Portland’s central post office at 125 Forest Ave. is seen Thursday. (Teddy Almond/Staff Writer)
Are you experiencing delays in receiving your mail? If so, you can join the other Mainers who have reported difficulties.
Don’t feel hopeless. There are some steps you can take to help ensure your mail arrives on time.
QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT BE WONDERING
Q: How do I report issues? Should I contact my local post office?
A: Customers with questions about their delivery can contact their local post office or call 800-ASK-USPS (800-275-8777), U.S. Postal Service spokesperson Judy Ferriera said.
Q: How can I report delays?
A: The Postal Service allows you to file a Missing Mail Search Request, which, after providing information such as recipient and sender addresses, will allow the post office to try and recover your mail.
You can file this report if the mail has not been delivered in at least seven days. This is most useful if you are trying to find a specific package or piece of mail.
Q: What if I get a P.O. Box? Who are those right for?
A: In some neighborhoods, local delivery disruptions may be the reason why your mail gets delayed. Having a P.O. Box allows you to bypass the need for a neighborhood carrier including you on their route, potentially saving you time in getting your mail.
P.O. Boxes at Portland’s central post office on Forest Avenue. (Teddy Almond/Staff Writer)
P.O. Boxes are also great for people who have suffered repeated attacks by porch thieves. They allow you to retrieve your mail safely at your local post office. If you live in a rural area or a building without a secure parcel drop, the post office will securely hold your packages in lockers.
There are also some other reasons that might be preventing the delivery of your mail. The Postal Service lists some various problems that you could fix to help restore more timely mail service.
- Dog on premises: The Postal Service might not deliver your mail if you have a dog or another animal loose on your front lawn or near your mailbox.
- Mailbox issues: Make sure that there are no problems with your mailbox — like blockages, overflows or locks — that might be preventing delivery.
- Hazardous conditions: If your property has significant snow or other unsafe conditions, your carrier might not be able to deliver your mail. The Postal Service suggests arranging for a neighbor to pick up your deliveries for you and speaking with your local postmaster to discuss longer-term solutions.
STAFFING CHALLENGES
The most logistically difficult part of any mail delivery is the last leg: the part of the process in which the mail is taken to a central distributing facility, then delivered by your mail carrier.
Residents of Old Orchard Beach told the Press Herald they’ve been having serious issues with mail delivery for months, with some saying they often have to wait up to 14 days.
Ferriera said those problems have been contained to certain neighborhoods and are caused by staffing challenges.
“We apologize to the affected customers who didn’t receive the level of service expected from the Postal Service,” Ferriera said.
The delays even caught the attention of U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-1st District.
“This is absolutely outrageous,” she wrote in an email to the Press Herald. “And I share (the residents’) deep anger over the current state of the U.S. Postal Service.”
Pingree said she is pushing USPS to improve its employee recruitment and retention and working to prevent the Trump administration “from further destroying this vital agency,” emphasizing that millions of Americans rely on mail for medication, bills, paychecks and other needs.
Evan Hollander, a mail services assistant at the University of Southern Maine, says delays affect delivery to students. He thinks high turnover is to blame.
“There’s just always there’s a lot of new faces in there,” Hollander said of the local post office, where he picks up mail each morning to distribute to students. “And I think it’s just they have to keep catching up with all the training they have to do.”
‘PORCH PIRATES’ AND WRONG DELIVERIES
Another possible explanation for why mail goes missing is the presence of porch thieves targeting residents’ mailboxes and front doorsteps.
While the Portland Police Department does not report any out of the ordinary activity, Public Information Officer Brad Nadeau said that it’s typical for that crime to pick up in the warmer months.
When asked about mail theft prevention techniques, Ferriera pointed a reporter to a list of online tips from the Postal Inspection Service.
Those tips include picking up mail promptly, avoiding mailing cash, contacting the sender if valuable mail doesn’t arrive when expected and using hold services as needed.
Michael McNeil, the property manager for the Winchester Woods apartment complex in Portland, said he installed security cameras to help deter and catch any would-be criminals and thieves after tenants started reporting missing packages.
