Changes to the way local mail is being handled have led to increasingly long waits and are hurting business, says a local businessman.
Rick Ouellette, owner of Powell River Equipment Rentals Ltd. and Rivercity Mini Excavating, said he has not had a good day with the post office for the last eight weeks ever since the sorting changes took place.
“I’ve approached the front desk there half a dozen times since March 18 wondering where my mail is,” he said. “All the girls there know me by name now.”
Since March 18, Canada Post has altered the way Powell River first class mail is sorted.
Previously, letters sent within the city were sorted in the local post office and sent out often with only a one-day delivery wait. But changes to the sorting system, to take advantage of mechanical sorting capacity, were implemented. Now locally sent letters to Powell River are first taken to Vancouver for sorting and then shipped back to Powell River for delivery.
“It’s not just local mail,” said Ouellette. “It’s all the mail that is coming to Powell River.”
Ouellette said he is waiting weeks for mail from Vancouver to be delivered when he would only wait days previously.
As an example of his frustrations he explained that Yellowridge Construction Ltd., the general contractor hired to build Westview Elementary School, sent cheques out to the local builders working on the project on April 9.
“Not one person in Powell River got a cheque,” through the mail, he said. “Yellowridge has put in a formal request to find out what’s going on.”
Ouellette finally received his cheque at the end of April after Yellowridge had the cheques couriered to Powell River.
“Then they mailed out a different invoice 10 days ago and I just got it today,” he said. “Ten days from Vancouver to here. I just don’t understand.”
A spokesperson from Canada Post said he has not heard about any delays to the service or mail lost in Powell River.
“I’m not aware of any issues at all,” said John Caines, Canada Post national media relations. “All of BC is being sorted in Vancouver now. This is nothing new for us.”
The mail corporation stands behind its two-business-day delivery standard for local mail and three days for mail within the province. Interprovincial mail is to be delivered within four days.
Ouellette describes the current service as “sporadic” and has heard similar concerns from other businesspeople. He said he is used to receiving mail every day, but since the change there are many days when he does not receive a single piece.
When he has contacted Canada Post with his concerns, he has been directed to call a customer service hotline.
“It’s one of those things that has to be corrected,” he said. “It’s hurting small businesses. We pay for a service we’re not getting.”
Thinking that the delays might partly be due to him changing addresses twice in the last two years, recently he bought another six months of address-forwarding.
“I’ve just spent another $150 for another six months because my mail is not coming to me,” he said.
Ouellette has been so frustrated with the uncertainty of mail delivery that he has started insisting his clients send their payments with a paid courier service. He then reimburses them for the cost.
