For two weeks, Amazon upended package delivery on Block Island. Here's how.

NEW SHOREHAM – Amazon issued an apology to Block Islanders and pledged to quickly reinstate home delivery this week after The Providence Journal inquired about recent changes that have caused widespread frustration.

For about two weeks, islanders have been unable to get most Amazon packages delivered to their homes – a major headache, since many residents rely on the e-commerce site as a way to avoid paying high prices on the island, or making time-consuming trips to the mainland.

The company now says it's making adjustments to its delivery process that should be in place by the end of the month.

Why packages suddenly began piling up at Block Island's post office

According to Dede Beck, one of the owners of Lamb's Package Service, the recent delivery problems began when Amazon changed the way that most packages get to the island.

Her business previously handled most local Amazon deliveries, and it suddenly began fielding phone calls from residents who weren't getting their orders. For the small, family-run company, the change also meant losing a significant source of revenue.

Until recently, Beck said, UPS delivered most Amazon shipments to Point Judith, where they were loaded onto the Block Island Ferry. Her company, which has a contract with UPS, would unload the packages on Block Island and deliver them to customers.

About two weeks ago, things abruptly changed. Now, a different delivery company loads up a van with dozens of Amazon packages and drives it onto the Block Island Ferry. When the ferry gets to the island, the van's driver unloads all the packages at the tiny post office, then turns around and leaves on the next ferry.

"That might work on the mainland," Beck said. The problem, she pointed out, is that the U.S. Postal Service doesn't deliver to homes or businesses on Block Island – so there aren't any mail carriers to distribute the packages.

Instead, islanders have to wait in line to collect their packages at the two-window post office, which has only a few employees, limited storage space and very few parking spots, Beck said. Understandably, postal workers were overwhelmed, she added, and the arrangement was a problem for elderly residents who couldn't carry heavy boxes.

Amazon says USPS didn't mention lack of mail delivery on Block Island

The confusion on Block Island may be an unintended consequence of Amazon's drive to cut costs and increase efficiency.

In order to take advantage of cheaper shipping costs, Amazon has been ending some contracts with UPS and entering new ones with the USPS instead, Beck said. This summer, she got a call from an Amazon manager in Providence asking if they could just drop off packages at the ferry, then have Lamb's unload and deliver them on the island.

More: A baby seal rescued on Block Island this summer returns to the sea. Watch Cranberry go.

To her, it sounded like Amazon wanted to cut UPS and Interstate Navigation out of the equation. Beck replied that the ferry company would need to be on board and have its own contract to bring packages over. She didn't hear from Amazon again after that, she said.

Now the company appears to have gone in a different direction: Beck says she's been told that they have contracts with the USPS and the delivery company that's been depositing vanloads of packages at the post office.

In an emailed statement, Amazon spokesman Sam Stephenson suggested that the USPS had agreed to handle packages that get shipped to Block Island, but didn't mention that there was no home mail delivery.

“The USPS is one of several carriers we work with to get customers’ orders to them as quickly as possible," he said. "And like all our partnerships, our work with the USPS is collaborative – meaning they review and approve our forecasts prior to launching a site with Amazon."

"When the USPS agreed to handle our orders on Block Island, we weren't made aware that customers would have to pick up their packages at the post office," Stephenson continued. "We apologize for that inconvenience, and we're shifting our delivery processes back to ensure packages are delivered directly to their homes.”

“We’re happy to accept mail tended to us by any shipper and will get it to its intended recipient in a timely manner,” said USPS spokesman Steve Doherty. “However, as with several island communities along the East Coast, Block Island postal customers never receive street delivery and always retrieve their mail year-round at the post office.”

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Frustration follows Amazon changing package delivery for Block Island