USPS Is Temporarily Suspending Services in These Places, Starting Now
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Whether we’re returning summer purchases we never ended up using or getting an early start on online shopping for the holidays, many of us are counting on the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to keep things moving. But depending on where you live, you may be dealing with new postal disruptions instead. The USPS reserves the right to temporarily close post offices or halt deliveries when unusual circumstances arise, and certain customers are currently finding that out. Read on to discover where the USPS is temporarily suspending services, starting now.
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Certain postal customers in Texas are battling a new disruption. In the latest update to its Service Alerts website, the USPS announced that it is closing a post office in San Isidro, Texas, on a temporary basis. As of Sept. 22, operations at the San Isidro Post Office are “temporarily suspended until further notice,” according to the alert.
The agency indicated that all operations, including P.O. Box services, have been moved to the Delmita Post Office in Delmita, Texas, during the closure. “The Postal Service will provide additional information when regular operations resume,” the USPS said in a separate local press release . “We apologize to our customers for any inconvenience that may be caused by this temporary suspension.”
RELATED: USPS Is Making These Changes to Your Mail .
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No explanation has been released as to why the San Isidro Post Office was closed, and when Best Life reached out to the Postal Service to find out more about the closure, a USPS spokesperson said they have “no additional information to provide at this time.” But this is not the only suspension that has impacted postal customers in Texas this month.
Prior to the newest closure, the USPS announced on Sept. 18 that it had temporarily closed the Woodlake Post Office in Woodlake, Texas, “due to safety concerns.” Then on Sept. 20, the agency revealed that it had also suspended services for safety reasons at two Houston facilities: Greens North Post Office and Medical Center Station. Including the San Isidro Post Office, all four of the Texas post offices appear to still be closed to customers.
RELATED: USPS Warns “Mail Service Could Be Halted”—Even If You’re Following the Rules .
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It’s not just Texas, however. In another local press release posted Sept. 22, the USPS alerted residents in Connecticut to an upcoming service suspension that may affect those in the town of South Woodstock. The “last day of retail service” for the South Woodstock Post Office located at 310 Route 169 was Sept. 25, according to the release. Customers are no longer able to pick up their P.O. Box mail at this facility either, the agency added.
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As of Sept. 26, retail and P.O. Box services for the South Woodstock Post Office have been “temporarily relocated” to the Woodstock Post Office located at 679 Route 169, according to the Postal Service’s release. “Any mail not picked up by the customer by close of business on Sept. 25 will be safely and securely moved to Woodstock Post Office. This includes Post Office Box mail and packages,” the agency explained.
This temporary relocation will not affect delivery service to customers in the area, as the USPS said that “routes will remain the same” with no interruption. The agency did not provide a specific reason for the closure but said that the “South Woodstock Post Office is planning to return to the community as soon as possible.”
Best Life has reached out to the USPS for more information on the South Woodstock Post Office closure, and we will update this story with their response.
- Source: https://about.usps.com/newsroom/service-alerts/residential/welcome.htm
- Source: https://about.usps.com/newsroom/local-releases/tx/2023/0922-usps-temporarily-suspends-operations-at-san-isidro-post-office.htm
- Source: https://about.usps.com/newsroom/local-releases/ct/2023/0922-south-woodstock-po-retail-services-moving-to-woodstock-po.htm
USPS Is Axing Its Next Price Hike, Postmaster General Says
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Price hikes aren’t abnormal for the U.S. Postal Service (USPS). In July, the price of the Forever Stamp went from 63 centers to 66 cents, having just been upped from 60 to 63 cents in January. These increases are part of the Postal Service’s 10-year Delivering for America (DFA) plan, with Postmaster General Louis DeJoy telling Americans in 2022 that prices would keep going up at an “ uncomfortable ” rate. Now, DeJoy appears to be changing his tune a bit, as the USPS is axing its next price hike. Read on to find out why the Postal Service is scrapping its holiday surcharge.
RELATED: USPS Is Making These Changes to Your Mail, Starting Now .
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The holiday season is a hectic time for everyone, but the USPS is particularly busy. Over the past few years, the Postal Service was not only tasked with delivering gifts and packages, but it also faced higher year-end costs due to staffing shortages tied to the COVID pandemic, Federal News Network reported.
To combat this, the agency added a holiday surcharge during the peak season—much like those added by FedEx and UPS. According to Retail Dive, these surcharges date back to 2020 .
“Prior to me being here, we never had an incremental charge,” DeJoy said on Tuesday, per Federal News Network. “We put it in, because in my experience in the commercial business, when you have to do such exponential, extra work, you should, in fact, charge for it—and we did.”
However, this policy is changing in 2023.
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According to a Sept. 19 press release from the USPS, the Postal Service is nixing plans to add the holiday surcharge this year. This means that when it’s time to mail out gifts, you won’t be paying extra for residential area delivery, Saturday delivery, or for minimum volumes, the agency said.
“We are ready to handle any peak season volume in a superior and routine manner,” DeJoy said Tuesday, per Retail Dive. “That is why we will not be adding any additional surcharges for our customers this peak period. We will continue to be the most affordable way to mail and ship during the holiday season.”
In the release, the agency added that the decision not to levy additional charges creates “increased predictability in pricing for customers.”
According to Retail Dive, both FedEx and UPS will still be adding peak season surcharges starting next month.
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DeJoy said that the USPS is able to skip the surcharge because it made improvements in other areas, Federal News Network reported.
“We’ve made a lot of operational improvements that eliminated some of the extra activities that we had when I first got here,” DeJoy said.
Specific improvements include offering better pay and benefits to career workers, Federal News Network reported—and over the holidays, the USPS will also hire fewer seasonal employees and rely instead on its career workforce. In 2022, roughly 20,000 seasonal workers were hired, but this year, that number will be cut in half.
In the press release, the USPS said that ahead of this year’s peak season, it’s also adding more new package sorting machines, increasing daily processing capacity, creating more reliable ground transportation, and offering a new shipping solution in the form of USPS Ground Advantage .
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While the holiday season is always busy, DeJoy said he’s not sure if the Postal Service will see higher mail volume at the end of 2023, according to Federal News Network. (During the 2022 holiday season, the Postal Service processed over 11.7 billion pieces of mail and packages, per the release.)
However, regardless of volume, the agency stressed its commitment to preparing and providing “outstanding service” this year.
“We understand the importance of every single package and letter that is sent during the holidays,” DeJoy said in the release. “That is why we continue to adapt and execute on strategies to modernize and transform the Postal Service into the high performing organization the nation expects and deserves. I am confident in our ability to handle the peak season surge and deliver exceptional service to the American people during the holidays and beyond.”
