Have you ever uttered the words “right as the mail”?
I have heard this phrase before. It means absolutely right, absolutely correct, with no possibility of error or uncertainty.
The idea behind it is the mail (the post) is always delivered properly and promptly.
Whether you have heard it or used it in the past, I can assure you it does not apply to the United States Postal Service in 2024.
In my 30 years of working in the newspaper business, I have answered my share of phone calls about a missing or late paper. I have never answered as many as I have in the last three weeks, though.
I have gone down the list of what is different. We have done internal assessments of what we could be doing wrong.
Nothing... I have come up with nothing. Our subscription service is the same highly-rated program with all the bells and whistles former publisher Robert Williams, Jr. used.
We have done everything the postal service has asked of us. Our papers are certified in every way possible, not to mention we fill out and return stacks of necessary paperwork electronically. To top it all off, we have had significant increases in our postal costs the past year and are expecting another one come July.
What have we received for our cooperation and compliance? Certainly not the “service” their name implies.
The postal service consolidation plans have not improved efficiency nor solved any problems that I can see.
It has only added to our cost and concern.
We have received phone calls from upset subscribers who just want to read their hometown newspaper. Some readers live right here in Blackshear, but most live out of town or out of state.
Most of our subscribers are understanding, but some have had enough and cancelled their subscription.
I know our subscribers are tired of not receiving their papers. I am tired of you not receiving them, especially after we work so hard each week to put the edition together and mail it to you.
Please know that I am working diligently on getting this problem solved.
Instead of having podcasts, magazines and selling greeting cards in their lobbies, perhaps the USPS should be working on their customer service. Then, and only then, will we be able to utter the phrase “Right as the Mail’ again.
Editor's note: Help us to restore service by the United States Post Office. I encourage you to contact the people listed below, maybe even try mailing a letter and see if the post office actually gets it to them:
• Congressman Buddy Carter (R-Pooler)
2432 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515 (202) 225-5831.
Brunswick office: (912) 265-9010
• Senator Jon Ossoff (D)
Russell Senate Office Building, Suite 416, Washington, DC 20510 (202) 224-3643.
Atlanta office: (770) 953-2678
• Senator Raphael Warnock (D)
416 Hart Senate Office Building, Suite 303, Washington, D.C. 20510 (202) 224-3521.
South Georgia office (Savannah): (912) 200-9402.
To contact the customer relations coordinator of the USPS Jacksonville office, please email [email protected] or call 904-359-2846.
