USPS delays causing problems for small business in Wisconsin

OAK CREEK, Wis. - A small business owner in Wisconsin says she's fed up with the postal service. She says delays and tracking issues are creating problems with her customers, and she's not getting the service she pays for.

Fed up with USPS

The backstory:

In her Oak Creek workshop, Jill Luhn and her husband make auto parts for performance cars. They've been doing it for 20 years.

"Business is doing well," said Luhn, owner of Luhn Performance, Inc. "It waxes and wains."

Working in an industry that prizes speed isn't easy when your deliveries are slow. Luhn says she's at the mercy of USPS.

What they're saying:

"Things aren't getting to the customers on time," said Luhn. "Customers are upset. They want their product." 

Luhn says she regularly drops off packages at the counter inside the Oak Creek Post Office. From there, USPS tracking records show it's taken up to four days for her packages to arrive at the Oak Creek Distribution Center, which is about five miles away.

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From the distribution center, the packages are shipped across the country, where tracking records reveal other delays.

Look at USPS records

Dig deeper:

USPS records reveal one package took six days to get to East Troy, Wisconsin. Luhn says they paid for one day delivery.

Another package took eight days to arrive in Arizona. Luhn says they paid for three-to-four-day delivery.

One package took ten days to get to Maryland. Luhn says they paid for two-to-three-day delivery.

In many cases, Luhn says her business paid for Priority Mail, which advertises delivery in two to three days. 

They've also paid for Ground Advantage, which advertises delivery in two to five days. Luhn says those packages also arrive late.

"We're paying for expedited delivery," said Luhn. "Things seem to be bouncing from different city to different city. None of it makes sense."

Luhn occasionally doubts the tracking records are accurate.

USPS to investigate delays

The other side:

A USPS spokesperson says they'll investigate Luhn's delays.

"When mail service issues occur, we take steps to quickly resolve customer concerns," wrote Desai Abdul-Razzaaq, a USPS strategic communications specialist, in an email to Contact 6.

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Abdul-Razzaq continued, saying "We gladly work to address any specific issue from the community when brought to our attention and encourage customers to reach out to their local postal station."

Luhn says it's not that easy.

"You spend an hour, two hours on the phone with someone that doesn't have any idea what the answer is," said Luhn.

Years of complaints

Big picture view:

Complaints about the Oak Creek postal service go back years. 

In December 2023, U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil wrote a letter to the Postmaster General about a "serious situation involving severe delays occurring at the USPS Oak Creek processing center." 

At the time, Steil said holiday packages were not being delivered in a timely manner, and his complaints from constituents went back to 2020. 

Steil is pushing a bill that he says would modernize ZIP codes and reduce misdirected mail.

USPS is pursuing a ten-year plan to invest in new information technology systems, parcel sorting equipment and a modernized vehicle fleet.

Speaking before a congressional subcommittee in March, one official said the USPS business model is "unsustainable" and "reaching a crisis point" financially.

"While USPS has been able to increase its revenue and cut its costs, its overall expenses have grown at a faster rate, while its service performance has declined," said David Marroni, speaking for the U.S. Government Accountability Office.

What's next:

For Luhn, it comes down to not getting the service she paid for.

"You don't know what to do. You have no recourse," said Luhn. "I'm sorry. It's a scam. It's fraud and it's misleading the public."

Luhn says she's noticed an increase in delivery times over the last two months, in particular. She says tried filing a refund request for one delayed delivery but was denied.

Full email from USPS Corporate Communications 

"When mail service issues occur, we take steps to quickly resolve customer concerns.  We gladly work to address any specific issue from the community when brought to our attention and we encourage customers to reach out to their local postal station. Customers can also go to our website usps.com and click on "Contact us" at the bottom of our homepage, or utilize this direct web address: https://usps.force.com/emailus/s/. Every email will be carefully documented and appropriate action taken to strengthen service.

"In addition, the official X (formerly Twitter) account of the United States Postal Service, managed by the Social Media staff at USPS HQ, can provide help. For customer service, please tweet @USPSHelp. The Postal Service will diligently continue to investigate customer's concerns and correct deficiencies to improve service to our communities."