Post office wtf?

[fireheart]

So standard practice for parcels down here is that if they are small enough, they can go in the mailbox. Anything bigger and if someone isn't home to sign off for said parcel, they go to the nearest post office to be collected by you when you DO return home. They also leave a calling card that states this.

Lately however, my post office seems to have failed to grasp this concept (either that or they're using private couriers). We've had about eight or so packages that have just been left on our front doorstep or placed in locations that are supposedly "safe" which is generally along the porch or just down the side of the house. Either location is still accessible by thieves.
Some of the packages have also contained valuable electronic equipment.

I've sent an email to the post office asking for a follow up. Well see what happens.

[EricKei]

That happened to me so many times over the years that I just started giving my work address to any shipper that I ordered something even remotely delicate/valuable from. I've gotten motherboards and video cards' boxes left on the ground in front of the door, with no doorbell ringing (even though they have said more than once that it's policy to ring), on rainy days >_>

I once came THIS close to losing my first PS3 (launch model) to a box being left at the WRONG HOUSE -- basically, it was delivered to 123 Streetname rather than my address at the time, 132 Streetname (which is what was actually on the box)...The only reason I knew was because the resident where it wound up knew me and called me to come get it, as she was elderly and couldn't lift the box on her own.

[mathnerd]

Thankfully I don't have that problem, as I have a giant dog that won't let anybody out of their vehicles until we say it's okay.

I know lots of people around here complain about the same thing from USPS, UPS and FedEx. I can definitely see how annoying it would be.

[Aethian]

We're told to leave parcels. If a note is left for the carrier to notice all parcels we can do that cause then we have something to back us up to those managers that don't want to see us bringing back parcels.

I've even had one say "Well it's safe at my place." As if every place is that safe when everyone else knows that in some areas you just don't leave parcels.

[fireheart]

We're told to leave parcels. If a note is left for the carrier to notice all parcels we can do that cause then we have something to back us up to those managers that don't want to see us bringing back parcels.

I've even had one say "Well it's safe at my place." As if every place is that safe when everyone else knows that in some areas you just don't leave parcels.

Unfortunately I live near a school and a shopping centre, so high traffic areas. Kinda not a safe spot.
On the last parcel I received (work uniform stuff), I had put in the delivery instructions area that if someone doesn't answer the door, they need to leave a notice.
Don't worry, I was very polite in my letter though, just asking if the leaving parcels had become standard practice of late. Especially because a few of the parcels contain valuable items (electronics)

[raudf]

Oh... it gets better when you have three mailboxes on a horizontal bar (all family, three houses), houses not in sight of the mailboxes and the carrier decides to wedge a power supply box between two of the mailboxes, because it was too big to fit in the mailbox and he "didn't feel like driving up the driveway to honk," even though we were HOME AT THE TIME!

Yeah, the power supply was ruined. Box was warped and so was the power supply. The company I ordered from sent a new one via UPS, filed a claim with the USPS and I filed a complaint against the carrier. If he didn't feel like driving up the drive, he could have left a notice and I'd drove 30 minutes to the nearest post office to get it. (I live very rurally.)

[Draper Mel]

When I lived at home, my parents' nice neighbor had some computer equipment stolen from a shipment left on his porch...by the hoodlum friends of the daughter of the crappy neighbor on the other side. I found the box on our side of the property line between the houses.

Thankfully, they seemed to have a rule against messing with elderly people, so they didn't bother my parents. And anything I had shipped there was fine because my parents were home all day.

[bainsidhe]

I live in an apt building and one of my a-hole neighbors steals packages. I've complained, but apparently it doesn't mean anything unless I file a police report. If only I knew which jerk was doing it.

I have a note posted on my mailbox not to leave packages and to please leave me a notice to pick up at the post office. Yesterday I received a package with loan documents from my bank and the banker had kindly marked on the package to NOT leave at the door (because I warned her about theft). I found my package on top of the mailbox and directly over the sign I posted. So they don't read the sign I've had posted for years and they don't read the instructions marked on the package. So glad nobody stole that package, since it had some pretty sensitive information inside.

[EricKei]

I've actually had delivery services (including, but not limited to, the local USPS), tell me that they are not ALLOWED to leave a note unless the package is too heavy for them to lift, or else if it's signature required or something like that, no matter what the instructions say. Anyone know a (legal and not aggravating for the deliverer) way around that?

[Aethian]

Anyone know a (legal and not aggravating for the deliverer) way around that?

See this is one of those managers that bug the hell out of me and make my craft look like dunderheads. It is not a rule in any manual that I've seen that we have to leave the package. It is a manager decision. I know some of you have had some of these managers that practically proclaim themselves god and do nothing more then make us look bad.

My suggestion is leave a note, if that doesn't work then move up the chain. Second would to call the carrier supervisor of your zip code. If they aren't going to be helpful you then move to the office manager. Be advised that depending on your office size the office manager and carrier supervisor may be the same person.

If those three steps aren't working then call the 800 number. Make sure you note who you talk to and that you want a complaint filed because its leading to stolen mail/damaged mail. A supervisor is given 14 days, not including Sundays, to make a return call to either settle or escalate the matter.

I've never seen it get past that point because almost all of our managers are ex carriers ATM and know we know how to work and that a lot of us do what we can to make things right.

[EricKei]

Tried that several times over several years, to no avail. Ditto complaints about the mail carriers who managed to give me at least one mailpiece for Apartment B, and vice versa (in a duplex...) every single week for over ten years. Complaints to the local substation would fix the latter for about two months, then it would begin again; they actually tried, but it seems that their carriers simply didn't pay attention unless reminded to. I came to the conclusion that the main post office had some real pants-on-head-stupid level folks running the place.

I no longer even live in that state...For, uhm...completely unrelated reasons. Yeah, that's it.

[Aethian]

I came to the conclusion that the main post office had some real pants-on-head-stupid level folks running the place.

I no longer even live in that state...For, uhm...completely unrelated reasons. Yeah, that's it.

Like our current manager...*mutters dark bunny thoughts*

Yea sure...run away cause of the carriers... Uh huh :P

[ComputerNecromancer]

FedEx and (UPS is even worse) will ring the bell, wait about 30 seconds and leave with a notice stuck on the door to come pick up the package.

I finally printed up a notice that I post on the inside of the huge window in the door to this part of the apartment building.

It basically says that I *am* home but it takes a few minutes for me to get downstairs.

That's worked pretty well.

Alas, about six months back they changed to carrier for the USPS route. The old one would ring the doorbell on the way past the door to my section of the building to get to the bank of mail boxes 50 feet farther along. Which gave 5 minutes or so to catch him as he stuffed mailboxes.

The new one does the mailboxes, *then* rings the bell and doesn't wait very long.

Next time, if I can catch him, I'm gong to have a talk with him (If I can catch him, last time he was half a block away and I barely caught him)

[Aislin]

In my town, due to massive mail thefts where the thieves would follow the mail truck and collect the packages as they were dropped off NO packages are left at any house unless the person is there to grab them. I work on my school work in the living room because we get 8-10 packages of materials needing testing for either of my husbands 2 jobs. Fedex and the other carriers just go in the back yard and pet the super friendly puppy and drop the package out of his reach on the shelfs we have out there for that purpose.
I have caught the FedEx Guy playing frisbee with the doggie on a few occasions and there is a jar of doggie treats on the self for them to treat the pup or take a few to treat other doggies they might meet. The dog associates people with treats and the 2 part gate keeps him in the yard.

[tSubh Dearg]

In Ireland, the post guys are usually pretty good about leaving a notice if you're not home, but a couple of years ago we had a bunch of Amazon packages left hidden under our doormat. It just served to make the package more obvious than usual! They also left a small delivery of expensive tea & coffee behind a single small flower pot on my window ledge.

All I could think everytime I came home & met this, was that this postman must be pretty bad at playing hide and seek.