Why this man is keeping a detailed log of when his mail is not delivered: ‘I hope I’m wrong’
By Elizabeth Holmes and Megan Richards
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RICHMOND, Virginia (WTVR) — Hyman Schwartzberg has spent more than two decades decorating his Richmond home with historic memorabilia like swords, hats, and photographs from decades of American history. A retired National Park Ranger, he’s come to love record keeping.
He’s now using his information tracking skills to help keep a record of a problem he noticed around two and a half years ago: Inconsistent mail.
“We just can’t say when it’s going to come,” Schwartzberg said.
Since 2022, Schwartzberg called the frequency with which he received mail “erratic.”
“It really frustrates me when it gets to be a week, 10 days, 12 days, that the mail doesn’t come,” he said.
When he noticed the problem was persistent in 2022, he decided to track daily mail delivery using a comprehensive, color-coded chart.
According to his records, there were 24 possible delivery days this past month, June 2024, accounting for Sundays and Federal holidays when mail is not expected to be delivered.
Of those 24 days, the Schwartzbergs received mail on nine days.
The month before, there were 26 possible delivery days, and the Schwartzbergs missed their mail on 14 of them.
Schwartzberg often drives down to his local post office himself to get First Class deliveries which, according to his records, are the types of mail he receives in his mailbox the least. When he asks why he isn’t receiving his mail, he says he seldom gets a conclusive answer.
“It’s someone above [the carriers and clerks] that’s the problem,” he said.
He took his complaints to the late Rep. Don McEachin’s office, now Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan’s office, who Schwartzberg says were “receptive” and “helpful.”
The representative’s office reached out, but according to Schwartzberg, nothing changed.
Schwaretzberg said he knows his neighbors aren’t experiencing the same problem.
“If they can deliver the mail three doors away, daily, that’s another route, and can’t get it here and it’s coming from the same facility, where’s the problem?” he said.
He reached out to the Postal Inspection Service and got a case number, but nothing else.
“When it comes to, ‘well how do you know?’ That’s how I know,” he said.
He said he planned to continue to diligently record his mail delivery.
“I have to. They haven’t shown me any indication that it’s going to change any time soon. I hope I’m wrong,” he said.
Schwartzberg’s wish for sharing his story is that the Post Office will make some sort of meaningful change to ensure mail service becomes dependable once again.
A representative for the U.S. Postal Service told CBS 6 that they were not aware of the issue, but are going to look into the matter.
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