USPS relies heavily on automated systems.
While this certainly helps them to manage the sheer number of phone calls they receive, it makes it frustrating when you need to get in contact with an actual human.
Some problems cannot be solved without the help of an actual person. Sadly, unless you know what to do, talking to a real person at USPS can be difficult.
Thankfully, there are some little-known ways to quickly get in touch with an actual US Postal Service employee, so they can help you to solve your problem.
In this article, you’ll learn how to talk to a real person at USPS, as well as discover some causes and solutions for the most common problems people face.
How To Talk With A Real Person At USPS
Getting in touch with a USPS representative can be done in a few different ways, depending on your own personal preference.
How To Talk To A USPS Employee On The Phone
While using the phone is the most common way to contact USPS, you still may be subject to holding times even if you do everything necessary to talk with a customer support agent.
However, once you’re connected, it is the quickest way to solve any problems and get deeper insight into your unique situation.
To talk with a human on the phone, follow these steps:
- Call USPS using the phone number 1-800-275-8777.
- Once it starts giving out options, say ‘Carrier’ into the phone. Note that you may have to say it several times.
- If ‘Carrier’ doesn’t work, you can also try saying ‘Agent’, ‘Representative’ or ‘Customer Service’.
Alternative Method For Tracking Issues
If your concern is specifically regarding tracking issues and you have a tracking number to work with, you may also try this alternate method to get in contact with a real person at USPS via phone.
- Call USPS by dialing 1-800-222-1811. Note that this is as different number than the one mentioned earlier. This method will not work unless you dial 1-800-222-1811.
- When you get past the initial set of questions, press 1 for ‘Packages’.
- Ask for ‘Agent’.
- The automated system will ask you if your tracking number starts with a number, or with a letter. Press 2 to select ‘Number’.
- Enter your tracking number.
- The system will tell you the status of your package. Ask again for ‘Agent’.
This will put you in a queue to speak with a customer support representative.
Alternatively, you may wish to call your local post office branch, rather than calling USPS directly. However, this should only be done if it’s something your local post office can actually help with – for example, if USPS tracking claims that your package has been delivered by your local post office, when it is not.
If the person that answers doesn’t seem able to help you, ask to speak to the postmaster.
If you are still unable to reach a human, visit your local post office branch during business hours and speak to someone directly. Many times, this will solve your issue much faster than the 800 number ever could!
How To Contact USPS Through Email
If you don’t want to wait to talk to someone on the phone, contacting the United States Postal Service through email is a great alternative.
This will allow you to send your inquiry whenever it’s convenient for you, without having to wait on hold for an extended period of time. However, one downside is that can take a bit longer in order to receive a response.
So, you may wish to opt for this option if your matter isn’t particularly urgent.
Note that not all options will result in contact with a human from USPS. USPS’ system will attempt to solve your issue without needing to get in touch with a USPS representative.
If it doesn’t work for your specific issue, you may wish to try one of the other options mentioned here.
To contact USPS through email, follow these steps:
1. Visit EmailUs.USPS.Com, And Select Your Issue
To start off, visit USPS’ email support page by clicking here.
Upon landing on this page, you’ll be presented with a few options. At the top, you’ll have the option to enter your tracking number to find more information about your shipment.
Below, you’ll be presented with a number of options related to different issues – such as issues with packages or mail arriving, issues regarding specific post office employees, or issues regarding business services. Click on your issue to bring up more options.
In this example, we’re going to select ‘Personnel’, as this option will allow us to demonstrate the process more easily.
2. Follow The On-Screen Instructions To Narrow Down Your Issue
Depending on what option you selected in step one, the next screen will be different.
Because we selected ‘Personnel’ for this example, the USPS website updated to ask us more information about the personnel we’re writing to them about.
In the picture above, you can see that they asked for the type of USPS employee that we’re writing about, as well as their name.
Across the top, you can see there are many more steps where they’ll gather information – such as the specific issue you experienced, and the location of the post office that it occurred at.
Ultimately, once you fill out all of the required information, it will all be forwarded to a real USPS employee to review.
How To Contact USPS Through Twitter
Finally, one little-known method for getting in touch with USPS is to contact them through Twitter.
USPS has a dedicated Twitter specifically for customer support issues, @USPSHelp.
Like your local post office location, it has limited hours of operation. At the time of writing, USPS’ customer service twitter is available Monday through Friday from 8 AM to 10 PM, and on Saturday from 10 AM to [6:30] PM.
Simply tweet at them or send them a direct message, and a real person will get in touch with you straight away.
Because so few people know about USPS’ Twitter support handle, it can be one way to speak with a human more quickly.
Based on data from publicly available tweets, we’ve seen that the USPS Help Twitter account has been able to respond to customer support inquiries in as little as 7 minutes.
Common USPS Issues – And How To Solve Them
Most of the time, people try getting in touch with a USPS support representative for the same common reasons.
Although the post office system is incredibly complicated, there are really only a handful of things that can go wrong.
So, let’s look over some of the most common reasons that people contact USPS, what some of the problems mean, and what can be done to solve them. By knowing these, you may not feel the need to contact USPS at all!
1. My Package Is Going Further Away
This one can appear confusing, and not make a lot of sense.
If you pay attention to your package’s tracking, USPS will periodically update it whenever your package arrives in a new city.
It makes sense that as time goes on, the package should only get closer to you, right? So why would tracking show it going further away?
Most of the time, this doesn’t mean that anything is wrong. More than likely, the package is being sent to a USPS sorting facility so it can be properly routed to your local post office.
Because there are so few sorting facilities, this can sometimes result in the package being shipped further away, before it starts going closer again.
To learn more about why packages go further away, click here!
2. My Package Is Late
Another common reason for contacting USPS is if your package is running late.
This can be incredibly frustrating, particularly if your shipment is time sensitive or very important.
However, did you know that only Priority Mail Express has a guaranteed delivery date?
This is their most expensive shipping service, and isn’t used by most people.
While nobody at USPS’ support line will be able to speed up your package for you, the person or company that shipped the package will be able to receive a refund if the Priority Mail Express guarantee wasn’t met.
If ordering a product online, you may be able to request that the shipping fee is refunded to you.
Additionally, some websites like Amazon allow you to return the product for a full refund (including shipping) if the product arrives late, or past their promised delivery date.
Therefore, this may be worth looking into if your package doesn’t arrive on time.
Note:Â Sometimes, packages are late due to trouble delivering to your address. To learn more about what may cause delayed packages, click here.
3. My Package Said It Was Delivered, But It Wasn’t!
This one can be kind of scary! However, it doesn’t necessarily mean that something is wrong, so you may not need to contact USPS just yet.
For whatever reason, USPS may occasionally mark packages as delivered, even if they aren’t actually delivered until the next day. As someone that has sold hundreds of thousands of items online, I’ve had this issue pop up again and again over the years.
It almost always shows up within a couple of days.
However, there is a chance USPS did in fact deliver it. In these instances, you should:
- Check in your mailbox, if you haven’t already. Not all packages are delivered to the door.
- Check with a family member or even a neighbor to see if they’ve received it.
- Check the mailroom, if you live in an apartment complex.
- Check behind bushes, or other places where the package may have been deliberately hidden.
- If you have a doorbell with a camera, check the footage to see if the package was stolen.’
If it still can’t be located, call your local post office branch and ask to speak with the postmaster.
4. My Package Is Stuck On Pre-Shipment
Unfortunately, there is nothing that USPS can do to help you at this point.
Because they haven’t yet received the item, they will not have any further information to give you.
In extremely rare circumstances, some items may be dropped off at the post office, but not actually scanned in until it’s already en route to your address.
If your shipment is stuck on pre-shipment or USPS tracking claims that they’re awaiting the item, it would be best to get in contact with the person or company that is sending the package first.
5. My Package Seems To Be Lost!
USPS outright losing a package is extremely rare.
However, it does happen.
If tracking hasn’t been updated for a significant period of time and the item is well past the date in which it was supposed to be delivered, this may be something you want to get in contact with USPS for.
It should be noted though that as the recipient, USPS won’t be able to refund you the value of the package.
This means you may wish instead to get in contact with the person or company that has sent you the package in the first place. They are responsible for ensuring it properly arrives to your address, regardless of the courier they choose to use. Therefore, you may be eligible for a refund if it doesn’t arrive.
Conclusion
Getting in touch with an actual human from USPS is difficult, but not impossible.
In this article, you’ve learned how you can speak with an actual person from USPS. We’ve also looked at some of the most common reasons why you might want to contact USPS, and what different issues mean.
I hope that you’ve found this article helpful. If you have any other questions about USPS, please ask them using the comment form below.
Wishing you the best,
– James McAllister
Hi James – thanks for the useful info! the 800-222-1811 USPS # got me to a live representative – when all other phone numbers simply led to frustration! And she was actually able to help! Yay!
All the best,
Doug Booth
Doug Booth(Quote)