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Are you tipping for walking those stairs? Imagine all the walkup apt buildings on some mail routes. A person w/h to be in great shape to do that. A single building probably isn't an issue, but a dozen, two dozen.... get the drift?
Ever wonder why the mailboxes are all collected on the ground floor. They could put a box on every door.
Think about it. Why does a mailperson have to work so hard for a lousy walkup tenant, when he doesn't for people who own homes and the rich?
In my experience, they will buzz and you'll have to walk down, or if you don't they will leave the package by the mailboxes; or they will leave the slip, as you have experienced.
Riddle me this, how many 60 year old plus Fedex or UPS guys have you seen? Lots of such USPS mail people though. Should they be climbing up and down walkup bldgs?
*****
I used to live in a walkup, and have caught the USPS guy red-handed, guy rang the bell. I'm yelling down the stairs, didn't have a shirt or shoes on. No one came up the stairs. Threw on a shirt and slippers rand downstairs, and there was the 'slip'stairs on the box. Ran outside and there was the truck across the street. Went over, guy wasn't there. Waited here he came. Showed the slip, he could obviously see I came from my apt. (Winter and no coat), he sheepishly apologized and got my package. We said a few words and that was that. That particular guy never did that again.
The thing is, the guy was old, nearing retirement age. My whole neighborhood was majority walkups. Whole blocks. Who could blame the guy? I didn't.
So why whine? Do what I did. Move up in life, and put walkups behind you. Can't expect Champagne and a beer world. C'est la vie!
I haven' tipped, because it hasn't happened yet. USPS (as opposed to UPS and Fedex) hasn't buzzed up once (out of 5 deliveries). I would even happily walk downstairs if they told me it required a signature when they buzzed up.
A mailperson's job is to deliver mail to the recipient. It's not my responsibility to spends hundreds of extra dollars per month to have a doorman or in any way simplify the process for them beyond federal regulations (e.g., having an accessible doorway, having a mailbox of a certain size, etc...).
I'm not trying to whine. I'm trying to figure out if this is common, and if anyone has successfully complained to USPS about it. Your advice is to just shut up and pay extra money (thousands of dollars per year) for a doorman? No thanks. I've lived in doorman building before, it's not worth the extra money imo.
This is not my walkup's fault, this is USPS' fault. This blaming the victim (I hesitate to use that word, this isn't a serious problem, but I"m trying to make a point) crap is weak.
The USPS is close to bankruptcy. Volumes have dropped, due to the Internet and competition from other shippers. But costs, especially wages and pension costs, remain high.
They have to downsize. For one thing, they have spectacular real estate. Just think of all those beautiful post office buildings in city centers: they're no longer needed, because the back-office processing (of the reduced volume, mind you) can be done outside the city centers.
A private equity firm should buy those beautiful old buildings and convert them to high-end housing, stores, and restaurants, just like what's been done with banks.
The reason that the USPS is going bankrupt is because of their monumentally poor customer service. People are willing to spend MORE MONEY to use private companies to do the same thing because those companies provide customer service.
Instead of cutting back on services, they would be well advised to increase them so that people will actually USE the post office. Stupidity runs rampant.
This is one of the REAL benefits of a dooorman and/or concierege. Everyone I know WITHOUT them is always in a pickle when ordering a large parcel whether USPS or UPS.
I ordered a 95 pound Air Conditioner last year and it was a joy to come in an have the concierge say: "You have a large package on the floor...the handtruck is next to it.
I guess that there will be further cutbacks in USPS services to pay for Empire expansion into Somalia, Iran, South America?
For me it shouldn't be a pickle. All the private companies buzz up (I often work from home, and my wife works 3rd, so she's home) and life is good. This is a USPS problem.
Having a doorman is nice, but it's not worth the premium IMO. In my area, I got a good deal on a nice walkup. A similar doorman apartment here costs about $1000/month more (not typical, but the premium is that high because I got such a good deal on my walkup). Having a doorman is not worth $12k/year to me.
The reason that the USPS is going bankrupt is because of their monumentally poor customer service. People are willing to spend MORE MONEY to use private companies to do the same thing because those companies provide customer service.
Instead of cutting back on services, they would be well advised to increase them so that people will actually USE the post office. Stupidity runs rampant.
20yrsinBranson
I agree that their customer service is awful, but their overly-generous pension/retirement grants are what's really dragging them into bankruptcy. The private companies are great, but I don't think anyone has figured out how to turn a profit on the delivery of small parcels / envelopes, especially in rural areas.
If you read the details, it is clearly stated that it is being shipped via USPS.
If you don't want that then check a different box and pay the difference, if there is one.
You only get what you pay for.
Again, you have no idea what you are talking about. There are partnerships between UPS and USPS that allow a package to be sent by UPS and then delivered by USPS.
Check the FAQ on the UPS site:
Q. Why does the Post Office have my UPS Package?
A. UPS Mail Innovations participates in Postal work-share programs, which encourage the pick-up, processing and interim transportation of mail by companies with final delivery by domestic and international postal authorities.
I receive UPS and FEDEX, which I hate to use because they cost more, and never expect them or the USPS to walk up my stairs. I answer my door, sign for the package, go back to my apt.
Anytime I am expecting something to come in the mail from any service I always put a note on my door requesting them to ring my doorbell and give me at least 2 minutes to get to the door. I also make sure I open the window and yell out I'm coming now, one minute. They always wait for me as long as I don't take too long. But with UPS I have to fight like heck to get them to come in the first place. They do almost anything to avoid delivery after 5pm.
USPS is just plain lazy, I remember when I had first got my passport years ago, the counter woman gave me some excuse because she was too lazy to help me through (a monumentally) easy process.
UPS is decent but they can be hit or miss, once I had ordered some very expensive speakers from out west. When they finally arrive, UPS just left them on my doorstep (walk up) so that everyone in the neighborhood could see what I bought. Logo's and everything were showing. I'm thankful no one stole them but sometimes I wonder who exactly do they have doing those jobs.
I've never had a problem with Fed Ex, the money you spend with them is always going to be well worth it.
USPS is just plain lazy, I remember when I had first got my passport years ago, the counter woman gave me some excuse because she was too lazy to help me through (a monumentally) easy process.
Where I live there are TWO clerks at the post office. Yet, during "lunch hour" they CLOSE the service window; both taking lunch at the same time, instead of staggering them so that the window could remain open. Now keep in mind please, that often working people only have their lunch hour to buy stamps, send off packages that require insurance, etc, but they cannot do this because the POST OFFICE WINDOW IS CLOSED at lunch.
The post office gets what they deserve. It's unfortunate that we all have to suffer for their stupidity.
The reason that the USPS is going bankrupt is because of their monumentally poor customer service. People are willing to spend MORE MONEY to use private companies to do the same thing because those companies provide customer service.
Instead of cutting back on services, they would be well advised to increase them so that people will actually USE the post office. Stupidity runs rampant.
20yrsinBranson
THIS! Seriously I have worked in the government for 7 years (in the Army, so it's a little different) but, this isn't a NYC problem. Even in cities that suck, USPS is not the city's fault.
Federal regulations make it damn-near impossible to get fired from a federal job. A lot of postal employees do a poor job becuase there was -no danger- of them losing their jobs. DMV clerks and those bookkeepers in courts are the same way. A lot of them suck and the rules are written in a way that provides no incentive for them to be anything other than lazy.
Private companies usually do a better job becuase all the employees know if they suck, they'll get replaced by someone cheaper and better, with the quickness.
THIS! Seriously I have worked in the government for 7 years (in the Army, so it's a little different) but, this isn't a NYC problem. Even in cities that suck, USPS is not the city's fault.
Federal regulations make it damn-near impossible to get fired from a federal job. A lot of postal employees do a poor job becuase there was -no danger- of them losing their jobs. DMV clerks and those bookkeepers in courts are the same way. A lot of them suck and the rules are written in a way that provides no incentive for them to be anything other than lazy.
Private companies usually do a better job becuase all the employees know if they suck, they'll get replaced by someone cheaper and better, with the quickness.
My point about it being a city issue is that it's a lot harder to deliver mail in dense neighborhoods, where it's difficult to get in and out of buildings, the post carriers walk and don't drive, and where people live on upper floors.
Where I grew up, the postal carrier had a truck that he drove and all he did was pull up next to the mailbox, which was on a post on the side of the road. If a package was large, he did have to exit his truck, but even then, he never had to walk up any stairs or get in an elevator in order to deliver it to our house.
So my idea was that it's laziness combined with the relative difficulty of delivering mail in a big city.
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