Friday, January 26, 2007

The Hartsdale Post Office- Why Is My Mail Late?

Today, I called to complain about my mail service.

I am a subscriber to over 30 different magazines, such as Trains, Airliners, Fire Engineering, Fire Apparatus Journal, Mens Health, Wired, Inc, RailPace, Fast Company, JEMS, Firehouse, Fire Rescue and many more. I realize that's a little much, but I LOVE to read, and have many interests, and that's the postal service's job- to deliver my mail in a timely manner.

I have friends that live in surrounding postal jurisdictions, and get their magazines two, even three weeks before I do. Sometimes, I even miss issues. Or several issues will come together. My mother has the same problem at her house, and so do other friends who live in 10530. Another issue that I don't seem to have though is getting other peoples mail.

So today, I called the Hartsdale Post Office to complain. The lady on the other end sounded very annoyed, and basically told me it's not her problem. She told me that the problem was that my apartment number was not on the mail. She did not seem to comprehend or care that it clearly was on the label, and I was getting the mail late. She also did not see a problem that people a post office away from me were getting their SAME mail/magazines weeks ahead of me. She stated that the same carrier was on the same route everyday, and she could not help me. I called several of my magazine companies, and had no issues with my account.

It may just be a rumor, but I've been told that Hartsdale sorters and carriers sometimes shift mail they don't want to carry until days that they are off. I think my mailman is a nice, honest guy, so I'm wondering where the problem is?

When I arrived home, what did I find? Most of my late magazines stuffed into my mailbox. Some of them I got the past 3 months copies.

I guess I'll have to settle for getting my mail late. It's too bad, because I like to read my magazines when they are fresh, and I also kind of like getting my bills and other corrospondence on time. Great customer service when I can't even get a "I'll look into it". But that's what you get when you have a monopoly.....