| Author | Message | ||
     slipknot (slippy) Citizen Username: Zotts Post Number: 292 Registered: 7-2004  |
I can understand a few letters going to the wrong house on a similar street name, Oakview, Burnet etc, but today I got a great one. Same house number different street and best of all different town, Watchung. How does this happen, the zip isn't close, the address is clear and legible and the return is for Hillsborough, how does it even get to Maplewood? | ||
| Tom Reingold Supporter Username: Noglider  Post Number: 15617 Registered: 1-2003  |
That's a head scratcher! | ||
| Letters Citizen Username: Letters016 Post Number: 987 Registered: 5-2005  |
No, not a head scratcher at all. Whoever delivered the mail just looked at the house number, nothing else. All s/he saw was (as an example) 50, 50, 50. Didn't even bother to look at the street or anything else. As far as how it got in the mail associated with your street? Again, easy. The PO uses computers to sort the mail in delivery order and, as you can see, they think Watchung is on your street. Carriers do not see this mail till we hit the street. Bottom line is that the carrier should have caught this before it made your mailbox. | ||
| CFA Citizen Username: Cfa Post Number: 1708 Registered: 5-2001  |
Bottom line is that the post office should forget about competing with UPS and DHL and FedEX and get back to basics. Years ago, the mail delivery was much better than it is today. You would think with the technology we have today it would be better, but it's not. Stick with what you're good at. In the case of the Post Office, first class mail. | ||
| cody Citizen Username: Cody Post Number: 1131 Registered: 5-2001 |
They should raise the postage rate of junk mail, which would drastically reduce the volume of stuff that goes from the mailbox to the recycling bag and then take the time to process the real mail that we'd like to get directed to our houses. I get 4 or 5 letters each week for other addresses, most of which are not the same house number, street (or similar street) or even the same town. And more than the occasional piece of mail with the "oops! sorry your mail was damaged by our machines" - luckily, it's mostly been junk mail that got eaten. The Post Office could streamline its operation very easily (and save lots of trees) if the volume of junk mail was to be cut. That won't happen until it is economically disadvantageous to send junk mail. | ||
| Tom Reingold Supporter Username: Noglider Post Number: 15621 Registered: 1-2003 |
I still don't get your explanation, letters. Everyone who sorts by address should be looking at town, zip code, and street name. Everyone along the line skipped all of those. That's like taking a crap and forgetting to pull down your pants. I have no complaints about my mail service. I guess I'm lucky. My only problem is not the post office's fault. I get mail for my ex-wife here. She never lived here. I guess our junk mail records are intertwined. Or maybe our credit ratings. We were divorced in 1999. What really bugs me is that the IRS sent a letter asking where she is. It doesn't really matter to me, because it's not my concern, but it's creepy to get this mail. | ||
| daylaborer Citizen Username: Upondaroof Post Number: 940 Registered: 4-2003  |
Shtuff happens! | ||
| Elizabeth Citizen Username: Momof4peepers Post Number: 196 Registered: 12-2005 |
Letters get stuck together in the machines, and whamo! mis-directed mail. Is it really all that much of an inconvenience to leave it back out in your mailbox for the mailman to pick up and deliver to the correct address? And if the price of "junk mail" (which isn't junk if you want it) is increased to the point where it's no longer cost-effective, are you willing to pay significantly more for a first class letter? Like 10x the price? And who defines what's "junk"? Today we got a mailing from the New York City Ballet asking if we'd like more information on their schedule. Which I would. But it was sent standard rate ("junk"). Would I have been as interested in hunting down the website address? No. I probably wouldn't even think about it until the season was nearly over. | ||
| Letters Citizen Username: Letters016 Post Number: 989 Registered: 5-2005 |
"Letters get stuck together in the machines, and whamo! mis-directed" OK, I've beem "whamoed" many times and I've been "misdirected" at least a few times but never, NEVER in my life have I been "stuck together in a machine". | ||
| Letters Citizen Username: Letters016 Post Number: 990 Registered: 5-2005 |
Tom, Your putting too many people into the equation. A machine "mis-sorts" it to start with and a carrier only looks at the number, not the street or town or state. When we get mail like this there is only ONE checkpoint. If the carrier misses it or just plain doesn't look, no one verifies that the mail is correct. As far as you getting your ex's mail, my guess would be that somebody, othere than the USPS, made the assumption (please, no Felix Unger jokes) that both of you moved to that address and put it out into the world of "address databases". That is probably where the IRS made the connection (they use these databases) and others will probably too in the future. The problem here would be finding who exactly has this info and is selling/offering it. | ||
| Monster© Supporter Username: Monster Post Number: 4816 Registered: 7-2002  |
I still don't get how I occasionally get my fathers mail, and he mine, when we live in different states, and have different last names. | ||
| Pippi Supporter Username: Pippi Post Number: 2874 Registered: 8-2003  |
"Is it really all that much of an inconvenience to leave it back out in your mailbox for the mailman to pick up and deliver to the correct address? " it shouldn't be too much of an inconvenience, but I'd like to take this moment to post a raging rant about our postal carrier: We often get mail for people a block away who have the same house #. No biggie, I leave it in the box. It sits in the box. And sits. Sometimes I have to tape it to the outside of the box, and it usually gets picked up eventually. I recently started getting some unsolicited mail (in large, obvious packages) from a book club that needs to get sent back or I would (somehow) get charged. So I have scratched off our address, written in HUGE letters in black marker RETURN TO SENDER. The first package sat for 5 days in our box and the carrier kept putting mail over it. I finally wrote a letter and taped it to the outside of the mailbox, something along the lines of "Is there some reason you are not taking the mail out of the box? If so, please let us know what it is" That day the package was taken. Happened again this past week. The package sat for 3 days. Notehead finally propped the mailbox open with it and it got taken. What if we actually left mail, like bills, to be delivered in our box? It is the postal carriers job to take it, but I have no confidence that ours would take it. so to get back to elizabeth's post, yes it could be an inconvenience! | ||
| Radiskull Citizen Username: Radiskull Post Number: 2 Registered: 5-2006  |
"Why does it happen? Because it happens Roll the bones." | ||
| Elizabeth Citizen Username: Momof4peepers Post Number: 200 Registered: 12-2005 |
Wow Pippi - i've never had such a bad letter carrier! Every letter carrier I've ever had has been fabulous. Throw the mail out if they're not picking it up. Let someone else fight the "I never received it" fight. There's a reason there's a popular joke that goes "It's in the mail".... And letters - I meant the actual pieces of paper get stuck together in the machine! Altho YOU stuck in the machine with a whamo! might be quite the explanation for the boss.... | ||
| Tom Reingold Supporter Username: Noglider Post Number: 15624 Registered: 1-2003 |
Thank you for the explanations, letters. | ||
| Former Cowgirl Citizen Username: Formercowgirl Post Number: 200 Registered: 3-2006  |
Wow. What timing! I was considering posting on the same topic. I'm in a new home with the worst mail carrier I've ever had. In addition to being grumpy, he puts my next door neigbor's mail in my box at least 2x a week. No, not a big deal to walk over and leave it in her door or box, but WHY???? And why so often? My SO who worked for USPS for about a week 15 years ago, claims that each address is sorted out at the post office before the carrier picks it up. Is this true? Each of us have our own little slot at the post office? I would imagine it would be by street or block and then up to the carrier to sort by number? Is this true, Letters?? Not only that, but I've had two invitations not make it to my house and not make it back to sender. I'm sure one of my neighbors got it and was too lazy to walk it over. Lastly, I remember when you could leave outgoing mail in your own box before the carrier came and he would take it. Is this not true anymore? Must all mail go in the public boxes? My guys never takes it! | ||
| Letters Citizen Username: Letters016 Post Number: 993 Registered: 5-2005 |
Erstwhile heifer-honey (sorry, but I couldnt resist), Yes, every address has it's very own spot inside the PO but you are incorrect about the rest of it. Each carrier sorts his/her mail before they deliver it. The only mail we do not see is the mail that the computers screw up, um, I mean get in order for us. And yes, you can leave outgoing mail in your box and yes the carrier is supposed to take it. What I can't believe is that there have been so many people complaining about this stuff and then they do nothing when it falls on deaf ears. Personally, I think you should keep complaining up the line until you get satisfaction. I do my part at work, but my mail also isn't screwed up. There was some concern once but I straightened it out with the postmaster right away. I have never had a problem since. | ||
| argon_smythe Citizen Username: Argon_smythe Post Number: 941 Registered: 5-2001 |
CFA is wrong, what the Post Office is good at delivering is bulk (ie, junk) mail. It's business model is entirely based on the delivery of junk mail. | ||
| Letters Citizen Username: Letters016 Post Number: 994 Registered: 5-2005 |
a_s, You are correct. 1st class mail is on the decline and 3rd class has risen dramatically. It is far easier to deliver 1st class due to the nature of the mail. 3rd class causes far more problems with the delivery than any other kind of mail. |
