Families afraid holiday deliveries will be impacted among mail delays in Rocky Mount
Some people in Rocky Mount say their mailboxes are empty much of the week, even when they're expecting packages.
When WRAL News looked into the complaint, we found mail delays impacting several neighborhoods -- and took those concerns to the U.S. Postal Service.
It's not the first time WRAL News has reported on mail delays in Rocky Mount, especially around the holiday season. This year, some people are telling us it's been an issue year-round.
David Radford describes the postal services in Rocky Mount as 'sporadic.' He has been dealing with delivery delays since he moved to the Northgreen neighborhood five years ago.
"I just wish they would do their job and do it right,” he said.
Radford said he has been without mail for seven days straight this year. Though the services will improve for periods, he said it never lasts long.
With the holidays approaching, he is worried delays will stand in the way of receiving gifts.
“We do order a lot of our stuff from Amazon,” Radford said. “If they don’t bring those packages ... those are grandchildrens' presents."
Staffing shortages could be causing delays, according to some postal workers
Radford said he called the Post Office Carrier Annex in Rocky Mount, where postal workers told him staffing struggles were to blame for the delays.
“Not only have we called them up, we’ve been down to the annex, and we were told they couldn’t do anything,” he said.
WRAL News reached out to the annex to ask about the state of staffing, and they sent us to the Postal Service Statewide Office in Charlotte.
"Most routes are covered in Rocky Mount, and we implement contingency plans when there are unforeseen employee availability issues. Still, there was a brief period where some deliveries were slightly delayed,” a spokesperson for USPS told WRAL News. “We are taking steps to correct the issue. Our carriers are working earlier in the day and later at night to ensure mail and packages are delivered."
But Radford said delays have been going on for years.
From stolen checks to days without delivery, there has been a number of previous issues WRAL has reported on in Rocky Mount.
Radford hopes things will improve.
"Everybody needs their mail and needs it on time,” Radford said. “They depend on it."
