usps problems

I know and like most of our local postal service employees. This makes me hesitant to say anything negative, as I know I get riled when folks talk about local county employees. Still, there is something very wrong with the system somewhere. Last year, I mailed two sets of football tickets to two different addresses in DeFuniak Springs, directly from the Santa Rosa Beach post office. This was done on the Tuesday preceding the game. They did not arrive until the Thursday AFTER the game.

I feel your pain, SN... Of course, my situation was not quite as dire as missing football tickets... After all, it was only half of my wedding invitations that went awry! No biggie... :angry:

GGgggrrrr....

I feel your pain, SN... Of course, my situation was not quite as dire as missing football tickets... After all, it was only half of my wedding invitations that went awry! No biggie... :angry:

GGgggrrrr....

Ouch! That's a bit more important! The loss of $150 was kind of a er, but not the first and certainly not the last time. Yours...wow.

The SRB postal employees/system are so far below par that I actually pay for mailbox service at the Mialboxes etc. or the UPS store rather than deal with their incompetence (I tried, but no boxes at Seaside - bummer, as they rock there).

It is not just Santa Rosa Beach, although, this particular post office is one of the worst I've seen. Today I stopped in the DFS post office, just to get a book of stamps....should have gone to Winn Dixie...there were 15 people in line-and one postal clerk!

When I lived in Tallahassee I had my mail box at a Mail Box place...I preferred to pay the extra charges rather than deal with the post offices there. Did not matter which branch--they were all incompetent and slow. It really amazes me that a system can be that bad and the employees be so oblivious to it all.

None of this applies to the wonderful women who work at the Seaside Post Office. Angie and Pat are great! I let my box go from there though after the summer tourist traffic made me crazy a couple of years ago. I could never find a place to park, and sometimes it was a week or more before I picked up the mail.

So if these two women can be competent, efficient, and friendly why can't the others? It is a mystery.

I agree with you Goodwitch. Seaside PO rocks. There is only one mail clerk at SRB PO that I like to deal with. She is efficient and professional. I fear for the rest of my mail that I send from there. I should say my local mail carrier is good for home delivery. I don't know what happens at the main post office or the trouble that occurs when most of it is routed through Panama City. Crazy.

Some in Choctaw Beach have a Niceville, Okaloosa County address.

And then the Choctaw Beach mail ends up in my Niceville zip code home about 8 miles away from Choctaw Beach.

I also ended up getting someone else's escrow refund check last week. Said someone else lived in the south half of Ft. Walton Beach, and that one should have been caught at either the FWB or Niceville POs.

I'm also someone who switched over to every online bill pay chance I get.

Yes, we need to have the Seaside folks take over the entire region's post office!

The US postal system as a whole works well, and I have met many great carriers and postal employees (Mama Scooterbug won't ship a thing w/o first consulting Moose at her local branch - one of his tricks is packing baked goods in popcorn to keep them fresh longer), it's just when it gets here that it completely falls apart. I send mail from different time zones and continents and have it arrive faster than intra-Panhandle mail!!!

The number for Citizen Services Director Ken Little listed on page A6 of the Walton Sun is 850-892-8530. litken@co.walton.fl.us He is a great guy and has been helpful in regards to this issue in the past. We citizens now need to renew the interest in correcting and improving our Walton County postal addresses and service. Ken has worked with the U.S. Post Office before, if I recall correctly.

We have issues all over the place. Some people in Sandestin or Miramar Beach don't know they aren't stuck using the Okaloosa County Destin address anymore. Some in Choctaw Beach have a Niceville, Okaloosa County address. Those in Inlet Beach or WaterSound may be hampered with a Panama City Beach, Bay County address. Those in the Paxton area may even have an Alabama address!! Those near Ponce de Leon are also stuck with or use the Holmes County address. There are others that need to be corrected to Walton County place names and zipcodes. With the approaching 2010 census and following redistricting, we need to be sure we're counted correctly. Funding and fair representation will be based on those numbers. It is very important we get an accurate count.

DL,

Thanks for the plug.

Yes, the county did address this with USPS a few years back, and after a year of meetings and letter writings, USPS did give Walton County residents a little more identity -- not new zip codes, mind you, but the ability to put a Walton County community on the address with the same zip code; e.g., 32413 is the PC Beach Post Office, but mail can be addressed to Seacrest, FL 32413 as well.

Miramar Beach and Sandestin now have their own zip - 32550 - and mail can be addressed to Miramar Beach or Sandestin with the 32550 zip. Surprisingly, many in Sandestin and Miramar Beach use the correct zip, but still use "Destin" as their city. I've been told that they feel this gives them better place recognition.

We lie between two regional USPS offices -- 324 in Panama City and 325 in Pensacola. The USPS we learned is extremely territorial in guarding their turf and protecting their home delivery routes...for funding reasons I presume. Their mantra is "more efficient delivery of the mail", but it seems to work against us in some cases.

I wouldn't hold my breath for assignment of more zip codes until our population increases to parity with Bay County or Okaloosa County. Place names has also contributed to our problem as the USPS doesn't like to use city names that are similar to other names in the state. I was surprised that Miramar Beach got through since there is a Miramar, FL which is a sizeable city down by Miami.

This brings us to the use of what is known as Contract Branch Post Offices -- e.g., Seaside is a branch of the Santa Rosa Beach (32459) post office. I will add an amen to kudos for Pat and Angie at the Seaside branch...they're terrific. The Rosemary Beach, Watersound, etc. post offices are also contract branches of the 32413 zip I believe. They did get a different zip when the USPS abandoned the Sunnyside Beach post office some time back, but if I'm not mistaken they are contract offices that are supported by those developments -- not USPS employees.

The USPS is not swayed or influenced by the county...but they are responsive to congressional interest.

I wouldn't hold my breath for assignment of more zip codes until our population increases to parity with Bay County or Okaloosa County. Place names has also contributed to our problem as the USPS doesn't like to use city names that are similar to other names in the state. I was surprised that Miramar Beach got through since there is a Miramar, FL which is a sizeable city down by Miami.

Heck, the Bluewater area has about 10K people in a recognizable, compact town-like area, and it's own contract post office, and we're still stuck with a Niceville zip code.

DL,

Thanks for the plug.

You are welcome. I meant it.

Miramar Beach and Sandestin now have their own zip - 32550 - and mail can be addressed to Miramar Beach or Sandestin with the 32550 zip. Surprisingly, many in Sandestin and Miramar Beach use the correct zip, but still use "Destin" as their city. I've been told that they feel this gives them better place recognition.

Glad to see so many switching. At least the hospital, Sacred Heart Hospital on the Emerald Coast is now using Miramar Beach more. Good idea. Safety issue, etc. By those not using Sandestin or Miramar Beach just continues the confusion. A decade or so ago, Destin didn't have all that "Place Recognition." If SoWal people would use a SoWal address consistently, pretty soon there would be all the place recognition we could possibly want. It would also help guests, etc. from not being disappointed when they go to places in Destin and realize that since they are not a citizen or guest of the incorporated city of Destin, they do not get the same rates or admission to services such as the Destin Library or Parks. More than once I've talked to someone at Sandestin that was shocked about library usage in Destin, etc.


The USPS is not swayed or influenced by the county...but they are responsive to congressional interest.

Thanks for this tip. We need to contact the two congressional offices for Walton County, then. Congressman Miller for District 1 and Congressman Boyd for District 2. Personal phone calls or hand written messages from constituents go a long way.

(didn't quite get quotes copied and shaded right, but you should be able to see comment and then my response)

202-224-3132

Main number for congress. Good luck getting through.

The SRB postal employees/system are so far below par that I actually pay for mailbox service at the Mialboxes etc. or the UPS store rather than deal with their incompetence (I tried, but no boxes at Seaside - bummer, as they rock there).

Public Employee Unions make it all but impossible to terminate an employee for incompetence.

Public Employee Unions make it all but impossible to terminate an employee for incompetence.

My company was a sub-contractor for the USPS. Nobody pays as well as them. The moment we would finish our project I would submit an invoice to the local Postmaster and he would print us a money order for full payment. Does anyone know how to spell cha-ching???

I loved it, but it it can't be good for budgets.