Mail Delivery

[tomturbomatic]

I don't know if this is too political to be about the home; if it is I guess it will be moved, but our home mail delivery has declined from 6 days a week to two. I know this because I leave outgoing, but not gregarious, mail in the door slot and the mail carrier does not pick it up. I do not hear the truck go up the hill on our street or even on neighboring streets. Once or twice a week there will be a big mail delivery with community papers from the week before. Maybe it is too hot for them to be out in the weather.

When we do our weekly walk at Hillwood, I put a small ice pack in my shirt pocket and carry one in my mask around my neck. I figured out the ice pack thing when our Metro station was without cooling one summer.

 

[ea56]

Neither rain, nor snow nor dark of night is supposed to imped the delivery of the US mail.  

 

I’ve also noticed when I pickup our mail that outgoing mail hasn’t been picked up by the postal carrier, even after they’ve just delivered the mail.  I think that some of the newer carriers or subs on the route aren’t familiar with the location of the outgoing mail receptacle and they overlook it.

 

I’d call you local USPS office Tom and let them know about the outgoing mail not being picked up.  Personally, I never leave any outgoing mail in the receptacle at our mailbox kiosk. I drop it in the blue USPS box on the street a few steps away from our front door.

 

Eddie

 

[mattl]

i get daily mail, junk but mail. If I have something to go out I use the old method and raise the red flag on my big old galvanized mail box that has been there for over 50 years...

 

I do use informed delivery where I get an email showing any first class mail coming to my box on any given day.

 

[DADoES]

 
Informed delivery isn't reliable as it once was.  Not unusual that there's a photo of a piece that arrives a day later.  One instance was 3 days.  Local PO mumbled/word-saladed an excuse that "it sometimes happens."

 

[repairguy]

Postal service locally is terrible but I believe it is the employees. I go to the next town over with excellent results.

 

[turbokinetic]

Funny postal story...

I can't complain too much about the service USPS has given me. They come every day it seems. My normal routine is to sit in my kitchen in the morning doing work paperwork, forum messages, and other computer stuff until about 09:00. Seems each day I am home and at the computer around 08:30, the rural route carrier stops by my box. I live in rural Alabama.

 

They have a separate carrier for packages. Got home from a two-week-long work trip and found a weathered and wet box on my front porch. It had been delivered a day or so after I left home and had been sitting out during a rainy spell. 

It was addressed to another house on the same county road - someone I don't know and the address was a large number off, so it could be many miles from me.  The post office is about 2 miles away. I took it to the post office and told the clerk about it. The response was pretty crazy.  They KNEW the box was on my porch. The neighbor had filed a claim on it, but they are not allowed to remove it from a property once they leave it; unless someone gives them permission or hands it back to them. They had come to my house, stood directly by the box, knocked on the door, and then left without the box when nobody was home. They had done this repeatedly while I was out of town for two weeks; while the box was getting ruined by the rain every day. 

I understand that there are probably some pretty arcane rules they follow, but watching a known mis-delivered package sit and weather away daily for two weeks seems pretty sad. You would think someone would ask for permission from higher up, to retrieve the package. Someone would have the authority to make that decision I am sure. 

 

[tomturbomatic]

My mail slot is in my front door.

 

[fan-of-fans]

Haven't had any issues other than the typical next door mail left in my box and vice versa.

I've noticed lately it seems that they arrive earlier and earlier on Saturday morning in particular. But that's the only delivery day I'm home for.

I prefer to put out outgoing mail in the morning rather than day/evening before, and I find I can't get it in the box soon enough. Was about to head out last Saturday to put it in the box and heard the truck coming already. Long way to the box so wouldn't have made it in time.

 

[wayupnorth]

My Informed Delivery e/mail is pretty accurate as what I will receive that day. I used to have it in my box by 10 am. Because of all the screw ups at the PO now, by 3 pm is the norm now.

 

[bradfordwhite]

"Informed delivery isn't reliable as it once was. "
When it works it's nice, but... it's spotty. It depends on the office.

Sometimes it will be really good for a month or two and then suddenly there is no scans even though there is mail. It's like you can tell when an employee has moved on.

How are the delivery trucks in your area?
In my rural area the mail trucks are actual USPS trucks from like the 80s. They are often quite faded and don't run well. Sometimes the carrier has to crank the engine several times to get it started.

I think this is a state by state thing. In VA. the rural carriers seem to have their own vehicles.

I've also over heard carriers talking among themselves about "lucrative rural routes".
My guess is they are contractors while those who work in the building are employees.

 

[bradfordwhite]

I'm sure

 No one remembers these.

 

[tolivac]

I put my monthly bills for picup yesterday(8-5) and checked the mail tonight before going to work-still in my mailbox with the raised red flag.WHATS GOING ON?????There needs to be a SHAKEDOWN in the postal service-employees NOT producing need to be sent home for good!!!This would include managers,too!Enough of this nonsense!

 

[DADoES]

 
My understanding is that USPS isn't required to pick-up on walk/drive routes if there's no incoming mail to the address, or perhaps if there is none on the entire span of the street such as could conceivably occur on my street of 12 residences outside the city-proper.  Someone correct me if that's incorrect.

 

[luxflairguy]

Welcome to the world of Louis Dejoy!

 

[ea56]

You Said It Greg!

I walk daily for 45 -60 min in our little town of about 7,500 pop and I’ve come to know a few of the old time USPS carriers and will sometimes strike up a brief conversation with them. The old timers all say that since DeJoy took over the job has become difficult to the extreme. They have longer routes and are told that if they can’t get the mail delivered on time, let it be late. This goes against the grain of these old time carriers who take pride in what they do.

As a result the old timers are quitting in record numbers. The USPS has been sending post cards to every postal customer regularly about hiring opportunities with the USPS. This has never happened before in my recollection. Getting a job as a USPS carrier used to be a coveted position, a civil servant job with great benefits that you could work at for 20 plus years and retire from with a secure, defined pension.

Now the carrier slots are being filled with new carriers that can’t keep up with the the workload, have no intention of making it a career and don’t have the same work ethic as the old timers. This is the main reason for the problems with the mail. And it all boils down to that Trump appointed POS DeJoy, who has BTW instilled anything but joy into the USPS.

Eddie

 

[tomturbomatic]

Yesterday afternoon, we had a great, everything must go, lost our lease, going out of business thunder storm from before 5:00 until after 6. Rain continued until after 7, but nothing like the blizzard wind driven rain that came down so heavily that it obscured vision to the street behind me. Sometime after 7, I heard the mail flap in the front door and it was my mail carrier. He picked up the AMICA Insurance check and left the usual money begs from charities and political candidates, maybe 6 pieces total. I hope he had a secure place to shelter from the worst of the storm, poor soul. I wonder if there will be any mail delivery today, not to look a gift horse in the mouth.

 

[tomturbomatic]

Hey, I just had another mail movement at 2:35. I am as proud as the parent of a toddler making a poop.

 

[DADoES]

 
Should be at least a newspaper delivered today, haven't looked.  No Informed Delivery e-mail.  Of course it's too large to photo, even folded.  Typically says yada-yada "for which we do not have an image" yada-yada.  Maybe they quit that if there's nothing else that's scan-/photo-able?

 

[sudsmaster]

I've noticed that mail deliveries to my address have slowed considerably over the past week. Normally I get a LOT of junk mail. Not so much any more.

 

Not that I'm complaining.