United States Postal Service Eastern Regional

Do not use this location for a PO BOX! You will always wait at least an additional day for shipments. Your mail must go through 900 Market first and it will 1) be held there or 2) they will accidentally throw the mail on the wrong truck, or 3) try to deliver on Saturday (when this place is closed), etc. Just open a PO BOX at another location i.e. 900 Market which is only 3 blocks away.

My experience was strikingly similar to what’s recounted by the other (eventual) one-​star reviewer. Initially, I was happy to find a more «local» feeling post office (compared to the 9^th and Market location) in an area where I sometimes do business. I tried to keep the surly staff and long lines in perspective. However, when I sent a certified letter to Princeton NJ, it arrived three weeks later! Further, the letter proved mysteriously un-​trackable, according to multiple tiers of post-​office employees. At that point, I gave up on this branch, and now I only use the USPS when it’s unavoidable. Reading the other one-​star review, I wonder if my certified letter sat in the back of this post office for far too long, perhaps due to various inefficiencies or free-​floating hostilities (or both). I agree with the other 1-​star reviewer that this kind of occurrence is one of the many reasons the USPS is on the way out. Stepford-​style surveys only serve to highlight the gap between what the USPS wishes were the case or wants to pretend, and the sad reality of their non-​service, inefficiency, and non-​competence.

«I have to say I’m really pleased with the government,» said no one ever. Well, the same holds true for the government’s postal brainchild, the USPS, which boasts of the worst customer service in the history of mankind. I am in the business of customer service, so I know the limitations, challenges, and attitudes to expect. I was very patient as I waited days and days for an important, Priority delivery to arrive to its destination. I tried to Overnight the letter, but apparently it couldn’t be overnighted from Philadelphia to West Virginia, which is astounding considering you can drive to this place in four hours.
An employee at this location on Chestnut St suggested the Priority option, guaranteeing delivery 2 days later. 2 days came and went; then three, and then four. I emailed the customer service hub, left messages for the local and national call centers, and called the local post office. If anyone answered at all, it was only to say that the tracking number was incorrect (I was reading it directly from the receipt I was provided). This was the straw that broke the camel’s back, so to speak, because this is not the first time I paid good money to have a letter lost or delayed.
The USPS sent me a survey, which was entertaining to fill out. They asked me what I would do if I encountered a problem in the future. Use the online service? Use the chat room? Use the hotline? No, I wrote… Use FedEx. And that’s my advice to all of you: use FedEx. I’ve never had a problem with delivery, the tracking numbers always work, and the employees, with only a few exceptions, are very helpful.