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Pushing the Envelope Blog

A Traffic Jam of Mail

Date: 04/05/21 | Category: Mail Processing & Transportation

While many of our audit reports are planned in advance, from time to time we respond to situations that require immediate response. Take, for example, the reports of mail delays and wait times up to 15 hours for truck drivers in Cleveland in December 2020.

As discussed in our recently released Management Alert, Excessive Wait Times to Accept Commercial Mail Shipments at the Cleveland Processing & Distribution Center, OIG auditors examined how the Cleveland Processing and Distribution Center (P&DC) handled mail being dropped at the facility by mailers. Our initial examination found gridlocked conditions on the loading docks and throughout the plant. Data showed delayed mail inventory for the October to December period running at double the rate of the previous year.

Further examination found two sources of mail congestion. First, the plant suffered a low rate of employee availability, exacerbated by a number of unfilled openings for seasonal employees. Second, a combination of poor communication and incorrect data entry from the P&DC gave USPS Headquarters an incomplete picture of the gridlock.

While the Postal Service moved to mitigate the problem, what happened in Cleveland can put the Postal Service’s brand, reputation, and customer loyalty at risk.

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Anonymous
Apr 26, 2021
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Not having enough employees is due to two things: the current management treatment of those showing up to work, and the policies allowing employees to stay home if they have children. Employees coming to work are forced to work overtime, forced to work their scheduled days off (non-service days) and are berated and threatened of consequences if they do not show up on their days off. No excuses like doctors appointments which they then have to pay cancellation fees for. Meanwhile other employees are allowed to sit at home and collect pay due to their "fear of the pandemic" or to take care of their "children" at home when they already have spouses at home or their children are adults. Toxic work environment doesn't even cover it.
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Bobby Vires
Apr 18, 2021
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The solution for the survival of the Postal Service is not to reduce services or employees. The Post Office needs to understand that the number of envelopes are dropping and will continue to drop however, the number of packages continue to increase. The Post Office needs to have mailboxes at the street for all addresses and larger mailboxes to accept packages at the street. This will reduce manhours needed to deliver the mail and protect postal employees from being harmed by walking up to homes.
Fedex is a perfect example, Their primary business plan was next day envelopes and with the the development of the fax machine and email their business plan was doomed. That is when Fedex pivoted and got into the package and freight business. The Postal Service needs to adapt or become obsolete.
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David Joseph Thrower
Apr 9, 2021
Your Comment
I don't get this - the USPS just got BILLIONS from the government, and they cannot improve delivery times??? Maybe you should think about being more efficient and get rid of the incompetent boobs who are holding up things, OK? I am honestly thinking about filing criminal charges against USPS for this crap.
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Joshua Whaley
Apr 7, 2021
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"While the Postal Service moved to mitigate the problem, what happened in Cleveland can put the Postal Service’s brand, reputation, and customer loyalty at risk."

I like this part specifically. We were ordered to cut priority and first class parcels, and focus on Amazon and UPS drop shipments. This happened all through peak season. We we're all confused as to why our products weren't a priority, no pun intended.
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Tom Henrichs
Apr 6, 2021
Your Comment
I’m certain you have the capability, so I’d
be interested to know what percentage of your blogs
contain the words “poor communication.”
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Danae lobo
Apr 6, 2021
Your Comment
Please send a confirmation of my complaint to my email.
Thank you
  
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OIG Moderator
Apr 8, 2021
Your Comment
Hello Danae. Thank you for your message. If you filed a complaint with the USPS OIG Hotline and included your email address when you filed the complaint, you will receive a response via email from the OIG Hotline stating we received your complaint.

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

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Sbarvarajohn
Apr 5, 2021
Your Comment
where is this at???