Annoying Mailman

XpipedreamR

My mailman is a real lazy a$$. He never rings the bell for registered deliveries, even though I am almost always home. I began suspect that he wasn't even bothering to actually carry the registered packages around, and was just putting the pink slip in the box without even checking to see if I was home. So on my last registered delivery, I set a trap for him, and caught him flagrante delicto. I rushed out to him right after I saw that he had left the slip. Of course, he didn't have the package...he said he already put it back in the truck, two blocks down the street. Yeah...right

I got the satisfaction of knowing he was full of it, but what else can I do? I'd like to continue to receive most of my mail in the usual fashion, and not have it end up in a dumpster somewhere. Going to the post office to pick up my packages, while not horribly inconvenient, is becoming tiresome. Any suggestions?

SDCollector

Risky strategy. Two people you should never annoy, your mailman and your waiter/waitress.

Myqqy

Do mailpeople have supervisors that can be reported to? A higher-up might be able to light a fire under his rear side and make him see the importance of good quality work and customer service...

SDCollector

I complained about my mailman once to his supervisor. The next day someone kicked my mailbox off its stand. What a strange coincidence.

Donovan

<< <i>Do mailpeople have supervisors that can be reported to? A higher-up might be able to light a fire under his rear side and make him see the importance of good quality work and customer service... >>




They're all, not only government workers, but postal workers.

kranky

When I confronted him and was told that ridiculous story, I would have just said that I was home almost all the time, and would appreciate if he would start bringing the registered packages to the door so I didn't have to make a complaint to the postmaster.

A smart guy would comply. The dumb one, who wouldn't, deserves the complaint.

ARCO

Yeah I really hate that too. After about 100 trips to the post office three minutes before it closed so that I could get my coins the same day, I got pretty sick of fetching my coins when the postman failed to walk the registered mail up to me.

I now have the postman bring all my coins to my work. If I am not there a coworker is and I have not yet missed a coin. It is heaven.

Tyler

ddink

<< <i>was just putting the pink slip in the box without even checking to see if I was home. >>



My postlady does that too. I would think if after you talk to his supervisor your mailbox gets knocked over, perhaps notify the local TV news of the "coincidence." You never know if it'll do any good, but it's an idea.

darktone

<< <i>Do mailpeople have supervisors that can be reported to? A higher-up might be able to light a fire under his rear side and make him see the importance of good quality work and customer service... >>

I tried complaining to the local postmaster several times but all the forms I have filled out seemed to have vanished? I tried complaining by phone and on the internet about our local post office but no response or action has been taken. mike

LucyBop

Heck, my mailman keeps coming at all hours of the night.........

ElectricEye

<< <i>Heck, my mailman keeps coming at all hours of the night......... >>



I wouldn't touch that one with a ten foot pole.....

Bochiman

For Lucy, the postman rings more than twice

ealandg

I was having trouble with my mail delivery - a similar type of thing. I sent an e-mail using the postal service web site. That stopped the trouble. I also got a very apologetic letter from someone at the P.O. As I recall, I told them that their failure to deliver my mail had caused some hardship.

BigAl

my mailman routinely pulls this stunt...I actually chased him down the street once (he was driving the mail jeep).

It was the Friday before a long three day weekend and the registered receipt was from PCGS, I chased him for about 100 yards waving the registered receipt and yelling for him to stop before he finally noticed me. It came down to either making a b-line or waiting till Tuesday. I must have looked like a complete fool though, I remember people in their cars laughing and pointing at me. Pretty funny.

Bear

I give our mailman a very nice cash gift at Christmas,

and he never lets me down. Its worth every penny to me

to have really dependable service.

ms70

One time I had an arguement with a counter person at the local office about Priority Mail Delivery Confirmation being free when you
print the label online. He insisted it was not free but let me have it free "just this one time" as a courtesy. He didn't believe a word
I said about it being free.

I called the regional office (found the # on the USPS website) & spoke with someone there to make sure I was right & didn't misunderstand
their website. He told me I was right & insisted on knowing who told me it wasn't free. I wouldn't dime out the specific person but I told
him what office it happened at. He was mad that I was being threatened to not get a service they offer for free.

The next time I went there employees that I never spoke with before addressed me by my name & made it politely known that there was
a bit of a shake-up from the regional office. I never had a problem again & as time passed we all became friendly. At least it was a
happy ending.

paul43438

I don't know if the letter carrier has the package or not as I'm almost never there when the mail is deliveried. come to think of it I think that they do carry it cause when I'm here they do have the item.

My peeve is when I go to the post office to get the item they spend fifteen minutes finding it. very annoying.

MFH

Lucy,

You smameless hussy... I've heard it all, and your post made me ...

Tell me more.................

aeast236

Let the Postmaster know. (period)
-Aaron

Neptune

yes, I agree with Kranky. I would have told him that you are home most of time, and to just bring the packages with him from now on. Keep a watch out for him when you are expecting a package . . . it may take a few times to get the point across. Try to be polite but firm. I would try that before complaining - postal employees 'do' have a reputation!

edited to add:
Just re-read your post - and was wondering why you didn't ask him to retrieve it from his truck? I sure woulda! A couple of these retrievals could just make him kick his bad habit.

...he said he already put it back in the truck, two blocks down the street.

nOoBiEeE

<< <i>I give our mailman a very nice cash gift at Christmas,

and he never lets me down. Its worth every penny to me

to have really dependable service. >>



Same here, $10 to the mailman and $10 to the bank teller I deal with.

nankraut

I suggest that you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. So....bite your tongue and be really nice to him/her. Tell him that your wife is baking some special cookies for him, etc. Sorta "suck up" you know. The nasty route will be nothing but more trouble for you. Those who deliver the mail have P-O-W-E-R. (no, I'm not a mailperson)

XpipedreamR

<< <i>I suggest that you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. So....bite your tongue and be really nice to him/her. Tell him that your wife is baking some special cookies for him, etc. Sorta "suck up" you know. The nasty route will be nothing but more trouble for you. Those who deliver the mail have P-O-W-E-R. (no, I'm not a mailperson) >>






Are these the kind of cookies I put Ex-Lax in? Or regular cookies?

jimtre

My question to you.

If you DO NOT tell anyone (hopefully the Postmaster) How will they ever be able to straighten it out?

Jim

ohbaby

DOn't PO your mailman. They are know to carry guns!

Cladiator

Dude that sucks. I had the same situation at my last residence. The mail man was a lazy sack of worthless crap! He did the exact same stuff + more. The suck a$$ part is you can't do $hit about it. I moved and my new mailman rocks!

Dog97

My mailman is really cool. He pulls up in my yard & blows the horn & waits for me to come out. I've missed him a few times and actually had to chase him down the road to get my package. I'll skid up in front of him and block his jeep @ somebody's mailbox and jump out with my pink slip and say "You got something for me Buzzman?" His name is Buzz & he's been my mailman for years & years.

Barry

<< <i>My peeve is when I go to the post office to get the item they spend fifteen minutes finding it. very annoying. >>


The worst part of it is the counter guy is the one who disappears for 15 minutes, leaving everyone just waiting. Wouldn't it make sense to have someone working in the back bring it up front? Oh yeah, we're talking post office...

Compa

It may be just a regional thing, but here complaints are listened to and there is usually a favorable response on the part of the post office. We had a new route person replaced after 2 days on the route at work (the guy was really an a..) And here at home package deliveries were not happening (just the card) - one phone call took care of it with no reprisals and no forms to fill out.

Maybe things are just nicer here in the South ... except the constant drift of people from the north

itsnotjustme

When you do not report poor performance, you are condoning it and part of the problem.

nederveit

<< I give our mailman a very nice cash gift at Christmas,

and he never lets me down. Its worth every penny to me

to have really dependable service. >>

FYI, the USPS Postal Code of Ethics prohibits gifting:

GIFTS FROM OUTSIDE SOURCES

GENERALLY, EMPLOYEES MAY NOT ACCEPT GIFTS:
Given because of their official position, or from prohibited sources:

Those doing or seeking to business w/ Postal Service
Those substantially affected by the employee's official duties
Those seeking official action by the Postal Service
Those regulated by the Postal Service
A GIFT IS:

ALMOST ANYTHING OF MONETARY VALUE
Meals
Parties, Events
Transportation
Lodging
Event Tickets
Merchandise
CASH or its equivalent (such as gift certificates) are NEVER ACCEPTABLE IN ANY AMOUNT

http://www.usps.com/purchasing/supplierinfo/ethics.htm

I also wanted to give the mailman something last year, but given the rules, do you have any suggestions? He was a busy guy last year!

nOoBiEeE

<< <i>I also wanted to give the mailman something last year, but given the rules, do you have any suggestions? He was a busy guy last year! >>



Let him worry about that. Buy a $.99 card and slip some bucks in there and say, "This is for you and some coffee money to get you through the day". If he doesn't take it, it's ok, your actions/intentions will score high marks with him/her.

Prometheus183

Where I live, they actually don't bother with the packages, but simply put a delivery attempt card in the box. Today was an excellent example. My daughter was home and watching for the carrier, and in fact, meets her at the door. She's handed a pile of mail and in it is a delivery attampt card,.. already filled out. "Available for Pick Up at 14:30" it says (it's only 12:15). So my daughter calls me on my cell, and I swing my the house (I'm 2 minutes away). I pick the card up and drive over to the PO (another 2 minutes), and my post master retreives the parcel for me. By the way, the carrier is still out on deliveries.
Now I ask him, "What the hell is up with this,.. are your carriers pre-determining that nobody is going to be home to sign for packages?"
He looks at the card, notes the time, and is instantly livid. Assures me that "he needs to have a serious dialog with this carrier",... I agreed.

By the way, the parcel was from DLRC, and I was anticipating it's arival.

Craig

Lakesammman

Our lady is a real loo-loo. We built a house and went through alot of hassles in the process, suing the builders, etc. The mail-lady, now 10 years later, still leads off by saying, "too bad about that contractor. He really put you guys through the ringer, didn't he".

It's been 10 years FGS - give it a rest!!

So, I now get everything delivered at work - don't have to deal with her anymore.

cacheman

Hello Newman!!

Jody526

My mailman puts my package/letter in the mailbox along with the piece of paper that you have to sign, and a little note saying; "Thought I'd save you a trip to the Post Office".
I sign the paper, put it back in the box, and he picks it up the next day.
Saves us both time and trouble.

CHESSNUTDOG

I dont know how he does it, but we have the most wonderful postman who first makes all his registered deliveries then comes back around and parks his truck and makes the normal deliveries...probably not time efficient, but we always get our packages...Mike

tonyhar

I have the best postie you could find, he is trustworthy and on the odd occasion when I have been in and he has left the registered package at the post office he has gone back for it!
Keep up the good work Isle of Man Postal Authority!

RobJoyce1921dVAMguy

I got a PO Box. It saves me the hassle of a local carrier and provides a little more security. Downside is that I always have to go to the Post office to get a packcage...

Betta285

i never have a problem with my mailman....but then again, it might be because it's my father

ajaan

My regular letter carrier is the greatest. He parks his truck right across from my house and usually delivers the mail around the time I get home from school. On more than one occasion he has left a pick up slip but has noticed I've arrived home after he left the slip but before he finished delivering mail on my street. He will come back to my house and have me sign for the package.

I also usually give him a gift at Christmas. He always gives me pre-printed form, that appears to be offical, thanking me and my wife.

Also, aren't postal employees only quasi-government workers? Or is the Postal Service totally owned by the gov't now?

airplanenut

<< <i>My mailman puts my package/letter in the mailbox along with the piece of paper that you have to sign, and a little note saying; "Thought I'd save you a trip to the Post Office".
I sign the paper, put it back in the box, and he picks it up the next day.
Saves us both time and trouble. >>

If the package is Registered and gets lost, he's in deep doo doo

Veep

A long time ago, my brother was a letter carrier for the USPS for about five years. At that time, the carrier was given a set number of hours to cover his route. If he got it done faster, he still got paid for the full eight hours. My brother regularly would cover his route in five hours. He said that eight hours was a joke. He'd get done with his and then do part of another route where there carrier was out sick; on vacation, etc. This went on for a while until the internal pressure from his carrier "buddies" got too great. They told him that he was making them all look bad and he had better slow down. He had too much character for that, but as soon as he found a better opportunity, he left.

MadMonk

Call the postmaster generals office, and the postal inspector. That, to me, is mishandling and deceptive.

bearcave

<< <i>My mailman puts my package/letter in the mailbox along with the piece of paper that you have to sign, and a little note saying; "Thought I'd save you a trip to the Post Office".
I sign the paper, put it back in the box, and he picks it up the next day.
Saves us both time and trouble. >>



Your mailman sounds like mine! We live in the country where the next neighbor is more than a mile away and and the PO is 5 miles away. If the maillady can't get anybody's attention by blowing the horn she just leaves the package and the paper for signature in the box, I fill it out and sign it and put it back in the box for her to pick up the next day.

Edited to add: If its registered mail and no one is home, I take the slip to post office and get the package.

fishcooker

My mailman argues every - and I mean every - time I send a Registered item. I usually just keep cool and smile....... he thinks people need his permission to send via Registered, but I know better.

Usually asks what's in the package, too.

RiffRaff1967

I had a great mailman - ex vietnam vet, loved my dogs, and always went the extra mile for me. He recently retired, and we have had at least 6 different carriers since. They seem to keep rotating them - I don't get it. I will also say that I agree with others on the goings on at the post office; I've had 2 or 3 people running around trying to find my package. I always get so nervous watching them, and I've had a few times were I blurted out - hey, it probably looks like a jiffy mailer...... then all of a sudden they find it. It's really not that hard to create locations, and put them in the computer along with the cert number.