ALTAMONT — The complaints come in every form: on social media, to the local congressional office, in letters to the Enterprise editor, and under the breath of a disgruntled customer but loud to be enough to be heard by a reporter exiting the Altamont Post Office in the course of reporting this story — residents just aren’t receiving their mail.
The answer as to why it’s taking so long for some to receive their mail is the same whether it’s the official line from United States Postal Service, a local postal employee answering complaints directly on Facebook, Congressman Paul Tonko, or anyone who follows the news: There just aren’t enough workers to get the job done.
Mark Lawrence, a USPS spokesman, in response to an Enterprise request for an interview about local delivery issues (local postmasters are not authorized to speak on such matters, The Enterprise was told by one) sent a statement, which said in part:
“We are experiencing challenges with employee availability in some locations causing occasional impacts to mail deliveries ….”