US Postal Service (USPS) Suivi

Calling the U.S. Postal Service’s customer service line proved to be a frustrating and ultimately unsuccessful experience in my situation. Although my task was a seemingly simple one — requesting redelivery on an item my local postal employee had been unable to deliver — I was not able to complete it using the customer care phone line. 

The customer care line starts off with several announcements that are unable to be skipped. At the outset of my call, I was provided with information about the delivery of free COVID-19 tests. It was helpful information, undoubtedly, but as it was not the reason for my call, I was anxious to get to the task at hand. 

On the plus side, the Postal Service’s automated system provides you with two different ways to navigate your call. You can use voice commands — speaking information like tracking numbers or answering yes/no questions — or you can try their “visual mode.” When you choose visual mode, the system will send you a text message with a link to a web platform where you can physically enter information like tracking numbers. This is a convenient option, particularly if you find that the system has trouble understanding your voice commands.

The biggest downside of the system is its inflexibility. If you enter information that doesn’t match what the Postal Service has in its system, you can easily get stuck in a cul-de-sac from which there’s no return. 

For instance, I called the customer care center to request the redelivery of a package. I had a tracking slip left by my postal carrier that contained a pre-printed tracking number. After choosing to try the system’s “visual mode,” I was prompted to enter the tracking number. But after typing the number from my tracking slip, I was told it wasn’t valid. Surprised and certain I’d made a typo, I tried again only to get the same result. 

I then opted to change back to the regular voice command system. Perhaps there’s something particularly confusing about the sound of my voice because I had even more difficulty with this part of the call. The system had significant trouble understanding my pronunciation, and using my voice to enter my tracking number took quite a bit of repeating. All of which was for naught, as the tracking information was still nowhere to be found. 

And now, for the worst part — I couldn’t even get connected back to a live representative! Although the customer service line provides the hours of the live customer care center at the outset of the call (8 AM to 8:30 PM Monday through Friday and 8 AM to 6:30 PM Saturday), once you’ve started entering tracking numbers into the automated system, there’s no going back. You’re simply informed that “agents cannot provide assistance without a valid tracking number,” and the system terminates the call. 

It’s hard to recommend such an inflexible system. You might have better luck just using the usps.gov website for your customer service needs.