USPS

I’m not sure where you stand regarding the current status of the United States Postal Service. As the Feds deal with the current funding issues for the USPS, some have promoted the concept of mass mail-in ballots for the November election. Without getting involved in the politics of the current situation, I believe service should be improved before the concept is put into play.  I have a couple of examples to support my concern.

If you read my blog, Mail Service, from December 15, 2019  you know that Ruth mailed a postcard to our Michigan address from Cuba when we visited in April of 2019.  (See blog link below.)  The card had been placed in a box in Cuba in April, received in Michigan – seven months later –  and forwarded to Florida on November 11.  It arrived on December 7th.  Please note that it took our USPS twenty-six days to get the postcard from Michigan to Florida.

As avid readers know, we forward our mail each year.  This year our mail service was  scheduled to be held in Michigan beginning April 10th as we intended to arrive in Michigan around the 20th.  The coronavirus changed that.  We remained in Florida until the end of May.  That meant our mail would be piling up in Michigan for about six weeks.

On April 24th I called our Michigan post office to see if they would package our mail and forward it to me.  They said they couldn’t but a relative, or friend, could come in and package it up and mail it.   I asked, “You can’t box it up but you’ll allow someone you don’t know to box it for you?”  They went on to explain that my “someone” would need to be identified ahead of time.  I gave them the name of my golf partner, Bruce, and gave Bruce a call.

Bruce went in on the 27th.   They wouldn’t allow him to package it, but they did allow him to pay for the postage as they packaged it.  The “priority mail” fee was $29.95.  Bruce gave me a call when his mission was accomplished and asked if I wanted the tracking number.  I declined and followed up with, “If it’s not here by the end of the week, I’ll get it from you.”  It wasn’t, so on May 5th I asked for the number and started “tracking”.  When I typed in the number the “tracker” said my package was “in route”.

I tracked it every couple of days and received the same “in route” message.  I called my Michigan post office on May 20th to see if they had any advice.  The post mistress typed in my tracking number and received the same “in route” message.  “It’s in a truck someplace.  Service is slow because of the coronavirus.  We have a lot of people out.”

I explained that I was heading back to Michigan in a week.  The mistress then said, “Go to your local Florida office and fill out a forwarding mail request.  They’ll forward it at no charge.”  I didn’t say it, but I thought, we already paid $29.95.

We headed back to Michigan and arrived on May 29th.  My package of mail arrived in Florida on June 8th, was placed in the return mail on June 9th, and I received it on June 16th.  It was delivered by the same lady who helped package it on April 27th.

If that’s not enough for you, consider the tale of my license plate tag.  I mailed a check for a new license plate tag the day I returned to Michigan.  I knew our governor had extended our deadline but wanted to do my part in boosting Michigan’s coffers as soon as possible.  Nine weeks later, on July 27th, the check was cashed.  This could have been a combination of the USPS and State of Michigan dealing with the coronavirus.  Who knows?  In any case, when my license tag still hadn’t been delivered I called the Secretary of State on Monday, August 24th.  The Secretary of State representative said the tags are “Usually sent out the day we process payment.”  If that’s the case my tag had been placed in the mail four weeks prior to my call.  The nice Secretary of State lady made a request for a  “replacement” tag for me.  I received it last Saturday, August 29th.

In nine states and Washington D.C., every registered voter will be mailed a ballot ahead of November’s election.  California, Washington D.C., and Vermont will do this for the first time.  The check I wrote to the State of Michigan took nine weeks to cash, and it took another five weeks to deliver my tags.  Their final delivery was prompted by my phone call.  You think automatic mail-in ballots for a national election is a good idea?   If I’m given a choice, I vote “no”.

Mail Service