She filed claims and then called WUSA9 for help.
CAMP SPRINGS, Md. – The pandemic has hit businesses hard, but a Maryland business owner said the U.S. Postal Service is costing her money and her reputation.
Like many small business owners, Endia Richardson of Womb Therapy Endeed in Camp Springs put all her post-pandemic sales online. She saw a surge in demand for her bespoke female products. That excitement quickly turned into frustration, however, when she said nearly 200 customers never received their packages. So she went to the post office to get answers.
“The first answer is, ‘Oh, we don’t have your packages. They didn’t give us packages, ”said Richardson.
However, the business owner documented all of her transactions: receipts, shipping lists and pictures of her packaged packages on the mail van. She filed claims and received evidence that the Post was investigating. Even so, she kept calling anyway.
“At the Post, you have to be adamant and keep going back to people until you find someone who can actually help you,” said Richardson. And finally she found this person: a manager at the Capitol Heights sorting facility.
Richardson provided WUSA9 with an email chain on which the manager wrote, “Small packages you need to keep an eye on. The machines are made for the bigger ones and can be lost. “Delia Gonçalves of WUSA9 asked a USPS spokesman about this email and learned that USPS would contact the customer directly.
“She was able to find about 50 of my packages, which was fine,” said Richardson, “but she never told me where they were.” With more than 100 packages missing a month later, Richardson said these delays are affecting their business.
“It’s going to cost me thousands of dollars,” she said. “Some people are not happy with me. I’m sure some people think that I’m cheating on them because it’s their first experience with me. As a black company and if your packages are delayed, lost and there is no explanation, you just look bad even if it’s not your fault. Someone has to be held accountable. ”
The U.S. postal service was once a staple of American life and was under attack. Some would say inside. WASHINGTON – Listen to me. When I was growing up there was one thing you could rely on: there was always work at the post office.
A spokesman said the Post would now contact Richardson directly to investigate their missing packages. Meanwhile, the business owner said she switched the carrier for triple shipping.
The USPS said it is working to address the delays caused by winter storms and the impact COVID-19 has on its workforce by keeping seasonal workers and increasing full-time jobs across the country by more than 10,000.
Richardson’s advice to other small businesses: be persistent.
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