13 Things Your Mail Carrier Won’t Tell You

[luv]

http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/life/...l-you-2445111/

1. Maybe your dog won’t bite you. But in 2009, 2,863 of us were bitten, an average of nine bites per delivery day. That’s why I wince when your Doberman comes flying out the door.

2. Remember this on Valentine’s Day: It takes our machines longer to read addresses on red envelopes (especially if they’re written in colored ink).

3. Why stand in line? At usps.com, you can buy stamps, place a hold on your mail, change your address, and apply for passports. We even offer free package pickup and free flat-rate envelopes and boxes, all delivered right to your doorstep.

4. Media Mail is a bargain, but most of you don’t know to ask for it. Sending ten pounds of books from New York City to San Francisco through Media Mail costs $5.89, compared with $16.77 for Parcel Post. Besides books, use it to send magazines, manuscripts, DVDs, and CDs; just don’t include anything else in the package.

5. We don’t get a penny of your tax dollars. Really. The sale of postage, products, and services at our 36,000 retail locations, and on our website, covers all of the post office's operating expenses.

6. UPS and FedEx charge you $10 or more for messing up an address. Us? Not a cent.

7. Paychecks, personal cards, letters—anything that looks like good news—I put those on top. Utility and credit card bills? They go under everything else.

8. Sorry if I seem like I’m in a hurry, but I’m under the gun: Our supervisors tell us when to leave, how many pieces of mail to deliver, and when we should aim to be back. Then some of us scan bar codes in mailboxes along our route so they can monitor our progress.

9. Yes, we do have to buy our own stamps, but a lot of us carry them for customers who need them. If we don’t charge you, that’s because we like you.

10. Use a ballpoint pen. Ink from those felt tips runs in the rain.

11. Please dress properly when you come to the door. A towel wrapped around you doesn’t cut it. And we definitely don’t want to see you in your underwear!

12. We serve 150 million addresses six days a week, so we’re often in the right place at the right time. We pull people out of burning cars, catch burglars in the act, and call 911 to report traffic accidents, dead bodies, and more.

13. Most of us don’t mind if you pull up to our trucks while we’re delivering and ask for your mail a little early. But please get out of your car and come get it. Don’t just put your hand out your window and wait for me to bring it to you.

"We don’t get a penny of your tax dollars. Really. The sale of postage, products, and services at our 36,000 retail locations, and on our website, covers all of the post office's operating expenses."

This is true. The post office is one of the (if not the only) government agencies that is 100% self-sufficient. They do not get tax dollars or money from the government. Whenever postage goes up, it's typically because the cost of technology used, gas, cost of benefits, or wages have gone up.

Anyway, I just thought I would share this. I know my dad has told me several of these, but I didn't know if everyone was aware.

[luv]

Originally Posted by Brock

I don't think you know what that word means.

How can I? I'm stupid.

[Rain Man]

Iowanian, would you please take a photo of your letter carrier at some point? I'm very interested in postal carrier uniforms and I'm missing Iowa in my collection.

[Saulbadguy]

Originally Posted by chiefsnorth

Cant speak for others, but I went to college.

[Jenson71]

Originally Posted by luv

Okay, I'm done arguing. Brock can go one believing carriers are morons.

My girlfriend's dad is a mailman. I don't think he enjoys it much, but the benefits are good, and isn't their retirement package somehow funded by taxpayers, because they are federal employees, right?

His kids' professions, in order, are: 1) a computer engineer 2) a pharmacist 3) a physical therapist 4) a high school English teacher 5) a pharmacy student 6) a biology student looking into dental school

Whatever was going on at their house worked. The dad is very disciplined person. Maybe not the most bookish guy, but no moron at all. And a former marine with a Purple Heart while serving in Vietnam.

[luv]

Originally Posted by Jenson71

My girlfriend's dad is a mailman. I don't think he enjoys it much, but the benefits are good, and isn't their retirement package somehow funded by taxpayers, because they are federal employees, right?

His kids' professions, in order, are: 1) a computer engineer 2) a pharmacist 3) a physical therapist 4) a high school English teacher 5) a pharmacy student 6) a biology student looking into dental school

Whatever was going on at their house worked. The dad is very disciplined person. Maybe not the most bookish guy, but no moron at all. And a former marine with a Purple Heart while serving in Vietnam.

I don't think they get any money via taxpayers, but I don't know about retirement. I'll have to ask.

[Saulbadguy]

Originally Posted by luv

How can I? I'm stupid.

How can you be stupid? You aren't a postal employee.

[notorious]

They have to be getting money from the taxpayers.


You can't lose billions and keep something like that going without outside assistance.

[KCUnited]

For an in depth look at the life of a mail carrier, I'd suggest watching Poetic Justice.

[luv]

Originally Posted by Saulbadguy

How can you be stupid? You aren't a postal employee.

I was too stupid to realize that.

[phisherman]

Originally Posted by Brock

I play piano in a whorehouse. What difference does it make?

i'd say that being a mail carrier is as difficult or more difficult than most occupations. I have a pretty darn specialized IT job that took me years to get into, but I still insist, that if someone sat down with me for a month or two, they could do the same job that i do. they may not be as efficient at it as i am, but they could still get the job done.

i just don't have any preconceived notions about the level of intelligence it takes to do any particular jobs. i've known people in high level IT jobs that could barely remember how to write a check, let alone build servers, and i've known people that had very low paying jobs that were as smart or smarter than any of my friends that had high paying jobs.

[Saulbadguy]

Originally Posted by phisherman

and i've known people that had very low paying jobs that were as smart or smarter than any of my friends that had high paying jobs.

Obviously they weren't that smart.

[Jenson71]

Originally Posted by eazyb81

Who do you have to take crap from? The post office manager?

90+% of people are at work when the mailman comes.

Yeah, the post office manager. From what I've heard, the method of work on the inside is strict and annoying. You're not just given mail and told to do it all. It's more structured.

And a lot of people view autonomy at work as a key to career happiness.

[SAUTO]

i'll add one

14: **** off.

bet they wont tell you that either

[Brock]

Originally Posted by phisherman

i'd say that being a mail carrier is as difficult or more difficult than most occupations.

LOL, that's ridiculous.

[Mr. Flopnuts]

Originally Posted by phisherman

i'd say that being a mail carrier is as difficult or more difficult than most occupations. I have a pretty darn specialized IT job that took me years to get into, but I still insist, that if someone sat down with me for a month or two, they could do the same job that i do. they may not be as efficient at it as i am, but they could still get the job done.

i just don't have any preconceived notions about the level of intelligence it takes to do any particular jobs. i've known people in high level IT jobs that could barely remember how to write a check, let alone build servers, and i've known people that had very low paying jobs that were as smart or smarter than any of my friends that had high paying jobs.

You could stake the claim, good work is the key to good fortune. Winners take that praise, losers seldom take that blame.