Bronzeville Small Business Owner Says Issues With Local Post Office Are Undermining Her Bottom Line

CHICAGO (CBS) -- A woman- and minority-owned business in Bronzeville is booming, but issues and delays with the Post Office are so bad that the owner says their bottom line is actually suffering.

As CBS 2's Tara Molina reported, this is not the first time we have looked into issues at the Henry W. McGee Post Office, 4601 S. Cottage Grove Ave. – far from it. We have investigated issues there for more than a year now.

Nearby small business owner Storie Devereaux said she is not seeing such issues in other parts of the city. But because of the problems with the Post Office, has been forced to use other more expensive national carriers – who are dealing with a whole other set of issues right now.

Nestled in Boxville at 330 E. 51st St., you'll find Stoviink Creatives' brand-new brick-and mortar-space. Devereaux started Stoviink Creatives during the pandemic, and each of their products - like their well-known cranberry sauce - has a personal story…

"It reminds me a lot of my mom," Devereaux said.

Devereaux said Stoviink Creatives is exciting to share with more and more people as they continue to grow. But she says something is prohibiting that growth.

"Shipping is a big problem," she said.

Of all the challenges a small business might be up against in 2021, Devereaux said hers is the local post office.

"The line is usually wrapped around. You're waiting," Devereaux said. "Last time I was in that Post Office? I waited almost an hour and a half just to drop off packages to have them shipped."

She did so only to have some of those packages lost.

"I don't want to use that Post Office under any circumstances, and it's a shame we have to leave the area just to get something done," Devereaux said.

So she has been forced to turn to other, more expensive national carriers – which again have issues of their own right now.

We've been tracking issues with USPS, and specifically with this the Henry W. McGee Post Office, for more than a year now. There have been reports of staffing issues, long lines, and delayed and missing mail.

So what's the deal? We asked USPS, and a spokesperson issued the following statement:

"We are unaware of any ongoing issues at the Henry McGee Station. We would be happy to address any specific concerns a customer may have or they can contact our Consumer Affairs Office at 312-983-8403."

So we checked in with the office of U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Illinois), who has been outspoken about issues at the Post Office in the past. Rush's office told us they're monitoring issues, with postal delays a top priority:

"As of yesterday morning, our office had not received any recent complaints specifically about the Bronzeville Post Office. Overall, the number of complaints we have received from constituents about mail service has decreased dramatically in the past few months — we have received far fewer complaints in the past two months than we have in similar time periods earlier this year.

"That being said, Congressman Rush knows that staffing shortages, delays, and the horrendous leadership — or lack thereof — from Louis DeJoy are still causing many frustrating postal issues for our constituents. We are also aware that this time of year, during the Christmas season, staffing shortages are common. Addressing postal delays continues to be a top priority for Congressman Rush and he has been closely monitoring the issue and the volume of complaints. We encourage any residents of the 1st Congressional District who are experiencing postal issues to reach out to our office, where we have staff available to assist."

As for Devereaux, her message to UPS is: "Chicagoans in the Bronzeville area are pretty much tired of all of the excuses. Just do your job."