“Is this a roast?”

Buda Postmaster Ron Garrett seemed apprehensive as he stepped up to address the monthly Buda Chamber of Commerce Luncheon on Feb. 12. Invited by J.R. Gonzales, the Chamber’s executive director, Garrett was there to address concerns about delays in delivery and related matters associated with the USPS facility in Buda.

Currently, Gonzales told the gathering in introducing Garret, “mail will take 10 to 14 days to get to Dallas or Houston,” and that he had reached out to Garrett to get to the heart of the matter. Gonzales had earlier told the Hays Free Press that he had letters returned to him that had been mailed a year before.

Gonzales and others had also posted to social media, which got the attention of a mail courier, Garrett said. In addition to simply delays, postal customers complained that they have incurred fines and late fees.

Garrett said the concerns are deemed “very serious” by the postal service, his staff and himself. He also shared a story of when he first came to town in 2018 and his brand-new next door neighbor expressed some concerns.

“We worked with him and as of now everything is going pretty well,” Garrett said.

Garrett said that something put in the mail may go through several plants depending on its final destination, and that theft, weather and other factors also influence delivery time.

He invited anyone experiencing problems to take a photo of the bar code on the piece of mail and send it to the post office. The bar code he compared to a fingerprint. “We can go back 21 days and tell you where that piece of mail has been.”

Garrett said he is “here for you and if you have an issue I invite you to stop by the Post Office, say hi and let me know what your issues are.”

After Garrett spoke, Gonzales reiterated his message. “We’ll be working with the postmaster, please send stuff out if you have issues with your mail. He can track it.”

When contacted by the Hays Free Press the next day, Garrett said he was not authorized to speak to the media and referred further questions to Strategic Communications Specialist Becky Hernandez in San Antonio.

She requested written questions, which the Hays Free Press provided. However, her responses were more general than specific and actually contradictory at one point.

In an introductory paragraph, Hernandez said, “In this case, local post officials are aware of past service issues,” yet in response to a question about how long the problems have been occurring, her response was, “Local postal officials are not aware of past service issues for any one customer for an extended period of time,” which conflicts with Gonzales’ experience with the year-old letters.

Although there is no mechanism by which postal customer are reimbursed for late fees or fines incurred as a result of delayed delivery, Hernandez said a letter that can be sent to creditors can be requested “if service issues can be confirmed via tracking information.”

“Local postal officials are committed to making continuing improvements in service, and will work to promptly resolve individual customer issues brought to their attention,” Hernandez said. She said the “service standard” for First Class and Priority Mail is one to three days “within the 48 contiguous states.”

“It’s frustrating,” Gonzales said days after Garrett’s presentation. “I’ve been complaining about this for years now. It’s costing us money and I know it is costing other members and people in the community.”

He said he decided to “take the lead” in trying to resolve the situation by inviting Garrett to speak. “It’s not acceptable for stuff to take 12, 14, 15 days to get across town. It’s ridiculous.”

Gonzales said neither he nor anyone else has complained about the staff at the Buda Post Office. “They’re all nice people. That’s not the issue. It’s the god-danged system. What’s wrong with it that it’s taking so long?”