United States Postal Service — Local services in Houston

I'll be moving within the same zip code in about 2 weeks, and USPS recommends setting up mail forwarding one month in advance to "avoid delays." So, three weeks ago I set it up to start on the date of my move, and a week later, got a confirmation with the appropriate start date listed. I don't usually get much mail but since the confirmation I eventually noticed that I haven't gotten any at all. Mail that I'm expecting and that is both identity sensitive and time sensitive (employment contracts, replacement credit cards, bills and bank statements etc) has failed to appear. Of course trying to go through customer service on the USPS website where I set up the forwarding was entirely useless; they referred me to my local post office location. I've been calling this location at least twice per day all week with no answer (busy signal, rings indefinitely, pick up to silence and prompt hang up), so today I decided to go down there. After waiting in line for the one teller at the counter, she tells me "I can't do that," and sends me around the corner to wait for the manager. After waiting for him, he shows up and tells me, "your mail carrier did not get the start date on her confirmation so she has already been holding it. But don't worry, she's at your complex now and will deliver it." I go to the complex: no mail, no mail carrier. Wait 20 minutes, try to call, busy signal x3, then endless ringing. I drive back over there and wait for the supervisor again. Now he tells me the real story: my mail won't be delivered today as the carrier's already forwarded it. However, it hasn't been delivered to the new address as the date is too early; it's all been sent back to her. Once she receives each piece of mail, she sends it back to the central location to be forwarded. Basically my credit cards and contracts and so forth have been bouncing back and forth across the Houston USPS network for two weeks, in limbo. I say, can I go down to this central location and retrieve it? He says, absolutely not, "it would be like a needle in a haystack--no one knows where your mail is." I say, can you call and inquire for me? He says, "No. Even if it would do any good, I can't do that right now." When will my mail be delivered? "Who knows. You'll have to be patient." So there we have it. I would say I would never use this post office again, but then again, I don't actually...

This post office is totally incompetent, lacks accountability, and does not follow standard USPS procedures. They routinely drop packages on my street out in the open, which is in violation of their procedures, because they are too lazy to use the delivery attempted notices. I called several times asking why they are not following the procedures in their own M-41 handbook and several employees were either unaware or in denial of their own responsibilities depending who I talked to. They left a package of mine unsecured despite the fact that it would have fit in the secure parcel locker at the street mailboxes and they are not supposed to leave parcels unsecured unless I'm part of the carrier release program which I am not. The package was stolen and they refused to honor the insurance on the package or take any responsibility because it was delivered, albeit to an unsecured location aka front porch. When I called to report the package missing they told me they would follow up and call me back...they never called back. I called them back several days later and was told it was dropped on the front porch...and they don't have it. I then filed a claim and several appeals which were all swiftly denied without explanation. I had to eat the $400 loss. Will never use this post office again if I...

Up until around November 2014, I had a very good experience with this post office. It was good enough to where I took it for granted because their service consistently worked as expected. I was even pretty vocal about how pleased I was with them. Sometime closer to the end of the year and ever since then, service has been absolutely poor. For two of my packages, they were marked as delivered "automatically" online, but in reality, they were not delivered, and I was given notices that I was not at home at the time of delivery even though I was absolutely at home. I have a dog that barks loudly when someone comes near, and opens the gates of Hell when someone knocks on the door. On the days that those two packages were marked as out for delivery, my dog was absolutely silent. I did get these packages eventually, however. Earlier this week (March 25), I had a package marked as delivered to my mailbox, but the package nor a notice was in my mail or my doorstep. Calling the office this time gave me the most unhelpful and rude experience with the staff yet. Put on hold indefinitely twice. Hung up on twice. Then finally spoke to an absolutely rude lady who had absolutely no interest in helping. I have yet to receive this package. Something changed about this office, and it was not...