Postal service says mail delays caused by staffing issues, pandemic

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – A combination of the coronavirus pandemic and staffing issues has led to mail delays locally for the postal service, according to a United States Postal Service (USPS) spokeswoman.

Several WDRB viewers have reached out about not receiving mail for days or packages taking longer than usual to reach their destination.

Employees at Kaufman Carpet Cleaning say they have only gotten one piece of mail this week.

"It's affecting us big time because we're a mom and pop shop and that's how we get our payments, through the mail from our clients. So we're not getting payments," Kristen Zimlich, office manager, said.

Zimlich says normally the business gets anywhere from 20 to 30 checks a day.

"The last few weeks it's gotten slower and slower to where this week I've gotten one check," Zimlich said.

Also experiencing delays with USPS is Louisville resident Belinda Linehan. She says she mailed a gift to a family member in Louisiana and it took 15 days to get to her.

"My concern is, I guess, you know we're supposed to be doing the voting through mail," Linehan said. "If that is going to be something they're going to do I don't see how they're going to do it."

USPS spokeswoman Susan Wright said the postal service "appreciates the patience" from both customers and employees during these delays.

"We are flexing our available resources to match the workload created by the impacts of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and some other staffing issues," Wright said.

USPS is also hiring at some postal offices, Wright said.

Those dealing with mail delivery issues are asked to contact USPS customer service at 1-800-275-8777.

When you call that number, it asks whether your mail has been delayed for one to two days or three or more days. A recording then tells you that "employee availability has impacted some delivery operations."

"Your local post office is doing everything it can to resume normal delivery with limited staff," the USPS recording says. "Our customer service representatives have no additional information pertaining to the operations at your local post office."