The United States Postal Service (USPS) has a fantastic customer service department. Not only is the USPS customer service department highly responsive and easy to work with, but they also provide a lot of different options to contact them. Unfortunately, as of early 2022, the USPS has yet to implement a full-blown customer service chat tool – though it’s likely they add this kind of functionality to their site someday in the near future.
Still, if something has gone sideways with your mail or a package that you sent with the United States Postal Service the chances are pretty good that customer service is going to be able to help you out. Below we cover how to take advantage of all the customer service options available from the USPS, highlighting the ones that are going to provide you with the fastest response and the most consistent help regardless of what your challenge might be. Use the information in this guide to help you the next time that you need to get a hold of USPS customer service and you’ll find the whole process painless and headache free. Let’s get right into it, shall we?
Everything to Know About USPS Customer Service Chat
Right out of the gate, it’s important to mention that there is no currently available USPS customer service chat tool like you might find with some of the other popular shipping companies in the United States today.
While both FedEx and UPS provide online live chat support through their customer service, USPS has been a little slower to adapt this kind of technology – and it’s just not available on the platform (yet). But this shouldn’t be a dealbreaker. Not by any stretch of the imagination.
As we mentioned just a moment ago, the USPS has some of the highest customer satisfaction ratings in the mail delivery and shipping world – and that’s stacked up against companies like FedEx and UPS. People like the trust, the reliability, the speed, and the price points of USPS services. And it’s not by customer service with the USPS is impossible to get a hold of, either.
Sure, it would be nice to see the addition of a USPS customer service chat tool sometime in the near future. But with so many other ways to get a hold of customer service (and get almost instant answers from live USPS employees) you won’t be left hanging if you have problems with your mail, packages, or USPS services in general.
What Should I Be Contacting USPS Customer Service About?
USPS customer service can help you with a variety of different problems, ranging from packages and mail that hasn’t shown up when it was expected to people stealing your mail, damaging your mail, or even opening your mail without your permission – and everything in between!
When you get right down to it, anytime you have trouble with USPS services you’ll want to reach out to the customer service department and see if there’s some sort of remedy that they can recommend. Some people contact the USPS customer service line when they have been charged the wrong postage or a letter or a package. Others reach out when tracking information is inconsistent or inaccurate (or maybe flat-out unavailable)
Others still choose to contact USPS customer service because their packages or mail arrive damaged, open, or in less than ideal condition – or not at all! USPS customer service is empowered to handle all different kinds of issues, ranging from more mundane problems that can be resolved with just a little bit of back-and-forth between you and the service agent as well as more in-depth problems that can be initiated through customer service and followed through with other departments of this agency.
All in all, it never hurts to drop USPS customer service online or you have questions, when you are having issues with the mail service at your address or PO Box, or when you need immediate assistance while dealing with a USPS emergency.
Can USPS Customer Service Chat with All USPS Issues?
Unfortunately, USPS customer service may not be able to handle every single issue that you come across – at least not on their own, anyway. For example, a lot of people are expecting USPS tracking technology to provide them with detailed and real time updates about where their package is exactly at any one particular point in time.
Customer service with the post office is going to be able to give you the same information you have access to through your tracking number, but they aren’t going to be able to give any more information than not. Some people contact customer service hoping that they’ll be able to use some “secret tools” to find out exactly where their packages right on the spot. That’s not the way the USPS infrastructure works, though – so you’ll probably want to avoid those kinds of calls whenever possible.
Secondly, certain services that have to be handled in person at the post office (like signing up for a PO Box, going through the change of address process, etc.) aren’t always going to be able to be handled by calling USPS customer service.
You may be able to get part of those things taken care of with a simple phone call or email, but you’ll almost always have to visit your local post office to finalize anything that requires your signature or valid forms of identification before you can move forward. Luckily, though, USPS customer service chat employees are trained to help direct you to the right people that can assist you when they are unable to.
Knowing that, but they’re usually be able to cut out a lot of the middlemen or steps in between and get you right to the individual that can assist you the most. This will fast-track your issue and help you get a resolution ASAP!
Effective Means of Contacting the USPS Customer Service Department
Below we breakdown a couple of the most effective ways to get a hold of the USPS customer service department. All of these options on the table when you need help and assistance, or just have a couple of questions that you’d like to have answered. Some of them are better suited to different situations than others (phone calls for immediate help, for example, and emails to ask less pressing questions) but feel free to take advantage of any of these customer service contact opportunities when the need arises.
Phone Options
The main USPS customer service line is available Monday through Friday, 8 AM through 8:30 PM (EST) as well as Saturday at 8 AM through 6 PM (EST). You can reach this department by dialing 1-800-275-8777 and should be almost immediately connected to a live support agent that can further assist you.
Individuals that are deaf or hard of hearing have special phone lines that they can call, including 1-800-877-8339 (for individuals with hearing and speech impairments) or 1-800-845-6136 (for individuals with hearing and speech and speech impairments that only speak Spanish).
Further customer service lines can be taken advantage of by using the federal relay TTY service. Technical support is a separate department within the USPS customer service department, and they can be reached Monday through Friday (8 AM to 8:30 PM EST) as well as Saturday (8 AM through 6 PM EST).
Individuals that are having a tough time with their USPS.com accounts, accounts through the Postal Store, issues with their PO Box or click and ship services, or those that need to file some sort of claim with the USPS should contact technical support at 1-800-344-7779.
Obviously, you’ll also want to look up the local phone number for your post office as well. Reaching them during busy hours (or a busy mailing season, like the holiday season) can be a bit hit or miss. But most of the time they’ll respond pretty quickly and should be able to help you with area specific issues, too.
Emailing USPS customer service is generally pretty simple and straightforward – though the process is a little more involved than just punching a standard email address into your favorite email platform and zipping off a quick note. No, you’re going to need to first navigate to the Help section of the USPS.com website before going to Contact Us portion of that page.
From there you’ll find a subheading that says EMAIL US with a link that directs you to an online form that asks a handful of questions to make sure that your customer service email gets to the right department. The USPS encourages you to provide as much information as possible in your email to really help make sure that it gets to someone that can assist you with your specific situation. Take advantage of this opportunity to write a clear, concise, and complete message for you hit send!
Filing Claims
Filing claims with the USPS customer service department is also a pretty straightforward process and something you’ll be able to do after contacting customer service through phone or by visiting the Help section of the USPS.com website.
To move the claims process along make sure that you still have time to file your claim (according to USPS rules regarding the claims process), that you have all of your documentation ready to go to backup your claim, and that you have created a USPS.com account (if you’re filling this out online). Then simply move through the process outlined by customer service at the USPS, either filling out the form on the web or by contacting customer support directly and going through the process with live help online.
Expect a claims decision in about a week or so, with your claim either approved or denied based off of the information that you provided. Approved claims will usually be paid out and about another 7 to 10 days, with denied claims giving you an opportunity to make up to two appeals to try and have this decision overturned. Contact customer support directly (on the phone or at the post office) to go through the appeals process.
Visit the Post office
Sometimes the fastest way to get the help that you are looking for is to simply visit your local post office and speak to someone working there directly. This isn’t exactly a tool for contacting customer service, but every single USPS employee is trained and empowered to provide customer service and help as much as they are able to. They’re also able to direct you to the right people in the customer service department to further assist you if they aren’t able to resolve your issue outright.
You might want to visit your local post office when you’re dealing with mail deliverability or shipping problems, when you are having trouble with your PO Box, when you’re looking to change your address, or when you’d like to place a hold on your mail. If you have any questions whatsoever (about any services available through the USPS) is generally a good idea to pop into your local post office and asked the folks that work there in person!
Enjoy a Headache and Hassle Free Mailbox Experience with US Global Mail
Another great approach for eliminating headache and hassle when it comes to your mail is to simply sign up for a US Global Mail virtual mailbox account and modernize your whole experience from top to bottom! For starters, you’ll enjoy significantly more privacy and security with a US Global Mail permanent address than you would with using your residential address for mail or even a USPS PO Box.
Secondly, every single time a new piece of mail arrives at your US Global Mail address it will be digitally scanned, uploaded to your dashboard, and notification sent to you with pictures of what that piece of mail is – speeding up the process and digitizing it from top to bottom.
You’ll also be able to have any piece of mail, any package, and any parcel sent to your US Global Mail address forwarded to any other address on the planet. Even better, you’ll save 80% off of traditional shipping prices at the same!
And that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the benefits you’ll have as a US Global Mail customer.
To learn more about US Global Mail and the services they provide, order sign up for an account right now, check out their website or contact them directly today!
