Online shoppers might joke that their habit only hurts their wallets, but it turns out, it could actually be hurting someone else: The number of mail carriers attacked by dogs is the highest it’s been in three decades. [More]
united states postal service
USPS Reports Some Good News, But Still Facing “Fundamental Financial Challenges”
By 5.11.16
It’s been a long and bumpy road for the United States Postal Service in recent years, what with the agency reporting billions in net losses year after year. USPS had some good news recently, however: operational revenue was up for the quarter! Sounds great, right? But on the other hand, financial matters are still dire, and the agency wants Congress to help out. [More]
USPS To New York Town: Hey, Sorry For Delivering Blood-Stained Mail
By 2.19.16
Sometimes mail shows up ripped, twisted, soaked through, or otherwise damaged and you think, “Man, this is a bummer.” But residents of one New York town found their mail had been altered in a more disturbing way: it was smeared with blood. [More]
USPS Testing Service That Shows Customers Photos Of Their Mail
By 12.7.15
If you’ve ever been waiting with breath that is bated on an important piece of mail, you might have wished there was some way you could take a peek at your mailbox from afar. Because many people can’t stay home and wait for the mail to arrive, the United States Postal Service is testing a “notification” service that sends customers photos of the contents of their mailbox by way of their email. [More]
USPS Denies It Has Missing Damaged Package, Still Turns Down Customer’s Insurance Claim After Finding It
By 10.23.15
It’s always a good idea to purchase insurance for your packages, especially if you’re mailing something valuable. But even having that protection didn’t keep one USPS customer from ending up with broken equipment and no insurance payment to cover the cost of replacing or fixing it. [More]
Postal Worker Accused Of Delivering 22,000 Pieces Of Mail Straight To His Garage
By 7.23.15
Tempting though it may be for a postal worker to swipe any of the millions of pieces of mail flying around the country, most refrain, and our packages and letters get where they’re supposed to go. But every once in a while, we have the misfortune to hear about a mail carrier gone rogue. Like a Philadelphia postal worker who authorities say squirreled away tens of thousands of pieces of mail. [More]
USPS Apologizes To Deaf Woman After She Says Worker Refused To Communicate With Her By Writing
By 3.10.15
The United States Postal Service is apologizing to a deaf woman in Florida after she said workers at her local post office refused to accommodate her by providing service through writing, instead allegedly mocking her and making her feel humiliated. [More]
Package With $4,000 Worth Of Electronics No Match For USPS Carrier’s Chucking Abilities
By 1.23.15
The other day we asked readers if they’d pay money to choose which carrier delivers their Amazon packages, and found that about 63% of you would be willing to pay some amount for that right. And it’s no wonder people want a choice, when the United States Postal Service has carriers chucking packages filled with delicate, expensive electronics inside onto porches like it’s a box filled with feathers. [More]
Outgoing Postmaster General: Job Of USPS Is Delivering The Mail, Not Being A Bank
By 1.6.15
While retiring Postmaster General Patrick R. Donahoe is on his way out, that doesn’t mean he’s not about to weigh in on the idea of the United States Postal Service acting like a bank. Offering basic financial services has been suggested as a way to help the USPS get some much needed cash, but Donahoe is having none of it. [More]
Why A Village With 500 Residents Mails More Than 10,000 Christmas Cards From Its Post Office Every Year
By 12.10.14
How is it possible that in a village that boasts a population of only about 500 people sends more than 10,000 Christmas cards from its post office every year? Is it because each person in town has 20 friends? Or is it because the town has something special to do with Christmas? [More]
USPS Worker Allegedly Swiped 2,000 Pieces Of Mail Out Of Sheer Boredom
By 12.9.14
Eating all the candy out of the glass jar on your desk. Spilling hot coffee on your computer while trying to beat your personal solitaire record. There are bad things you can do out of boredom at work, but one U.S. Postal Service worker admits she turned to taking as many as 2,000 pieces of mail she was supposed to deliver just to have something to do. [More]
Just Because It’s Legal To Mail Live Birds Doesn’t Mean You Should Send 15 Baby Chicks To Your Ex
By 11.12.14
It might sound crazy to some that it’s actually legal to send live birds through the mail (with some strict conditions), but what sounds even nuttier is that a guy reportedly mailed his ex-girlfriend 15 baby chicks in some kind of prank/misguided statement about their break-up. [More]
Report: Breach Of USPS’ Networks Compromises Personal Data Of 2.9M Customers, 750K Employees & Retirees
By 11.10.14
Let’s all pick our jaws up off the floor because, and I know you won’t believe this, yet another security breach has compromised the personal information of millions of people. The latest in what has become an unfortunate trail of hack attacks has hit the U.S. Postal Service computer system, officials say. [More]
Letter Mailed In 1931 Turns Up At Post Office, Gets Delivered 83 Years Late
By 7.2.14
Like a message in a bottle, tossed up on the shore by the tide after sailing the oceans of time (It’s summer, it’s hot and water sounds awesome), sometimes misdirected mail shows up to remind us of the past. And when it takes 83 years to show up from wherever lost letters go, it’s bound to make for a good story. [More]
Postal Carrier Accused Of Stealing 20,000 Pieces Of Mail, Collecting Credit Cards And Stacks Of DVDs
By 6.2.14
We’ve heard of mail carriers ditching multiple bags of mail before, but in most of those cases it seemed like the postal worker just didn’t feel like delivering it. But federal authorities say an almost 20-year veteran of the U.S. Postal Service had personal gain in mind when he allegedly stole 20,000 pieces of mail from customers. [More]
Bill Would End Door-Slot Mail Delivery For 15 Million Addresses, Save USPS $2 Billion Annually
By 5.22.14
A bill that would phase out door-to-door mail delivery over the next decade passed its first hurdle on the way to becoming a law. [More]
Postal Workers Preparing To Protest Against Staples’ New In-Store Mailing Services
By 4.23.14
What’s a postal worker to do when a company that isn’t the United States Postal Service starts offering USPS products and using its own employees to sell those services? Prepare to protest, which is what the American Postal Workers Union is going to do on Thursday at 50 Staples stores. [More]
Mailman Sentenced To Six Months In Prison For Failing To Deliver 44,900 Pieces Of Mail
By 4.23.14
You know that feeling you get when you see the day’s mail is just a collection of junk — circulars, promotional postcards and credit card offers? One mailman felt that same frustration, only it just made him want to not have to deliver all that stuff and just hide it in his dead mother’s home and a storage facility — about 44,900 pieces of it, all told. [More]
