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.

[Saulbadguy]

Originally Posted by Brock

Oh my gosh, they have to walk around when it's cold, how awful.

I do make a point to shovel the area in front of my mailbox after luv brought that up several years ago.

Still jealous of postmen.

[luv]

Originally Posted by Brock

Oh my gosh, they have to walk around when it's cold, how awful.

Have you walked 14 miles in a foot of snow?

[notorious]

Originally Posted by luv

Have you walked 14 miles in a foot of snow?

Exercise during work should be seen as a benefit.

[Brock]

Originally Posted by luv

Have you walked 14 miles in a foot of snow?

Both ways uphill?

[Saulbadguy]

Originally Posted by luv

Have you walked 14 miles in a foot of snow?

In a row?

[luv]

My dad does have it easy as far as routes go though. He delivers to several of the medical buildings/clinics/hospitals. And the residential portion is driven. He's paid his dues though. Ice storms and bad winters, dog bites, etc. He's got it made now though.

[Kerberos]

Originally Posted by Saulbadguy

Mailmen get paid great and receive great benefits to stuff letters in a box for a company that is inefficient and nearly obsolete. I wish I could be a full time mail carrier, those guys got it made.

Originally Posted by luv

Yeah, especially this time of year, huh?

Exactly

The grass is always greener.

Don't get me wrong Saul, Postal workers do get paid well. But they also have to put up with 4 seasons of weather in most states and have to put up with people bitching about this, that and the other thing.

It would be the benefits and retirement that would make it worthwile for me too. I can work a shitty job inside and get the same benefits and retirement somewhere else.

[luv]

If you don't appreciate your mail service, maybe you could call and have all of our mail canceled, and request that everyone send you items via parcel service? I wonder if their employees are tested and put through several different background tests? Bowser?

[phisherman]

Originally Posted by Saulbadguy

Mailmen get paid great and receive great benefits to stuff letters in a box for a company that is inefficient and nearly obsolete. I wish I could be a full time mail carrier, those guys got it made.

you seem like a bitter guy sometimes.

[luv]

Originally Posted by Kerberos

Exactly

The grass is always greener.

Don't get me wrong Saul, Postal workers do get paid well. But they also have to put up with 4 seasons of weather in most states and have to put up with people bitching about this, that and the other thing.

It would be the benefits and retirement that would make it worthwile for me too. I can work a shitty job inside and get the same benefits and retirement somewhere else.

Dad is three years away. He took 6 weeks off after a recent surgery, and he was fretting about it moving his retirement date back that much longer...lol.

[Saulbadguy]

Originally Posted by luv

If you don't appreciate your mail service, maybe you could call and have all of our mail canceled, and request that everyone send you items via parcel service? I wonder if their employees are tested and put through several different background tests? Bowser?

I would like all my items delivered via email.

[Brock]

Originally Posted by phisherman

you seem like a bitter guy sometimes.

Just because he's bitter doesn't mean he isn't right. I understand why they get good pay and benefits, but let's not pretend that walking around outside is some kind of tough job.

[notorious]

I honestly think some people are jealous of the Postal Worker.

They do their job and do it efficiently, unlike almost every other government department.

[The Franchise]

Originally Posted by luv

If you don't appreciate your mail service, maybe you could call and have all of our mail canceled, and request that everyone send you items via parcel service? I wonder if their employees are tested and put through several different background tests? Bowser?

90% of the shit I get is junk. If I could....I'd pay my mail carrier to just throw the shit away before it even hits my mailbox.

[Saulbadguy]

Originally Posted by notorious

They do their job and do it efficiently, unlike almost every other government department.