![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-159887-100x100.png\")
I'd say yes, if only because you said you were going to. Once you decided (at the spur of the moment) to make an issue out of this, you're committed. You've got to follow through.
Can you tell I have twin four-year-olds at home?
I'd say yes, if only because you said you were going to. Once you decided (at the spur of the moment) to make an issue out of this, you're committed. You've got to follow through.
Can you tell I have twin four-year-olds at home?
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-169958-100x100.png\")
only if your packages contain cute kittens.
![\"user-pic\"](\"/css/images/default.gif\")
Honestly what good is it going to do. The postman won't get fired. Their union is too strong.
@crashman2600: Actually you would be suprised. With the recent economic downturn and the hoopla regarding postal service budgets many post offices are using federal contract employees. These are temporary workers who do not enjoy the full range of protection that normal postal service workers do. I have a friend in Modesto who has been doing this for 2 years and he was almost fired for being in a small accident.
@crashman2600: Amen to this. Postal uniosn are almost as bad as the auto or teachers unions. I know the assistant postmaster of my area. She's a good friend. Even knowing her doesn't get me better service. I've had registered/overnight mail not get delivered while I'm sitting in the house waiting for it.
The best part though? Remember that whole \"through rain, through sleet, through driving snow\" slogan? Not anymore. If there is a 1/4 inch of snow on the ground and I don't have time to sweep the walk off before going to work, my mail isn't delivered. I live in Michigan, so we get dustings of snow all the time. I'm not talking even an inch, but barey enough to cover the sidewalk and he won't deliver. They don't have to.
![\"user-pic\"](\"/mt-static/support/assets_c/userpics/userpic-537475-100x100.png\")
@crashman2600: It's that kind of opinion that gets nothing accomplished. It may not do anything, you're right. But it's important to try.
![\"user-pic\"](\"/mt-static/support/assets_c/userpics/userpic-365402-100x100.png\")
@pecan 3.14159265: At my last place of residence I probably reported my postman about once a month, as did all of my neighbors. Stuff wasn't delivered, or it was delivered to the wrong address, or left in piles on sidewalks. No one cared, nothing ever changed.
![\"user-pic\"](\"/mt-static/support/assets_c/userpics/userpic-258324-100x100.png\")
@windycity: Same, same at the last place I lived in Maryland. The same issues get reported to the postmaster on a quarterly basis, yet nothing's changed.
Suggest the OP look into a PO Box as a way of cutting the problem carrier \"out of the loop\".
@pecan 3.14159265: I understand the pessimism. I have complained about aggressive, nasty PO employees before and their supervisor told me he is powerless to fire them. They totally know it too, if you complain to them about their behavior they just send you right over to their supervisor. Sad.
![\"user-pic\"](\"/mt-static/support/assets_c/userpics/userpic-6536-100x100.png\")
their supervisor told me he is powerless to fire them
@puddinhead: I always suspect that sort of line (\"I can't do anything because of union/affirmative action/etc.\") is at least partially BS and that they really could do something but don't want to put forth the effort.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-68654-100x100.png\")
@Rectilinear Propagation: i feel the same way. if managers were doing their jobs properly, we wouldn't be talking about this. the disciplinary code is all written down - follow it to the 't' & you can most certainly fire a union employee.
the problem is, of the 3 postmasters i deal with frequently, 2 couldn't find a needle in a needlestack, so expecting them to understand the process for disciplinary action is a lost cause.
i did succeed in filing a complaint against a carrier once - she no longer services my route. it took an all-out shouting match with the postmaster though & a follow-up with the regional postmaster. not fun.
When it comes to government work (even though the PO is barely a government agency anymore), people are nearly impossible to fire. I had a coworker at my last gov't job tell another person to go home and kill herself, and she still wasn't fired (granted, my old boss was kind of a puss, but still).
If there's anything worse than working with someone who's incompetent and lazy, it's someone who's incompetent, lazy, and thinks/knows they're bulletproof.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-83385-100x100.png\")
@drgstrcowgirl: Except in the rarest of circumstances, if an employee drags it out properly, it can take up to two years to fire a federal employee.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-52435-100x100.png\")
@crashman2600: What a pity. I know several hard working people out of work that would jump all over a postal job AND would not throw shit around.
You can report it, but they will do nothing about it.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-6173-100x100.png\")
@JGBrock: Yep. I have reported my PACKAGE-THROWING, MAIL-HATING mailwomen repeatedly. She FLUNG the 7th Harry Potter book at EVERYONE'S front door the day it was delivered, WHILE WE WERE HAVING A NEIGHBORHOOD GARAGE SALE AND EVERYONE WAS OUTSIDE WATCHING HER.
She knows I work from home most days and will throw things at my OPEN front door (hitting the screen). Once I actually HEARD the thing in the box break. She routinely delivers mail to the wrong addresses, and drops mail in the bushes, and really just apparently hates her job.
Once -- this is absolutely true -- she got run over by a truck. We had a different mail carrier for six weeks. It was awesome.
And the problem is -- even when I order Fed Ex or UPS, they do \"last mile\" with the post office for a lot of deliveries. I've never had this kind of problem with the USPS before, but this woman is a nightmare.
She also occasionally attaches snarky post-its to my mail? So I think she may be unbalanced.
@Eyebrows McGee (now with more baby!): What lincolnparadox said downthread. There are a lot of no-nonsense people at the post office who still give a damn, but you have to figure out which ones they are. If you can't get help from the delivery supervisor, try the postmaster. If you can't get help from the postmaster, you can probably do something at the national level.
I have a USPS problem I can't fix, but it's an institutional policy kind of thing -- carriers who don't want to walk bid on walking routes, use vehicle-route sortation (I think), then when a house changes hands they make the new owner move the mailbox to the street. If they couldn't do step 3, they wouldn't do steps 1 or 2. So the post office hates my neighborhood -- especially since the Endless all live on my block and don't plan on selling their houses -- and there's not much we can do about it.
But actual delivery issues? Those can be resolved, and I've never had to escalate one beyond the local level.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-483565-100x100.png\")
@Eyebrows McGee (now with more baby!): Snarky post-its--for real? Are they commenting on your actual mail? Does she have an issue with your catalogues and charitable solicitations?
That's really bizarre.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-690585-100x100.png\")
@floraposte: We get snarky post-its from our mail harridan, too.
We're rural, so she doesn't even have to get out of the damn car to deliver the mail. She once left a nastygram (in post-it form) because of an empty tin can sitting by our mailbox (it had apparently dropped out of a torn trashbag on the way to the trashcan by our less-than-caring teenager). I just smile and wave to her, which I'm sure the old crone hates. Kill 'em with kindness, eh?
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-1225465-100x100.png\")
@Eyebrows McGee (now with more baby!):
Whoa.
What about videotaping her doing some of these crazy things and sending it to her supervisors? Maybe she'll be given a new route...
Part of the reason I have a surveillance camera system is to catch things like that. The media loves that sort of thing, and negative publicity that they can't easily deny gets results.
![\"user-pic\"](\"/mt-static/support/assets_c/userpics/userpic-943594-100x100.png\")
@Eyebrows McGee (now with more baby!): Wow. I've had all sorts of problems with our post office, but crap I feel better now. That woman is nuts! Fingers crossed she'll...um...well, I'd hate to say get run over again, but maybe she'll find another job?
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-332258-100x100.png\")
@Eyebrows McGee (now with more baby!):She was run over by a truck?
Well, I have one idea that would solve your problem. You may want to invest in a grill guard for your vehicle beforehand, though.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-53248-100x100.png\")
Just send a letter detailing the same story to the postmaster. I have never received a package that wasn't dinged up.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-381850-100x100.png\")
Nothing will come of it and you'll no longer be able to rely on the postal service, at least while you live at that address.
Bad idea to complain, in my opinion.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-929652-100x100.png\")
Report it. Report the retribution. As crashman2600 notes above, they probably have a strong union, but it doesn't hurt to try. Ask your neighbors to be on the lookout as well.
![\"user-pic\"](\"/mt-static/support/assets_c/userpics/userpic-782863-100x100.png\")
At this point you pretty much have to report him. You said you would, and he's expecting you to. He may already be planning retribution, if he's so inclined, so avoiding it may already be impossible.
Reporting him will put the USPS \"on notice\" about his behavior, though, so if you find your mail has been tampered with later, you will have credibility with them, and therefore ammunition, to use in case you need to make another report.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-91037-100x100.png\")
I would report, but I realize probably won't change much.
I don't think it will go anywhere...too subjective. Besides, I would say the package has seen much worse in transit. If the contents are ok, then fine.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-439770-100x100.png\")
I complained about our mail delivery person because I kept getting my mail weeks late. Once I complained, they stopped delivering my mail completely and I had to go pick it up at the post office. There's a bit more to the story - but the bottom line is DON'T BOTHER. It isn't worth your time.
@eccsame:
This doesn't surprise me at all. About 12 years ago, letters I mailed to my sister (two states away) that had always taken 2 to 4 days to arrive suddenly started taking 10 to 14 days. After half a dozen times of this happening, I decided to ask at our small-town post office if there's any way we could trace where the letters were getting hung up. I was friendly about it -- had no reason not to be -- but she took personal offense and to this day is snotty to me (but no one else is).
When my Netflix videos starting sometimes taking a week to get to them (instead of overnight), I started keeping track of when & where I mailed them. In EVERY case, it was when I put it in the mailbox at our post office. There were no delays when I mailed them from home or several other post offices in my area. Instead of saying anything to them at the post office, I wrote an anonymous letter to the postmaster. And I started taping my Netflix envelopes shut with packing tape -- and not a single disc has taken more than overnight to get to them since then.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-405000-100x100.png\")
I think your mailman assumes you have already reported it so whether you do or not will probably not effect his opinion of you ;)
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-132151-100x100.png\")
I generally don't care what happens to my mail as long as it's in servicable order by the time I receive it.
That said, I did go off on a UPS guy once who flipped my box of live turtles AS HE HANDED IT TO ME even though there was plenty of signage on the outside indicating the contents. He responded in the same way saying something like if I thought this was bad I should see how they get it on the truck. They're turtles! They will suffocate on their backs! I called and complained but they're union members, no one cares. They did take him off of my route though.
I say call. With all the cuts the post office is doing it may just have an impact.
@Kimaroo - 20% More Kitty Added!: Only certain carriers will take live animals, and (if you actually tell them what you're sending) you have to jump through a lot of hoops. A lot of people do ship live animals, though most use next day service, depending on the animal.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-580579-100x100.png\")
@Kimaroo - 20% More Kitty Added!: UPS ships certain species, and has recently started shipping a limited number of previously prohibited species (namely, snakes) through a partnership with a specific company. FedEx is the shipper of choice when sending out snakes. I don't believe that either offers a live arrival guarantee (I know FedEx doesn't, and I don't think UPS does). All of the responsible shippers that I know send the animals out Priority Overnight to minimize travel time on the animal. I have heard of people sending snakes and turtles via a slower shipping method or through the USPS (which is illegal, btw, as a violation of the Lacey Act), both of which I consider to be pretty deplorable acts as it endangers the health of the animals should they get caught in transit.
(Snake breeder and certified FedEx shipper...I had to hit the books to find out how to ship our babies.)
@h3llc4t has a slow work day: Hats off to you. I had a friend that bred snakes and even though for whatever reason I never developed a fear of them overall, taking them out of their bag/box after they've been tousled around for an entire day was not something I'd ever volunteer for. You could hear them hissing through the box!
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-545648-100x100.png\")
@h3llc4t has a slow work day: USPS ships live birds.
I looked that one up after seeing a mail carrier hand off a box of clucking chickens to one of my neighbors.
@kateblack: Poultry and other animals that are OK to be shipped over a 72 hour period, like earthworms, lizards, snails, crickets, grasshoppers, and bees, are fine to ship via USPS. They specifically prohibit the shipment of snakes and turtles, however (Section 526.6 of the postal code), which is why I called those two out. Strangely enough, scorpions are OK.
@Kimaroo - 20% More Kitty Added!: This was the shipper's choice not mine. As others have already pointed out apparently it's pretty common with reptiles and from pet store to pet store with fish and other critters.
@kateblack: Well, to add on/emphasize what h3llc4t wrote, you can ship poultry, but shipping domestic birds like parrots is prohibited with all carriers (pet stores have to be approved).
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-488475-100x100.png\")
@kateblack: Yes, you can get chickens in the mail. When my ex and I raised them, however, we bought from somebody local. We got some turkeys from there too.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-498964-100x100.png\")
@h3llc4t: Well that is interesting.. I would freak out if I got a box of snakes.. (You know, mis-delivered or something.)
The only live thing I've ever gotten in the mail was ants for my ant farm as a kid..
@Kimaroo - 20% More Kitty Added!: Heh, I understand. Thankfully most reptile shippers are really insistent on verifying information- you don't want your $200 snake going to someone else! We always ship ours with signatures required and I keep an eye on the shipment tracking throughout the day to make sure it didn't get delayed.
Like Tinkish, I once watched a FedEx guy flip a box containing a baby corn snake upside down and bounce it on his hip...he thought I was insane for going a little spazzy until he actually read the box and realized there was a live animal inside. Nothing as serious as the issue with the suffocating turtles, but he doesn't deliver our packages any more.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-4784-100x100.png\")
@h3llc4t: There's a joke here somewhere about getting mutha-effing snakes offa my mutha-effing mail truck but I'm not going to be the one to make it.
/or am I?
My girlfriend was once having problems with the mail carrier at her work building; nobody in the building was receiving their mail at all. After weeks of complaints, they were able to set up a meeting with the postmaster of the area (this is in a major US city). Instead of the postmaster showing up to the meeting, his assistant came. The assistant tried to placate the unhappy crowd, but he let slip that they purposefully assigned new mail carriers to that route because it was just too big (hence people not receiving their mail) and if they wanted to contact him personally in the future, they should put a special code in the email subject line -- any other complaints, he said, would be deleted and he wouldn't receive theirs.
Lesson: the post office will not take your complaint seriously, they get so many that they don't care, and nothing will change. Look, the USPS has a tough job and they do it fairly well. But don't rely on them for anything truly important.
Not only should you NOT report him, but you should apologize for being aggressive with him (which he responded to by being defensive naturally), and basically make friends with him. You will get a lot more for being nice than you will for threatening him.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-776577-100x100.png\")
@DrMorison: Generally you don't get anything at all no matter how you act. Not from them at least. They have no motivation to change, and will in fact stop delivering mail to you altogether because they have that sort of power. So you can be cool about it, or you can be a jerk about it, but chances are good that you're fucked either way.
I would report him. I have been having issues with my postman. He continues to deliver mail that is addressed to the former residents of my rental. I contacted the route supervisor to see what I can do to stop the dozens of mail a week I am getting to these people. She said put a note inside the mailbox stating what names are to be delivered and that all other is refused. I did as I was instructed.
Apparently my postman can't read. He continues to deliver this mail I have marked refused in my note… Now when I receive this mail mark it refused near the postmark and reference the Domestic Mail Manual (DMM) 508 code for refusing mail. I happened to be in the front room the other day when he picked up one of these refused letters… He called me a f*cking SOB.
I too debating reporting this for the same reason.. he is my mailman, I don't want him going disgruntled on me. But really, it is your job, there is no reason to treat your paying customers like crap. The post offices wonders why it is losing millions of dollars.
@edesignway: We get other people's mail at work all the time. I put a sticky on it that says \"Not ours\" and put it back in the Outgoing tray. Our carrier just picks it back up the next day. Those machines sometimes sort mail together when the addresses are close by each other. It's happened to me at home too.
Your carrier is a jerk.
@edesignway: I've wondered about this as well.. When we moved into our current apartment the post office guy told me specifically that I had to write the last name in the mail box so that only our mail would get delivered, and he said if we didn't put a name at all they wouldn't deliver anything.
They deliver everything regardless.. so I don't get it. The other day I got something from my bank to my address but the name was different. (Not just mispelled, but a completely different name.) I have it on my coffee table so I can deside what to do with it. I'm torn because it doesn't look like junk but it says on it \"Important Privacy information and choice inside\" it doesn't seem to have any private information though, because you can see through the envelope.
@Kimaroo - 20% More Kitty Added!: Probably just a privacy policy brochure. the \"choice\" thing is the ability to call in to say you don't want them to share your info
@Kimaroo - 20% More Kitty Added!: If it doesn't have your name on it, it definitely isn't your mail. The odds are pretty good that the former tenant had the same bank, so all I think you can do is call your bank and see if anything has been sent to you.
@edesignway: Same thing here, although it has been happening less since I mouthed off to the new postmaster. In my situation I'd bought a house 10 months ago and keep getting the previous owner's mail. I got one of those forms too and listed my husband and myself, along with our parents and siblings and a few friends in case we ever have anyone staying with us for awhile. Its bad because the previous owner has accused us of stealing his mail on more than one occasion recently. Anything of his I get write \"return to sender, not at address\" on and shove it back in the box. According to the neighbors, this dude has a history of violence against his wife and really makes me nervous so the post office is causing big problems for me.
At least my carrier doesn't throw packages though :) She drops them on the porch and rings the doorbell.
@edesignway: Eh, I've been getting mail from former tenants in my units for four years. I just throw it away, I don't think it's possible for the mailman to remember the name of every unit's current tenants.
@zombies.like.lattés.too:Mail tampering? If it's delivered to your box and you throw it away because the addressee doesn't actually live there any longer, then how is that mail tampering?
Sure writing \"Return to Sender\" on it and throwing it in the outgoing box might be more appropriate, but is it a crime if you don't do that? How could it be?
I'm genuinely interested in knowing. Don't let my incredulity be taken as sarcasm. It just seems really implausible that what he's doing could be considered mail tampering, but if you know different, then by all means please share.
@Cyberxion101: of course, knowing the USPS, they'd put the same time and effort into investigating mail tampering as they do delivering mail. :-P
@zombies.like.lattés.too: I think the US Postal Inspection Service investigates mail crime, not USPS. As their primary task as a law enforcement agency is crime investigation and prevention, I think they probably spend a good amount of time on things like this. Maybe not so much if Joe Schmoe throws out some mail in his box (since it's impossible to detect everywhere), but probably bigger stuff.
@pecan 3.14159265: Ah, you're right. For a minute there I was blinded by my own cynicism. But I agree that someone throwing out an old tenant's junk mail isn't high on their list of priorities.
@Cyberxion101: From the United States Code (Section 1708 Title 18):
\"Whoever steals, takes, or abstracts, or by fraud or deception obtains, or attempts so to obtain, from or out of any mail, post office, or station thereof, letter box, mail receptacle, or any mail route or other authorized depository for mail matter, or from a letter or mail carrier, any letter, postal card, package, bag, or mail, or abstracts or removes from any such letter, package, bag, or mail, any article or thing contained therein, or secretes, embezzles, or destroys any such letter, postal card, package, bag, or mail, or any article or thing contained therein; or
\"Whoever steals, takes, or abstracts, or by fraud or deception obtains any letter, postal card, package, bag, or mail, or any article or thing contained therein which has been left for collection upon or adjacent to a collection box or other authorized depository of mail matter; or
\"Whoever buys, receives, or conceals, or unlawfully has in possession, any letter, postal card, package, bag, or mail, or any article or thing contained therein, which has been so stolen, taken, embezzled,
or abstracted, as herein described, knowing the same to have been stolen, taken, embezzled, or abstracted --
\"Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.\"
@zombies.like.lattés.too: That wording makes it sound like it's illegal to take my own mail out of my mailbox (I know that's not the intent obviously)
@zombies.like.lattés.too: So is the USPS delivering the wrong mail to your mailbox supposed to be stealing or fraud?
@Rectilinear Propagation: Neither. It's what you do with the mail that's not addressed to you (but delivered to your address) that constitutes mail tampering. If you destroy / throw those mailpieces in the trash, that would be mail tampering.
@zombies.like.lattés.too: I don't think that law states that you can't throw away or destroy mail that's sent to you. Perhaps I'm being tricked by the abundance of commas but it doesn't read like it's saying that you can't destroy mail that's sent to you. It reads like you can't destroy mail that's in someone else's mail box (or any other thing containing mail).
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-1504-100x100.png\")
@outlulz: Are you throwing away First Class mail or junk mail? Junk mail never really gets fixed, but just throwing away bills and letters is cold and maybe even illegal.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-505958-100x100.png\")
@RandomHookup: What about when the previous owners of your home use *your* (their former) address to send old and new bills to that they have no intention of paying? I have taken to tossing it: the billing companies don't seem to care, and the previous owners DEFINITELY don't care.
The previous owners of my house do this, and have been doing it, for the last 6 years. You know what's a great first impression on a neighborhood? Having a State Trooper and/or Sheriff show up at your door asking for those people on an annual basis. Sadly, all it took was a little google-fu on my end and I was able to track them down to 30 miles out of town, and get their phone number last year. 5 years of dealing with their collections issues, and the least they could have done was call me back to tell me where the water inlet for the fridge was in the basement. :-(
@elysse: I've actually had that happen The previous owner ran a lot of mail and other scams. And I've had the po-po (and Humane Society) show up looking for him. I even get the occasional phone call because the collectors guess that the phone belongs to him.
Any bad First Class Mail I get, I line out the bar code and write \"EVICTED IN 2001\" and drop back in the nearest mail box.
Eventually, they find another old address to scam off of.
@outlulz: I put \"return to sender\" or I hand it off to management. Not that they know what to do with it, either, but they probably have more sway than I do when it comes to the post office. But it effectively takes the problem off my hands.
@outlulz: I'm a landlord and I find if I just return the FCM to sender, I don't get nearly as many missent items (lots of businesses fix the address when they get a bounced bill). Catalogs and 3rd Class Mail go in the trash, because they can't be forwarded. (Learned from my time as a Postal Officer in the Army back in the Dark Ages).
@pecan 3.14159265: I've never even had to put 'return to sender' on it. I just stick it back into the outgoing mail box.
I still get mail from people who must have lived in my apartment at some point. Nothing that looked too important though.
I wouldn't worry too much about the HD you're waiting for those things are pretty tough when not spinning. Most are rated to take all kinds of g's when off.
I actually just called my apartment complex concierge to make sure they were really careful with the package I think I'm receiving today. It's pretty sensitive, and I told them (very politely, they're very nice people) that whoever signing for it should try to not stack anything on top of it, and that it's very, very heavy, but very fragile.
I did this not just because I know that a big heavy box could be a stack of books or a porcelain vase, and no one would be the wiser. But also, if something did happen to break inside the box, I made some kind of effort to tell them about it ahead of time - so I can't be given the \"you should have told us\" line.
@mazzic1083: I don't think my request was unreasonable. It's fragile. They handle packages every day. They know me by name now. It's not as if I've been a diva about it in the past.
If you'd like your mail to show up on time and undamaged, perhaps your best move would be to acknowledge that he was right - packages are handled roughly, apologize for ripping him a new one in front of the entire neighborhood, and politely request (one human to another) that he not roll or slide your packages, because you'll feel better about it.
I know I wouldn't react well to someone that has \"lost his cool\" standing on their porch, screaming across two yards, ripping me a new one in front of the whole neighborhood.
So what if he's right? The one thing has nothing to do with the other. That it happens in the shipping phase doesn't give these folks license to continue manhandling packages during delivery. They could at least pretend that they give half a squirt of piss about the job instead of grasping for tenuous explanations to justify why they don't have to.
Oh wait, that's right. They really don't have to, do they? After all, they control whether or not we get our mail, right? There's no reason to pretend you care when you can just be a vindictive prick about it and stop delivering a person's mail altogether if they should dare complain about the lackadaisical manner in which you do your job. And if we want them to do that job at all, even unreliably, then we need to realize that we're beholden to them and learn to just suck it up and internalize our disappointment when they manage to screw us over. Is that right? That sure seems to be what your suggestion to the OP is implying.
Maybe I'm misreading you. Maybe your post is a commentary on the sad state of the US Postal Service. Maybe your suggestion to the OP is an acknowledgement of how they can essentially bully us into complacency, and you're giving the OP a heads up so that he can minimize the damage of threatening to lodge a valid complaint against our malevolent overlords at the US Postal Service. Maybe it doesn't matter, being that regardless of what motivated your post, it's completely contrary to this site's purpose.
The OP doesn't need to apologize. Maybe he technically does if he doesn't want to weather the wrath of the US Postal Service. However, he has no obligation to do, and would only be doing it to appease a bully. He did nothing wrong at all. Really. Had the USPS delivery person taken exception with being chewed out, then maybe he shouldn't have done something that I would imagine he knew might actively piss people off. There's a thought…
@Cyberxion101: My suggestion has nothing to do about anyone bullying anyone into complacency. The mailman did something that is typical in package delivery - we see videos of it all the time. The OP screamed and ranted like an idiot. He treated the mail guy like he was dirt, as if he had the right to scream at him in front of the entire neighborhood. My suggestion is that the OP learn that no matter what job they are doing, we're all still PEOPLE, and deserve to be treated with at least a basic level of respect and courtesy.
My suggestion to the OP is that just because someone does something he doesn't like doesn't mean he has the right to be a jack-ass.
Mail man rolls your package. It gives you the right to file a complaint. It gives you the right to politely request he not do that in the future. It does NOT give you the right to scream like a prick across the entire neighborhood.
In the end, the OP can stand his ground about how he \"had the right\" to be a jack ass, win the battle and lose the war.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-1295797-100x100.png\")
I try not to upset my 'server' until after I have received my food, think if you had the same food server every morning after you complained to the manager for their shoddy service, makes it very uncomfortable.
If the package happens again, now that there has been a warning, then it is safe to report it.
We have a mail carrier who likes to crumble our mail into a tiny ball before placing in our apartment mailbox. I have emailed USPS several times, even taking photos of the ridiculous way he/she crams the mail into our mailbox.
Each time I get back a form email requesting information that I already included in the original email.
Once someone from our branch of the post office left me a message asking that I call them back; conveniently they left no phone number, and the only way to call the post office is through the 1-800 number, and no direct number to the branch is available.
I say resistance is futile. They just don't care.
You can get the direct number by asking.
Or, file the complaint at the 800 number and wait for the promised response - then complain again when they don't call back. The second time you are likely to get a response.
I had a long chat with the local carrier manager recently about managing employees. She was very interested and I sensed that she was very frustrated with the frequent complaints.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-261962-100x100.png\")
If I were him, I would have preemptively struck already. \"Hey boss! There's this crazy guy living on S. Baker St who's a complete nut job. I scared one of his 30 cats and he ran out in his bathrobe with a plunger and threatened to choke a piece of broccoli. I wouldn't be surrised if you heard a complaint from him for something crazy.\"
The couple times I've visited the local UPS distribution center (one time to find out why someone in the delivery chain stole one of my two identical packages - Home Depot left them in original boxes and they both showed some progress on UPS's tracking, but thats another story), I visited the office inside where the trucks load and unload. I was able to watch, for at least 20 minutes as the packages came in. They were unloaded onto a conveyor that loaded onto a smaller conveyor. Bottleneck! Anyway, I watched as as many as 30 or 40 packages of all shapes and sizes fell off the first conveyor down 5 feet to the platform, and most of them another 3 feet down to the floor.
I'm sure USPS treats their packages similarly.
Send yourself a rollable package. Take video of the guy rolling the package and you confronting him about it. Post it to YouTube. Then report back. Consumerists will bring the view count up to a gazillion, and the postmaster will be forced to \"take it very seriously.\"
dont report it, and next time you see him be nice to him and tell him your thoughts...
Really the packages see 10 times worse during transit... hell even the priority mail drop boxes that you would use to mail a package treats it just as bad when you drop it in....
I think that any revenge the mailman will take has already been plotted. After you threatened to report him, you pretty much set yourself up for revenge, whether or not you actually do so.
So yeah, not to blame the OP, but if you hadn't mentioned reporting the guy I'd say just leave it alone and hope he forgets about the whole thing. Since you did, you may as well follow though, as I don't see any downside here.
Oh, and yeah, I wouldn't worry about him getting in trouble. He's a (quasi-) govt employee (I know the USPS isn't an official govt agency, but it's run like one), very unionized, etc etc. I doubt he'll even get a slap on the wrist, honestly.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-60345-100x100.png\")
Absolutely report it, and if he continues to be an issue continue to report it. They have a job to do in a specific manner if they aren't performing it then you have a right to complain. If they arent capapble of doing that job in the manner described there are millions of qualified individuals looking for a job now.
We have had our share of trouble too. Our daughter when she was in pre-school was a member of Dolly Parton's free book club and used to get a hardcover book every month, occasionally they wouldn't fit in the box. Instead of driving across the street, braving our barking chihuahua, and dropping the package on the front porch, or pulling into our drive way and honking his horn incessantly (which was another favorite tactic) what did they do, they BENT the hardcover book nearly in half!
Part of the reason the postal service is dying is not just email and not just cheap competition, some of it is the crappy attitude some carriers have about the service they are providing. Ultimately, much like Circuit City found, the USPS will find that treating your customers as if they are trouble for you rather than an asset to you will be the death knell for your business.
I once filed a complaint online because the postman at my last address would (always) shove my mail into my mailbox, wrinkling all of my mail.
Three days later a printed version of the complaint ended up in my mailbox (!) with a handwritten note from my postman denying any such activity.
The behavior continued until I moved.
@dangerousamusements: Was it in a stamped envelope or just stuck in there? If you really wanted to be insistent about it you might have been able to nail him on knowingly depositing mail without postage. (United States code 18 USC 1725)
Report Him!
I just called up my post office and talked to the delivery manager to express my dissatisfaction with a delivery person. My regular mail lady does a fantastic job(and I let him know), however this mail man that fills in for her sometimes on days off or vacation stinks! This past weekend was the last straw, I left a post card out to be mailed and he did not take it! The same thing has happened on other occasions with letters and other mail pieces and I noticed he did not take my neighbors either.
The manager said he would talk with the courier and from his tone I think he took my complaint seriously and will speak with him.
@Manchego: FYI, if you don't have a curb-side mailbox, they're not actually obligated to pick up your outbound mail until they have something to deliver.
I can't be sure that's the case here, but your wording suggests that you don't have a curb-side mailbox, so maybe that's why they're not picking your stuff up. I dunno.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-336548-100x100.png\")
I've never gotten anywhere when complaining to the USPS. They just tell me sorry to hear that but nothing we can do now.
My parents had a friend who retired and started timing the postal workers each day so he could know when his mail came. He documented each day's delivery time because he felt that he should have gotten his mail before 5 pm each day. He called the post office daily and sent them his charts and graphs that he made up for this task he gave himself to make the post office more efficient. The post office has now reassigned at least three different employees to his route. I'm not sure if the management or the delivery workers have requested the reassignment (there may be more since I haven't heard about the post office from him for over a year or so, he's moved on to complaining about other things now) but if you want to know if anything can be done, you could just document the heck out of this guy's behavior and see what happens.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-144421-100x100.png\")
If you report him, he will definitely stop rolling your packages, Instead, he will drop-kick them to your door, or, failing that, they will be delivered with some kind of elaborate mail cannon.
![\"user-pic\"](\"/mt-static/support/assets_c/userpics/userpic-441571-100x100.png\")
I am well aware that I have far too much free time on my hand, but I'd be the one sitting on my front lawn video taping the shenanigans of the mailman.
figuring that would get me nowhere... I'd likely pass the footage on to the local news station. they love crap like that.
@EdnaLegume: POOP.... (stupid finger)
I'd also be the crazy lady wiring up a hidden camera. THAT'S the footage for the news station.
I have been pondering this same question for a while now. My mailman smokes cigarettes and every time he get to my box he tosses his butt .I'd like to report him, but I fear retribution in the form of missing packages. I would confront him personally, except he looks like Yosemite Sam and has an NRA sticker on his Jeep. I have thought of attaching an ash tray to the mailbox.
![\"user-pic\"](\"/mt-static/support/assets_c/userpics/userpic-1227931-100x100.png\")
@OnefinFinn: An ashtray attachment to a mailbox? I suppose if you're the one attaching it it's OK. However, isn't it true that the P.O. has all kinds of rules as to what can be attached to mailboxes? I somehow suspect he might appreciate the ashtray, but you never know. Regardless, it'd sure be an \"interesting\" looking mailbox. Out where I live, some people have fish styled mailboxes. Imagine delivering mail into a fish's mouth. Oh yeah, LoL on the image that your mailbox evokes in my mind. One last thing, who would empty the ashtray? OK, even I can see that I've given this *way* too much thought.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-1227429-100x100.png\")
I guess that I too would take the middle ground in this case. I'd approach him, apologize for what you said before, explain that it's because you were worried about the contents of the package (he should understand this), and let him know about the hard drive that is on its way. Then you could commiserate about the way boxes are treated in the mail (you might compare to what baggage handlers do - those guys sometimes seem like big freaks with anger management issues!) because reaching out to him human to human will leave him with a better lasting impression of the interaction, and he'll be more inclined to treat your stuff the way he would like his stuff to be treated. Good luck!
@EdnaLegume: Not to mention that the very act of bringing up the matter at all may bear poor results, depending on the disposition of the delivery person. You could be downright civil about it, but if they feel like they're being judged, they may just treat your stuff like shit anyway.
It's a gamble. That said, I'd be inclined to treat them kindly just because that's the way that I'd like to be treated.
I have never had any problems receiving mail, or with package delivery, but my current mailman has a few irksome quirks.
First, he won't pick up mail from my address, but that I don't mind since there is a post office up the block and a mailbox where I work.
But more importantly, he refuses to deliver mail to me or my housemates unless we have our full names written on/taped to the mailbox. Of course he didn't tell us this until about a month after we moved in and received none of our mail (when we happened to be home when he arrived, and asked him about it). No note, or anything. Yet he has no problem delivering mail that is addressed to people who haven't lived at our address (and haven't had their names on the mailbox) for years. And we get a LOT of mail- especially debt collectors- addressed to previous residents.
@acvicari: There isn't enough room for all the names on our mailbox. There is me, my partners (2 different last names), her biological kids (different last name), her ex husband (his mail used to come here), his girlfriend (also different last name). Then there are all the mail pieces for her brothers and dad. She lived with her brother for a month while her house was being built and we get their bulk mail ever since. I sometimes wonder what I mail carrier thinks of us having so many different people getting mail @ our address. Oh yeah, I don't mind my mail carrier too much, but one day she was all pissy complaining about the bumpiness of the road. She wanted us to complain to the county (we're outside city limits). Couldn't she complain? I didn't even notice the bumpiness of the road until she complained. She has this \"cute\" habit of sticking packages to our box using rubber bands. So I stuck a package out there to be shipped using the same method. Worked! In case you're wondering, I've never had mail stolen in this neighborhood. However, in my last neighborhood in Austin, I had my mail box pried open with a crowbar (I have pics) and a week's worth of mail stolen. Netflix was real cool about replacing the 2 stolen DVD's and not charging me. However, neither the apartment manager nor the post office filed a police report and they each kept referring me to the other. Ah, passing the buck.
@acvicari: those are the ones you need to keep a close eye on.... better put him on your holiday card list.. keep him happy. lol
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-1261540-100x100.png\")
This is what just happens when the government provides services. It isn't like the guy is going to get fired or anything, since that would violate the union contract.
![\"user-pic\"](\"/mt-static/support/assets_c/userpics/userpic-527370-100x100.png\")
Yeah, that must be universal... The Mailpeople at my last three places demanded that 'all people who want mail need to have their names CLEARLY MARKED on the mailbox'
But then the geniuses will deliver random neighbors, prior residents or total strangers letters into the mail box. Despite the names being on the mailbox!!!
I tells ya, its enough to make one go postal!
@greggen: Here's a PSA for all those people who write their names/address numbers in black marker on their mailboxes: DON'T (please). Having delivered pizzas and having canvassed addresses for the U.S. Census, it's really difficult to discern an address written in black marker on a black-ish mailbox. If you want to make friends with the delivery people, put your numbers in reflective tape material and your name(s) clearly marked. Not because you \"have\" to, but because it makes delivery people happy. And who doesn't want happy delivery people, eh?
@Syncop8d1: My mailbox is attached to my house and doesn't have my house number on it, but there is a plaque also attached that does. You can't see it from the street and there are two giant trees in my yard which block the view. I went and bought a thing that sticks in the ground that you can change the house numbers on. It has a solar cell on top and lights up at night. I put it right at the end of the driveway, stuck in the lawn and now delivery people (or emergency people) can find me even at night. So far no one has stolen it like they did my reflectors. I guess they don't want a thing that only has my numbers on it.
![\"user-pic\"](\"/mt-static/support/assets_c/userpics/userpic-161523-100x100.png\")
You can try but it won't help, these guys are un-fireable. Even going up to the postmaster general for your area will result in NOTHING being done. Believe me I tried.
Long story short had a mail carrier once that would deliver to a business I worked at. After he delivered the mail those of us in the complex would have to deliver the mail all over again. After the 3rd $30,000+ check ended up at the dentist's office 3 doors down we took it up with the postmaster general. Nothing happened besides more junk mail in our slot and more letters, bills, payments getting lost in the mail.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-505944-100x100.png\")
The post office for our zip code is known all over town for the tendency to 'lose' packages quite a bit. . .and not just little things. A large, pre-assembled playhouse was 'lost' once it arrived there and according to the tracking, never appeared again -- except in the yard of the employee who took it home, of course.
To say we have problems with our postal service would be an understatement. We don't stop complaining, though. One bad carrier was actually fired, but then again she was caught fighting a disgruntled postal customer in the street during her route. Saw it myself!
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-1225142-100x100.png\")
Don't ship your hard drive USPS. Problem solved. There is a lot of anecdotal evidence that shows mishandling of hard drives during shipment reduces their lifespan. UPS isn't any better than USPS (sometimes worse). Most IT people who handle the hardware side will only use FedEx and DHL to deliver electronics. Yes, it costs more... but your stuff will probably last longer.
I make it a point to not have anything shipped to my home if I can help it. The postal carrier we have is a real idiot. She disregards the DO NOT BEND
I make it a point to not have anything shipped to my home if I can help it. The postal carrier we have is a real idiot. She disregards the DO NOT BEND and has bent several envelopes with irreplaceable pictures that my great aunt has sent me over the past couple of years since my dad passed away. I finally convinced her to send it to me at my work so they wouldn't get destroyed.
There are definitely unbalanced postal workers, but hearing from my mother who works for USPS, probably way more unbalanced customers.
She's lately been harassed by a mental customer - who wears a huge crucifix around his neck - through official channels for chastising him for trying to take all the change in the take-a-penny receptacle when he didn't need it.
I think this is one of those situations where he shouldn't pick a fight with a bureaucratic organization. Nothing's going to change, and he didn't receive any actual harm. Let it go, man.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-397742-100x100.png\")
Do not bother to call USPS Customer Service.
Call the US Postal Inspector Service.
These guys are the Internal Affairs of the USPS and *no* one wants contact from them.
Maybe coat your outgoing mail with pepper spray next time.
I've been in the same place before. Not receiving bills, not receiving pakages, getting mail from our neighbors, giving our neighbors their mail that was in our box.
When you call they give you an incident tracking number and promise they will call back within 48 hours. You wait and week and call again and give you an incident tracking number and promise they will call back within 48 hours. You wait and week and call again and give you an incident tracking number and promise they will call back within 48 hours. You wait and week and call again and give you an incident tracking number and promise they will call back within 48 hours. You wait and week and call again and give you an incident tracking number and promise they will call back within 48 hours. You wait and week and call again and give ...
I switched everything to paperless. I see all the security and identity theft sites always talking about buying better shredders and shredding all your account statements before throwing them away but they all fail to take into account the account info that gets put into someone elses mailbox, you have to stop it at the source.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-58540-100x100.png\")
Short version. DO NOT BOTHER THEY WILL SCREW YOU OVER!
Medium version. If you are on a 'rural route' there is NOTHING the post office can do as they will sub-contract it out.
Longer version. Had a problem with mail not arriving on time / not at all. For example my wife should have received two tax returns from her work. One turned up, one didn't. Numerous bills would turn up late. We checked the mail every day but would only receive mail once or twice a week at most.
Most of the wife's family worked for / still works for the USPS, so we asked them about it. We reported it as we should and then suddenly ALL our mail was sent back 'moved, no forwarding address'. We complained again and started getting some of it back (after having to phone a bunch of companies over it). We complained again and was told we should buy a PO Box to avoid this! Yeah that's a good business, screw your customer over and tell them they have to pay more to fix the problem that THEY created.
I think in the end the person they used left, because finally we started getting mail through, but in the mean time we switched everything we could to my wife's work as she can get mail there!
Also we found out we are on a 'rural route' which means the person delivering the mail doesn't actually work for the USPS but for another company that subcontracts the work for the USPS.
Fortunately the mail started arriving in time for all my immigration paperwork to come through, although part of me hoped that it would get 'lost' as then I could get Homeland Security involved in why it was getting lost and then maybe something would have got done.
Report it. I've reported a handful of issues to my local postmaster and they've taken care of the issue quickly and made efforts to ensure I was satisfied with the resolution and customer service.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-693892-100x100.png\")
Looking through the comments, I think the thing that disturbs me the most is the general voice of hopelessness and apathy shown in many of the comments. I mean... come on... this is The Consumerist... this is the blog built on consumers taking a stand against unlawful, malicious, or simply rude corporate actions. If you, as a consumer, are being wronged, it's your right to fight back.
As to the case at hand, yes, I would certainly lodge a complaint. If talking to the local Post Office doesn't help, or if they decide to take action against you, go above their heads... complain to the Inspector General's office (especially in the latter case). Keep pressing on until the issue is resolved (respectfully, of course).
And... come on... the USPS is a public service agency, holding some independence over its governance, yes, but ultimately a part of the government system, created as a service to all US citizens. If anything, they hold the highest responsibility to ensure our post gets delivered in a safe and dependable manner.
(Yeah, yeah... this is probably cheesy and optimistic, but I'm an optimist.)
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-72370-100x100.png\")
The Post Office is the reason America hates the Obama Care. We have seen socialism.
![\"user-pic\"](\"/mt-static/support/assets_c/userpics/userpic-21380-100x100.png\")
Yes, I'd report it. Just don't buy anything extremely fragile for a couple of years.
![\"user-pic\"](\"/mt-static/support/assets_c/userpics/userpic-497569-100x100.png\")
Sorry, I have to join the crowd that says it's futile to complain. Why aggravate yourself and possibly face retribution? For literally decades we had a drunk mailman who would fall down on the job (also literally) - he outlasted 3 local postmasters. All they could do is send him to rehab..he'd get out and continue on. For years we had to do a neighborhood mail exchange, because needless to say, nothing got delivered correctly. Finally he retired...and died.
The post office works FOR YOU. You dont work for them. If they are abusing your mail let them know in person but be polite about it. Dont be a weeny and decide not to persue this. Go for it. While you are at it, Get a digital cam and film him as he does it to other peoples too. Then put it on utube. Jump over the local branch and complain to the higher ups. Theres alot you can do.
You know, The next time you buy something like a harddrive and the seller puts just not enough packaging in it (they do sometimes) it just might be that postman that breaks it.
If you dont do something about it then they will keep doing it. Get online and go to USPS and complain. You pay good money to mail something not to have them trash it like a football.
Those that said dont complain are weak!
USPS is obsolete. It should go away.
I think we're jumping the gun a bit assuming that your mail carrier is a union member. The USPS makes extensive use of non-union contractor workers.
I would report this since the carrier expects it, and any documentation of retribution you submit will carry more weight.
He gave the OP the number so the OP would stop yelling at him and talk to someone else. It's SOP for low level employees to get customers to go away. It doesn't matter if you report him now, he already hates you. Don't shout at people out a window, it will never get you what you want. If you'd just called the post office he wouldn't have known who had complained.
Report, but keep in mind they often do retaliate. After I turned in a lazy carrier who was leaving \"while you were out\" notices while I was visible through an open screen door, I started to have an unusual number of lost and damaged packages (different carriers). Once, I found an outgoing package unceremoniously dumped at the end of my driveway.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-1175017-100x100.png\")
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-550329-100x100.png\")
Report it, but start using online bill pay and UPS/Fedex for packages.
@cameronl: Thirded.
I've had ATROCIOUS postal service while in Brooklyn, especially for packages. I pay my bills online, and have items shipped via UPS or third party courier whenever possible.
In my experience, retribution for complaints is likely, but since they're going to abuse your property when they *don't* have anything personal against you, you might as well make the report. Follow up farther up the ladder, though.
UPS does the same thing. Throws packages by the door, leaves them out in the rain. They're no better.
@cameronl: Lol. Agreed.