STILLWATER, Minn. — If recent trips to the mailbox have left you feeling seemingly forgotten, you're not alone.
"Last Friday is the last time we received our mail, haven't gotten anything since then," said Matthew Nelson who lives in the Benson Park neighborhood of Stillwater.
For days now, Nelson and several of his neighbors have checked in on empty mailboxes.
"There was a thread of at least 50 comments people saying they have not received their mail, people also reaching out and not getting responses as well," said Nelson.
Shortages and delays have become a part of life these days, as workers in many industries are being hit hard by labor shortages, and now, the surge in omicron cases.
"When we reached out to the postmaster, we were told that there's been delays, our main priority driver has been out on leave," explained Nelson.
According to the regional office for the National Association of Letter Carriers, staffing was down 20% as of two weeks ago due to COVID, leading to backups and delivery delays.
MORE NEWS: 'Reached a critical point': Psychologist raises awareness about shortage of Black therapists in MN
"COVID does affect everybody and we're just human beings trying to get through the pandemic," said Nelson.
In a statement from the USPS a spokesperson says: "The postal service is committed to providing the best possible service to our customers and we apologize for any inconvenience that may have been experienced."
An inconvenience which can create major problems for so many.
"My wife and I, our car insurance is up and we had a rush order for our insurance cards that we've been waiting for, still haven't arrived and we need that to drive," said Nelson.
The U.S. Postal Service says they are actively investigating these customer concerns and are working to improve services.
Customers are also encouraged to visit USPS.com and click on “Contact us” at the bottom of the homepage, or utilize this direct web address: https://usps.force.com/emailus/s/.
USPS officials say every email will be carefully documented and appropriate action taken to strengthen service. In addition, the official Twitter account of the USPS, managed by the Social Media staff at USPS HQ, can provide help. For customer service, please tweet @USPSHelp.
Watch more local news:
Watch the latest local news from the Twin Cities in our YouTube playlist: