Praises And Complaints About USPS From Locals, Dade’s Postmaster Speaks Into Issues

By LYDIA BERGLAR
News Editor

When it comes to complaints about the United States Postal Service, Dade County is far from alone. Residents may recall that Chattanooga news outlets covered issues at the Soddy Daisy post office toward the end of 2023 and into 2024. Photos and videos of undelivered, rain-soaked packages filled local media reports.

Sentinel readers may also recall several of David Carroll’s humorous columns detailing USPS woes. After a copy of his book was supposed to reach Australia within ten days, he recapped his experience in an April 2023 column.

Carroll wrote, “From Chattanooga to Atlanta, to West Palm Beach, to Opa-Locka, to Miami, to Knoxville, back to Atlanta. Two weeks had passed, and the $55 had gotten my book to Atlanta, twice…After spending several more days in Atlanta, my book sought fame and fortune out west, visiting Los Angeles. By now, it was three weeks into its odyssey.”

Regarding USPS problems in Georgia specifically, U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff grilled U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy this April. Ossoff was unimpressed with DeJoy’s feeble attempts to explain why only 36 percent of mail is being delivered on time. The video can be found on Ossoff’s YouTube page under the title, “Sen. Ossoff Presses USPS Postmaster General Amid Lengthy Delays at Palmetto Distribution Center.”

Ossoff made his displeasure clear. In reference to the transition of consolidating processing plants in the Atlanta area, he said, “I think postal workers are out there every single day working their hearts out to deliver the mail on time. But, if they don’t have the infrastructure and the management competence overhead them to make a transition like this without drastically impairing the core function of the postal service, everyone in my state is losing.”

In our June 5 issue, the Sentinel asked for feedback from residents about problems and praises related to USPS in our county. Fourteen people responded, four of which were positive comments. The Sentinel then sat down with Dade County Postmaster Jodi Robertson who oversees all three post offices in the county.

First, the good news: A number of customers are quite satisfied with their mail carriers. Peggy Jennings of Lookout Mountain said, “Our mail carrier, Ron Dean, is an extremely personable man and goes out his way to make sure all of our mail and packages are delivered appropriately and in a reasonable time. We are also happy with his female substitute when he is away.”

Susie Talbott, who lives off Back Valley Road, added, “Our mail carrier has done a good job. Recently, we’ve received a few pieces of our neighbors’ mail, but that’s infrequent and understandable due to the large volume of sorting that is required.”

Manuela Page said, “My mail lady Georganna is the absolute best! We never have a problem, and she is very helpful and sweet.”

Brenda Eubanks reported, “Mail carriers in South Dade deserve a big shoutout for excellence. In the 13 years I’ve had my mailbox (rather than using a post office box), I’ve never had any issue, and it seems they go out of their way to take care of your mail and packages.”

Now, the bad news. Complaints referenced packages left out in the elements or marked “undeliverable;” receiving mail late (some of which came from just up the road in Chattanooga); and confusion about mailboxes.

Regarding late mail, Doreen Ledford wrote, “I’ve been waiting for a package that was in Chattanooga the week of June 3 but now (June 11), tracking says it’s in Atlanta. Why would the postal service send it to Atlanta from Chattanooga only to deliver it to Trenton? The tracking delivery date says ‘unknown.’”

Another resident said that her surgeon in Chattanooga mailed a letter that needed to be delivered before her appointment. She reported, “I received the letter days AFTER my appointment. It was mailed May 18 and received on May 31.”

A third resident explained that her grandson in Florida mailed a Mother’s Day card to her in late April. As of June 10, she had yet to receive the card.

When asked about situations like these and Carroll’s Australia-bound package, Robertson explained that Dade’s mail comes from and goes to a processing center in Chattanooga. Robertson said that mail originating in Chattanooga should not be delivered late.

She said, “Without me tracking that individual piece of mail, it would be hard for me to answer [why it was delivered late]. With all systems, there are flaws, and sometimes packages are (as we call it) missent, but those are few and far between.”

Moving on to package woes, Trenton resident Cecelia Dawson provided the Sentinel with a photo of a package sitting on top of her mailbox, noting that it had rained and reporting that she has both a carport and covered porch. The delivery notice, however, said that the package was left inside the residences’ mailbox.

Dawson later reported that a bed frame was not delivered, and this time, the notice said the mailbox was full but USPS would try again. Clearly, the bed frame would not fit in the mailbox the next day either.

An anonymous Rising Fawn resident said, “We had never had a problem with our mail carrier over the years, but the new ones in there are awful. [One in particular] marks our packages as undeliverable just because he doesn’t want to bring them to our house. When he does bring it to my house, he pulls up and throws the package from the window onto the ground.”

Another anonymous customer said, “So many times we have had packages returned to the sender and we were never notified about the packages being sent to us. My college tried to mail my diploma to me on three separate occasions, but the postmaster marked it as unable to be delivered with no explanation. Our postmaster informed us that our mailbox was too small to receive packages, so we upgraded to a much larger mailbox just for them to not deliver our mail. They refuse to drop packages off at my home and told me that I would have to pay for a roundabout to be installed if I wanted my packages delivered. UPS and FedEx do not have these issues. I sent a check out to the trash service and was informed that he never received it. I later found the check in the ditch across the street from my house. It was never picked up. Our mail service has been failing us over and over and I have tried to reach out only to be told there was nothing that could be done about the situation.”

According to Robertson, packages should never be left in the rain. She said, “That’s something I addressed when I first got here. We don’t leave packages in the rain or on the ground next to the mailbox. If we can’t get to the porch, we leave a notice in the mailbox. I’m not saying it doesn’t happen, but it should be happening a lot less now.”

As to why packages might not be carried to a house, Robertson noted that USPS does not deliver packages that weigh over 70 pounds because carriers are only required to lift 70 pounds. She explained, “Our policy is that we notify Amazon or whoever sent it [that we can’t deliver it]. Amazon is usually the only one that sends us oversized/overweight packages.”

Under Robertson’s instruction, however, Dade County does accept these packages and notifies customers that they have a package to be picked up.

She added that dogs can deter carriers, and although a residence may not have a dog, neighboring dogs or strays might wander into the yard and show aggression toward carriers.

When customers bring issues like these to Robertson, she often asks the carrier why they did not take the package to the house, explaining, “There are a couple of reasons why we would not go to the porch, but we’re supposed to let the customer know why it’s not delivered.”

Other complaints mentioned going days without mail delivery. Kourtni Harrod wrote, “We will go days without getting mail. Then, when we do end up receiving mail, it will be for someone else’s address. I’ll put the flag up on the mailbox for them to pick the mail back up. Then, we will receive even more mail for that address the next day. They lost a package for my son for two weeks, and they never answer the phones. I had to go up there and complain to them. Three days later, I received a stack of mail and my son’s package.”

An anonymous resident off Back Valley Road reported multiple issues with one mail carrier in particular. “We would go several days with NO mail and then we would get a large amount. He would place packages out in the rain even though we had a large covered porch. I spoke with numerous employees at the Trenton post office and reported everything. Our neighbors had the same issues, and they reported him as well. The supervisors came to our house multiple times and documented our complaints, but nothing changed. We had a substitute driver and there were zero problems. The substitute driver finally told us that the regular carrier had complaints from a lot of other people and the supervisors kept ignoring the problem. The problem mailman took another route and he is still delivering from the Trenton post office.”

Robertson said she did not know the specifics of the latter situation or why it would go unaddressed. She also does not know why customers would go days without mail, explaining, “Every piece of mail that comes into Trenton, Rising Fawn, or Wildwood is delivered. It’s my job every day to go around after everyone leaves and make sure there’s no mail left.”

Regarding complaints about employees, she said, “If, as a manager running a business, you tell someone to do something and they don’t do it, then you take the next step as far as disciplinary action or whatever you need to do as a manager. It goes back to training and prioritizing my people: If it’s something they don’t know, haven’t been taught, or haven’t experienced before, a big part of how I manage is making sure information gets back to the team.”

Robertson explained that the post office often hears about mistakes, saying, “As with everything, humans will make mistakes.” She explained that customers can visit the Trenton office, call 1-800-ASK-USPS, or go to usps.com and put in an inquiry or complaint. The latter two methods are filtered through the Consumer Affairs department and disbursed to the local level. These have case numbers and are logged in a computer system.

When customers come to the Trenton office, Robertson looks up the delivery in question. She said, “When we make a mistake and someone brings it to me, I correct it right then if possible. I’ll track the delivery, print that information, and put the customer’s information on it.”

She said that for situations involving the Chattanooga facility, Trenton communicates with the Chattanooga team and keeps the customer updated.

Another anonymous customer reported difficulties with the Trenton post office and dissatisfaction with the complaint system, writing, “I had not been getting my mail for several days and got a notice from Amazon that a package had been delivered, but it wasn’t in my mail. I went to the post office to get it and was told that there was a hold on my mail.”

The woman and her husband explained to the office that neither of them requested a hold on their mail, but the USPS employee insisted that the husband had placed the hold. She continued, “I asked to speak to the postmaster who wasn’t there. I asked for a call back and an update on this situation. Never heard from anyone. I did contact the postal service, but they just take your info and say they will look into it.”

An anonymous Rising Fawn resident reported that mail was damaged by being shoved into a PO box at the Rising Fawn post office and added, “Informed delivery says I have certain mail pieces coming into my box which half of the time I don’t receive. I’ve reported all of this numerous times with nothing ever being done to improve any services.”

Jordan Breeden mentioned confusion about setting up new mailboxes, explaining, “We own a property with a couple homes, so we have a few mailboxes. We don’t have any renters yet but someone moved in down the road and tried to take over one of our mailboxes because the ‘postmaster’ told them they could just choose any mailbox they wanted at the road.”

It is uncertain who the new resident spoke with, but it likely was not Robertson who said, “I don’t know who would’ve recommended they just pick a box.” She explained that setting up new mailboxes requires completing a rural delivery instruction card. “We don’t deliver until we have the delivery instruction card because we want to make sure it’s not fraudulent. Those cards are going to be in the vacant mailbox for the customer to fill out.”

Robertson also explained details about why packages can’t be brought to some rural homes. USPS’ policy is that driveways over half a mile long (from the mailbox to the house) can’t be serviced. The driveway would be a mile round trip, and carriers drive their own vehicles (aside from two USPS vans in the City of Trenton).

Robertson said, “Carriers are compensated for gas and wear and tear for the base miles of their route. If their route is 80 miles, but 50 of their 700 customers have packages down half-mile driveways, that is very time consuming and they’re not compensated for the extra miles.”

Additionally, if a driveway requires a four-wheel drive vehicle (which not all carriers will have), USPS can’t bring packages to that house.

An anonymous New Salem resident wrote, “On Saturday, June 8, I placed three envelopes containing checks and one greeting card in my mailbox and raised the flag. All four envelopes were still in the box the following day. I brought them to Trenton and placed them in the slot inside the building. On June 10, I phoned the Rising Fawn post office. Jason answered on the second ring. He had no explanation. I tried calling the Trenton Post Office. The recording answered; I was on hold for three minutes and 47 seconds, and then the call dropped or hung up. I called back later and did eventually speak to Jodi. She had no answer but said she would check on it.”

Seeming to contrast this customer’s experience, Robertson reported that USPS is a seven-day a week operation, delivering Amazon packages even on Sundays and holidays. She reported that she instructs her team to deliver USPS packages as well on these days along with the Amazon packages.

As an example, she mentioned Juneteenth (June 19th), a federal holiday on which the post offices were closed, but packages were delivered. She said, “We delivered all the packages that came from Chattanooga as well as Amazon on Juneteenth, because why not? We have them, we have carriers here, so let’s get that mail out.”

Robertson patiently answered all of the Sentinel’s questions about these customer complaints, noting that without tracking each specific instance, she did not have all the details and openly admitting when certain situations simply should not have happened. While her explanations offered insight into specifics of USPS operations, it is clear that many customers are still unimpressed with the current service level.

As for her journey to becoming a postmaster, Robertson explained that she first planned to enter the healthcare field. She worked a part-time job at the Signal Mountain post office while also working in healthcare. Having heard from healthcare workers who were not satisfied with their jobs, she considered both career paths.

She loved the post office environment, saying, “The people were all working for the same thing, everybody seemed to be pretty happy, and I realized that financially, it was pretty comparable to a healthcare job.”

In 2019, she was promoted to a supervisor in Cleveland, Tenn., and having moved to Lookout Mountain, she was happy to fill a supervisor opening at the Trenton post office thereby ending her lengthy commute.

In October 2022, Robertson began filling in as acting postmaster before officially being promoted to postmaster this May.

In a Sentinel letter to the editor after her promotion was announced, Robertson mentioned the USPS’ ten-year strategic plan that began nearly three years ago. The Sentinel asked how each of the four parts of the plan impact Dade.

First: Invest in our people. Robertson explained how contracts have changed over the last few years. “When I started, I was part-time until someone retired, basically. Now, after a certain amount of time, employees automatically convert. They’re offered health insurance after about 90 days, even part-time employees.”

As to how she invests in her employees, Robertson said she wants them to feel valued so she pays attention to small details, like keeping bottled water at the office for carriers who are out in the heat all day. She added, “I say thank you to my employees. It’s very simple, but if you do a job every day and nobody ever says thank you, that’s kind of a big deal.”

Second: Modernize our network. Robertson explained that this involves consolidating many delivery units. For example, facilities in Kennesaw and Acworth (just a few miles from each other) are being consolidated. This is intended to reduce inefficiencies such as half full delivery trucks. Robertson said that these changes do not directly impact Dade County’s post offices or operations.

Third: Provide service excellence. Robertson explained that this is all about customer service, her number one priority. “Without the customers, we don’t have a company. The customers pay our bills and paychecks.” She explained that overall friendliness and customer care is part of this, but so are improved logistics which result in faster deliveries.

Fourth: Create financial sustainability. Robertson explained, “Part of the plan is to make sure that we are at the same price point as our competitors to be able to have financial sustainability.” Essentially, USPS is seeking to increase its revenue stream so that (in theory) the money can improve overall operations.

Many customers are already aware of this month’s stamp price increase. Also, while shipping costs vary per package specifics, some of USPS’ options are currently cheaper than competitors like FedEx and UPS, so USPS feels it has room to increase prices.

The Sentinel asked Robertson if any changes at the national level under DeJoy’s leadership have impacted Dade County. She said that DeJoy has not specifically impacted Dade. However, “I like to hear the things he says and bring them to the local level.”

Robertson said that one of DeJoy’s initial priorities was to improve employee retention and development by ensuring USPS facilities are taken care of. She said, “For me, that hit home because if your employees are working in a facility that looks nice, feels nice, and smells nice, it’s better for everyone overall. One of the first things I started doing when I officially became the postmaster in Trenton was clean the sidewalks, change all the lightbulbs, and make sure the facility is nice, not only for the employees but for the customers as well.”

The Sentinel asked if hiring employees is difficult. Robertson said, “The market is hard. I require them to have a vehicle to deliver the mail out of that can drive 100 miles a day, accommodate the packages, and it needs to be right-hand drive. That’s a large ask in the hiring world. We drive, collectively, 12 routes with 749 miles everyday. Some routes are 30 miles, some are 80.”

Robertson reported that the core team of carriers has not had much turnover, although there is a higher turnover rate with substitute carriers. She said, “The core team we have is very, very good. We don’t have to do much remedial training for them, but things change every day, and we might have to do training on new stuff.”

As a closing comment, Robertson said she wants customers to know that “customer service is in our name. That’s why we’re here.”