Fwd: {{ruralcarriers@rootsweb.com}} NJ Postal and Rural News, Issue 38-B, V. 1, Dec. 17, 2007 (List 31)
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Date: Mon, Dec 17, 2007 at 10:11 AM
Subject: {{ruralc...@rootsweb.com}} NJ Postal and Rural News, Issue 38-B, V. 1, Dec. 17, 2007 (List 31)
To: Hier...@comcast.net
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NEW JERSEY POSTAL AND RURAL NEWS
Issue 38-B Vol. 1 December 17, 2007 Monday Hier...@comcast.net
Issues of the New Jersey Postal and NRLCA News are now posted and available on the following website: http://groups.google.com/group/rlc_onliners_pub?hl=en
I want to express my gratitude for all the comments, submissions and feedback and the tremendous interest in this newsletter. PLEASE SHARE THIS NEWSLETTER WITH ALL RURAL CARRIER CRAFT EMPLOYEES!
_________________________________________________________________________
Issue Codes = Issue A(A is not usually used and constitutes just the issue #) and B-E are news and human interest stories; Issue NJ are New Jersey related issues and editorials; Issues SP are special issues with important news; Issues ST are steward/labor relations related articles and Issues-X are breaking news articles of importance. _________________________________________________________________________
The claim is in the mail
By Beth Nauss, Reading Eagle-Times
Reading, Pennsylvania - Yesterday, I had to go to the post office. “So what’s the big deal?” an astute reader would ask, “People go there all the time!”
“Ah ha!” I would answer, “But I had to go to try to file an insurance claim!”
I say try because that’s all anybody is allowed to do. No one ever succeeds at filing one because if they did, the U.S. Postal Service might actually have to pay them some money. As we all know, the U.S. Postal Service doesn’t have any money, which is why it has to keep raising rates. And which is also why it decided that selling insurance would be a great way to make a little extra cash.
The system works like this. Buy a wonderful gift that’s worth more than 10 cents for someone who lives far away from you. Wrap it carefully in a crush-proof container. Then, while under the influence of prescribed medications, decide sending the gift through the U.S. mail is a better idea then soaking it in meat juice before tossing it to a pack of hungry lions.
Next, actually go to the post office. At the post office, you get to wait for several hours in a line of people who are probably all taking the same prescribed medication as you. Unless it’s that wonderful time of year known as the holiday season. Then the wait can be several days.
If you get to a clerk before it’s time for him to go home, he’ll ask you if the box contains any fragile items. This is a trick question. Do not, I repeat, do not say yes. If you do, after you leave, your package will be soaked in meat juice, then tossed to a pack of hungry lions.
Next, the clerk will ask if you want to send your package by priority mail. Priority mail is another fundraising method in which customers pay extra so that their pack age might, possibly, maybe, arrive in just two or three days. Unless it doesn’t.
Then the clerk will ask if you want to buy insurance to protect against loss or damage. If you’re like me, you will buy it because you know that the dedicated employees at the post office will take every possible opportunity to lose or damage your package. I know this because I have actual experience with those dedicated employees who, after I admitted a package contained a fragile item, routed it over Niagara Falls.
Which is why I was in line trying to file an insurance claim. In theory, and according to the fine print on the U.S. Postal Service claim form, the claim process is started by appearing at any U.S. Post Office and submitting the claim form and insurance receipt.
When you do, the clerk will refuse to accept it. He will insist that you have to go to the destination post office 2,000 miles away to file the claim by close of business that day to meet the “file no later than 60 days from the date of mailing” deadline.
At this point you have two choices — run to the airport or show him the line on the form stating that you can file it at a ny U.S. Post Office. If you decide to show him what the Postal Service form says, he will take the form from you and walk away.
At that point, you will have to remind him that he has to complete section B “Completed by Postal Employee Where Claim is Filed” portion of the form, date-stamp it, and return the middle copy to you.
He will resentfully come back to the counter and demand some proof of damage. You tell him it is 2,000 miles away with the recipient. It has to be because the sender, who is me, buys the insurance — while the recipient, who is somebody else living 2,000 miles away, gets the damaged package. Unless it gets lost in the mail.
At this point he finally accepts the form, fills in section B, hands me my copy and promises to process the claim — by mailing it to the recipient’s post office. I wondered if I should buy insurance for it. http://www.readingeagle.com/articl e.aspx?id=72493
Still Choosing the Mailbox Over the In-Box
By PHYLLIS KORKKI, New York Times
New York, New York - This Monday is set to be the busiest day of the year for mail, so take pity on your harried and hunched-over postal carrier. On this day, 275 million first-class cards and letters are expected to be mailed, according to the United States Postal Service. Over the entire holiday season, from Thanksgiving to Christmas, about 20 billion cards, letters, packages and other pieces of mail (especially catalogs) will be mailed, the Postal Service projects.
In the mid-1990s, it was thought that the Internet might be the death knell of the Postal Service, but that hasn’t happened. Although first-class mail volume began to decline then as e-mail took hold, it has remained basically steady since 2001. This is partly because people who buy things over the Internet still need their purchases to be mailed.
And although e-mail is now a permanent part of the communication landscape, the old-fashioned letter is far from dead, according to the Postal Service, which says that 3.6 billion letters will be mailed over the holidays this year. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/16/business/16count.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&ref=business&pagewanted=print
Homeless get mail with general delivery
BY KATHLEEN LUCADAMO, NY Daily News
New York, New York - David Green lists his address as 390 Ninth Ave. He doesn't live there - but neither do the thousands of other New Yorkers who get mail sent general delivery to Manhattan's busiest post office.
Once the nation's only form of mail service, general delivery offers people without permanent addresses a way of getting their mail without having to pay for a post office box. Unlike other parts of the country where the service is practically extinct, it thrives here because of a growing homeless population.
"I found out about it from being on the street," said Green. The 49-year-old Brooklyn native who recently secured transitional housing after years of being homeless was picking up mail last week. "There aren't any Christmas cards, just the things that are necessary."
At the beginning of each month, when Social Security checks and disability payments are delivered, a line of homeless people stretches outside the general delivery office at the James A. Farley Post Office between Eighth and Ninth Aves.
The U.S. Postal Service doesn't track how many people get general delivery, but local mail officials say the general delivery lines have been getting longer in the past few years - and so are the stacks of mail for the service.
"Most of our customers are down on their luck and coming here helps them stay connected with their families and government services," said Patricia McGovern, a Postal Service spokeswoman for the five boroughs.
The process is simple: Senders write the person's name, General Delivery, city, state and zip code. Recipients go to their local post office, show ID and get their mail. The post office holds it for 10 days or, if it is a check, 30 days.
The service is so common in New York that the Farley Post Office, which stretches from 31st to 33rd Sts., reserves a separate office at 390 Ninth Ave. for general delivery.
"It's convenient for homeless people because we don't have mailboxes," said 43-year-old Lawrence Williams, who lives in a nearby shelter and picks up his mail every two weeks. "Everybody here is homeless."
The city counted 10,165 homeless families last year, up 10% from the previous year. There were also 21,897 single adults entering the shelter system last year, about the same as the previous year but 5% higher than in 2003.
"Being homeless and trying to organize your life is difficult, and having a reliable place to get your government checks and other important papers is a huge plus," said Mary Brosnahan, executive director of the Manhattan-based Coalition for the Homeless.
Homeless people interviewed at the Farley Post Office said they find general delivery helpful but added that they also have no choice if they want their mail.
"I don't want to use it," said 53-year-old Shirley Reed, who lost her home in Philadelphia two years ago and now shuffles between a motel near the Port Authority and park benches. "I want to get my mail at home again, delivered to my doorstep by a mailman."
Why is mail late and mixed up?
Charlotte, North Carolina - THE ISSUE? Bob Gilbert got a P.O. box at the Matthews post office when he moved to town last year. Soon after, he started getting other people's mail -- everything from personal letters to medical test results. His own mail was late, too, sometimes by 60 days or more. Gilbert moved to Kentucky last summer but kept the P.O. box.
He's still having problems with it. "Nothing you say matters," Gilbert said, adding that he complained in person at the Matthews office and on the phone to the U.S. Postal Service. "It's a real problem, and no one takes it seriously there."
He suspects others have had the same issues. "If you go in there, you'll see more mail out on the table than in the P.O. boxes," he said. "It's really scary."
WE INVESTIGATE! Mix-ups happen, especially between Thanksgiving and Christmas, when the U.S. Postal Service processes 20 billion pieces of mail, said spokeswoman Enola Rice, who couldn't comment on Gilbert's case directly. "We rely on customers to let us know," she said.
When people get mail that isn't theirs, they should give it to a post office employee, Rice said. They should also notify the manager or supervisor, who will tell the box clerk or mail carrier, Rice said.
Sometimes, mix-ups occur when someone fills in for the regular clerk or carrier and isn't aware of such issues, she said. "It needs to be brought to our attention" every time, Rice said. "(Problems) should be corrected quickly."
IF THIS HAPPENS TO YOU: If you get mail that isn't yours, bring it to a post office employee and notify the manager or supervisor there. To ask questions or report concerns by phone, call the U.S. Postal Service's 24-hour hotline at 800-ASK-USPS (800-275-8777). http://www.charlotte.com/someck/story/407702.html
The spirit of 'St. Louis'
By Brice Stump
SALISBURY, MARYLAND -- If there is such a thing as a postal saint, it may be the city's own Louis Jones. Jones, 59, has been working at the Route 50 and Naylor Street post office for 28 years, and on the drive-through window for the past decade.
Monday through Friday he mans the window. With a smile as broad as the rising sun, he readies himself to meet the public that rely on his cheerfulness and kindness to brighten their day. He's on the clock from 8:15 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. Curtain-time -- window style -- starts when he's in his seat at 8:30. Often a line has already formed. Almost all are familiar faces. "They love the convenience and service of the drive through," he said. "I am here to serve the customers; that is the name of the game."
Serve he does, and has become legendary among postal workers for his legions of fans. His personnel file is stuffed with letters from appreciative customers. He is Mr. Personality, Mr. Congeniality, the post office's coveted version of Mr. Wonderful. He is so dear to some patrons that if he is on vacation, they will pass through the window without stopping. Some relief staff even post a notice in the window -- "For your information he's on vacation, don't ask me any more."
"It makes me laugh because each one of my regulars wants to know if I retired or died since the last time they came by," Jones said, smiling.
"He's a good man," said post office patron Lorraine Cook of Salisbury. "Nice and polite. He's the best. Every time I come here I look for him, and if he's not here I want to know where he is. He's always in a good mood, all the time. Best representative ever for the post office. If this post office ever got rid of him, I'd have to go someplace else."
Some are so spoiled by such personable service Jones brings to the window that they haven't been inside the post office in years. Some will not even go to another post office. They will wait for his return. They don't hesitate to tell him on his return that they wouldn't let anyone else wait on them. Not surprisingly, some of his fellow workers are a bit uncomfortable in his shadow. Some refuse to pamper window patrons in the Louis Jones manner. It's all by the book for them.
There is no secret ingredient in customer satisfaction, he said. "You just have to be nice to them."
Of course even a saint can have a bad day. No matter, the patron at the window would never know. Jones delivers his trademark generous smile, cheerful hello and how's the family doin' kind of banter. To almost all, he said, he is "Mr. Louis" -- people think that is his last name. Even some patrons, once children and now adults, still call him "Mr. Louis."
Stopping by the drive-through is more than a trip to the post office. It's a three-minute therapy session to calm the soul, lift the spirits. Jones doles out more than stamps and shop talk. He embodies the eternal spirit of optimism. Kids get excited as the car nears the window. He calls the youngsters by name. They lean to the window, talking and giggling, waving and blowing kisses. Familiar faces get a "God bless you" or a heartfelt good-bye. "Little kids love me. When they see me at the grocery store they yell 'Mom, he's got legs!' "
In the course of a day hundreds of cars may pass through. "People love to chit chat, but I've been at this so long I know how to keep them moving," Jones said. Jones always aspired to his current career.
"I was raised on a farm and this is why I took a job at the post office. This is no work; farming is hard work. When I was a boy I wanted to grow up to be a mailman. I thought it was a cool job. There were no local black mailmen."
When Jones graduated from high school, he went to the post office in Princess Anne and couldn't even get an application, he says -- but three months later, he got a draft notice. It was through the Army that doors opened, including the one at the Salisbury post office. The U.S. Veterans Affairs program encouraged the hiring of veterans, and the U.S. Postal Service test gives preference to veteran candidates.
The Salisbury drive-through window has come to be known as "Louis'' window" -- he has manned it since it was open 10 years ago. There are only two drive-through windows at post offices in Maryland. The other, which opened first, is in Columbia.
"I don't know why there aren't more," Jones said. "I think the post office could make tons of money if they just had more. The aging population loves it. This is the only one on Delmarva."
For 18 years he served on the "midnight tour" shift at the post office, processing mail and unloading trucks. Now he also delivers goodwill.
"Life is good. You've good to spread the news around," he said. "So many come through not having a good day. When they leave they are smiling."
Yet there is much more to the experience than just a warm hello and smile. Whether it's the Eastern Shore gentility in him, a generous love of mankind or simply just doing the right thing, Jones often goes way beyond the call of duty. He knows lots of patrons, he said, who are living from one social security check to the next. He knows when they are without money for a few stamps or even gas money.
What his legions of fans may not know is that he often discreetly covers the postage bill or lends a few dollars for gas, medicine, perhaps a meal to those he has come to know so well. And not once he said, has anyone failed to come back the next day, maybe the next week, and make good on their debt. It's the small things he looks for, like the driver who routinely has to open the car door to transact business because they can't afford to get the window crank fixed.
"Most of my customers have been customers for years. If they leave their money home, I'll pay the bill. They come back and pay me. Sometimes I forget they owe me and they will still repay me. People think the mailman is rich. But I know people get a little short now and then, so I help them out. If you treat people good, they will treat you good."
Does that make him a pushover?
"Oh yes, I can say no; I know when to say no, especially when it comes to money. I don't allow people to take advantage of me or abuse me. I don't allow that. I had one fella that came through here that threw me his letters. I got him straight -- never, ever do that to me. Now we are best buddies."
The window allows some with medical and health limitations, who can hardly walk or stand in line, to maintain a bit of independence. Jones pushes and pulls hefty and substantial boxes through his window and then proceeds to tape them if needed. He isn't required to tape boxes, but does it because he knows the man or woman at the window simply can't. He doesn't tell them to go inside or bring the package back taped. They give him their trust, he gives them their dignity. Good deeds don't go unrewarded. There are cakes and cookies, snacks, candies, soda and other goodies dropped off to Jones along with the mail. People know I love to eat, he said. He has a weakness for Snickers candy bars.
Through the window pass those recently widowed, divorced or suffering the pain of breaking up. A son or daughter arrested, a relative on drugs, or someone betrayed by a friend -- there's bound to be a heartbreaking story waiting in line. Yet when the window goes up and Jones smiles, there's an oasis of peace in the storm of life.
He's always polite, always in a good mood and always cheerful. And, said co-worker Donald Clifton, he "always calls women old enough to be his mother 'young lady.' He's a character, You've got to love him. Women love him and makes us all jealous, a good-lookin' man like that. Sure he's good, he knows his job, but it's his personality that all the people like him for. "
There's a lot of real life to savor as he watches people root through ashtrays and under seats and floor mats for loose change. He has waited while some women dig through suitcase-size pocketbooks for those extra few pennies to pay for stamps. He's watched parents take money out of kids' mouths and hand it to him with candy stuck to it. Always good for a smile are the few older ladies who search through their brassieres with their fingers in search of a few loose dollars not so discreetly secreted away. When asked which is the easier customer, Jones all but whispered "men."
"The men are fast; they know what they want, have their money out and are on their way."
When a car dies at the window, he scrambles outside to push the ailing vehicle into the parking lot. All in a day's work. Every now and then wife, Brenda, appears at the window with his home-cooked hot lunch, enough for himself and a coworker if need be. Car after car, she can see the laughing and chatting as each patron is greeted by her husband. She has been a member of First Baptist Church for 55 years and he's been going since they were married. She is an ordained minister and works at the church.
The big question most folks want answered -- is he really a saint? Maybe not a saint, said his wife of almost 30 years, but almost. With down-home humor and lot of common sense, she describes the man behind the man.
"Yes," said Brenda Jones, "all the wonderful things they say about my husband are true. Just remember, he is a man, and men have their own ways. He is a man of integrity, a man who loves God, his family and the community, especially veterans. Louis is not a complainer. If he has a good meal, a house that's clean and is loved, he doesn't complain," she said. "I know people think he's a saint. He just uses his job not to preach, but to live love. That's what it's is all about. He lives Jesus in his life."
A contender in last year's race for city councilman at large, Jones said she knows people love her husband. "When I'm at a function, I hear people whispering 'Do you know who her husband is?' It makes me the most popular person in the place. I have been blessed that God put a man such as Louis in my life."
Jones loves his work, but it's not always easy.
"Sometime the line never empties," Jones said. "There are some days when the line never stops, one right after another and by the time the day is done, I am worn out."
As a car approaches, Jones activates the opening and closing of the window with a foot pedal. No matter that a cold wind blows rain, sleet or snow over his face and hands. It doesn't seem to bother him that his tiny office is chilled with the coming and going of each patron. Envelopes that fly from the hands in a gust of wet wind are retrieved and dried in front of his little heater.
Sometimes paper money is blown from a customer's hand and they chase it down. Sometimes change falls to the ground. Rather than have the customer get out and crawl around under the vehicle, Jones will cover the loss. The money remains on the ground until the end of his shift. It is not, contrary to popular belief, "free money," he said.
"I don't want people to have to get out of their cars. Sometimes people see the coins and think it's unclaimed money, but that's my money. I tell them to hold on when they get ready to pick it up. That's not 'free money.' After my shift I go out there and get it."
One of Jones's enviable records is that he has handled millions of dollars over the years and the cash drawer is always balanced, he said. The best part of the job is the interaction with the customers. The worst part is trying to close the window at 5 p.m. "That's when customers get mad with me. Sometimes it's almost 10 minutes of five and there's 10 cars in line. There's no way that 10th car is going to get to the window by 5. I have to be off the clock within 15 minutes. I just can't keep waiting on people."
He laughs at the suggestion of telling customers who slow the line to buzz off. "No, no," he said, "You can't do that to people."
He thinks he may be retiring in two or three years, depending on his wife's opinion, he said. "If my wife says I can retire, I will. She's the boss," he said. "As long as my health is good and I continue to like what I am doing, I'll probably stay. Why quit and sit around the house doing nothing?" http://www.delmarvanow.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071216/LIFESTYLE/712160330/1024
For many, this is not the season to be jolly
Charlotte, North Carolina - Walking out to empty the trash, I saw taillights up by the mailbox. "Skinny, is that you?" I yelled through the inky darkness. A weary voice called back, "Yeah, it's me."
I rushed up the driveway to offer Skinny, the mailman, my condolences and claim my arm load of magazines, circulars, Christmas cards and the endless, everlasting entreaties for money from every organization -- political, religious and scam artists -- imaginable.
Although 'tis the season to be jolly, many among us do not delight in the pre-Christmas prepping, and for good reason. Let us give thought to these. For example, Skinny the mailman had been at it since 8 a.m. It was about 6:30 p.m., and he still wasn't through.
That same day, my wife was placing telephone orders for Texas fruitcakes she gives to certain friends and relatives who specifically have stated in sworn, notarized statements that they do indeed like fruitcake.
"I feel so sorry for that poor woman," she said as she hung up. "She sounded so very, very tired and discouraged. When she gave me the total due, I realized she had not charged for two cakes and gently corrected her. When I asked her what would have happened had I not caught the error, she said, 'Somebody on your list wouldn't have gotten their fruit cakes.'"
"Well, if you had spent eight hours or more taking fruitcake orders, trying to make sure you spelled Aunt Sophronia Godzilla's name correctly, obtained her credit card number, address, ZIP code, etc., you'd sound pretty down and desperate, too," I said.
One of my all-time favorite cartoons, shared with me years ago by Suzanne Britt, was in New Yorker magazine. It depicted a harried housewife bent over a sink full of dirty dishes, her hair in curlers, children and dogs running about, with a couple of kids tugging at her dress.
Her husband, briefcase in hand, arrives home from work. "Honey, I'm home!" he calls cheerfully from the hall, to which she yells, "Let heaven and nature sing!"
As we wend our way through this holiday season, let us drop a kind word and compliment here and there to those whom we meet behind sales counters, on the telephone to the mail-order houses, and, by all means, to those who, while they may not encounter sleet or snow on their appointed rounds, cannot escape the curse of the Christmas season -- unwanted, unordered catalogs, circulars and "send cash" solicitation letters.
When you encounter one of these with exceptional patience and kindness, don't forget to say, "Thank you for not snarling." http://www.newsobserver.com/105/story/832733.html
DISCLAIMER: I have no affiliation with USPS or the NRLCA and as such any information that I pass on is unofficial and constitutes advice and/or suggestions for your consideration. You may be advised to double-check with official sources before depending on its use and while you are doing that ask why is it that someone without official contacts has this information and is passing it on and its not coming from official sources. I do not speak for any Postal or Union entity and have no authority to serve as spokesman for, against or otherwise in Postal or Union matters.
Note: These email messages are being sent to the entire NJ State Board and almost all of the senior stewards in New Jersey. There should be no concerns about this being done secretly or behind anyone's backs without their knowledge.
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From: <hier...@comcast.net>
Date: Mon, Dec 17, 2007 at 10:11 AM
Subject: {{ruralc...@rootsweb.com}} NJ Postal and Rural News, Issue 38-B, V. 1, Dec. 17, 2007 (List 31)
To: Hier...@comcast.net
Cc: Ruralc...@rootsweb.com
NEW JERSEY POSTAL AND RURAL NEWS
Issue 38-B Vol. 1 December 17, 2007 Monday Hier...@comcast.net
Issues of the New Jersey Postal and NRLCA News are now posted and available on the following website: http://groups.google.com/group/rlc_onliners_pub?hl=en
I want to express my gratitude for all the comments, submissions and feedback and the tremendous interest in this newsletter. PLEASE SHARE THIS NEWSLETTER WITH ALL RURAL CARRIER CRAFT EMPLOYEES!
_________________________________________________________________________
Issue Codes = Issue A(A is not usually used and constitutes just the issue #) and B-E are news and human interest stories; Issue NJ are New Jersey related issues and editorials; Issues SP are special issues with important news; Issues ST are steward/labor relations related articles and Issues-X are breaking news articles of importance. _________________________________________________________________________
The claim is in the mail
By Beth Nauss, Reading Eagle-Times
Reading, Pennsylvania - Yesterday, I had to go to the post office. “So what’s the big deal?” an astute reader would ask, “People go there all the time!”
“Ah ha!” I would answer, “But I had to go to try to file an insurance claim!”
I say try because that’s all anybody is allowed to do. No one ever succeeds at filing one because if they did, the U.S. Postal Service might actually have to pay them some money. As we all know, the U.S. Postal Service doesn’t have any money, which is why it has to keep raising rates. And which is also why it decided that selling insurance would be a great way to make a little extra cash.
The system works like this. Buy a wonderful gift that’s worth more than 10 cents for someone who lives far away from you. Wrap it carefully in a crush-proof container. Then, while under the influence of prescribed medications, decide sending the gift through the U.S. mail is a better idea then soaking it in meat juice before tossing it to a pack of hungry lions.
Next, actually go to the post office. At the post office, you get to wait for several hours in a line of people who are probably all taking the same prescribed medication as you. Unless it’s that wonderful time of year known as the holiday season. Then the wait can be several days.
If you get to a clerk before it’s time for him to go home, he’ll ask you if the box contains any fragile items. This is a trick question. Do not, I repeat, do not say yes. If you do, after you leave, your package will be soaked in meat juice, then tossed to a pack of hungry lions.
Next, the clerk will ask if you want to send your package by priority mail. Priority mail is another fundraising method in which customers pay extra so that their pack age might, possibly, maybe, arrive in just two or three days. Unless it doesn’t.
Then the clerk will ask if you want to buy insurance to protect against loss or damage. If you’re like me, you will buy it because you know that the dedicated employees at the post office will take every possible opportunity to lose or damage your package. I know this because I have actual experience with those dedicated employees who, after I admitted a package contained a fragile item, routed it over Niagara Falls.
Which is why I was in line trying to file an insurance claim. In theory, and according to the fine print on the U.S. Postal Service claim form, the claim process is started by appearing at any U.S. Post Office and submitting the claim form and insurance receipt.
When you do, the clerk will refuse to accept it. He will insist that you have to go to the destination post office 2,000 miles away to file the claim by close of business that day to meet the “file no later than 60 days from the date of mailing” deadline.
At this point you have two choices — run to the airport or show him the line on the form stating that you can file it at a ny U.S. Post Office. If you decide to show him what the Postal Service form says, he will take the form from you and walk away.
At that point, you will have to remind him that he has to complete section B “Completed by Postal Employee Where Claim is Filed” portion of the form, date-stamp it, and return the middle copy to you.
He will resentfully come back to the counter and demand some proof of damage. You tell him it is 2,000 miles away with the recipient. It has to be because the sender, who is me, buys the insurance — while the recipient, who is somebody else living 2,000 miles away, gets the damaged package. Unless it gets lost in the mail.
At this point he finally accepts the form, fills in section B, hands me my copy and promises to process the claim — by mailing it to the recipient’s post office. I wondered if I should buy insurance for it. http://www.readingeagle.com/articl e.aspx?id=72493
Still Choosing the Mailbox Over the In-Box
By PHYLLIS KORKKI, New York Times
New York, New York - This Monday is set to be the busiest day of the year for mail, so take pity on your harried and hunched-over postal carrier. On this day, 275 million first-class cards and letters are expected to be mailed, according to the United States Postal Service. Over the entire holiday season, from Thanksgiving to Christmas, about 20 billion cards, letters, packages and other pieces of mail (especially catalogs) will be mailed, the Postal Service projects.
In the mid-1990s, it was thought that the Internet might be the death knell of the Postal Service, but that hasn’t happened. Although first-class mail volume began to decline then as e-mail took hold, it has remained basically steady since 2001. This is partly because people who buy things over the Internet still need their purchases to be mailed.
And although e-mail is now a permanent part of the communication landscape, the old-fashioned letter is far from dead, according to the Postal Service, which says that 3.6 billion letters will be mailed over the holidays this year. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/16/business/16count.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&ref=business&pagewanted=print
Homeless get mail with general delivery
BY KATHLEEN LUCADAMO, NY Daily News
New York, New York - David Green lists his address as 390 Ninth Ave. He doesn't live there - but neither do the thousands of other New Yorkers who get mail sent general delivery to Manhattan's busiest post office.
Once the nation's only form of mail service, general delivery offers people without permanent addresses a way of getting their mail without having to pay for a post office box. Unlike other parts of the country where the service is practically extinct, it thrives here because of a growing homeless population.
"I found out about it from being on the street," said Green. The 49-year-old Brooklyn native who recently secured transitional housing after years of being homeless was picking up mail last week. "There aren't any Christmas cards, just the things that are necessary."
At the beginning of each month, when Social Security checks and disability payments are delivered, a line of homeless people stretches outside the general delivery office at the James A. Farley Post Office between Eighth and Ninth Aves.
The U.S. Postal Service doesn't track how many people get general delivery, but local mail officials say the general delivery lines have been getting longer in the past few years - and so are the stacks of mail for the service.
"Most of our customers are down on their luck and coming here helps them stay connected with their families and government services," said Patricia McGovern, a Postal Service spokeswoman for the five boroughs.
The process is simple: Senders write the person's name, General Delivery, city, state and zip code. Recipients go to their local post office, show ID and get their mail. The post office holds it for 10 days or, if it is a check, 30 days.
The service is so common in New York that the Farley Post Office, which stretches from 31st to 33rd Sts., reserves a separate office at 390 Ninth Ave. for general delivery.
"It's convenient for homeless people because we don't have mailboxes," said 43-year-old Lawrence Williams, who lives in a nearby shelter and picks up his mail every two weeks. "Everybody here is homeless."
The city counted 10,165 homeless families last year, up 10% from the previous year. There were also 21,897 single adults entering the shelter system last year, about the same as the previous year but 5% higher than in 2003.
"Being homeless and trying to organize your life is difficult, and having a reliable place to get your government checks and other important papers is a huge plus," said Mary Brosnahan, executive director of the Manhattan-based Coalition for the Homeless.
Homeless people interviewed at the Farley Post Office said they find general delivery helpful but added that they also have no choice if they want their mail.
"I don't want to use it," said 53-year-old Shirley Reed, who lost her home in Philadelphia two years ago and now shuffles between a motel near the Port Authority and park benches. "I want to get my mail at home again, delivered to my doorstep by a mailman."
Why is mail late and mixed up?
Charlotte, North Carolina - THE ISSUE? Bob Gilbert got a P.O. box at the Matthews post office when he moved to town last year. Soon after, he started getting other people's mail -- everything from personal letters to medical test results. His own mail was late, too, sometimes by 60 days or more. Gilbert moved to Kentucky last summer but kept the P.O. box.
He's still having problems with it. "Nothing you say matters," Gilbert said, adding that he complained in person at the Matthews office and on the phone to the U.S. Postal Service. "It's a real problem, and no one takes it seriously there."
He suspects others have had the same issues. "If you go in there, you'll see more mail out on the table than in the P.O. boxes," he said. "It's really scary."
WE INVESTIGATE! Mix-ups happen, especially between Thanksgiving and Christmas, when the U.S. Postal Service processes 20 billion pieces of mail, said spokeswoman Enola Rice, who couldn't comment on Gilbert's case directly. "We rely on customers to let us know," she said.
When people get mail that isn't theirs, they should give it to a post office employee, Rice said. They should also notify the manager or supervisor, who will tell the box clerk or mail carrier, Rice said.
Sometimes, mix-ups occur when someone fills in for the regular clerk or carrier and isn't aware of such issues, she said. "It needs to be brought to our attention" every time, Rice said. "(Problems) should be corrected quickly."
IF THIS HAPPENS TO YOU: If you get mail that isn't yours, bring it to a post office employee and notify the manager or supervisor there. To ask questions or report concerns by phone, call the U.S. Postal Service's 24-hour hotline at 800-ASK-USPS (800-275-8777). http://www.charlotte.com/someck/story/407702.html
The spirit of 'St. Louis'
By Brice Stump
SALISBURY, MARYLAND -- If there is such a thing as a postal saint, it may be the city's own Louis Jones. Jones, 59, has been working at the Route 50 and Naylor Street post office for 28 years, and on the drive-through window for the past decade.
Monday through Friday he mans the window. With a smile as broad as the rising sun, he readies himself to meet the public that rely on his cheerfulness and kindness to brighten their day. He's on the clock from 8:15 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. Curtain-time -- window style -- starts when he's in his seat at 8:30. Often a line has already formed. Almost all are familiar faces. "They love the convenience and service of the drive through," he said. "I am here to serve the customers; that is the name of the game."
Serve he does, and has become legendary among postal workers for his legions of fans. His personnel file is stuffed with letters from appreciative customers. He is Mr. Personality, Mr. Congeniality, the post office's coveted version of Mr. Wonderful. He is so dear to some patrons that if he is on vacation, they will pass through the window without stopping. Some relief staff even post a notice in the window -- "For your information he's on vacation, don't ask me any more."
"It makes me laugh because each one of my regulars wants to know if I retired or died since the last time they came by," Jones said, smiling.
"He's a good man," said post office patron Lorraine Cook of Salisbury. "Nice and polite. He's the best. Every time I come here I look for him, and if he's not here I want to know where he is. He's always in a good mood, all the time. Best representative ever for the post office. If this post office ever got rid of him, I'd have to go someplace else."
Some are so spoiled by such personable service Jones brings to the window that they haven't been inside the post office in years. Some will not even go to another post office. They will wait for his return. They don't hesitate to tell him on his return that they wouldn't let anyone else wait on them. Not surprisingly, some of his fellow workers are a bit uncomfortable in his shadow. Some refuse to pamper window patrons in the Louis Jones manner. It's all by the book for them.
There is no secret ingredient in customer satisfaction, he said. "You just have to be nice to them."
Of course even a saint can have a bad day. No matter, the patron at the window would never know. Jones delivers his trademark generous smile, cheerful hello and how's the family doin' kind of banter. To almost all, he said, he is "Mr. Louis" -- people think that is his last name. Even some patrons, once children and now adults, still call him "Mr. Louis."
Stopping by the drive-through is more than a trip to the post office. It's a three-minute therapy session to calm the soul, lift the spirits. Jones doles out more than stamps and shop talk. He embodies the eternal spirit of optimism. Kids get excited as the car nears the window. He calls the youngsters by name. They lean to the window, talking and giggling, waving and blowing kisses. Familiar faces get a "God bless you" or a heartfelt good-bye. "Little kids love me. When they see me at the grocery store they yell 'Mom, he's got legs!' "
In the course of a day hundreds of cars may pass through. "People love to chit chat, but I've been at this so long I know how to keep them moving," Jones said. Jones always aspired to his current career.
"I was raised on a farm and this is why I took a job at the post office. This is no work; farming is hard work. When I was a boy I wanted to grow up to be a mailman. I thought it was a cool job. There were no local black mailmen."
When Jones graduated from high school, he went to the post office in Princess Anne and couldn't even get an application, he says -- but three months later, he got a draft notice. It was through the Army that doors opened, including the one at the Salisbury post office. The U.S. Veterans Affairs program encouraged the hiring of veterans, and the U.S. Postal Service test gives preference to veteran candidates.
The Salisbury drive-through window has come to be known as "Louis'' window" -- he has manned it since it was open 10 years ago. There are only two drive-through windows at post offices in Maryland. The other, which opened first, is in Columbia.
"I don't know why there aren't more," Jones said. "I think the post office could make tons of money if they just had more. The aging population loves it. This is the only one on Delmarva."
For 18 years he served on the "midnight tour" shift at the post office, processing mail and unloading trucks. Now he also delivers goodwill.
"Life is good. You've good to spread the news around," he said. "So many come through not having a good day. When they leave they are smiling."
Yet there is much more to the experience than just a warm hello and smile. Whether it's the Eastern Shore gentility in him, a generous love of mankind or simply just doing the right thing, Jones often goes way beyond the call of duty. He knows lots of patrons, he said, who are living from one social security check to the next. He knows when they are without money for a few stamps or even gas money.
What his legions of fans may not know is that he often discreetly covers the postage bill or lends a few dollars for gas, medicine, perhaps a meal to those he has come to know so well. And not once he said, has anyone failed to come back the next day, maybe the next week, and make good on their debt. It's the small things he looks for, like the driver who routinely has to open the car door to transact business because they can't afford to get the window crank fixed.
"Most of my customers have been customers for years. If they leave their money home, I'll pay the bill. They come back and pay me. Sometimes I forget they owe me and they will still repay me. People think the mailman is rich. But I know people get a little short now and then, so I help them out. If you treat people good, they will treat you good."
Does that make him a pushover?
"Oh yes, I can say no; I know when to say no, especially when it comes to money. I don't allow people to take advantage of me or abuse me. I don't allow that. I had one fella that came through here that threw me his letters. I got him straight -- never, ever do that to me. Now we are best buddies."
The window allows some with medical and health limitations, who can hardly walk or stand in line, to maintain a bit of independence. Jones pushes and pulls hefty and substantial boxes through his window and then proceeds to tape them if needed. He isn't required to tape boxes, but does it because he knows the man or woman at the window simply can't. He doesn't tell them to go inside or bring the package back taped. They give him their trust, he gives them their dignity. Good deeds don't go unrewarded. There are cakes and cookies, snacks, candies, soda and other goodies dropped off to Jones along with the mail. People know I love to eat, he said. He has a weakness for Snickers candy bars.
Through the window pass those recently widowed, divorced or suffering the pain of breaking up. A son or daughter arrested, a relative on drugs, or someone betrayed by a friend -- there's bound to be a heartbreaking story waiting in line. Yet when the window goes up and Jones smiles, there's an oasis of peace in the storm of life.
He's always polite, always in a good mood and always cheerful. And, said co-worker Donald Clifton, he "always calls women old enough to be his mother 'young lady.' He's a character, You've got to love him. Women love him and makes us all jealous, a good-lookin' man like that. Sure he's good, he knows his job, but it's his personality that all the people like him for. "
There's a lot of real life to savor as he watches people root through ashtrays and under seats and floor mats for loose change. He has waited while some women dig through suitcase-size pocketbooks for those extra few pennies to pay for stamps. He's watched parents take money out of kids' mouths and hand it to him with candy stuck to it. Always good for a smile are the few older ladies who search through their brassieres with their fingers in search of a few loose dollars not so discreetly secreted away. When asked which is the easier customer, Jones all but whispered "men."
"The men are fast; they know what they want, have their money out and are on their way."
When a car dies at the window, he scrambles outside to push the ailing vehicle into the parking lot. All in a day's work. Every now and then wife, Brenda, appears at the window with his home-cooked hot lunch, enough for himself and a coworker if need be. Car after car, she can see the laughing and chatting as each patron is greeted by her husband. She has been a member of First Baptist Church for 55 years and he's been going since they were married. She is an ordained minister and works at the church.
The big question most folks want answered -- is he really a saint? Maybe not a saint, said his wife of almost 30 years, but almost. With down-home humor and lot of common sense, she describes the man behind the man.
"Yes," said Brenda Jones, "all the wonderful things they say about my husband are true. Just remember, he is a man, and men have their own ways. He is a man of integrity, a man who loves God, his family and the community, especially veterans. Louis is not a complainer. If he has a good meal, a house that's clean and is loved, he doesn't complain," she said. "I know people think he's a saint. He just uses his job not to preach, but to live love. That's what it's is all about. He lives Jesus in his life."
A contender in last year's race for city councilman at large, Jones said she knows people love her husband. "When I'm at a function, I hear people whispering 'Do you know who her husband is?' It makes me the most popular person in the place. I have been blessed that God put a man such as Louis in my life."
Jones loves his work, but it's not always easy.
"Sometime the line never empties," Jones said. "There are some days when the line never stops, one right after another and by the time the day is done, I am worn out."
As a car approaches, Jones activates the opening and closing of the window with a foot pedal. No matter that a cold wind blows rain, sleet or snow over his face and hands. It doesn't seem to bother him that his tiny office is chilled with the coming and going of each patron. Envelopes that fly from the hands in a gust of wet wind are retrieved and dried in front of his little heater.
Sometimes paper money is blown from a customer's hand and they chase it down. Sometimes change falls to the ground. Rather than have the customer get out and crawl around under the vehicle, Jones will cover the loss. The money remains on the ground until the end of his shift. It is not, contrary to popular belief, "free money," he said.
"I don't want people to have to get out of their cars. Sometimes people see the coins and think it's unclaimed money, but that's my money. I tell them to hold on when they get ready to pick it up. That's not 'free money.' After my shift I go out there and get it."
One of Jones's enviable records is that he has handled millions of dollars over the years and the cash drawer is always balanced, he said. The best part of the job is the interaction with the customers. The worst part is trying to close the window at 5 p.m. "That's when customers get mad with me. Sometimes it's almost 10 minutes of five and there's 10 cars in line. There's no way that 10th car is going to get to the window by 5. I have to be off the clock within 15 minutes. I just can't keep waiting on people."
He laughs at the suggestion of telling customers who slow the line to buzz off. "No, no," he said, "You can't do that to people."
He thinks he may be retiring in two or three years, depending on his wife's opinion, he said. "If my wife says I can retire, I will. She's the boss," he said. "As long as my health is good and I continue to like what I am doing, I'll probably stay. Why quit and sit around the house doing nothing?" http://www.delmarvanow.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071216/LIFESTYLE/712160330/1024
For many, this is not the season to be jolly
Charlotte, North Carolina - Walking out to empty the trash, I saw taillights up by the mailbox. "Skinny, is that you?" I yelled through the inky darkness. A weary voice called back, "Yeah, it's me."
I rushed up the driveway to offer Skinny, the mailman, my condolences and claim my arm load of magazines, circulars, Christmas cards and the endless, everlasting entreaties for money from every organization -- political, religious and scam artists -- imaginable.
Although 'tis the season to be jolly, many among us do not delight in the pre-Christmas prepping, and for good reason. Let us give thought to these. For example, Skinny the mailman had been at it since 8 a.m. It was about 6:30 p.m., and he still wasn't through.
That same day, my wife was placing telephone orders for Texas fruitcakes she gives to certain friends and relatives who specifically have stated in sworn, notarized statements that they do indeed like fruitcake.
"I feel so sorry for that poor woman," she said as she hung up. "She sounded so very, very tired and discouraged. When she gave me the total due, I realized she had not charged for two cakes and gently corrected her. When I asked her what would have happened had I not caught the error, she said, 'Somebody on your list wouldn't have gotten their fruit cakes.'"
"Well, if you had spent eight hours or more taking fruitcake orders, trying to make sure you spelled Aunt Sophronia Godzilla's name correctly, obtained her credit card number, address, ZIP code, etc., you'd sound pretty down and desperate, too," I said.
One of my all-time favorite cartoons, shared with me years ago by Suzanne Britt, was in New Yorker magazine. It depicted a harried housewife bent over a sink full of dirty dishes, her hair in curlers, children and dogs running about, with a couple of kids tugging at her dress.
Her husband, briefcase in hand, arrives home from work. "Honey, I'm home!" he calls cheerfully from the hall, to which she yells, "Let heaven and nature sing!"
As we wend our way through this holiday season, let us drop a kind word and compliment here and there to those whom we meet behind sales counters, on the telephone to the mail-order houses, and, by all means, to those who, while they may not encounter sleet or snow on their appointed rounds, cannot escape the curse of the Christmas season -- unwanted, unordered catalogs, circulars and "send cash" solicitation letters.
When you encounter one of these with exceptional patience and kindness, don't forget to say, "Thank you for not snarling." http://www.newsobserver.com/105/story/832733.html
DISCLAIMER: I have no affiliation with USPS or the NRLCA and as such any information that I pass on is unofficial and constitutes advice and/or suggestions for your consideration. You may be advised to double-check with official sources before depending on its use and while you are doing that ask why is it that someone without official contacts has this information and is passing it on and its not coming from official sources. I do not speak for any Postal or Union entity and have no authority to serve as spokesman for, against or otherwise in Postal or Union matters.
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