Thank you for thinking of my safety....NOT (another tale)

[Racket_Man]

with the record snowfall last week (almost 15 inches), our area is mostly dug out.

What bothers the hell outta me is, YES IT HAS been a week since the last significant snow fall. how hard is it then you ask is it for homeowners and apartment dwellers alike to have NOT cleared off their steps????

How friggin hard is it for you, at the end of the storm, to after cleaning your sidewalks (as required by city statue/law) at least take a broom and sweep off your steps. and to you apartment dwellers I expect that you should be a little diligent in this as to NOT unduly burden your landlord with a potential lawsuit and a huge claim again their liability insurance.

you know there are going to be people trudging up and down these steps and yet you choose to be a lawsuit waiting to happen. I am refering to not only mail carriers and delivery persons but friends, family, small childern, etc.

the worst offenders seem to be the houses converted to upper/lower duplexes with outside staircases. yes those dreaded outside stairs that are at a 60 degree angle, wood construction, painted, minimal handrails and are at least 30 - 40 years old.

Try holding a full pizza hot bag and a lit flashlight (because as you know it is always a good idea to NOT put on the outside light when expecting a delivery) and navigating a perilious steep stairway that is covered in either ice or a couple of inches of packed down snow.

[42_42_42]

Can you call them from your cell and have THEM trek down the stairs?

[Amina516]

I second 42. Tell them its too dangerous for you to go or something similar. Regardless of whos responsible for removal, if its not clear, then they come to you! (in a perfect world, anyways.)

[Racket_Man]

Can you call them from your cell and have THEM trek down the stairs?

I second 42. Tell them its too dangerous for you to go or something similar. Regardless of whos responsible for removal, if its not clear, then they come to you! (in a perfect world, anyways.)

in short no for the reasons listed below

this would come under the category of
1. inconvencing the almighty customer

2. they would call the store or make a complaint on the internet howling about how THEY had to come out in the cold and snow when it is the drivers JOB to do this. this means that I would get yelled at, the SC would get lots of free stuff and I would get the "HAHA I got you in trouble" stare when delievering there again. why should the company care about my safety.

3. that also means the customer would actually have to do some work in the process and God forbid the SC actually has to do some work (other than getting their butt off of the couch and openning the door)

4. the customer might actually be the one to fall and injure themselves and Heaven forbid the CUSTOMER put themselves in danger when it is some wage slave's job.

and unfortuneately this would lead to the dreaded no tip/stiff situation and in (dreaded phrase I know) "this economy" I need to make as much money as I can.

the worst one I have encountered was Jan of 2009. it was a regular house. now the owner was nice enough to ACTUALLY shovel and clear the sidewalk and walkway TO the house. but what he forgot to do was take care of the slick and VERY smooth 1 inch layer of ICE that was under the snow. I took one step and almost lost it. I had to trudge through the middle of the front lawn in a foot of snow to make it to the door. And YES I did mention the hazard to the owner stating to him that he could have a huge liability on his hands if he did not take care of the problem.

[Andara Bledin]

I wonder if you can get strap on cletes for when you have to deliver to those sorts of places.

^-.-^

[ReverendBSB]

We had a similar situation when I was a manager as a Pizza Hut years ago. There was a dangerous neighborhood (Gardere for those in BR) that was not in our delivery area, but our ghetto manager made us deliver to anyway. I had one driver return one day from a delivery with the pizza. He told me how the apartment he was delivering to had no lights on outside. The buildings have four apartments, two ground, two second floor, two of each in the back. So the driver would have had to go to the back of these apartments in the pitch black, where who knows what could happen.

I told him he did the right thing, called the customer, and told them they had to turn the lights on or meet the driver in the front. When they said it was the landlords responsibility I told told them to call him then, but my terms stand.

As for the driver I paid him his delivery fee anyway, and used a couple of extra coupons to get him a few extra bucks for his trouble. I always took care of my drivers.

[EvilEmpryss]

Aw, damnit! Self-sighting on this subject about 15 minutes ago.

We've got a bit of a snowstorm happening where I live; the first of the season and nothing for anyone who's survived North Dakota, but for the locals, well, let's just say there was a serious run on bread and milk. I decided to order a pizza toight. When the delivery came, I opened the door to see a walk full of snow and an icy set of steps! And after I read this thread, too!

I apologized to the pizza guy and tipped him well for his troubles, so hopefully I didn't come across as too sucky.

BTW: Doesn anyone know why people rush out to buy milk when a winter storm is on the way? If the power goes out it's just going to go bad.

[Mikkel]

If the power goes out it's just going to go bad.

Not if you put it outside.

[KiaKat]

We have a huge storm scheduled to come through this afternoon/tomorrow morning. The big joke is that you cannot find bread or milk in any local store. For a funny story about it, read this.

[evilhomer]

How many lawsuits have to be handed out before people get a clue. Someone injures themselves on your property due to your negligence, you've got a major problem.

I don't always have time to clear my whole driveway in the morning, but I always make sure to shovel and salt a path for the mailman or whomever. And I always leave my light on when I've got a delivery coming.

[anotherroundplease]

I'm a landlord. I don't know if this is the law everywhere, but here it's better for us not to shovel in the case of being sued. Something to do with if we do shovel, there is an expectation of it being cleared. If a person slips on non-cleared snow, it's not our fault (natural hazard).

It sucks, we live in the building. Blame the law.

[Amina516]

in short no for the reasons listed below

this would come under the category of
1. inconvencing the almighty customer

2. they would call the store or make a complaint on the internet howling about how THEY had to come out in the cold and snow when it is the drivers JOB to do this. this means that I would get yelled at, the SC would get lots of free stuff and I would get the "HAHA I got you in trouble" stare when delievering there again. why should the company care about my safety.

3. that also means the customer would actually have to do some work in the process and God forbid the SC actually has to do some work (other than getting their butt off of the couch and openning the door)

4. the customer might actually be the one to fall and injure themselves and Heaven forbid the CUSTOMER put themselves in danger when it is some wage slave's job.

and unfortuneately this would lead to the dreaded no tip/stiff situation and in (dreaded phrase I know) "this economy" I need to make as much money as I can.

the worst one I have encountered was Jan of 2009. it was a regular house. now the owner was nice enough to ACTUALLY shovel and clear the sidewalk and walkway TO the house. but what he forgot to do was take care of the slick and VERY smooth 1 inch layer of ICE that was under the snow. I took one step and almost lost it. I had to trudge through the middle of the front lawn in a foot of snow to make it to the door. And YES I did mention the hazard to the owner stating to him that he could have a huge liability on his hands if he did not take care of the problem.

The reason i say this is b/c i believe (Aethian help me out here!) that mail carriers dont have to deliver mail if they deem the steps/walkway/porch unsafe. I was thinking the same should be in effect for anyone expecting to come to your home and deliver things. If its not cleared, you dont get none.

[Bloodsoul]

Just the other week I slip outside a neighbor's house across the street; said neighbor had a custom-built sidewalk which had a nice, thin layer of ice on it. Of course all the other, normal sidewalks were perfectly fine. Nope, I slipped and fell hard on my left knee (still kinda hurts, but then I walked the remaining five miles to work 'cause my car was in the shop).

Anyway, it started to snow while I was driving home from work (yay, fixed car!) tonight, so I immediately put out some of that rock salt ice-melter stuff. I'm also ready to wake up early to shovel whatever might be out there.. that is, if I can find my shovel.

[Racket_Man]

I wonder if you can get strap on cletes for when you have to deliver to those sorts of places.

^-.-^

yes there are such footware but they do cost about $60. and the cost comes out of MY pocket. the company will not even consider footing the bill for those.

The reason i say this is b/c i believe (Aethian help me out here!) that mail carriers dont have to deliver mail if they deem the steps/walkway/porch unsafe. I was thinking the same should be in effect for anyone expecting to come to your home and deliver things. If its not cleared, you dont get none.

there is one BIG difference between a food type delivery driver and a mail carrier -- the mail carriers have a union and delivery drivers do not. the mail carriers have lots of rules and government regs to back them up, where as delivery drivers are told to just suck it up and do it and endure it even if it means loosing their lives or property.

we as delivery drivers have little in the way of options in bad weather, bad situations where we are expected to go into dark unlighted unseen areas and the like.

another point. last Fed we got hit with a similiar storm. The Area Manager got real snotty at one manager who wanted to shrink the delivery area and some drivers (all vets and seasoned to crappy weather) who were fearing for their safety and wanted to stop driving. His statement to the MOD and I quote "WHO RUNS THE STORE YOU OR THE DRIVERS?????". Meaning get your little peon azzes back out there and make the COMPANY some money, who cares if you make tips or not, I am not even remotely concerned with YOUR safety or life or vehicle, I am ONLY concerned in making money for the COMPANY

Even when called on this/questioned on this later the Area Manager just glossed over it and brushed it off like it was no big deal.

[Mikkel]

yes there are such footware but they do cost about $60. and the cost comes out of MY pocket. the company will not even consider footing the bill for those.

These only cost SKR 85, about $ 12 I guess. I don't know what the freight will be of course.