ATLANTA — Michael Buggs and his wife, once confident in the reliability of the U.S. Postal Service, now find themselves questioning its ability to deliver.
The couple, who mailed multiple packages when moving from Germany back to Atlanta in July, remain mystified as to why the postal service has been unable to trace multiple boxes still stuck in the system.
"I made sure to put the address, name, phone number, and email address on every box," Buggs said in an effort to further secure their arrival.
The missing boxes made it through customs and to Georgia, 11Alive confirmed through USPS tracking numbers. As of last week, the tracking numbers no longer show up in the system at all, despite Buggs’ and 11Alive’s communication with USPS customer service.
Alas, for the Buggs family, the contents of those boxes represent their very survival.
“Without her income from Germany, we can’t survive,” Buggs said, his voice breaking. “And without those papers, it’s going to be.”
Postal Problems | Palmetto USPS facility
Such frustration over mail delays and lost packages has persisted in Georgia for months, tied to the opening of the new regional processing and distribution center in Palmetto.
The facility’s launch, a consolidation effort, which is part of the ‘10-year Delivering for America’ plan to save the postal service, led to a detrimental drop in service for the state. In March, only 36% of First Class Mail was being delivered on time as residents scrambled to get answers about missing prescriptions, packages, tax papers and other critical documents.
While first-class mail service has improved over the past nine months, the latest data published on the USPS Service Performance Dashboard reveals that rebound remains below the agency’s goal.
The latest data shows that 73% of First Class mail is delivered on time in Georgia—remaining below the U.S. Postal Service's target of 93%. This target has been lowered from the agency’s previous 95% target, a fact that members of Congress have recently addressed.
Congress calls out Postmaster General
During a Senate oversight hearing earlier in December, Sen. Jon Ossoff questioned Postmaster General Louis DeJoy about the rationale behind the lowered service targets.
“You lowered your targets for next year so you could meet your targets,” Ossoff remarked.
“So I can make the changes that we need to make to provide a viable United States Postal Service,” DeJoy said.
Yet, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are spotlighting such concerns. In a House Oversight committee hearing last week, Rep. Rich McCormick also grilled the postmaster general, the Congressman revealing that he, too, struggled to get answers after personal tax documents sent via certified mail took four months to arrive.
"When I was a kid, I used to think the post office was the one part of the government you could trust...the last four years have destroyed that," McCormick said.
He added that numerous businesses he knows refuse to use the Postal Service due to its poor service. "You can't give yourself an A grade," McCormick said passionately. "You're worse than if I took a horse and picked up the mail and delivered it down the road."
DeJoy responded to the criticism by claiming, "Congress is responsible for the fall of the postal service; I'm trying to fix it," before covering his ears with his own hands.
Congressman Andrew Clyde, who also participated in the hearing, later spoke with 11Alive from Washington, D.C., about the need for greater accountability as he fields questions about the postal service’s reliability from residents.
Clyde is among those lawmakers who want to see different standards for when the postal service has to seek outside opinions, such as recommendations from the Postal Regulatory Commission, before implementing changes like the Georgia consolidation.
“I don't want what happened in Atlanta to happen anywhere else across the country. They haven't finished all of their transition to these regional centers, and so there has to be some learning here, and there has to be some outside input,” Clyde said, adding that current law needs to be tweaked.
“Our total focus is to make (Georgia service) better, to make it more efficient, to bring those numbers up,” he said of the Congressional hearings. “Honestly, not just to hit the 93 or the 95. I want to see them do better than 95. They've got the technology, they've got the new equipment, they've got the new building. They just need the manpower and the leadership to make it happen. And that's what we're committed to because I want the post office to be better than they've ever been before.”
Employees' concerns at Palmetto mail facility
Meanwhile, employees at the Palmetto RPDC continue to report concerns over space in the facility and a backlog of trucks waiting to dock. After speaking to one driver who waited eight hours at the center, 11Alive reached back out to USPS to get specifics on that backlog and further efforts to improve service in the state.
A USPS spokesperson did not provide specifics, instead sharing the following:
The Postal Service strives to provide the best possible service, all year long and during the extremely busy holiday season. In the specific case of the Palmetto RPDC, increased mail and package volumes are being received, as with any holiday season, and are being processed timely. The Postal Service has decades of experience handling holiday volume, deploying robust and proven plans for managing mail processing, transportation, and delivery of mail and packages. We value our customers and work hard to deliver the holidays for them.
Separately, USPS issued reminders to customers to send mail and packages early this holiday season. The agency noted “exceptional service performance” during the holidays, adding that “98 percent of the nation’s population receives their mail and packages in an average of 2.6 days.”
However, unlike the First Class mail service performance dashboard times, there are no published data to track package processing, so it’s unclear what package processing times are in Georgia.
For residents like Buggs, the situation has left them disillusioned.
“I would rather drive 400 miles and deliver it myself than trust the post office again,” he said.
Those experiencing delays or who have not received mail can contact the newsroom with your concerns as we continue to cover this story. Fill out our online form below, and someone from our news team will follow up with you.
