Problems at the post office

“The Postal Service shall have as its basic function the obligation to provide postal services to bind the Nation together through the personal, educational, literary, and business correspondence of the people. It shall provide prompt, reliable, and efficient services to patrons in all areas and shall render postal services to all communities.” (U.S. Postal Service Mission, from its website).

Also from the Postal Service’s website: “A self-supporting, independent federal agency, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation: 155 million residences, businesses and Post Office Boxes …

“… The Postal Service has established a core set of enduring goals that guide all of its strategic initiatives and continuous improvement efforts:

• Deliver High-Quality Services
• Provide Excellent Customer Experiences
• Ensure a Safe Workplace and an Engaged Workforce”

But, some Manchester residents are worried that system may be breaking down here. A high-traffic Facebook post in January is still circulating and discontent with the Manchester post office seems to be at an all-time high.

Lynette Girbach, a lifelong resident of Manchester, started the post to a community Facebook group by saying, “30 years having the same PO Box in Manchester with no problems. Suddenly any mail that doesn’t have the PO Box number on it is being returned to sender. I’ve missed two payments and now have two late fees. My veterinarian’s office called today to see if I had moved because the Christmas card they sent me was returned to them. It would have been nice if the postmaster would have notified me that this was going to be taking place. Not happy. Needless to say I will be installing a mailbox and getting rid of the PO Box because what’s the point?” 

As noted by Girbach, it has long been standard practice at the Manchester post office to deliver residential mail to PO Boxes even when only a street address is given on the parcel. This arrangement likely arose because certain portions of the village do not receive delivery directly to a street address and therefore the residents are required to have a post office box, (though that box is classified as a “No fee” box (Group E) according to policy 4.5.2 of section 508 of the Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service Domestic Mail Manual). 

An apparent “new” policy at the Manchester post office, of not delivering any mail to Post Office Box customers unless it contains the box number, is causing concern from many residents. This policy is enforced by postmaster Robert Oaks, who has been Manchester’s postmaster since January 2013.

It seems that Oaks has chosen to enforce a long standing USPS policy regarding the proper addressing of the mail. Specifically, according to policy 4.1.4 of section 508 : “A number is assigned to each PO box. Mail intended for delivery through a box must show the assigned PO box number in the address immediately above the city, state, and ZIP Code.”

The consequence of enforcing this policy is that mail which once would have arrived in a resident’s PO Box without any problem is no longer arriving. And the resident has no way of knowing what hasn’t arrived.

For example, in the past few weeks, according to the Manchester Township assessor, the township received a stack of assessment notices, marked, “Return to Sender,” for customers with post office boxes, that were addressed to a property (street) address. Similarly, utility bills have also been returned because most utilities, like Comcast, AT&T, and Consumers Energy, normally are sent to the service address. And Manchester Community Schools ended up sending a large number of semester-end report cards home with students who also had street addresses on their school records. Dozens of these report cards were returned to the school district due to not including a post office box in the address.

Girbach received more than 100 comments on her post in early January and other related posts also have occurred on other Facebook groups. Many PO Box customers, but not all, received a letter from the postmaster around the same time, explaining the policy. Girbach commented later in the thread, “I spoke with the postmaster recently as well regarding this situation and also the protocol for installing a new mailbox. He was nice and accommodating regarding the installation of the mailbox, however, when I expressed my concern regarding the lack of notification in advance of this new policy, it was not addressed at all. I actually brought it up at least three times, and it was just glossed over. I did get the “letter” in my PO box as well, but I feel that should have gone out weeks, even months ago, prior to implementing this new policy. That way, we could have taken the necessary steps to insure that, at least the mail we have control over, would be readdressed to our PO Box.”

“It’s a shame that we are past the times of just doing what’s right instead of following red tape,” said one commenter in response to Girbach’s post. “Gone are the days of friendly customer service.”

Liz Wallace, who has had a Post Office Box for many years, also had a concern when her neighbor stopped by one day with a card, which she had mailed to Wallace’s street address and was subsequently returned.

Since she had heard, and read, many complaints about the post office, she says she was a bit “scared” to approach the postmaster. “But I decided to go up to the post office to see if I could speak to our Postmaster anyway,” she says. “Mr. Oaks couldn’t have been more kind. He explained everything on the letter (to PO Box patrons) and also explained that most of the counter help are from other towns and don’t know the people of Manchester. I really did feel that he was trying to work with everyone.”

Wallace said she is still concerned that the post office returns mail knowing that the intended recipient does, indeed, live in Manchester. She’s upset not only for herself, but for other residents. “It’s not our fault if someone doesn’t use the box number,” she said. “How are people (like my neighbor) supposed to get my number? It’s not in the phone book. If people need to know your box number, they should post a directory.”

Girbach also said that she has witnessed the postmaster berating an employee in front of customers. Tensions often seem high among the staff at the Manchester post office, and such tension can make it difficult to provide the USPS’ stated goals of “high-quality service and an excellent customer experience,” not to mention a “safe workplace and engaged workforce.”

Manchester residents who are concerned about the delivery (or non-delivery) of their mail, can send a written complaint about mail problems to the Postmaster. If that does not resolve the problem, a resident can email the Postal Service to express concerns about any personnel, including the postmaster.

If complaints to the USPS management chain are unsuccessful, the final step would be to contact either the office of Representative Tim Walberg, the current US Representative from the 7th District, or one of Michigan’s two senators, Debbie Stabenow or Gary Peters. Congress is the body that ultimately regulates the USPS.

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by Marsha Chartrand

Marsha Johnson Chartrand, a founder, writer, and copy editor with the Manchester Mirror, is a 50-year resident of Manchester. She has a long history of volunteer and community involvement.