No package in today's mail.
According to the USPS FAQ
Lost or Delayed Mailpieces
If You Have the Label ID number from the Mailing Label or Receipt (Sender or Recipient): If you suspect that your mailpiece has been lost or delayed and you have a tracking number for your item, please contact our Track & Confirm customer service at 1-800-222-1811.
So I called the number. I navigated the voice mail prompts. (No, it's not an international package; no it didn't come from abroad.) I input my looong tracking number. The USPS robot says “no tracking information is available”. And there are no other options that sound relevant. And no, it won't put me through to a human.
Clicking on the Track & Confirm – Customer Assistance FAQ found at the USPS FAQ for Track and Confirm produces
com.silknet.ebiz.util.SilkException: Invalid Reference Name
Which kind of sums it up.
In addition to the general 800 numbers that they prefer people use, if you use the post office finder function on usps.com and drill down to the next level (assuming they haven’t eliminated the “see more” prompt) you should be able to get a direct dial to you local post office.
Yea… and they will then be able to tell you…
“To call the automated system, and it’s also on the internet.”
GFL
I dealt with a similar issue a few days ago. I had mailed a parcel to Brasil via Global Priority, the recipient hadn’t received it, and a few weeks had elapsed. I called the 222-1811 number, found a human through the international side, and was able to open a case. They require that three weeks elapse between the shipping date.
Try saying “international” when they prompt for international or domestic. Hope this helps.