How can post office operate with such a cavalier attitude?

To The Daily Sun,

Well now… it appears that the Laconia Post Office is under fire lately. It would seem their service (or lack thereof) to the public has upset several of their “customers.” Past letters have cited some serious faults with the delivery of the mail from the LPO to residences.

I have had some abysmal experiences with package delivery to my Laconia Post Office box. Two of my packages ended up “missing.” (The combined value of them was well over $200.) So, what are the odds of losing two packages correctly addressed to the same person on two separate occasions? In both cases, UPS reported them delivered to LPO; but somewhere within the hallowed halls of the Laconia Post Office they just “disappeared?” Let me see; there are three ways this could have happened:

— They were lost, somewhere in the building?

— They were mishandled and given to the wrong person, or

— They were stolen!

I received NO reasonable explanation from anyone how this could happen. Each of these possibilities indicates a serious problem with the operation of LPO service. (Once a package gets into the “care” of the PO, package insurance ceases — and the postal system provides NO restitution.)

I, too, tried several times to call the postmistress (at that time, Kathleen A. Hayes) and left messages for her to please call me. As the other letter writers have related, I also did NOT receive any calls back. I then wrote a letter to her and still received NO response. After being ignored, I then followed USPS missing package protocol by contacting each department listed: USPS Technical Support, Postal Regulatory Commission, USPS Consumer and Industry Contact, USPS Office of Inspector General, USPS Criminal Investigation Service Center.

I was informed by EACH department that they could NOT do anything to help me, although some did apologize. (I did NOT receive any such consideration from anyone at the LPO). Being “overworked” and “underpaid” is absolutely NO excuse for failing to offer at least a minimal apology. Attempting to resolve this issue by writing letters and making calls to the above-named departments kept me quite busy. In the end it was a waste of time.

I came away from this nightmare wondering how the PO can function with such a cavalier attitude and total disregard for responsibility. I know that the people I contacted were just cogs on the USPS wheel, BUT THAT WHEEL IS BROKEN! In my case, someone else benefited at my expense!

On the web page for the Postal Regulatory Commission there is paragraph titled “Local Post Office” that reads: “Local postmasters are responsible for ensuring that their customers receive prompt and efficient delivery and retail services. If problems occur, they are in the best position to investigate the issue and fix the problem.”

That cannot occur when the postmaster ignores the problem.

Ken Knowlton

Belmont