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Valley family business impacted by USPS shipping delays over the holidays
As the United States Postal Service experiences delays for several reasons during the holiday season, a Valley family's small business is impacted due to their shipments not being received by the buyers.
PHOENIX - The coronavirus pandemic has been rough on many small businesses and the impact on the Reiley family's Valley business is no exception.
Deryn Reiley says during the holidays, it’s a scary time for the family as packages sometimes are delayed when shipped, meaning they won't get paid until they're delivered.
This past month, things have gotten worse for the family, who makes custom T-shirts and ornaments out of their home garage.
Thousands of their packages sent to customers through the United States Postal Service more than a month ago haven’t made it to their destinations yet.
"Not getting scanned at all. They are just somewhere in limbo-land not moving," Femme Reiley said.
The family says these packages in total are worth nearly $100,000 dollars and some have already been declared missing. Others they’re still waiting to hear about.
"So we have a lot of upset customers and there’s nothing we can do 'cause the USPS is not helping us," Reiley said.
The USPS has not gotten back to them regarding the packages, the family says.
USPS released a statement to FOX 10, saying, "The Postal Service’s 644,000 employees continue to work diligently to address issues. Amid the historic volume, the Postal Service continues to flex its network, including making sure the right equipment is available to sort, process and deliver a historic volume of mail and packages this holiday season."
Reiley says they’re already having to refund some of these customers who were banking on getting the packages in time for Christmas.
"That’s something family really can’t afford, especially this year," Deryn Reiley said, adding, "It’s scary when everything is on the line during a pandemic and we are just trying to hold on."
The family certainly understands why the customers are frustrated but also asks that they have some understanding for them as a small business.