HENRICO, Va. – The U.S. Postal Service said that additional training and hiring of mail carriers is underway, as well as monitoring established, to help improve mail delivery service in the Richmond area.
The agency laid out its plans in a response to Congressman Donald McEachin, who contacted Postmaster General Megan Brennan on July 21 in regard to complaints of slow mail delivery.
The agency said that delivery service during that week was affected by an “unexpected staffing issue” and some of the “hottest weather Richmond has experience in many years.”
“These factors caused some customers not to receive mail for multiple days, for which we sincerely apologize,” said representative Cory Brown.
Brown said that the local Postmaster Mario DiPatrizio corrected the “unusual situation” and initiated the hiring of more staff. Friday, August 11, the USPS held a job fair off Brook Road and another is planned next Friday at the same time and place.
DiPatrizio also said that he finely tuned some clerk schedules so that carriers receive mail earlier and can start deliveries earlier.
The agency also plans to contact homes where misdelivery was reported, and leave a “Carrier Alert Card.”
CBS 6 spoke with Congressman McEachin Friday about the response from USPS.
"I think they have a good plan laid out. The question is can they implement it. The key to everything is implementation, so let's give them a chance to see if they actually implement it. But if it doesn't work, for goodness sakes, call me," McEachin said.
This was not the first letter that Congressman McEachin sent to the Postmaster. The first letter was over working conditions at the Westhampton Station Post Office, where several employeeswalked off the job due to no air conditioning.
Customers with questions or concerns were encouraged to contact the Richmond district office at (804) 775-6313.
