HOUSTON — For more than a month, KHOU 11 has been reporting on weeks-long delays in mail affecting the Houston area. On Wednesday, we talked to an employee who said a new piece of equipment that was too big to fit inside existing facilities was to blame, so we asked the U.S. Postal Service about it.
In their response, they did not address the concern about the equipment we asked about, but they did offer an explanation and said what was being done to get the mail moving.
Editor's note: The above video was published before we heard back from USPS.
In response to our questions, USPS issued this statement:
"We are aware of concerns from some local Houston customers regarding their mail delivery. We want customers to know that we continue the expansion of our operations in the Houston area because of increased volume and we are adding additional capacity with a new facility to improve service. The Postal Service has dispatched additional resources from the surrounding area and implemented improved processes to address root causes of sporadic issues to improve the reliability of mail delivery in the Houston area. Customers should also note that multiple severe weather events in Houston and across the nation have impacted many transportation, logistics, and delivery companies, and the Postal Service is no exception. We express our apologies to those who experienced a deviation from our normal dependable service and customers should already see improvements in delivery as we work through these issues."
Congressman Al Green got involved after we first reported on it and he's not satisfied with the postal service's latest statement.
“While I appreciate this written response, there are still many questions left open that only USPS can answer. Among these are questions related to how long this problem will persist and whom customers in need of urgent assistance can contact as the present system affords poor results," Green said in a statement. "USPS needs to provide more transparency, the type of transparency that can only be achieved with a press conference allowing for questions from the press to be addressed directly by USPS.”
Green said he was told extra employees were being brought in to help with delays. But he said that's not enough and that the large sorting machines are needed before things return to normal.
Green believes that could take months.
"Midsummer, a little later. I would be surprised if they have it cleaned up before April," he said. "I think that is generous."
Small business owners giving up on USPS
Meanwhile, we continue to hear from frustrated USPS customers, included small businesses.
At the Upper Room Candle Company, co-owner Shannon Wilpitz said some of her orders have been delayed for weeks.
“I mean across the board, we knew we had to do something. We could not wait for someone else to do something on their end," Wilpitz said.
For the foreseeable future, Wilpitz said she will pay extra to use UPS.
"This past week we did notice the biggest difference was almost $2 for a package, so considering that it’s going to get there in its time frame we figure that is going to be worth it," she told us.
Other small business owners tell us, they don’t know if they can afford that.
“If I move to FedEx or UPS, the cost is going to double," Summertide Stitchery owner Hannah Kwiatkowski said.
She said her online needlepoint shop has always offered free shipping but she's concerned about the cost.
“It [USPS] is supposed to be a dependable service, available to every American, and it’s not currently that, at least not for my business," Kwiatkowski said.
KHOU 11 was the first to tell you about the delays and has been reporting on it now for more than a month.
USPS blames the "temporary" delays on a modernization of its mail and package processing network. The postal service said it's working to process packages as quickly as possible.
Tracking the mail: Our stories on the postal delays
- Dec. 13, 2023: 'Processed as they are received' | In statement, USPS addresses issues at Houston-area post office
- Dec. 15, 2023: Man's medication stuck at Missouri City USPS sorting facility for a week and counting
- Dec. 16, 2023: New Hampshire woman joins list of people frustrated about packages stuck at Missouri City USPS sorting facility
- Dec. 19, 2023: 'Free my mail!' | Congressman looks into Missouri City postal facility with reported package delays
- Jan. 10, 2024: Congressman Al Green to tour Missouri City USPS facility with hopes of resolving mail delay issues
- Jan. 10, 2024: Here's why the post office says your mail is stuck
- Jan. 18, 2024: Package with $1,000 item stuck at Missouri City USPS processing center, customer says
- Jan. 19, 2024: 'We need to step it up and figure this out' | In one day, hundreds of people contacted KHOU 11 about mail delays
- Jan. 19, 2024: Congressman Al Green receives report from USPS Office of Inspector General on mail delay issues
- Jan. 19, 2024: Bride-to-be still waiting on wedding dress just days before big day
- Jan. 20, 2024: Candle shop owner worried about reputation after customers' orders stuck at USPS processing centers in Houston
- Jan. 21, 2024: 'It's not just Missouri City' | Houston’s mail delays extend to USPS northside facility, customers say
- Jan. 22, 2024: Houston congressman demands answers, calls for transparency from USPS on mail delay issues
- Jan. 23, 2024: USPS bringing in extra workers to help with mail delays at Houston-area processing centers, congressman says
- Jan. 24, 2024: 'A whole mess' | USPS employee says key piece of equipment is causing mail delays at Houston-area processing centers