HENRICO COUNTY, Va. -- Gary Zuch has been waiting on a package delivery for nearly a month now and he's worried now it may end up in the wrong hands with delays at the U.S. Postal Service (USPS).
"You know, we didn't ship it on a slow boat from China," Zuch said. "We just sent it just 70 miles away."
The Newport News man said he and his wife sent gifts to an underserved family in Richmond, hoping to brighten their spirits before Christmas.
“It was supposed to be delivered by Friday, the 5th of December," Zuch said. “It includes fairly decent gift cards for them to buy presents, groceries and to pay other expenses and it was important to us that it get to them by Christmas.”
Zuch said tracking records showed the package in the Henrico area at one point, before returning to the Richmond U.S. Postal Service Distribution Center in Sandston.
“It hasn’t moved in the last twelve days according to the system, so it must be stuck in the back of some plant," Zuch said.
Zuch is among dozens of people who have reached out to CBS 6 Problem Solvers about delayed packages and mail. A spokesperson with the U.S. Postal Service told CBS 6 in a statement,that delivery delays and issues are due to the overwhelming and historic mail volume this holiday season, along with a shortage of employees due to the covid-19 pandemic.
"The U.S. Postal Service, similar to the broader shipping sector, continues to face near-term pressure on service performance across categories as it manages through a historic record of holiday volume this season," said the spokesperson. "This negative impact is compounded by the temporary employee shortage due to the COVID-19 surge, as well as ongoing capacity challenges with airlifts and trucking for moving this historic volume of mail," according to the statement from the U.S. Postal Service.
“I’m sure they’re doing the best they can with limited resources, I just think they have to be more systematic in their approach to getting things out," Zuch said. "You just can't stack things in a corner and think the whole things going away.”
The U.S. Postal Service said they’re also experiencing capacity issues with air and ground transports which are adding to delays.
While Zuch understands, he worries if his package will make it to the right destination.
“I’m just afraid that it’s been taken or its going to end up in the wrong person’s hands," Zuch said. “No hard feelings, just a little more disappointment more than anything.”
The spokesperson says USPS is continuing to work to address issues and remain focused on delivering mail and packages for the holiday season.
"Amid the historic volume, the Postal Service continues to flex its network, including making sure the right equipment is available to sort, process and deliver a historic volume of mail and packages this holiday season," the spokesperson continued. "Our entire Operations team, from collections, to processing to delivery, worked throughout this past weekend and continues to work around the clock to address the historic volume. We are accepting all volume that is presented to us which is adding to our challenges."
Are you waiting for a package that is stuck in transit? Weigh in on the WTVR CBS 6 Facebook page.
