Mailman Question

[Aubrey]

When we moved in, we had the U-Haul truck backed into the driveway & my van parked on the curb. The way our house is situated, there's only one curb for us to park on because on the other side, our neighbor's driveway is right next to ours.

 

So the mail lady pulls up & starts yelling at us not to park in front of the mailbox. Technically--my van wasn't *in front* of the mailbox, just on the curb right beside it. She told dh she wouldn't get out of her car to deliver the mail, & if there was a car parked on the curb there, she couldn't just drive down the street.

 

Really--in the actual middle of moving, I do not care what the post lady thinks about anything. Not to mention that not one piece of mail that she was bringing was even for us.

 

After we moved, though, I realized that that was the only place we could park--we've got a one-car driveway, & we're across from a cul-de-sac, so apart from parking down the street, there's not much else we can do. For the most part, it's a non-issue: I park in the driveway, dh parks in the holy spot, after the Mail Lady has come.

 

Last weekend, though, she was running late & dh was running early, so he beat her home, & she refused delivery. And of course, he's there on Saturdays.

 

What do I do? We're not parked illegally, but PO policy is that the driver gets to determine deliverability, & this lady has been *cranky* every time I've bumped into her--before we'd ever had a chance to set her off--honest!

 

And...since that's the only spot to park, our company & neighbors' company both park there on occasion, too.

 

I don't want to be rude or obnoxious, & I know there are considerable time constraints on the postal workers, but...well, WWYD?

[Country Mouse]

Can you move the mailbox?

 

Short of that, I might just get a P.O. box and be done with that woman. :)

[rwjx2khsmj]

I'd smile and thank her when I see her and not give her a second thought. She's doing her job and if she wants to be miserable and angry while she does it, you can't really change that.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Our mail carrier will not deliver if the mailbox is blocked so that he can't deliver while sitting in his car.

[Aubrey]

Can you move the mailbox?

 

Short of that, I might just get a P.O. box and be done with that woman. :)

 

If it weren't a rent house, I'd take down the street box & put one up on the front porch. I wonder what she'd do then? (Really, not to be snarky, I truly wonder.)

[Aubrey]

I'd smile and thank her when I see her and not give her a second thought. She's doing her job and if she wants to be miserable and angry while she does it, you can't really change that.

 

I guess...I'm frustrated at the prospect of having to choose between receiving mail & parking the car.

[Kathleen in VA]

My dh is a letter carrier. He says the official policy of the postal service is carriers are not allowed to deliver mail to a box that is blocked by a car. This is what he is told by his supervisor to do. Lots of letter carriers are hounded by their supervisors to be back to the station in 8 hours to avoid overtime. If a carrier keeps having to climb in and out of his/her truck to reach past a car that is blocking a box it can put him over his 8 hours and he can get a letter of warning in his file or worse, depending on how often that happens.

 

Right now the supervisors are being hounded by their supervisors who are being hounded by their supervisors, etc., etc., because the USPS is looking for any way they can to cut costs. The carrier usually receives the brunt of it. Your carrier is not obligated to deliver your mail if your box is blocked. He may even get penalized by his supervisor if he does.

 

Not all carriers have stressed out supervisors so some folks may get their mail even if their box is blocked. My dh delivers to boxes that he can reach if he gets out of his truck - it's just easier for him. If a car is so close that it is blocking access altogether he doesn't, but most of the time he can. It's a judgment call - but please remember that these carriers are being pushed hard by the powers that be. If you can move your car, then please do. If you can't, then expect to have to drive to the po to pick up your mail.

 

Aubrey, your carrier should not have yelled at you. She should just have told you she will be leaving your mail at the post office for you to pick up. She may be under a great deal of stress but that does not give her the right to yell at a patron. You should call and complain. All she has to do is kindly tell you that she is not allowed to deliver mail to a blocked box and that you will have to come to the po to get your mail. Maybe she burnt her toast that morning. :confused:

[Garga]

I think it's common for them not to get out to deliver it, if all the boxes are on the curb. I used to park in front of my friend's box, unwittingly, all the time. It was months (actually years, come to think of it!) before I found out that every time I did that, she didn't get her mail that day.

 

I'm not sure there is another solution. Sounds like there is nowhere to move the box to that wouldn't still be covered by a car. Can you call the post office and see what they suggest?

[3lilreds in NC]

I don't think ours at our old house would deliver if the box were blocked, either. People used to call her the Mail Witch. Apparently she was less than pleasant, although she was always nice to me.

 

I think she's probably stressed about getting her job done. All the mail carriers where we used to live were too busy - they had HUGE turnover because they just didn't have enough people to deliver the mail.

 

Do you know what time she usually comes? If you know there will be a car there, could you meet her out there? I used to meet the mail people all the time just because it was fun. :)

[Aubrey]

I think it's common for them not to get out to deliver it, if all the boxes are on the curb. I used to park in front of my friend's box, unwittingly, all the time. It was months (actually years, come to think of it!) before I found out that every time I did that, she didn't get her mail that day.

 

I'm not sure there is another solution. Sounds like there is nowhere to move the box to that wouldn't still be covered by a car. Can you call the post office and see what they suggest?

 

Actually, now that I understand the problem better, I think it would be fine on the other side of our driveway. The space between our driveway & the neighbor's drive is small enough that no one could ever park there.

 

Since we're renting the house, that doesn't actually help me (I guess we could ask the landlord for permission to move the box). It does help me to see that the problem is more than a disgruntled mail person.

 

Kathleen--thanks for your thoughts. I remembered that your dh was a mail carrier, so I hoped you'd give me the other side of things.

 

I do find the rule surprising, though--we live in one of those neighborhoods that's almost impossible to drive through after 5pm, because both sides of the road are dotted with parked cars. It's been years, though, since I've lived in a house that had the box out at the curb--they've all been on the porch. So of course, to me--the curb box having a car parked beside (not actually directly in front of) it seems *much* easier for a mail carrier to deal w/.

[Aubrey]

I would have dh park in such a way that he blocks in the driveway, not the curb next tot he mail box. Since it is you he is blocking in by treating the driveway as a curb, I doubt you will complain to anyone;) If this doesn't work then let her know that you don't have an option but understand that she won't be able to deliver on the days that it is blocked.

 

I bet it isn't a big deal to have a mail-free Saturday most of the time and if you are waiting for something really important (like school books!) then dh may just have to park down the street for a couple of days to allow delivery.

 

You know...I thought that was illegal...but I bet if it's your own house, it's fine. I totally didn't think of that.

[Aubrey]

Do you know what time she usually comes? If you know there will be a car there, could you meet her out there? I used to meet the mail people all the time just because it was fun. :)

 

No. Sometimes she comes at 3. Sometimes 5:30. And there are no front windows to watch for her, either.

[kalanamak]

Talk to them at the PO. See what you can do. My brother bothered to ask the PO if the mailman would mind walking the mail to my mother's door for what turned out to be the last 6 months of her life, and they did it every day. So there are humans working there. :)

Maybe they can suggest a place to move the box.

[Aubrey]

Talk to them at the PO. See what you can do. My brother bothered to ask the PO if the mailman would mind walking the mail to my mother's door for what turned out to be the last 6 months of her life, and they did it every day. So there are humans working there. :)

Maybe they can suggest a place to move the box.

 

Oh my goodness--how kind!

 

Ok, I have another question--if dh is parked on that curb, say on Saturdays only, would that make the mail lady's job easier or harder on those days? Assuming that means she get to skip us, does that mean she'll end up going home a smidge earlier or later? Or no difference?

 

If I thought I was doing her a favor on those days, I'd feel better about the whole situation. But if I'm annoyed that I'm not getting mail, she's annoyed at the parking, & nobody's getting anything good out of it, then I'll keep thinking about it.

 

Otherwise, dh rarely beats her to our house, so it should really be a non-issue.

[Kathleen in VA]

One more thing dh said. The mail is being delivered to the stations later than it has been in the past because it is being processed with barcodes and then being machine sorted before the carriers get it. That means the carriers are getting out on the street later and often when folks are already home from work when there are more cars around. Ugh!

 

Anyway, there is perhaps another option. We used to have our mailboxes out on the main street. I live in a small subdivision that is all on dirt roads. The post office refuses to deliver on dirt roads so our boxes were out on the busy main drag making it very dangerous for all of us to retrieve our mail from our boxes. We arranged with the po to have bunch of cluster boxes (the kind you see in townhouse communities) put near our common area about 1/8 mile off the main road. Our HOA had the road paved that far so the carrier is now allowed to drive on it and we are all much safer when we get our mail.

 

Maybe you could have a cluster box (or more depending on the size of your community) installed at the end of the street or some other place that is easy for all to access. It's hard for me to suggest exactly where since I can't picture your neighborhood, but if you got cluster boxes she would only have to stop once and you wouldn't have to drive to the po to get your mail. I really don't know how it works as far as petitioning the po - I don't know under what conditions they would agree to this - but you could at least check into it.

[GoVanGogh]

We are tight cul-de-sac situation and we spent 13 years with the post office refusing to deliver our mail because our neighbor would leave his dead truck parked in front of our mailbox for weeks and weeks at a time. :glare: Needless to say, I was glad when those neighbors moved on.

Considering I was on *that* side of the issue, I did feel very sorry for the mail person. They have a long route to deliver. They are technically delivering mail via truck, not a walking route. They are out there in all types of weather. If even a dozen or so have cars parked in front of their mailboxes, it would really add up. But - take my opinion with a grain of salt. I'm speaking as the disgruntled neighbor that kept having her mail suspended because of a neighbor!

[mommaduck]

We are tight cul-de-sac situation and we spent 13 years with the post office refusing to deliver our mail because our neighbor would leave his dead truck parked in front of our mailbox for weeks and weeks at a time. :glare: Needless to say, I was glad when those neighbors moved on.

Considering I was on *that* side of the issue, I did feel very sorry for the mail person. They have a long route to deliver. They are technically delivering mail via truck, not a walking route. They are out there in all types of weather. If even a dozen or so have cars parked in front of their mailboxes, it would really add up. But - take my opinion with a grain of salt. I'm speaking as the disgruntled neighbor that kept having her mail suspended because of a neighbor!

Under those conditions, after a warning, you should have been able to have had them towed as they were keeping you from receiving your mail.

[Kathleen in VA]

We are tight cul-de-sac situation and we spent 13 years with the post office refusing to deliver our mail because our neighbor would leave his dead truck parked in front of our mailbox for weeks and weeks at a time. :glare: Needless to say, I was glad when those neighbors moved on.

Considering I was on *that* side of the issue, I did feel very sorry for the mail person. They have a long route to deliver. They are technically delivering mail via truck, not a walking route. They are out there in all types of weather. If even a dozen or so have cars parked in front of their mailboxes, it would really add up. But - take my opinion with a grain of salt. I'm speaking as the disgruntled neighbor that kept having her mail suspended because of a neighbor!

 

Yes, this is key to the problem. Some routes are classified officially as "mounted" meaning by truck, not on foot. If a supervisor randomly decides to check up on his carriers one day (and they do that from time to time) and he sees a carrier hopping out of the truck to deliver to a blocked box, that carrier will most certainly get written up or worse. It is just not allowed. It is a safety issue and the po is big time worried abou their safety numbers.

 

ETA: Aubrey, I don't think skipping your box is going to put a big dent in your carrier's workload - sorry. Now if she skips the whole street maybe, but not just your house.

[Miss Sherry]

Regarding moving the mailbox. Maybe someone knows the laws about this. I wouldn't move the mailbox without first finding out if it is legal to do so. If you move it to a position that causes another problem for the mailman - for example to a spot their vehicle does not fit - you may get into trouble with the postal service.

[gardening momma]

If it weren't a rent house, I'd take down the street box & put one up on the front porch. I wonder what she'd do then? (Really, not to be snarky, I truly wonder.)

 

Regarding moving the mailbox. Maybe someone knows the laws about this. I wouldn't move the mailbox without first finding out if it is legal to do so. If you move it to a position that causes another problem for the mailman - for example to a spot their vehicle does not fit - you may get into trouble with the postal service.

Most likely it wouldn't be illegal, but you just wouldn't get your mail delivered at all--the route is a driving route, not a walking route.

[Aubrey]

Regarding moving the mailbox. Maybe someone knows the laws about this. I wouldn't move the mailbox without first finding out if it is legal to do so. If you move it to a position that causes another problem for the mailman - for example to a spot their vehicle does not fit - you may get into trouble with the postal service.

 

No, it turns out the PO has to approve all mailbox moves. Really, though, I'd only think about moving it if we were going to live here forever.

 

I guess I just like knowing rules up front. If I'd known before moving here that this was the way curbside mail boxes were handled, it wouldn't have changed anything, but it wouldn't have bugged me--does that make sense?

 

Now I know, so I'm working on not being bugged by it. :001_smile: If there's also something I can do to make the situation better, well, all the better.

 

It could be worse. I mean...I could have neighbors hacking down bushes in a house I own. ;)

[Kathleen in VA]

Aubrey, I know how you feel. Our real estate agent told us that our property backs up to the Izaak Walton League. I've only ever heard of Izaak Walton as a naturalist. Sounds sylvan and idyllic, right? The agent failed to mention, however, that there are regular turkey shoots held there and deer hunting is allowed in season. Yikes!

 

Oh, and we are a stone's throw from the training ground for the Marines at Quantico with live ordnance exploding periodically (earth and house shaking) and machine gun fire heard regularly. It's especially nice when they begin training at 6 a.m. Now you don't feel so bad about your mailbox, right?:D