WHAT HAPPENED TO THE POST OFFICE MOTTO??

[chief38]

"Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds."



In the last 5 days we have NOT received mail in three of them. Thursday we got 16" of snow ........ Friday was bright and sunny but it was 5ºF ......... and today it was 30º and clear - ALL THREE DAYS we had no mail service! It's not just me either, there are many in our neighborhood that are complaining of the same situation. Have any of you guys experienced this or are we just "lucky"?

 

[Island Boy]

I paid the Post Office extra to deliver a package 'guaranteed' from AL to TX by 12/23 - got there 12/27. This was before any bad weather set in (but high holiday volume). Sadly, they're a shell of their former selves, and their competitors offer much greater service for less money... I'm surprised they're still around... [emoji17]


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[kwselke]

"Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds."



In the last 5 days we have NOT received mail in three of them. Thursday we got 16" of snow ........ Friday was bright and sunny but it was 5ºF ......... and today it was 30º and clear - ALL THREE DAYS we had no mail service! It's not just me either, there are many in our neighborhood that are complaining of the same situation. Have any of you guys experienced this or are we just "lucky"?

Worker's comp costs are prohibitive these days. I've never seen mail delivery in weather conditions which would endanger the life of the deliverer. Delivery does resume after a hurricane here faster than electric service and grocery store openings.

 

[Tom S.]

For the amount of mail they handle per day, and the rate they charge, I think they do an outstanding job. No, I've never worked there, nor do any of my relatives, it's just my personal opinion. Do they have their share of bad apples? You bet. But so does every business anywhere.

 

[rwsmith]

My wife worked every day last week...

...and today. They can only take out what comes in. If it doesn't come in they cant take it out. The post office generously accepted all of Amazons packages, so she works two hours a day extra without pay to take care of that. Rural carriers aren't on the clock and are paid a flat rate according to their route. The PO never made any allowances for any help or pay for the extra volume of PACKAGES that they have to get out of the truck and deliver if they won't fit in the mailbox. I guess I'm saying, don't blame the carriers. They are the ones expected to go through the rain, sleet, gloom of night without any support.

 

[tlawler]

Say what you will about the USPS, but I have new found respect for them after Hurricane Irma hit us in Florida. They got through with the mail where UPS and FedEx wimped put. They wouldn't travel the same roads that the mail trucks because they were "flooded". In one case, FedEx even handed a package off to the USPS so they could deliver it. As for the UPS delivery I was waiting for, I had to drive to the hub in Orlando to get it because it was a critical part for a Hospital. In my eyes, UPS and FedEx are prima donnas.

 

[rwsmith]

Say what you will about the USPS, but I have new found respect for them after Hurricane Irma hit us in Florida. They got through with the mail where UPS and FedEx wimped put. They wouldn't travel the same roads that the mail trucks because they were "flooded". In one case, FedEx even handed a package off to the USPS so they could deliver it. As for the UPS delivery I was waiting for, I had to drive to the hub in Orlando to get it because it was a critical part for a Hospital. In my eyes, UPS and FedEx are prima donnas.

My wife's PO delivered the day after Hugo.

 

[ancient-one]

We have nice mail boxes(probably 12 in each location) with a locked place for packages underneath. I got a package today too large for the package box and when I got back from eating it was neatly tucked by my door. The lady could have left a pickup notice in my box but she didn't. I have had a lot more problems with Fed X than USPS.

 

[DeathGrip]

I had a package come today in the mail. I knew it was to big to fit in the mail box so I kept an eye out for her to go by in the other direction. She turns around three houses down and comes down my side of the street. I met her at the end of my driveway. She's quite pretty.

 

[Old Arkansawyer]

A few years back we had snow, sleet and freezing rain total of about 8 to 10 in. at my location. I got home in my 4 wheel drive pickup after making 4 or 5 tries at the mountain near my place. One day later my rural route carrier shows up in her Jeep with 20 in. tires all with chains and never missed a day. Good service!
Also, try getting UPS or FedEx to deliver a letter anywhere for 40 cents.

 

[les.b]

Well...I have to stick up for our rural mail carrier. He is predictable, and always goes about the same time, with more to deliver around the holidays he may run a little later, but not much. I've never known him to screw up. When I am getting something with tracking, it is always right on. I have friends who work for both Fedex and UPS, and I'm not knocking them either. I think part of it has to do with the various work ethics that one finds around the different parts of the country. I'm pretty proud of most folks from my state. Most of us were raised with a strong work ethic, and a sense of integrity. Do we have np bad apples?, sure... But it seems to be a matter of percentages.

Best Regards, Les

 

[snubbyfan]

You guys that get mail delivered have it made.
We don't have mail delivery here, we havta go and pick it up at the Post Office.

 

[Jack Flash]

If you haven't received mail in 3 straight days, you may want to check that your mailbox is accessible. That is, no big snow drifts making it impossible to get the mail truck within arms reach of your box.

Related story. I had my mailbox / post knocked to pieces by an 18 year old kid who was driving super drunk. I couldn't be too mad because he totaled his truck against an oak tree that wouldn't give an inch. Besides, we were all young once. Amazingly, the kid didn't get hurt much.

Anyways, being a cheapskate, I reassembled the post using old deck screws and metal brackets I had laying around. When sunk back in the ground, it lost a couple inches. I thought "Man that's low! I wonder if the P.O. has standards for mailbox height?"

Of course they do. The opening of the box must be between 41" and 45" off the ground. Mine was less than 30". So I had to piece in a couple of scrap 14" 2x4s laying around from a past project. Now my box is 43", dead center in the range. A side effect: the mail deliverer used to frequently leave the door of the box open. It must have been too low for his/her arms to reach. Now it is never left open!

 

[rwsmith]

Kinda makes you wonder.....

You guys that get mail delivered have it made.
We don't have mail delivery here, we havta go and pick it up at the Post Office.

What happened to Rural Free Delivery (RFD)? I'll have to ask Missus Smiff about that one.

 

[soFlaNative]

I had a package come today in the mail. I knew it was to big to fit in the mail box so I kept an eye out for her to go by in the other direction. She turns around three houses down and comes down my side of the street. I met her at the end of my driveway. She's quite pretty.

Mine too.
They really don't make 'em like they used to.

 

[BC38]

I went to ship a thick envelope with some grips in it the other day. I asked how much to send it Parcel Post.

ELEVEN DOLLARS AND SEVENTY FOUR CENTS!

I told them I got one shipped to me the other day that had a $3 postage sticker on it, and asked how I could ship it for three bucks.

The guy behind the counter asked if it was a book and I said no. He said the $3 rate was only for books/media (kinda suckered me on that one by asking what it was BEFORE telling me about the special $3 rate for books).
So then the next thing he suggested was the $7 flat rate box/envelope.

I then asked, "Is there any way I can ship this for less than seven bucks?"
His answer?

Yeah - go to UPS!

From now on I will just include a booklet in every package so I can legitimately say it contains a "book" and not feel guilty about shipping it for $3.

 

[sureshotbob]

Just this last Sunday my wife heard a knock at the front door.
It was the post lady with a package for my 2nd floor tenant.
A few days earlier we did get no mail when we got 16" of snow.

 

[Texas Star]

The USPS motto is fine. It's the people they hire who are the problem.

 

[Old TexMex]

The uspo got set up here right after Hurricane Harvey. They were operating out of a truck. The post office was destroyed. The postal workers were at it, without power and eating red cross like the rest of us.
Respect.

 

[rwsmith]

It's called 'media mail'.....

I went to ship a thick envelope with some grips in it the other day. I asked how much to send it Parcel Post.

ELEVEN DOLLARS AND SEVENTY FOUR CENTS!

I told them I got one shipped to me the other day that had a $3 postage sticker on it, and asked how I could ship it for three bucks.

The guy behind the counter asked if it was a book and I said no. He said the $3 rate was only for books/media (kinda suckered me on that one by asking what it was BEFORE telling me about the special $3 rate for books).
So then the next thing he suggested was the $7 flat rate box/envelope.

I then asked, "Is there any way I can ship this for less than seven bucks?"
His answer?

Yeah - go to UPS!

From now on I will just include a booklet in every package so I can legitimately say it contains a "book" and not feel guilty about shipping it for $3.

...and I don't know who thought of it or requested it, or way, but I guess the flow of information is encouraged. If my wife talks shop I had no idea of all the things they have to do/know.