It wasn't because I asked for a signature.
I have recently sent trades out using the Click n'Ship method. The confirmation numbers are free so of course I use that option.
I had a couple traders tell me the post office did not leave the packages at their house. Unless I ask for a signature, which I did not do, they are supposed to leave the package at your house.
Please if this is happening to you, talk this over with your post person. I make every effort to ship before the daily time limit and hope for actual 2nd day delivery.
During these dog days of summer, having our boxes sitting all day in the mail truck, then taking them back to the post office and sitting another day, lessens the plants chances of survival.
I am lucky, I have a screened porch and a rocker sitting in the shade that my mailman uses for my incoming boxes.
I just wanted yall to know, it wasn't my idea for your mailman to not leave my package at your house.
Molly
:^))))
If the Post Office took your package back....
I mailman leaves my packages as well. He walks the route with the regular mail and comes back with the truck to leave the package on the front porch.
Jan...
I just had this happen to me. They left me a pink slip in my box telling me to come to the post office and pick up my priority box. I went to the post office to get the package and found it did not require a signature, it had one of the confirmation tracking numbers on it, and that is why the mailman did not leave it. Beings the box was plants, I let the postmaster hear about it! I just recently moved to this home the first of May, this was the second box to be delivered to me. I firmly told the postmaster to have a talk with my carrier, and to let him/her know the bench on my front porch was where the boxes were to be left, not taken back to the post office UNLESS they required a signature.
I ask all traders to NOT send me something requiring a signature for this simple reason....my new hometown has a population of 779, the post office is very small, they work only like 5 1/2 hours a day Mon-Fri and are only open 1hr 45 min on Saturday. I work 8 hour days during the week and 4 hours on Saturday. This would mean I would have to take off work to pick up a box....don't think the boss man is going to like that! LOL!
Yep, it seems the carriers are getting really confused. Priority tends to lose it's true meaning.
:^)))
I have to say, my postal carriers are wonderful! I have two. Royce is a substitute who does the route when Marsha takes a day off. Marsha and I have traded hostas. And Royce, who is not a gardener at all, came to my first Garden Party just for the fun of it. I often leave cookies, banana split pie and other snacks in my mailbox for them. My mailbox is half a block from my house, on the highway. Technically, they are not required to deliver boxes to my door since it's off their route. But they DO! They'll even go thru the gate and set them on my side porch if we're expecting rain.
Instead of getting riled, you might try bribing your carriers. It works beautifully for me. LOL Make friends with them. Give them a little care package when you make a batch of cookies. They deliver to us thru snowstorms and heatwaves. They deserve a little something extra. I'm in a town of 60,000. It's not often our mail carriers get a thank you or a token of appreciation. Mine do and they love it. And they treat me a little more special.
By the way, I also leave cookies and snacks for my sanitation workers, along with "wet-naps" and utensils so they can eat it on the run. The poor guys have such a dirty, but necessary job, and I'm glad they do it for me.
Remember the saying, you catch more flies (or in this case, boxes) with honey. LOL
NancyAnn
Hi, Molly
My rural carrier is a super nice lady. I am known as the plant lady. She brings my boxes to the door. If I am not home, they are left inside on the carport. I haven't given her cookies, but I have given her some ditch lilies and sib. iris that is near the mail box, that she wanted.
Today may be the hottest day of the year for my area, if you listen to weather people. Some plants are not very hardy and an extra day could be fatal.
I had that happen once this summer, after getting stuff priority mail for years now. I called and fussed at the P.O. lady and told them to leave everything in the barn like they've been doing forever because most of what I get now needs to come out of the boxes ASAP (they acted like they had never left anything before, said they weren't sure if that was OK). I also live in a small town and work far enough away that I'd have to take off work to go to the P.O. or wait until Saturday, plants might be dead by then if they were to be delivered early in the week.
I thought there might be a problem mentioning that it was a box of plants so didn't say anything when picking it up the next day. Couldn't leave work that day to pick it up between 4pm and 4:30pm.
Didn't I see on another thread where the person was chastised by the postal person for sending plants?
Don't need no more chastisement....
I think some p.o.'s are more strict (or stick to the rules, whatever they may be) than others. The lady at the P.O., in the town where I work, knows I send plants and we strike up gardening conversations every time I'm there. I'll even go in to mail regular stuff and she'll say "no plants today??". Most of the ones I get at home are coming from growers and have the nursery/ag stickers on them so they're not a problem. I think the one they took back was actually from Patron Gardens so I didn't even think about it...
edited to add: I don't need any chastising either and if the regular lady wasn't at my p.o., I probably wouldn't mention that I was sending plants :-)
This message was edited Aug 19, 2005 12:30 PM
My mail carriers both know I'm sending and receiving plants. And the clerks at both post offices here in town know what's in my boxes. If I forget to write "perishable" on the box, they always ask, Is this perishable.
The only time I have gotten any flak about sending plants was if they are leaving the country. As long as they're staying in the US, the clerks here don't have a problem. I even share plants (and cookies) with them too. One of the postal clerks is retired now and attends all my plant swaps.
Really, if you'll be friendly, laugh and joke with them, treat them to something special just once, you may make a friend. They are, after all, human. And friends are a little friendlier and will go that extra mile.
I personally haven't been having any postal problems on the receiving end. My carrier does leave my boxes here, and as for sending plants, any of the shipping I do, is here in this country. When they ask about perishables, I just say, just plants.
If I was having a problem with my letter carrier, I would certainly hesitate to complain over his head. That would be a sure fire way to not get my mail in a timely fashion. So no, I don't complain here.
I was concerned that some of my recipients were being forced to make an extra, unnecessary trip, taking time off work to go to the post office. I know at least 2 mentioned they had to go pick the package up.
Living in a small town certainly has its advantages. You have a closer relationship to the people you deal with from day to day. You appreciate the efforts that they make to provide you with good service. It's nice that you treat them to small gifts etc.
Molly
:^)))
I have to have my trades delivered to work for this reason, but it's totally understandable. I'm the very last house at the end of the hollow, then you cross the bridge, then the 1/3 mile driveway. Dueling Banjos plays in ones mind as they approach! They're probably afraid I'm growing something besides flowers in such an isolated spot! But, I have had to quit telling the postal workers I'm sending plants. They found a paragraph in this huge book of regulations saying they can't send them unless they're certified pest and disease free(by whatever government agency). How they found that little paragraph in that huge book I can't imagine, but I think most postal workers are unaware of it.
That is bizarre. My post office workers and carriers know that I mail plants, bulbs, etc. Initially they would ask if I was mailing noxious weeds, soil, etc. Once satisfied that I mail clean plants, they never asked again unless I get the occasional new person.
I have been lucky in that I have had the same carrier for almost 15 years. They walk here also and come back to pick up or drop off boxes unless they fit in their bag. I only live 2 houses from the corner where they park the van. The only time I run into problems is when their is a substitute. It seems they can not figure out the To and From sections on the labels. LOL They apparently can't remember if they have dropped them off or not. Geesh! John, my regular guy and I laugh about that. They do not even look at the boxes and will lie almost every time.
In case you didn't know, there is an 800 number in the phone book. They WILL take complaints about your carrier or office. They will also connect you to your local office and send someone right back out to pick up or deliver if you make enough noise. :)
I've always said the packages were plants and none of the workers have said anything to me that they shouldn't be sent or anything about being certified pest and disease free.
My problem is that we have a box, no home delivery. If someone puts the street address on the line immediately above Southold, NY it will be returned to them. Yesterday a package arrived for me but we had no notification because the person made an error with the box number and instead of crossing out the entire number, they tried to change it and it appeared to have five numbers instead of four. I never would have gotten it except that I told them it came in a Priority Box and then one of them remembered seeing it. In a town of 5,000 and since we've lived here 14 years, I'm surprised that I did get the box, finally!!!
Did a little more 'digging' with our postal carrier at work and he said 'some people' (sounded more like 'one guy') on the north side of town have had boxes stolen off their front porch (not screened in? neither is mine) so I just need to tell our carrier at home to hide them behind the big coleus (Christmas cheer) pot on the porch. It's safe there!
I usually get boxes delivered to me at work but I thought I'd be home in time to snatch this. Now I know what to do. :)
Maybe you could tell your postmen/women first before putting up a sign that says QUARANTINE AREA. That should keep the thieves away.
heeheehee Pirl