Who can/should I contact at the Post Office??

[mldflygirl]

I'm a SAHM, and have been home all day. BTW - I live in a residential cul-de-sac & my driveway is probably 75ft long. Today some diapers I ordered (& have been waiting for) apparently came in the mail, but the mail carrier just left the "sorry I missed you" notice in my mailbox. At the time she came, I was even sitting in the living room near the front door! I don't look forward to running out to the post office just to pick up a package that should have been delivered.

I'm getting upset with the mail carrier because this isn't the first time this has happened. However, I've noticed that whenever something was shipped with insurance, I get a "sorry I missed you". If the item DIDN'T have insurance, the lady just leaves it at my front door. Once I had a package sit there for several days because I didn't know anything was coming & we always use the garage door.

I've also seen her skip our mail box & the neighbor's box 2 different times because the neighbor's truck was sticking out of their driveway a bit (while they were moving in) and it probably would have been inconvenient for her to maneuver her car into position to get to the mailbox &/or inconvenient to get out of the car to put the mail into the mailbox.

We've only been here one year, and in that time I've received the neighbors' mail on numerous occassions, along with LOTS of mail addressed to the previous owner of the house (despite consistently marking on the envelopes & putting them back in our mailbox).

I want to tell someone at the post office about this, but don't know how best to do it??? I don't want to get the mail carrier mad at me, because I'm afraid she might retaliate or something. But I think the post office should know what's going on. Not counting the inconvenience of it all, I'm afraid that someday I'm going to have a package stolen from my front porch, or I'll miss receiving something that is time-sensitive. And I assume I'm not the only person on her route that is having these problems.

Should I ask to talk to a manager while I'm there picking up my package? Or should I send a letter? If so, where should I send it and who should I send it to? I'm not planning on being very mean or confrontational about it - I just want to let them know. For all I know, they're having other problems with the mail carrier & would like to know about this too.

[dules]

Call the postmaster and explain what's happening. We had a similar experience in another house and when I called the postmaster said I wasn't the only one, then shortly thereafter we had a change in carriers.

It seems inconsistent that she'll come to your door to drop a package that's not insured but won't to ring the bell? Weird.

Good luck.

Best,
Mary

[jgriffin]

>We've only been here one year, and in that time I've received
>the neighbors' mail on numerous occassions, along with LOTS of
>mail addressed to the previous owner of the house (despite
>consistently marking on the envelopes & putting them back in
>our mailbox).
>

We've been here for nearly 6 years, and not only do we still get a lot of mail for the previous family, we sometimes get mail for the person who lived here before that (10 years ago!). I just toss it now.

That sucks about not getting your packages when you're home. I know some POs are better than others about deliveries, so letting the local manager know you're having problems with your letter carrier is important. I would both talk to the manager in person and follow up with a letter. It may not have any effect, but at least you know you tried. :)

Good luck!

[DebbieJ]

When you go to pick it up, ask to speak to someone. I've had similar experiences where I was home and got the notice, too.

The PO in our town has a "retail store" where you buy stamps, pick up mail, send packages, etc, and a delivery hub where they do all the sorting adn processing. So the retail store gave me the number for the delivery manager and it got sorted out. If your PO is all in one, you might be able to talk to someone immediately.

Good luck!

~ deb
DS born at home 12/03
2 year check up: 25 lbs with clothes on and 35 inches!
BFARed for 20 months and 6 days
(Breastfeeding After Reduction is possible! www.bfar.org)

http://www.bfar.org/members/fora/style_avatars/Ribbons/18months-bfar.jpg

[Toba]

We had a similar experience ... I was involved in a gift card swap on another board I belong to and the person sent my gift card via certified mail (as opposed to the Priority Mail way we were instructed). I knew the approximate time it was supposed to be delivered ... no gift card. A week and a half later, the person contacted me after she had not heard from me ... she had tracked it online and it said I wasn't home! I specifically remember being home that day, ALL day, and never had a knock on my door or my doorbell ring. And I know for a fact they never even attempted becauxe you can't get within two feet of my porch without my dogs going crazy. I never even received a notice that I "wasn't home." I was peeved, just like you, that I had to drag my toddler down to the post office on a very hot day to stand in line to receive an envelope that should have been delivered to my home. I explained what happened to the clerk and he suggested that I compliain to the postmaster, but like you, I was leery of doing so because, let's face it, a disgruntled mail carrier can cause a lot of disruption in your life. It just wasn't worth it to me. FWIW, this isn't the first time it's happened, and we frequently get the wrong "junk" mail addressed to another house, plus NO mail because the garbagemen throw our recycleables can 15 feet in the way of the mailbox (another gripe altogether ... sometimes I wonder if they do it on purpose).

But in that whole convoluted story, there was an answer. ;) The clerk suggested complaining to the postmaster, so I'm guessing that's your best bet.

Sorry your having problems with your mail carrier also. :(


~Kimberly Anne~
Noah Nevan, March 12, 2004
*the light of my life*

[cbm]

Go to the post office and ask to talk to the postmaster. That is who you should complain to.
I would go instead of calling because they are now using a toll free number and one of the operators gets the complaint and then passes it on to the post office that services you. You could do that too and get a number to be used for future references, but I don't think it is as effective.

I have had problems with mail delivery in the past. One time the mail person left a bin full of mail by my door. I was surprised to receive so much mail (I am not famous, you know! :-)) I went over it and it was for everyone on my street and others a few streets over. I took everything to the post office. I asked them if they expected me to deliver. They didn't answer :-). The postmaster was apologetic, but how weird!

Claudia
DS 12/18/04

[mldflygirl]

Well, I talked to the postmaster when I picked up the package. A very unsatisfying experience!

I was very polite and explained what was going on. He acted like it wasn't any big deal. All he said was, "If you don't want packages left at your front door, where do you want them left?" I told him I had no problem with the packages at the front door, I'd just like the mail carrier to knock or ring the doorbell or something so I'd know they were there. He ended up writing a note on an official looking pad stating that I wanted the mail carrier to knock when delivering packages. When I mentioned the one today that wasn't delivered at all, it was like I was talking to a blank wall. He didn't say a word about it, and his facial expression didn't change in the least!

Oh well.... I tried!