SO annoyed with our mail carrier

[ez]

I would always get out if a vehicles blocked the box, when it was a lawn service, tree service, parked car...except if it was a parked car for a few days, usually the teenagers that live there, then I would stop delivering till they moved it. It is always the same houses on a route that block the mailboxes. The thing with the PO is, there are good carriers and bad ones. All are treated equally. Management does not care if you give poor service, all they care about is their #'s. If someone calls and complains, the most you will get is a little sticky note about it left on your case for you to see in the afternoon. A carrier does not have to deliver mail if access to a curbside box is blocked or impeded, a good carrier will use there own judgement, a lazy carrier will never leave it!

 

[mickeyfan2]

Does anyone know if you can tip them?

Yes you can. Each Christmas we leave our mail carrier a card with a $20 bill in it. The next day we always have a card from him that thanks us for the gift. It is a PO rule that the gift can not exceed $20.00.

 

[Melrosgirl]

i've had this same thing happen to me! Mailman left a note saying he couldn't get to the mailbox, yet he was able to put the note there! (Neighbor parked in front of my mailbox.) It's one of those "duh" moments. It's like the mailman just wants to be a jerk.

 

[mickeyboat]

We do not have mail delivery service. We have a PO box and have to go to the PO to get our mail. Of course the PO closes at 5PM - the same time I get out of work. But the Postmaster keeps the doors open until about 5:30 so we can collect our mail.

One year I sent a graduation card to a friend which was incorrectly addressed. It was returned to my PO box. The Postmaster intercepted the returned mail, called the town where the card was supposed to go, got the right address, and remailed the card for me. She thought it was a Mother's Day card, and didn't want it to be later. She wouldn't even let me reimburse her for postage.

She retired a couple of years ago and the girls and I went to her retirement party. What a sweet lady!

Denae

 

[mickeyfan2]

Now we also tip our gargage carrier at Christmas. We leave them a case of beer. Always get great trash service.

 

[Katy Belle]

I think that was incredibly rude!
We've had both great, and not so great, over the years. One great one was a man named Webster. NOT a hottie, but so sweet. When I had a newborn baby he would bring the mail to the door for the first few weeks...so sweet. Also had one in Louisiana that was horrible...happened to my neighbor, not me, but of course we were all upset for her. Mailman delivered an oversized cardboard envelope, clearly marked "PHOTOS -Do Not Bend", bent it in half, stuffed it in the mailbox, still wouldn't fit, so left the door to the mailbox OPEN and it was raining outside! The photos were ruined by the time we all returned home from work and found it! She did complain, but I'm not sure if her destroyed photos were paid for or not.
Katy

 

[gabbygrennell]

I feel your pain guys! Thought I would add my po complaint!
We live in a small town... well technically it is a village... lol!
Only 2000 people. There are several people that work in the po, our carrier varies from day to day. Usually two diff guys. There is a road behind us, that connects into ours. Their road which is paved, does not actually have concrete curbs... so for yrs the post master has told them they do not deliver on roads without curbs. So they all had to have po boxes... they all complained constantly which I understand.
Around here it is common knowledge that in our tiny town, people seem to do things the way they want wether or not that is how it should be done. The post master is notorious for this! For the longest time when we first moved in, all of our mail was being returned to sender. We did not know until several friends contacted us to let us know they were getting pkgs back! Post master said Huh, dont know why they would be being returned... pretty much didnt give a hoot... ok, back to the subj...
Well, not too long ago, our neighbor behind us contacted someone much higher up in the po, as he was getin nowhere with the post master. They got back in touch with him, and told him to get his mail box out because they had contacted the postmaster, and that they would be getting mail service now! It was funny to see all the neighbors out there putting up mail boxes! lol! Sure enough, they get service now!
Our mail carriers are great, it just seems to be the postmaster who has a bad attitude.
I imagine it is just like any thing else, there are good ones and bad ones!

 

[Aimee K]

Our current MC seems okay so far. My biggest complaint I think has been mentioned already. Here in Central Florida, a lot of us live in communities with gang boxes. At christmas time one year, I got a 'Sorry We Missed You' note. I KNOW I was home and available at the time. So I checked the little box that offered redelivery. So two days later, I was expecting a knock from the mail man. When I finally went to check the mail, there was another note. Seems he didn't feel like delivering oversized packages to the front doors of any one in our neighborhood. Talking to neighbors revealed we ALL had to bring ourselves down to the PO during the holidays to pick up our packages before they were returned to sender. Frustrating to say the least, but he wasn't our mailman any more after the first of the year!

 

[Mimi Q]

My SIL complained about her mail carrier recently and all her mail mysteriously disappeared for three weeks. She finally gave up and got a post office box.

 

[lissawynn]

My dad was a mail carrier and always received lots of bottles of liquor for Christmas gifts. He used to get some cash, too.
He notified the police when one of his folks hadn't gotten her mail in a couple of days. It's a good thing that he did b/c she had fallen in her home and wasn't able to get to the phone. The ambulance came for her, and she was hospitalized.
My dad was a good mail carrier.

 

[jennyl772003]

Let me see if I get this right.

Your mailbox is frequently blocked by cars. Your mail carrier had enough and put a note in your box and didn't deliver the mail. Yep, that's what I would have done. Seriously. I was a mail carrier for a while.

Remember, you are not the only mail box on the route. Carriers are not necessarily paid for actual hours worked, sometimes they are paid by how long the PO thinks it should take them. If they are constantly getting out of their car to put your mail in the box, they are not getting paid for that time. If they are doing this multiple times in a day, it adds up. (parcels are alloted extra delivery time to take into account walking them to the door)

Maybe if you are so concerned about this, you will make sure cars don't park in front of your box anymore.

 

[ChristmasElf]

Isn't it ironic that the Post Office insists they are NOT a government agency. Yet, whenever there is a government holiday they are always CLOSED?

 

[Minnie824]

Let me see if I get this right.

Your mailbox is frequently blocked by cars. Your mail carrier had enough and put a note in your box and didn't deliver the mail. Yep, that's what I would have done. Seriously. I was a mail carrier for a while.

Remember, you are not the only mail box on the route. Carriers are not necessarily paid for actual hours worked, sometimes they are paid by how long the PO thinks it should take them. If they are constantly getting out of their car to put your mail in the box, they are not getting paid for that time. If they are doing this multiple times in a day, it adds up. (parcels are alloted extra delivery time to take into account walking them to the door)

Maybe if you are so concerned about this, you will make sure cars don't park in front of your box anymore.

Our mailbox is not frequently blocked. It has been in the past because we are in a new subdivision...when houses are being built the construction workers block everyones...I have called the builders multiple times on this. We NEVER have a car parked in front of our mailbox. Again, if the mail carrier had just not delivered our mail, I would have had no problem. However, he took the time to write a note and get out of his car to put IT in the mailbox, but not our mail. Also to note, we have different mail carriers alot....all the others are very nice, some got out of their car during the construction, one will put all the mail at our door if theres a package.

 

[jennyl772003]

I misunderstood then. I apologize.

When I delivered mail in new subdivisions with lots of construction vehicles, I always got out to put the mail in the box.

That's what I get for skimming through...

 

[Minnie824]

No problem I don't think I mentioned the fact that earlier times it was due to being in a new subdivision.

 

[C.Ann]

I didn't bother to have my mail delivered up here at the lake last year - and have to make a phone call today to get it started this year - but prior to that, the mail service was pretty good for a rural area and small post office.. Usually when I would call to have it started the gal who answered the phone would call me by my first name, ask how I was doing, etc. - and I've never met this person in my life! The only real problem was that if the carrier was sick - or their car broke down - you just didn't get your mail.. No "subs"..

Winter delivery here could be a different situation though.. All of the mail boxes are down on the main county road and although the carriers don't expect the snow to be cleared away, they do expect the mail boxes to be there.. Nine times out of ten, they're not.. First big snowstorm the town snowplow wipes them all out..

 

[Disney1fan2002]

Isn't it ironic that the Post Office insists they are NOT a government agency. Yet, whenever there is a government holiday they are always CLOSED?

Is it funny how the post office is run completely on their own revenue, no funds from the government, but whenever they see a profit they have to turn it over to the government.

And excuse me, but their are MANY private industries that are also closed on federal holidays. That is why they are called HOLIDAYS.

I have tried to stay away from this thread, because of reading all the misconceptions that people have about the Postal Service. I worked for the PO for 14 years as a rural carrier, and it sounds like the OP's mail carrier is a rural carrier. Rural Carrier's are NOT ALLOWED to leave their vehicles, unless it is to get a signature, then they have to secure their vehicle and go to the door. It sounds to me, that cars in front of this OP's box is a regular occurance. (from the many different ways different people give her the mail). Personally, if a box was constantly blocked, I would let them know it cannot be blocked, if it continued, they would not get their mail. And yes, I would of put a note in the box and NOT the mail, just to make the person have to go out of their way to get their mail. I would justify it as a way to make them think about what an inconvenience it is to constantly have their box blocked.

Also, to the OP, the beeping of the mail truck? Your mail carrier was probably beeping to give you an opportunity to come out and get the mail from him, without him having to leave his vehicle. Not to move the car. So, if I beeped, which I did all the time, and the home owners ignored me, you bet your butt I would be aggrivated enough to leave a note and take the mail back to the office with me.

To give you an idea of a rural carriers day. I had over 500 customers on my route. I got paid based on how much mail volume I carried and the number of boxes I delivered to. The PO gives a time credit per box, and it is based on drive up delivery, not walk up delivery. If I had to get out and walk to each mailbox to get around a car, a TRASH CAN, a tricycle, ect. it would take me forever to get done with my route, Then we would have the people at the end of the route complaining that they don't get their mail until 5PM.

I learned along time ago, people just have no clue how a PO works, they think the mail should magically appear in their box. They also don't understand that there is a HUGE difference between a rural carrier and a CITY carrier. (different unions and everything). Different job altogether.

I have to get out of this thread. To everyone who appreciates their mail carrier, I thank you. It really is not the "peice of cake" job a lot of people think it is.

 

[minniecarousel]

Ya learn something new every day! I NEVER knew that a car parked in front of a mailbox could result in no mail delivery!? Our mailboxes are on the yard side of the sidewalk - the carrier HAS to get out of their jeep to place the mail in our boxes (the sidewalk is too wide to reach over!)

 

[Alicnwondrln]

My SIL complained about her mail carrier recently and all her mail mysteriously disappeared for three weeks. She finally gave up and got a post office box.

I have had this happen
we have lived here for over 5 years and we are always missing mail
i have called and complained and have an active documented case
the po doesnt care they make excuses and nothing happened til i called the 1800 number then things got alittle better but we still have issues
we have gone away and the mail still comes and it is never at the po when i need to ick it up
its crap
i hate the po and cousin works for them and wa slike yeah this doesnt surprise me
they were like get a po box i was like no way why should i have to pay for it

 

[Tuffcookie]

Minnie824, That was totally out of line for your mail carrier to take the trouble to leave a note but not leave the mail.

I live in the downtown area of our city. I have one of those Step 3 mailboxes and it's fastened on the front of my house. One day, I was home from work, watching TV, and I heard this terrible banging noise coming from my porch. I opened the door and caught the mailman opening and closing my mailbox lid really loudly! I don't think he expected me to be home. He muttered something about "hating those kind of boxes because they never stay closed"! What an attitude! I called the post office on him! He may have been having a bad day but don't take it out on a poor mailbox!

TC