(now with 'car' option)poll: so how IS mail delivered to your house?

[danny_galaga]

you know how its done in my town, what about yours? just in the suburb where you live. i think every city CENTRE would be delivered by foot, so just your suburb.

[shardian]

I live on a motor route. In my subdivison, there is a mailbox stand on each street that has about 20-30 mailboxes on it. The mail person drives to it, and loads all the boxes with mail in one stop.
Back when I was a kid, I lived in town and the mail person parked their mail truck and walked the street to deliver.

[lordtodd75]

somebody pm saint, texasmame highjacked danny_galaga's account  I crack myself up.

On my street, the mail person drives up to my front lawn, gets out and puts the mail in my mailbox. Excuse my ignorance but how exactly is it done in your town danny.

[shmokes]

Yeah, I've got a mailbox next to my front door.  Mailman (woman in my case) drives up and parks her car, delivers the mail to about four or so houses, gets back in the car, pulls forward a bit, gets back out, delivers some mail, etc., etc..

[billf]

Mine is similar to Shardian's situation, but our mailboxes are out at the street in groups of 4.  Basically they group my house, the next door neighbor's house and the two house's right across the street together.  The mailman drives the mail truck right up to each grouping and stays in the truck to deliver the mail.  If he needs to drop off a larger package that doesn't fit in the mailbox, he'll then walk it up to the house's front door.

[ChadTower]

Every house here has a mailbox by the sidewalk (if there is a sidewalk).  The mailman drives around in a jeep and pulls up to each box.  The mailman claims that he is not obligated to deliver the mail if he can't get close enough to the box that he can reach it without getting out of the jeep.  If there is snow or a parked car in front of a mailbox we don't get mail.

[billf]

Every house here has a mailbox by the sidewalk (if there is a sidewalk).  The mailman drives around in a jeep and pulls up to each box.  The mailman claims that he is not obligated to deliver the mail if he can't get close enough to the box that he can reach it without getting out of the jeep.  If there is snow or a parked car in front of a mailbox we don't get mail.

..yeah, through rain, sleet or snow...---my bottom---   

[ChadTower]

I mentioned that and he threw up the UNION RULES gangsign.  Then he put my next two packages in the snow.

I don't mess with my mailman.  I get too many packages to risk it.

[dstone]

I live out in the country, so to say. There's only 3 houses on our street; all three mailboxes are at the end of my driveway. Mail lady delivers in a pickup truck. There's also a substitute mailman that drives a minivan, but I don't care much for him. If I have a package coming in, he doesn't even bother bringing it up to the door (like they're supposed to) even though I was standing in the driveway. He just dropped off the little yellow card saying "you weren't home, pick up your package at the post office." 

But yeah, back on topic; mailwoman in a pickup truck to the mailbox at the end of the driveway.

[billf]

I mentioned that and he threw up the UNION RULES gangsign.  Then he put my next two packages in the snow.

I don't mess with my mailman.  I get too many packages to risk it.

Yep, they are generally the wrong people to screw with.  Ours is a decent, friendly guy.

A friend of ours, across town, lives in a cul-de-sac.  Sometimes her mail will inadvertantly have Street in the address line instead of Ct. (Court) and the mailman will not deliver it.  She had a discussion with him about it and he said tough, wrong address I won't deliver it.  Everything else on the address label is correct except St. instead of Ct.   

[ChadTower]

Well, if there actually is a <name> st, then of course it would go someplace else.  That's not the mailman's fault.

[billf]

Well, if there actually is a <name> st, then of course it would go someplace else.  That's not the mailman's fault.

Her street name is in fact shared with the street the cul-de-sac is on (ie. Elm Street and Elm Ct.),  BUT...her house number is unique.  For example, her house is 123 Elm Ct., there is in fact no 123 Elm St.  Her name is correctly on the envelope, the house number is correct, the street name is correct, zip is correct, etc. the only thing wrong is it has St. instead of Ct.

The real reason he is being a pain is that she went to the post office to try and get this straightened out.  He must have been talked to by his superiors and now if the address is not exactly correct (to the letter), he doesn't deliver it.  My last house we would get everything delivered to our house, even if it had wrong address, wrong addressee, wrong zip code.  I think she just ran into a mailman with a chip on his shoulder and he's trying to wield "the power" he has.

[ChadTower]

I'm not sure why she would think they can make a logic exception for one person.  If the address is wrong it's wrong.   That is the sender's fault. 

[billf]

I'm not sure why she would think they can make a logic exception for one person.  If the address is wrong it's wrong.   That is the sender's fault. 

If every piece of mail that had one letter in the address wrong, you would not get half of your mail.  I get things delievered all the time with things wrong in the address.   

[ChadTower]

That's not a random letter, though.  That's a critical part of the address that makes it not a typo but actual incorrect data.

[billf]

That's not a random letter, though.  That's a critical part of the address that makes it not a typo but actual incorrect data.

What are you a mailman?   

This is a mailman being a pain in the neck.  Pure and simple.

[ChadTower]

I strongly disagree here.  I see this as a case where the address is wrong and points to someplace else and the user wants them to detect that and correct it on the fly.  How are they to know that it's the address that is wrong and not the person's name?  What then?

[billf]

I see this as a case where the address is wrong and points to someplace else

This is where you're wrong.  It doesn't point to any other valid address.  The only one it could be is hers.  Remember her house number on the envelope is correct and there is no other house with that number and street name in the entire city.

[ChadTower]

And the rule for mail that goes to a nonexistant address is not to search for a correct one.  It is to return to the sender.  Because the sender screwed up.

[billf]

Sounds to me like you're frightened by your own mailman so much that common sense has left you in this instance.

[shardian]

Somehow, I am thinking Danny knew this would turn into a rehash of the Chad/Billf mail drama.

[billf]

 

When have we had "drama" before?

[ChadTower]

We haven't.  I think he's mistaken.  And this isn't drama.  We're just giving each other ---steaming pile of meadow muffin---.   

[billf]

We haven't.  I think he's mistaken.  And this isn't drama.  We're just giving each other ---Cleveland steamer---.   

Absolutely.

[shardian]

Yeah, false memory. My bad.

[Dervacumen]

I live in a subdivision.   Near the street, are two mailboxes fixed to the same post, one for the house on the right and one for the house on the left.  The mailman drives up, gets out and fills the two mailboxes.  He then gets in his truck, drives about 30 yards to the next set of two mailboxes.  Rinse.  Repeat.
Used to be in the 1970's the mailman just parked, loaded up a nifty three-wheeled mail carrier that he pushed around the neighborhood for a couple hours.  Everyone knew the mailman.  As a matter of fact, my mailman's name was Larry Jones.  Now I wave to my mailman when I see him and it's taken about 2 years for him to smile and wave back.

I guess they abandoned the old way because of too many problems with dogs, heatstroke, unfair working conditions.  You know, typical US lawyer crap.  Never mind it drove the cost up and pollutes the environment more.

[boykster]

Truck....on my street, all mailboxes are on the same side of street, often clustered 2-5 boxes together.  Mailperson drives up, drops mail, drives away.

[AtomSmasher]

mine gets delivered from a car, but I don't see that option in the poll.  I'm guessing its probably jove! or monkey cooch, but I haven't the slightest idea which one.

[shmokes]

Billf's right.  As an aspiring lawyer, I suppose one might think I'm meant to take the "a rule's a rule," position that Chad's forwarding, but that's ---That which is odiferous and causeth plants to grow---.  Not only does the house have a unique number, suggesting its true destination, but the Mailman knows by looking at the name it is addressed to, in combination with the house number, that it was meant for the "Ct." address rather than the "St." address.  That guy is a ---tallywhacker---.  I can't stand people who act like if someone of authority hasn't expressly instructed them to be helpful, their hands are tied.  Actually, I've noticed that here in Miami.  People have a far greater propensity to be unpleasant and rude as a matter of course here than in any other city I've been to, including Salt lake, where I grew up, San Francisco, New York, and even the famously rude Paris.

[ChadTower]

I'm not taking the "a rule's a rule" position nearly as much as I am "it's the sender's fault, not the freakin' mailman's".  Getting ticked at the mailman because the sender is stupid is even ruder than not autodetecting incorrect addresses.

[boykster]

my mailperson regularly delivers items that are mis-addressed; minor typos / mistakes in the house number, street address (st instead of AVE, etc) or my name is misspelled - which happens a LOT - they deliver it.

Not sure why its such a stretch to think that a mailperson can't use their brain once in a while and make a decision.

[ChadTower]

Only some of it gets through.  I know quite a few post office people.  They say a lot of it gets sent back because there is so much of it they don't have enough time to figure it all out.

[boykster]

sure, and I don't think that the onus is on the USPS to figure out every bad address/adressee, that's sender error.  However, if a parcel makes it into a delivery person's bag, and they are AT the destination house - and they know it mind you - but refuse to deliver it because it says ST instead of CT, that's just ridiculous.

I don't expect my mailperson to make sure each and every letter makes it to me, come hell or high water or totally messed up address

[ChadTower]

I'm guessing they were delivering some, but not all, until she went to the post office and made a stink about the fact that it wasn't ALL of it.  Then she ended up getting none of it. 

[boykster]

I can't read this thread anymore...that pic is too disgusting....

[Chris G]

Yes, Chad loses purely by virtue of having posted that.

[billf]

Yes, Chad loses purely by virtue of having posted that.

 

[knave]

Growing up in the middle of nowhere, the mailman, Luther used to drop of the mail in a jeep every day at the same time. Sometimes he would give me a ride up the hill from the busstop. If he was early he would bring it down the 100 ft or so to the house. Real cool guy.

Now as a grown up I attract trainee mail-people like flies on...

I seem to get my mail, the neighbors mail some guys mail down the street not to mention every piece of junk mail for all the past residents for about 10 or so years.  My first house the mailman parked and walked to each house.  Most houses had a mailslot or a box on the porch.

New house used to be what I thought was a seinior route...cus all the houses had a mail box on the sidewalk. and the fat old guy never had to get out.  It was better then unless I parked in front of it like we mentioned earlier.  Soon after I moved in the old mailman disappeard and now it's a different one each day.  Ok well we might be down to two now. 

All in all though I'm not complaining though it is always nicer if the mailman is able to apply a little bit of common sense and I find that most do.  As long as the mail has some part of my name and a mostly correct address I get it. (At least I think I do.)

I still don't park in front of my mailbox though...

[danny_galaga]

ok, i added car/truck to the poll. whoodathunk? you yanks have to drive every freakin where! i wonder how much USPS loses each year? Aust Post actually turns a large profit (360 million dollars last year, compared to British Post 1 billion POUND loss!) For those that missed my other thread, my interest in this is that i've just joined australia post (",) yes, i am now to be feared  .
this is how most suburban mail is delivered in australia (and new zealand i believe)



(i notice the jpg is titled 'chadstone'. coincidence?)

about the incorrect addresses. here we are allowed to make reasonable assumptions about wrong addresses. if it says smith st and its actually smith court but there is no smith st in that suburb you can assume thats what they meant. also people get dislexic about unit numbers, writing 7/60 smith st instead of 60/7 smith st. each postie has to sort their mail on an armature which has about 20 streets listed on it. and every house and unit for those streets. its really simple to double check against another piece of mail for the same person and see if that's who it was intended for.

[jbox]

What are you a mailman?   

Much worse - he's a software engineer. If your doctor puts too much of a tail on your next script you'll be surprised at how strange your oral medication will taste... 

G. What do you do if you receive a prescription and the drug name is misspelled?
- Dispense the drug with the closest name     11%