We live on a typical American suburban street. Houses and driveways are pretty close together. There are short blocks. Everyone's mailbox is attached to the house by the front door. Most of the mail carriers park the truck and walk along the block filling boxes, then cross the street, fill those, and then move the truck to the next area.
But not our new carrier. This guy drives up to a house, kills the engine, walks up to the box, deposits the mail, gets back in the truck, starts up the engine, drives 75(?) feet to the next house, kills the engine, walks up to the box, deposits the mail, goes back in the truck, starts up the engine... all the way up and down our street. And I suppose he does the same thing on all his streets.
Maybe this mail carrier has a disability that prevents him from walking long distances. I know some disabilities are invisible. But it would seem that if that were the case, he'd have a different job.
This constant starting and stopping can't be good for fuel efficiency nor for the engine. Wonder how long our carrier's truck will last?
Seems like on any but the coldest/most stormy days - or the hottest/most humid ones - walking up and down the street would be much more pleasant anyway.
3 comments:
A few months ago I had a problem getting our mail carrier to close my mailbox. He was not shutting it properly and the door would fall open about half the time and let rain in plus anyone driving by could see into it.
Living in a rural area, I have a rural route carrier who, technically, is a contractor with the USPS and not an employee of the USPS.
First I called the post office. I could hear woman I talked to simply turn and holler at the man to be sure and close my mailbox. No luck. Called post office again. No luck. I ended up writing my Congresswoman and filling out the complaint form on the Internet 2-3 times before my mailbox was finally being closed properly. The complaint area of the USPS was hard to find also.
The whole situation was ridiculous. I truly dread putting our health care and whatever else in the hands of government.
In the little town my dad lives in there is only one drop box for the mail and it is in a fire lane, probably the only fire lane in the whole town. People would drive up to the box and drop the mail in without getting out of their cars. Then the post office turned the box around so that it is not facing where you can drive up but have to get out and walk around the box to put in the mail. When my dad asked about it, the post master said that they couldn't have people stopping in the fire lane to deposit the mail. When he said but now people are stopping in the fire lane, getting out to put in the mail, and then getting back in which takes much longer.
Nope, it will stay the way it is because that made sense to her that the box can't face the fire lane. Briefly stopping to drop in the mail in a fire lane, no sense. Using the fire lane for a parking spot for a few minutes, makes sense.
Hilarious stories! But, not really, eh?
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