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.

[notorious]

ummm, didn't they just tell everyone that the U.S. Postal service lost millions last year?

[LiveSteam]

My child's mom is a mail carrier. She goes postal all the time. Fricken lunatic that one is

[luv]

Originally Posted by notorious

ummm, didn't they just tell everyone that the U.S. Postal service lost millions last year?

I believe that's why there have been talks of going to five day delivery instead of six. That would cut costs, but thousands would lose their jobs.

[penguinz]

And UPS could have taken over USPS mail delivery and stamps would be cheaper today.

[Hammock Parties]

No kinky stories of daytime sex? Feh!

[LiveSteam]

Originally Posted by notorious

ummm, didn't they just tell everyone that the U.S. Postal service lost millions last year?

In 2009 they lost 19 billion or million parcels of mail,I read somewhere . & it was supposed to double this year. All lost to the internet

[luv]

Dad had a local politician on one of his old routes. He stood there as his dog bit my dad. When my dad said something, he said his dog doesn't bite.

Went to dinner with dad and a coworker of his the other night. His coworker has been bitten three times. Can't remember how many times dad said he has over the course of over 25 years.

[notorious]

Originally Posted by luv

I believe that's why there have been talks of going to five day delivery instead of six. That would cut costs, but thousands would lose their jobs.

Good people, too.


I heard the first thing to go is satellite offices in oversaturated areas.

[luv]

Oh, and the reason they don't tell you #13 is because, whenever they case their routes, they put their mail in a specific order (by how they deliver it). Whenever people stop to ask them, it takes time to look through it to find that person's specific mail. And they do have times they need to be back. If people call in, or they're understaffed for some reason, then they'll take a route and divide amongst a few carriers to get it delivered. So, if your mail is ever "late" that is probably why. Or if they just have someone else delivering that route for the day, then that carrier could do it in a different order than your normal carrier, which would affect delivery times.

[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.

[luv]

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.

Yeah, especially this time of year, huh?

[Saulbadguy]

Originally Posted by luv

Yeah, especially this time of year, huh?

Washington's birthday coming up, another day off!

[Brock]

Originally Posted by luv

Yeah, especially this time of year, huh?

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

[luv]

Originally Posted by Saulbadguy

Washington's birthday coming up, another day off!

I get the day off from school too!