This is my third and final installment on this topic.
My personal experience with the USPS has not been positive. I have observed a deterioration of service in the last six months.
I would like to share a recent example. It is a bit lengthy, but instructive.
BACKGROUND
In early February 2026, I sent two packages via Priority Mail to my grandson for his birthday. Priority Mail is advertised as a two- to three-day service, and included in the fee is "free" $100 insurance. One package was delivered three days late, and the other has never been delivered. Both obviously missed his birthday.
PROCESS
Since I mailed these items through the Geneseo Post Office, I started there. The employees were generally helpful and sympathetic to my problem, but ultimately impotent and ineffectual.
After waiting a few weeks, upon the advice of the local USPS supervisor, he ran a trace on the missing item. He said it was still at the USPS processing facility in Des Moines. After a month, he said the item had been lost and that I should file a claim.
CLAIM HISTORY
My view is I paid my money and had a contract with the USPS, and since they failed, I was entitled to reimbursement of the insured value. Interestingly, they do not reimburse a sender for the original shipping fees. Also, the claim that the item was "lost" is weak. Since matter can neither be created nor destroyed, my view is the USPS had this item in its custody while it was either stolen or damaged.
So these are the steps I followed and the result:
I filed a claim, which was rejected.
I appealed the rejection, which was also rejected.
Once again, I filed an appeal, which was once again rejected.
The USPS argued I didn't provide proof the item was damaged and therefore could not reimburse me. I never said it was damaged; my point was they "lost" it. This fell on deaf ears. This is circular reasoning at its finest—they admit they lost the item, but since it was lost, I needed to prove it was damaged. My response was, "Just return the damaged item to me and we'll call it even." No reply.
At this point several months had passed, and I was getting tired of chasing a dead end. I had spent several dozen hours working on it to that point. I foolishly decided to file a complaint with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and began calling various 1-800 phone numbers. After getting kicked around through several automated phone systems and talking to a couple of clerical employees, I was instructed to engage in a texting session with an AI bot. This resulted in the bot informing me its records indicated the item was in the system and pending delivery and that I needed to be patient. After four months, this was total hogwash. This was the final straw, and I gave up.
CONCLUSION
I learned the USPS is a failing institution because it does not provide the service that is paid for. There will probably always be a need for it to exist, but the business model it utilizes is broken, and it has priced itself out of a competitive position. Particularly disgusting is the customer service. Apparently, they feel that by implementing internet-based solutions and AI tricks, all will be well. With 600,000 employees, we all deserve better.