Post office problems start with no postmaster

They are simply doing their jobs without getting frazzled by the bombardment of the same questions by many customers.

Besides the mysterious increase in post office box prices, lost mail seems to have become a daily phenomenon for many folks in Buena Vista. Today, there is a sign on the door that the post office front desk will be closed by 2 pm. all of next week, and closed on Saturday, due to staff shortage.

When I finally made it to the front desk with my tracking numbers I was told, “We have a pile of undeliverable packages in the back that we haven’t had time to sort through. I’m sure your two missing packages are back there somewhere.”

I asked for the postmaster’s phone number to discuss the matter privately so that I might understand the problem.

Why are packages suddenly undeliverable when in fact I’m using the same addresses as I always have? I was told to call the postmaster this morning between 8-9 a.m.

I did so, and for an hour redialed the number only to have the phone ring ten times each before it was disconnected. I continued redialing in hopes that the postmaster would eventually answer. He never did.

The problem as I understand it now seems to be twofold: First, I was told now we are to never write the letters P.O. Box when we place an order to our PO Box.

Apparently, the mail may be delivered by outside carriers such as FEDEX or UPS and those entities are now no longer permitted to drop mail off at the post office if it has a PO Box number on it. Instead, we are to list the name of the recipient with just #number.

Secondly, if you happen to live on a street, as I do, that is not listed in the database of the addresses in the county, then your address does not exist, so then FEDEX and UPS cannot deliver to an “unknown address.”

Two years ago when this became a problem, we were told to include our PO Box in the address line. That worked for a while, but apparently no longer works.

So! How do I read this? We have an address that is UNKNOWN because we are not in the database, and even though I have talked to the county about this, no one seems to know how to remedy the situation.

In addition, now we are not supposed to use PO Box, even though we pay for a PO Box at a ridiculous price, and have had mail delivered to our PO Box for 38 years. We are to write our name with only #number.

I’m very concerned about citizens not receiving their mail, mail being returned to senders, mail disappearing altogether, the amount of mail being placed in the two receptacles by the door indicating “placed in wrong box,” or “unknown.”

This is 2022. How did mail ever make it to recipients using the Pony Express and across snowy mountain passes in the 1800s?

What can be done? People just want their mail.

Kathleene Keidel

Buena Vista