We Deliver For Doo
2004-12-09 at 7:49 p.m.
As promised, my mail carrier story...
Since we moved here a year ago, I've had nothing but trouble with my mailman. Because our subdivision is new and still largely under construction, the post office requested that our mailboxes be placed at the end of the street until the neighborhood was 80% developed. This would insure not only the safety of the carrier, but reduce the likleyhood of damage to our boxes. In September, we were able to install our recepticles curbside.
My mail carrier always had a habit of "notifying" parcels, without making any attempt to deliver them. This means, that without even checking to see if a customer was home to receive a package, he would leave a yellow notification slip in their mailbox. These slips are to be used only in the event that a resident was not home and able to receive a parcel. They aren't meant to be used in place of a carrier making the attempt. My carrier was so lazy that he always left notifications. There were times when I would stand on my front porch and watch him at the end of the street, leaving the "sorry we missed you" notification in my box.
Many a time, I would have to load up my kids, in all kinds of weather, with gasoline costing upwards of $2.00 per gallon, to retrieve a parcel that Mr. We Deliver For You was too lazy to drive the 150 feet to my house.
One time, instead of bringing a parcel to my door, he left it on top of my mailbox. By the time I retrieved it later that day, it had stormed. The parcel, containing a hardbound book from J's book club, had blown off the box and landed in the mud, where it lay, saturated with rain.
On three occasions, I witnessed this man pulling his vehicle into customers driveways. Having worked as a mail carrier in the past, I know firsthand that this is a big no-no. I was shocked to see what he does next. He reaches behind him, pulls out his parcels and drops them onto customers' driveways! The first time I saw this was in my own driveway. We had just moved in and the driveway had not yet cured. When he pulled into the driveway with road salt on his tires, he ruined a patch of our concrete.
The second time I saw him do this, was with a neighbor across the street. He pulled into her driveway and plopped the parcel onto the walkway at the base of her driveway. Just as he pulled away, the neighbor's automatic sprinklers came on and doused the parcel. Had he placed it on the front porch as he should have, that never would have happened.
Time number three, he actually didn't pull into the driveway. He sized up the situation, but then instead opted to dump the package at the base of the mailbox post. As he pulled away, the package rolled down the curb and out onto the street. There was water running down the curb at the time, because it had rained. He saw this as he drove down the other side of the street, but chose to do nothing. I stood, dumbfounded, with my mouth gaping open. I was too stunned to say a word to him.
After another round of notifying parcels without attempting delivery, we filed a complaint against him. I don't think anything ever came of it, because he continued his antics.
A few weeks later, he pulled up to my mailbox with a calendar I had ordered. It was in a 12x12 cardboard container, and therefore, too big for the mailbox. I was out waiting for E's bus at the time and watched him. Instead of getting off of his lazy ass and delivering the parcel to my door, he instead got a rubber band and tried to wrap the package around the flag on my mailbox! Had I not gotten up and offered to take it from him, it would have broken the flag off the box. I was more than a little perturbed as I ran over and said, "Gee I wouldn't want you to have to GET UP or anything... "
The final straw came Tuesday. I had ordered a gift for Mat-thew on ebay. It was a specialty item that's quite rare and something for which I paid a great deal of money. It was delivered Tuesday.
To my driveway.
I came out to get the mail and saw the parcel sitting on the concrete. Judging by the dented corner of the box, it was dropped with a great deal of force. Had the seller not packed it so well, the item likely would have been ruined.
Lately our mail has been coming after dark. Tuesday was the exception and thankfully it was. Had it been dark when I retrieved the mail, I never would have seen this package sitting on the driveway. Kev!n would have come home from work, backed in the driveway like he always does and would have run right over it.
After that, I decided I'd had enough. When I worked as a carrier, my ass was ridden daily. If I so much as blinked, I was written up. Obviously they no longer do route inspections, because this guy is not only breaking postal policies, he's breaking laws.
I was too fucking mad to call, so Kev!n did. He told a carrier supervisor all the shit we'd witnessed and about all the ruined or damaged mail (including the photograph he ruined last week). She was flabbergasted. She assured Kev!n that she would have a talk with this asshole and see to it that he never pulls this shit again. Delivering mail is not a job for the lazy and if this prick can't handle it, then he needs to be cast down with the handlers and sorters.
I fear retribution from this guy. I don't know whether or not the supervisor referred to us by name when she spoke to him, but if she mentioned the parcel in the driveway, it won't be too hard for the guy to figure out who called. Our street is a small one and unless more than one of us received parcels that day, he'll easily figure out it was us who called on him.
I guess if my utility disconnection notices aren't delivered, I'll know he's getting me back.
With that said, I want to let you know that I'm going on a brief hiatus and that this will be my last entry for awhile. I plan to make this a Clay Aiken fansite like I had planned to do originally, and move my personal diary to a locked location - viewed by invitation only. I'm tired of having to censor myself or worry about who's reading my thoughts. If people who come to my diary ten times a day like me so much, then they'll have the nerve to come forward and ask for a password.
Public diary writing was fun, but I'm over it. I'll give plenty of opportunity for those who want passwords to get one.
Until then, I bid you a fond farewell - at least for awhile.