The US Postal Service, also known as USPS, is a federal agency responsible for mail and package delivery throughout the United States. As you might expect, an agency with this much responsibility gets a lot of customer service calls.
People call the US Postal Service for a range of reasons, including:
The US Postal Service operates multiple lines for customer service inquiries, including separate lines for ordering supplies, requesting technical support, general customer care, mail tracking, and TTY calls for the deaf and hard of hearing.
When you call, you'll be connected to an automated voice menu. If you want to speak to an agent, keep hitting "0" or say "agent" in response to a question.
Note: If you believe that your issue is primarily with your local post office, you can look up that office's number on the USPS.com website and call the office directly. This can be a particularly effective approach if you know that the location has a piece of mail that you are trying to collect.
Customers of the USPS seem to have a range of opinions about the quality of phone-based customer service that they receive. Many note that wait times can be very long and that customer service representatives don't always have access to the kind of information that can help callers get a resolution to their issues.
US Postal Service phone agents can resolve or assist with many customer service issues over the phone, including:
Some issues with the post office can't easily be resolved over the phone. These issues usually involve purchasing some postal products, such as money orders, that have to be paid for in person.
There may also be some delivery issues that require a postal customer to physically pick up a package at a local post office.
If you end your conversation with the US Postal Service's phone-based customer support and feel as though you've not gotten anything accomplished, don't fret. You still have options for getting your questions answered and your issues resolved.
First, review the notes you took during your call. If you didn't take notes, write down what you remember about your call. Having this information in front of you when you get back in touch with USPS customer service can be very helpful in keeping your conversation on track.
Second, call USPS back. The next representative that you speak to may have more time on the job or better training than the person who you spoke to on your first call.
If your second call does not go well, try contacting USPS through its website's email forms. It can take a while to receive a response, but customers report that they usually do hear back eventually from a customer service representative. Another option is to get in touch through the post office's social media accounts.
Other options include visiting a local post office and speaking to someone there. Some issues may require a face-to-face meeting with an employee before they get resolved.
While the post office does have an Inspector General, this office should only be contacted if you suspect that there is a serious violation of post office policy or laws governing the delivery of mail. These issues might include the theft of mail by a postal employee or an employee's misconduct.