS says "the service was provided during this time" I disagree.  When I payed my bill I was certainly paying to receive my mail, but also for the convenience of a box that I could access at a nearby branch during reasonable hours without standing in line.

The truth is that as long as it is someone else's fault it's not their problem.  It doesn't matter how unhappy their customers are, because it isn't their fault.  It doesn't matter that their customers are their customers -- not someone else's -- as long as it isn't their fault.

That's not our business model, but I guess it works for the Postal Service.  And it's not so much about the money.  It's the principal of the thing.  When you pay for something you're supposed to get it.

In the meantime I found my bill for my family's PO Box waiting for me the other day.  I guess I'd better pay it...

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