C'mon USPS, get it together...

[Eddie_2]

I will always say that you get what you give. We have a large mailbox and a very nice mail lady. Just like you tip a waitress when you eat out and get better service when you frequent the same eating establishment, you can also get better service by tipping your mail person. Yes, for us that sometimes is a Christmas card with a small gift card in it or even some baked goods around a holiday. It might seem silly, but we have even brought her out a cup of coffee in the winter if we pass her coming up our road when it is cold out. She will even pull in our drive and honk her horn should she have larger packages that will not fit in our mailbox. Just like everyone else these folks have long days and can get frustrated with what they do for a living. Customers who show them respect and make a few nice gestures can make their job more enjoyable and yes can lead to you having less bent items. Just like everything else in life it becomes better when you build positive relationships. I am sure that there are many more folks around the boards who have great service from their post office and a wonderful relationship with their carrier.

I think your comparison on restaurant servers and postal workers is extremely poor. Servers main source of income is tips, they don't receive a paycheck because there tips get taxed by the government and most business only pay them $2.00 per hour. Almost all severs don't get paychecks and their income is solely based on tips. Postal workers on the other hand have government jobs with government benefits and pay. Completely different. I understand tipping your local post man/women, my parents have been doing it for years, but for most Americans people still experience a downright awful experience with the USPS.

I believe it comes down to their organization structure, their lack of accountability, and their very poor business model. I would love it if the USPS was privatize, because workers would be a lot more accountable for their work and how well they preform. Plus they wouldn't be depending on the government to bail them out every chance they get for their elbow deep failures over the years. Just my personal opinion though.

[coolbly16]

I think your comparison on restaurant servers and postal workers is extremely poor. Servers main source of income is tips, they don't receive a paycheck because there tips get taxed by the government and most business only pay them $2.00 per hour. Almost all severs don't get paychecks and their income is solely based on tips. Postal workers on the other hand have government jobs with government benefits and pay. Completely different. I understand tipping your local post man/women, my parents have been doing it for years, but for most Americans people still experience a downright awful experience with the USPS.

I believe it comes down to their organization structure, their lack of accountability, and their very poor business model. I would love it if the USPS was privatize, because workers would be a lot more accountable for their work and how well they preform. Plus they wouldn't be depending on the government to bail them out every chance they get for their elbow deep failures over the years. Just my personal opinion though.

Agreed, I am not in the practice of tipping people who have a government salary and pension (the real reason they are bankrupt). I would have no problem being nice to the guy or girl? I'm not even sure, I am never home when they deliver. I used to be chill with the guy who delivered to my old house, but 3 bad experiences (that I know of) in less than 6 months of living here really sucks. If I end up seeing my delivery person one day I will talk to them for sure.

[yankeesfan1324]

I really wish there was something I could do about this, my mailbox is slightly too small to fit 8x10's comfortably and as a result, quite a few have been damaged. My HOA won't let me get a bigger one and my mailman is different every day, so it isn't like I can go out and talk to him.

[slitz]

I really wish there was something I could do about this, my mailbox is slightly too small to fit 8x10's comfortably and as a result, quite a few have been damaged. My HOA won't let me get a bigger one and my mailman is different every day, so it isn't like I can go out and talk to him.

easy fix: get a PO Box


hate seeing people rag on USPS so much. considering the volume and budget constraints they are under, they do a damn good job.

[slitz]

Agreed, I am not in the practice of tipping people who have a government salary and pension (the real reason they are bankrupt).

it goes back to congress. they mandated that USPS PREFUND retirement benefits for employees. no one works this way. its insane.

http://about.usps.com/who-we-are/fin...2010_4_002.htm

[RealBrianD]

I hate seeing people bash the USPS too. Think of all the bull™™™™ they deal with day to day JUST to make sure YOUR mail comes EVERY DAY. Yes they mess some things up, yes things get damaged, but consider how much mail you get each year and how very little gets damaged. They do an incredibly demanding job, govt worker or not. They don't get "weather delays" or off days due to inclement weather. We just got 6 inches of snow here overnight in St Louis, and I guarantee my mail will be here. There are simple solutions for your problem man.
1) get a PO Box.
2) LEAVE A NOTE FOR YOUR MAILMAN WITH BRIEF EXPLANATION OF THE ISSUE AND ASK FOR A DIFFERENT METHOD FOR DELIVERY.
3) Just talk to your mail carrier. Your not the only one he/she delivers to, but for certain items they usually make exceptions.
Are they government workers? Yeah, so of course they get "benefits" etc. but they also have a pretty demanding job, most walking upwards of 10 miles a day with a pretty heavy sack attached to their bodies, thru various weather issues, neighborhood issues, stray animal issues. They don't have it as good as you seem to assume they do. Most love and take pride in their jobs. Talk to him or leave him a note man, be courteous and I think you'd be pleasantly surprised by the results. Hope it gets better for you man. Good luck.

[yankeesfan1324]

easy fix: get a PO Box


hate seeing people rag on USPS so much. considering the volume and budget constraints they are under, they do a damn good job.

For the most part, the USPS is great, other than 8x10's I have got back somewhere between 50-100 TTM's and only had 1 come back with significant damage. The thing I don't understand is that they do a great job of handling it up until it gets to my house, where they decide to jam it into the mailbox. If they take so much time and care for them before then, it seems like a simple step to take an extra half of a second and put it in carefully and diagonally.

[borisplante]

For the most part, the USPS is great, other than 8x10's I have got back somewhere between 50-100 TTM's and only had 1 come back with significant damage. The thing I don't understand is that they do a great job of handling it up until it gets to my house, where they decide to jam it into the mailbox. If they take so much time and care for them before then, it seems like a simple step to take an extra half of a second and put it in carefully and diagonally.

It's because they aren't service oriented. Yes, they deliver in all weather, and yes, it's hard work. But so is my job, and I'm expected to provide excellent service, every single time. That's how it is in the private sector, and if you don't perform, you generally don't keep your job. That's my issue with them. Stop having a "we got it there, what's your problem?" mentality. stop doing 99% of the job right. Do it all right. Of course things will go wrong every now and then, but that should be the exception- not the norm.

[RealBrianD]

It's because they aren't service oriented. Yes, they deliver in all weather, and yes, it's hard work. But so is my job, and I'm expected to provide excellent service, every single time. That's how it is in the private sector, and if you don't perform, you generally don't keep your job. That's my issue with them. Stop having a "we got it there, what's your problem?" mentality. stop doing 99% of the job right. Do it all right. Of course things will go wrong every now and then, but that should be the exception- not the norm.

It IS the exception not the norm! Is EVERY piece of your mail messed up, every day? NO. In fact I'm willing to bet its MAYBE 0.5% of the time TOTAL, all year. As the old saying goes, "™™™™ happens"...their ONLY obligation is to deliver it, nothing more. That's their ONLY "service". They TRY not to have damage, but it happens. Do you put your groceries away flawlessly every time? No, occassionally you crack an egg. Does your job go perfectly EVERY time? No, errors are made. Instead of complaining about what the mailman failed to do, why not address the ways YOU could enable them to do it differently. YOUR mailbox has SIZE RESTRICTIONS, the mailman didn't put that mailbox there, nor did he make the mailbox, he has to get not only your precious little 8x10 in there, but every other piece of mail you have as well. GET A PO BOX! It isn't expensive, then you can pick and choose what goes there, including, you guessed it, your 8x10!! You being to harsh on the wrong person man. Take it up with your HOA, or get a PO Box. OR just SIMPLY explain it to the mailman, and ask him politely to do it differently. Not all postal service workers care, and not all of them are bad. ™™™™ just happens. And usually there is a simple solution to the problem. And complaining about it on the internet isn't gonna fix the issue either. Does it suck when they mess up something? Yeah of course. It's very frustrating. But if it's a repeat issue and you've said NOTHING to the guy, how should he know you're not pleased? Just talk to him man, I think you'd be surprised with the results.

[coolbly16]

It IS the exception not the norm! Is EVERY piece of your mail messed up, every day? NO. In fact I'm willing to bet its MAYBE 0.5% of the time TOTAL, all year. As the old saying goes, "™™™™ happens"...their ONLY obligation is to deliver it, nothing more. That's their ONLY "service". They TRY not to have damage, but it happens. Do you put your groceries away flawlessly every time? No, occassionally you crack an egg. Does your job go perfectly EVERY time? No, errors are made. Instead of complaining about what the mailman failed to do, why not address the ways YOU could enable them to do it differently. YOUR mailbox has SIZE RESTRICTIONS, the mailman didn't put that mailbox there, nor did he make the mailbox, he has to get not only your precious little 8x10 in there, but every other piece of mail you have as well. GET A PO BOX! It isn't expensive, then you can pick and choose what goes there, including, you guessed it, your 8x10!! You being to harsh on the wrong person man. Take it up with your HOA, or get a PO Box. OR just SIMPLY explain it to the mailman, and ask him politely to do it differently. Not all postal service workers care, and not all of them are bad. ™™™™ just happens. And usually there is a simple solution to the problem. And complaining about it on the internet isn't gonna fix the issue either. Does it suck when they mess up something? Yeah of course. It's very frustrating. But if it's a repeat issue and you've said NOTHING to the guy, how should he know you're not pleased? Just talk to him man, I think you'd be surprised with the results.

I have a small mailbox, but I also have a front desk staffed round the clock to take anything that doesn't fit in my mailbox. The same front desk that has taken plenty of large, non-auto related USPS package plenty of times before. The bigger issue is I even put labels on it asking not to bend it. I am not ragging on anyone, just asking for the amount of service I paid for. They don't have to serve it to me on a silver platter, in fact, they can give it to my front desk (right next to the mailboxes) in less time than it takes to bend and jam it into the box.