Frustration mounts over widespread delivery delays at DHS postal service

UPDATE:

By Friday morning the USPS corporate office provided a statement to News Channel 3 regarding the issue:

The Postal Service values our customers and sincerely apologizes for temporary service disruptions experienced this week in Desert Hot Springs.  The office experienced a higher than normal amount of parcels and it will ensure available mail and parcels are delivered today.

The dedicated employees at the Desert Hot Springs Post Office are committed to serving the community with reliable service.

THURSDAY:

A number of United States Postal Service customers have reported not receiving their mail or package deliveries this week in Desert Hot Springs. On Thursday morning, a line formed in front of a delivery pick-up station at the USPS location in Desert Hot Springs on Two Bunch Palms Trail. Several customers waited to hear where their packages had gone after not having received them when they were due.

"Usually everything is fine but on Monday, Monday’s mail never came. I came yesterday, they said it was going to be delivered yesterday and it was never delivered and so I was here again today to see and they can’t even find my package for Monday. They did promise to give me a call on whether they find it or not, but it is frustrating when you don’t get packages that you pay for," said Desert Hot Springs resident, Valerie Baca.

Several other residents reported similar issues. Others told News Channel 3 that their tracking information indicated that their items were being held at the USPS location per their request, but they never requested that.

"It says that it was held here at the post office per customer request and I never requested that," Baca said.

"My mailbox is empty," Desert Hot Springs resident, Marilyn Aronson said. "We haven't received our mail in 2 days and that's unlikely."

Some customers, like Baca, have been closely tracking their packages, but the information that is given is that the packages have already arrived. In most cases, however, that hasn't happened.

"Unfortunately I'm leaving here with no package and my package seems to be in limbo. As far as they know it was delivered at 8 this morning. The driver was caught up with a route at that point, but they don’t know where the package is at this point," said Desert Hot Springs resident, Abraham Olague.

This was Olague's second attempt to locate a package after having come the day before. He said the line was out the door. Rather than wait, he opted to come Thursday morning, but had no luck.

While the postmaster couldn't speak on camera, he told News Channel 3 they were flooded due to tons of orders on Amazon Prime Day. This year the day of deals lasted from Tuesday through Wednesday, but it didn't explain why residents didn't receive mail on Monday.

When asked what staff told her, Desert Hot Springs resident Marilyn Aronson was told there was a shortage of carriers.

"I think personally they’re doing the best job they can. I think this post office is great," Aronson said.

Despite long lines and few answers, people will continue to wait.

"I think a little less frustrating for myself but I know there’s a lot of people coming out of this place that are very frustrated. There’s a lot of confusion in there, a lot of frustration coming out, a lot of people coming out with empty hands," Olague said.

The postmaster said that Amazon Prime Day proved to be busier than the holidays.