Dan Seidman, a longtime patron of the Vineyard Haven Post Office, got a message that his package from Amazon had arrived on the Island. He went to the Vineyard Haven Post Office, only to find, like so many other Vineyarders in recent weeks, that while his package may have made it to the Island, his wait for it was just beginning.
Missing packages, delayed orders, and general frustration are typical complaints with Island Post Offices, but in this summer of the coronavirus pandemic, at-home ordering has reached new levels, causing a backlog at the Post Office, even as the Trump administration is reportedly cutting resources to the federal agency. According to a report in Friday’s New York Times, the postal service has cut overtime for carriers, causing some of the delays.
The Post Office blames a more than 50 percent increase in package volume, and not enough workers to meet the demand.
Seidman’s package was shipped by Amazon using UPS SurePost, a service that includes a UPS delivery of the package to the Post Office, which then completes the “last mile” of delivery to the owner.
According to a USPS-provided tracking number, UPS delivered Seidman’s parcel to the Vineyard Haven Post Office on the evening of July 13. Seidman explained that even prepandemic, he would traditionally receive any SurePost packages roughly two days after they arrived at the Post Office.
With this in mind, Seidman visited the Vineyard Haven Post Office to pick up his Amazon package on July 16.
“This time when I went, initially the guy was not wanting to look, because I showed him my paperwork, and he sort of already knew the answer,” Seidman said. Not wanting to have braved the Post Office’s long line for nothing, Seidman requested the employee still look for his package. “He was nice,” Seidman said; “he did spend about 10 minutes checking the computer.”
The Post Office employee informed Seidman that the Post Office was currently scanning in packages delivered July 11 — a five-day backup.
Seidman’s package was delivered to his door at 6:44 pm on July 25, 12 days after it arrived at the Post Office. “Delivery person obviously had a long day,” Seidman wrote in a text message. “They should be commended. The system of transport and sorting, not so much.”
Steve Doherty, spokesman for the Northeast region of the USPS, said that the influx of packages in the past few weeks has surpassed the levels usually reached in the area at Christmastime.
“A lot of the brick-and-mortar stores have been closed up, so people have just been ordering stuff online. From what I’m being told, the occupancy down on the Island is up this year also. That combination has given us a swell of packages that rivals anything we normally see at Christmastime,” said Doherty.
Doherty noted that the recent addition of weekend hours will be limited to package pickup, and will not include retail at windows (such as buying stamps or dropping off packages). The surge in demand has also led the USPS to bring in staff from off-Island to man the Post Offices.
“We’re bringing people in off of the mainland, and beefing up the staff down there to accommodate the additional hours,” said Doherty.
Seidman is only one of the many Islanders to experience long delays, particularly with receiving packages.
One regular Amazon customer, who declined to be named for privacy reasons, said she has had a similar experience with missing packages, though she doesn’t blame the Post Office entirely.
“Just around the time that the coronavirus panic hit, suddenly they fell into chaos. Everything started taking longer, and we thought, ‘Uh-oh, Amazon is not going to fulfill our needs,’” she said. She and her daughter both rely on Amazon for regular staples.
“With the virus shutdown, it was great to not have to go to the Post Office to pick up,” she said. After an initial period of complications in March, she began receiving her packages again. However, sometime in June, things started falling apart. “[Amazon] didn’t communicate very fully. They had the orders, they received the orders, but it looked like the orders were kind of stuck. If you tried to check the information, they would not yet be getting prepared for shipping,” she said.
Anecdotally, The Times has heard from customers told by workers for UPS that some of the delay was due to a contract dispute between Amazon and UPS that has since been resolved, though The Times was unable to confirm that.
“Eventually, Amazon would say, ‘Sorry, we lost your order, do you want a refund?’ It was just unreliable. This was through June, and on right into this month,” she said. “I would get an announcement from Amazon saying, ‘Good news, your item is here,’ however, it would not be here. It would not be on my porch, and it would not be at my Post Office. Amazon would say, ‘Sorry, we really tried to deliver your order, but we absolutely couldn’t because we don’t know where you are,’ which is pretty funny because they had been delivering reliably up until this point.”
Anne Tallon, a seasonal resident of Edgartown and an Amazon customer, spoke about similar experiences with Amazon and UPS over the past few weeks. She, like other Island residents, does not have mail delivery to her house, and has historically relied on Amazon and UPS to get items delivered directly to her doorstep.
“I bought paper towels, hand soap, and laundry detergent on Amazon about a month ago. Amazon sent this stuff to the Post Office. With Amazon, I have never had things delivered to the Post Office before. I’ve always had things sent by UPS and brought to my house,” said Tallon. “When I go into my Amazon account, it says delivered via USPS, but then if you track the package, Amazon indicates that my package has been marked ‘undeliverable,’ for an undetermined reason.”
Tallon does not know whether her Amazon packages ever made it to the Post Office. She said that this experience has made her reconsider her patronage of Amazon.
“Maybe this was just the push I needed,” said Tallon. “If Amazon doesn’t even provide the convenience that it purports, then there isn’t a point. I should probably be shopping local anyway.”
Tallon has also had similar mix-ups with other delivery services. “I placed an order on Etsy on June 28, which was shipped on June 30. Only July 8, the seller sent me an email saying there had been a problem with my package delivery,” said Tallon. “The seller told me that he had received word that my package was available for pickup at your local Post Office. I thought that Etsy usually used UPS, so I had not expected the package to go to the Post Office.”
When she went to the Post Office, her package was nowhere to be found: “I did go to pick it up, probably on the 30th of June, and had my tracking number. I was told at the Edgartown Post Office that they were running at least a week behind in sorting, so while it very well might be there, they couldn’t find it. I then went back a second time, a week later, and they still couldn’t find it. I don’t know where it stands now.”
One patron of the Vineyard Haven Post Office, who also chose to remain anonymous for privacy reasons, wrote to The Times after experiencing issues with three separate packages. According to online tracking, a package he ordered was in a Providence, R.I., facility on July 10. As of July 23, he had still not received it.
The problems continued with a second package, when online tracking information displayed the message “Delivery attempted, action needed.” The man then visited the Post Office on July 11, where an employee told him these messages were automatically generated, and that the Post Office had received his package, but hadn’t yet scanned it in.
As of July 23, the man had not yet received his package.
He also described a Post Office experience in which he did receive one package in a relatively timely manner, but the parcel was destroyed.
“When it was handed to me over the counter, it had an eight-inch by two- or three-inch tear in the cardboard,” he said. According to the man, the Post Office employee at the window made no comment regarding the damage.
Customers report the addition of two more pickup windows seems to have made a positive impact at the Vineyard Haven Post Office. Wait times in line have been shorter with three windows open, rather than one.
“Today there was a great atmosphere and mood between customers and customer service reps,” the Vineyard Haven man said, suggesting that the additional help has perhaps relieved some stress.
Like Seidman, this man pointed to the Post Office’s process as the primary issue, rather than its workers. “I’ve seen those cases of packages back there in the parking lot, and it’s not like they can go digging through every case when a customer arrives. I know they have a process they have to follow, but it’s still kind of … annoying at this point,” he said.
Susan Desmarais, a resident of Oak Bluffs, described how a July 27 experience at the Vineyard Haven Post Office has led her to reconsider her relationship to Amazon and consumption in general.
“I went over around 3:30 or 4. I’m waiting for some medication in the mail,” Desmarais said. “They have some spots where you can wait inside, and the overflow is supposed to go outside. There was one spot left inside within the marked area. Everybody there was in masks and socially distanced.”
Desmarais was told by a woman working at the Post Office that the line must move outside, despite it fitting within the distanced parameters marked by cones within the inside of the Post Office.
“She said, ‘All of you, get outside, and wait out there. The line is outside,’” said Desmarais. “There were a couple of people in line who were elders. This woman’s tone of voice was very denigrating, and she was just awful. I thought to myself, ‘This is one of the hottest days of the year.’ There was no reason for us to have to go outside.”
“I feel like this situation with the Post Office, part of it is COVID-driven, part of it is driven by a decision Amazon made to ship packages through the Post Office, rather than keep their contracts with FedEx and UPS going,” said Desmarais. “I know there are people who work for the Post Office who are good, hard-working people, who are doing their best, and are stretched to the limit. I totally get that.”
Apart from this unpleasant encounter, Desmarais has also had spotty Amazon service over the past few weeks.
“The package that I need has been sitting at the Post Office for close to two weeks,” she said. “It’s been listed as delivered. When I got home yesterday, I called my insurance company and said, ‘You’ve got to figure something out, because I’m almost out of medication.’”
While Amazon has made some things more affordable, there are lessons to be learned, Desmarais said.
“We were all talking about it in line at the Post Office yesterday. All of us were saying that one of the things we’ve learned through this COVID thing is that we would rather pay more and give up other things and support businesses that have supported this community through the pandemic,” said Desmarais. “I look at the Pacheco family at Reliable [Market] and Steve Bernier at Cronig’s. Both of those places, those people are being pushed to their max to work, and they’re not being rude and nasty to people. They’re doing their jobs, they’re respectful, they’re nice, and they’re working hard for this community. I’m just going to buy all my stuff there. I’m done getting anything off-Island.”
Post Office sets weekend hours
In response to the summer demand, the U.S. Postal Service has added the following weekend hours at Island Post Offices for package pickup.
Vineyard Haven: Dutch-door service, Saturday, 7 am–5 pm; Sunday, 8 am–12 noon
Edgartown: Saturday 7 am–1 pm; Sunday 8 am–12 noon
Oak Bluffs: Saturday 12 noon–4 pm
West Tisbury: Saturday 12 noon–4 pm
Chilmark: Saturday 12 noon–3 pm
Unfortunately, living on an island the post office is essential for so many things, many of which are simply unavailable in stock at local stores and/or difficult and expensive to order from local stores. For example, my cellphone is dying, my service does not have a store on the island, they will only ship to a street address, the post office and UPS do not ship to my street address and don’t even recognize it as a legal address even though it is on the town tax rolls. A lot of congestion at the post offices would be alleviated if there was home delivery, even if just a group of boxes at the end of a street, but many of us don’t have that option. I’m really, really worried about how voting by mail will happen with a dysfunctional postal service.
Relax, Mel. The issue is an overwhelming number of packages in a narrow few weeks. I bet the OB PO will handle more Christmas cards in late December than mail in Ballots in Late November.
There is no place on the Vineyard that UPS will not ship to.
They even ship to everyplace on Cuttyhunk (but not always overnight).
You do not need to have legal address to get a UPS shipment.
Just an adequate description of where you want the package delivered.
(Knowing the UPS driver does not hurt.)
The only thing legal that UPS wants is to paid for it’s service.
“dysfunctional postal service.”
By that do you mean having to wait more than 10 minutes to pick up a package in the middle of the summer?
Having a package delivered a day or two later than on the mainland?
Other than that how are enjoying your laidback Island lifestyle?
Mel have you tried tried talking to the UPS people on Island about how to addresses your packages so that they can find you?
You chose to live in a place where you can get away from everything and now you are complaining that UPS can not find you.
Fix that by making it easy for UPS to find you.
Undelieerable packages cost UPS money.
West Tisbury seems to have figured it out. There may be lines (not like the down Island places), but they move pretty well. I realize that there may be fewer people up here, but that’s only a part of the reason. The staff are efficient, work hard and always polite. This is NOT an invitation to use the WT PO. 🙂
It’s one thing to have paper towels and laundry detergent arrive weeks late, but it’s unacceptable to be waiting an extra 2 weeks for prescription medication. My insurance company will only cover the maintenance drugs if they are automatically delivered from CVS. And now Trump’s postmaster general is intentionally slowing down the mail service. Is there not one thing that idiot will not try to destroy?? The financial problems with the USPS stems from a 2006 law that requires them to have 75 YEARS of retirement benefits Paid in advance! No other agency or business has that nonsensical requirement. Can this country get anything right??
You’re right. It’s not only the island. Mail delays are countrywide, and postal service workers know it is due to Trump’s recent pick for Postmaster General who has implemented impossible rules to slow thing down.
I agree that the West Hillsboro post office is unacceptably slow and has been for months. What I don’t understand is how you get from that to a conspiracy theory. The more probable explanation is at the post office made a deal with the devil for revenues and started shipping Amazon packages. They have overwhelmed the post office, and at a deeply discounted rate too. Personally, I have had packages returned as undeliverable by the PO while at the same time getting regular mail service. By the way, how is the post office supposed to know which package contains peoples prescription medications? Perhaps CVS can send them by UPS or FedEx. They seem to be providing good timely reliable service.
The USPS makes a considerable profit for doing “the last mile” for Amazon, UPS and FedEx.
Unsolicited junk mail is the real loser.
The Chamber of Commerce is always a big political campaign donor
Did this article completely miss the issue. I hear Trump defundrd the Post Office so people would lose faith in the system and not allow mail in voting. That’s the real story to pursue.
Conspiracy theories abound.
Who was the second shooter in Dallas.
I was in the v.h. po yesterday, and saw many keys in the lockers… at least they are catching on to that little trick.
USPS has been mismanaged for decades. Obviously. In stark contrast, UPS and Fedex are profitable and strong, while USPS continually operates in the red. Previous Postmaster Generals have been unable to stop the bleeding, and nobody’s betting on that to change. The massive USPS debt, by the way, was NOT caused by the “unfair” 2006 law that mandated benefit funding – a myth promoted by agitators like AOC (please, be informed: https://www.forbes.com/sites/ebauer/2020/04/14/post-office-pensions–some-key-myths-and-facts/#eaa8e4247f5d). Of course, over 100 billion in unfunded liabilities wasn’t the fault of any one person or event. Federal government-anything is bloated, and Congress just kicks the can.
Whenever ordering from a company that ships via USPS, I’ll always pay extra for UPS/Fedex. It’s silly to choose wasting time and fuel to go wait on a line, if you can have timely doorstep delivery. USPS needs to stop the futile effort to compete with superior companies by losing money on unprofitable, underpriced parcels – and just stick to moving envelopes… until that dwindling business fades out. And for petesake, enough already with all the advertising.
It seems inevitable that USPS will go the way of photo kiosks and video stores. Amazon is not worried.
FedEx is Dingbat Express. I like my UPS guy. I’ll always rely on the USPS.
Chevys rule, Fords drool.
“It’s silly to choose wasting time and fuel to go wait on a line, if you can have timely doorstep delivery.”
If you can get doorstep delivery! My address, which is on the tax rolls, does not compute as a legal verified address in the USPS system, which is also used by UPS, Fedex, and just about every other shipper. If I supply that address on any order it gets rejected as “invalid.” Even though I can see the UPS truck delivering to houses near mine with other addresses, I can’t get delivery to my house.
Imagine we entirely disband the USPS. We just cut out a tenth of a percent of the annual federal budget. We’re really tackling the pork here, huh?
Whoa, the Department of Defense spends more than half a trillion dollars every year?! How’d we let this happen? Fair to say it’s been a bit mismanaged, let’s just collapse that particular executive office and stick with private security firms from here on out! There’s nothing I love more than purely monetary considerations regarding public services!
The USPS can be grown and managed to become an extremely important part of the federal government’s reach to its citizens and residents.
Even at this moment, in its slow and bloated form, it absolutely is worth $8 billion annually to me. The type of reach, impact, and further opportunities the USPS can provide our country should be coveted, not thrown aside. It absolutely provides a national value on par with, say, 4 naval destroyers.
I can vote-by-mail without a worry. USPS workers on MV are like you and me. Not dishonest. My town clerk in Edgartown is one of us too. She was born honest… good genes. I wouldn’t trust anyone anywhere else to not deviate from their standards. Dishonesty in politics doesn’t happen here. Ballot custody is a threat to the integrity of our Nov 3 election. Vote-by-mail at your peril… except on our island.
“Dishonesty in politics doesn’t happen here”
Oh man, I dang near spit my coffee out when I read that
Thank you sir, for starting my day with a much needed laugh.
You must be new here.
ajay– Paul has been here for quite a long time– he was chief of police in Edgartown for years– he is a frequent commenter–
Your comment that “You must be new here” got old after you used it dozens of times.. time to get some new material, buddy.
Would you be worried if you mailed your mail in ballot in Falmouth?
I’m not new. I wasn’t referring to the hypocritical cronyism of a few island officials. I’m talking Chicago style corruption. The real kind with grand juries and convictions. That doesn’t happen here.
Don’t explain yourself to Ajay, Paul. “You must be new here” is one of his standard lines. I’ve been here 32 years and he used it on me.
I was referring to the corruption in your former department.
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