Ponies vs. the mail system

[Desert Rose]

The post here is pretty organized and handled very well I must say. You can choose to send a package with or without tracking number, but even without one things rarely disapear. And things shipped nationaly only takes 1-2 days to arrive depending on the size of it.
So I must say, hat of to our postal service.

As for the mailmen though... I remember back in the late 90's when I first started collecting ponies and me and my mum bought alot from Ebay and the trading posts, I was only about 11-12 years old. The mailman we had then was so awesome. He always brought all my packages (big or small), rang the doorbell and waited for me to open and get them. If we weren't in he left the packages outside the door with a little note
We had told him early on that it was ponies for my collection and he saw it as his personal mission to make sure I got my ponies safe and sound Still remember that mailman after all these years

However time's changed, that mailman quit and nowdays they don't leave anything outside your door with the risk of it getting stolen (even though I live in a flat where the main door is always locked). If you're not in and they realize it's not big enough to squeeze through the mailslot (this is certinitly not due to lack of trying, I've been home once or twice when they've had bigger packages to deliver and they can stand there for a good 2 minutes or so pushing and squeezing and forcing the poor packages down the narrow mailslot - those times I didn't open because I wasn't hrm... decent ) they'll ring the doorbell if they really cant get it through the mailslot and wait a while before they take it back with them and give you a note the next day in the mail instead where to pick it up. Same goes for bigger packages, they don't bring those at all, they just drop a note in your mailslot where to pick it up.
And while I miss the days when the mailmain brought it all with him and deliverd it to me personaly, or I came home to see packages waiting for me outside my door I do understand why they don't want to do that anymore. Firstly they have to carry alot of mail with them and handling big packages isn't really convenient. Secondly I do understand that they refuse to leave the packages outside the door even in "low risk" areas because they don't want to take any chances of anything getting lost. They want all our mail to be delivered safe and quickly.
Unfortunatly the mailmen don't always care about the safe part considering how they brutaly squeeze packages through the mailslot at times Fortunatly nothing has ever been destroyed thanks to it.

[Tulips]

We have fairly okay postage around here. The woman who usually delivers my large boxes is friendly and very good with deliveries. And the postie on the bike even beeps if he has a package and doesn't just leave it in the box.

The ONE bad thing is occasionally there will be a package that needs signature (that the nice woman isn't delivering) and instead of getting out of the truck and walking to the door to knock they don't even bother! They just stick the 'we missed you' card in our letterbox and drive off, so instead of doing their job we have to drive out and pick our package up ourselves. Sometimes we doubt whether or not they even have the package in the truck or if they're just going around stuffing cards in mail boxes to get their 'job' done faster.

I can't complain too much though, the post office is only a few streets away.

[Shenanigans]

Oh Shen, I know your way is probably the best. I've done it before with janitors and secretaries at school to have better relations and get my classroom taken care of better. It's just some things really annoy me. The mail service is one of the better paying jobs for someone without a college degree (I'm not saying it's not hard. Wife did it for a while and hated it)...I hate to have to more or less bribe someone to do their job.

That's very true! Used to be back in the old days (or so I'm told) people took pride in their work and did everything properly, with a smile and when the extra mile for you. Now they practically have to be bribed!

[Enolaalone]

My postman is so lazy-I had two poneis arrive, in different packages, the distribution had wrapped them together in an elastic and because he couldn't be bothered taking off the elastic band and shoving them through individually, he left a missed delivery card! Argh. I had to go into town and was fuming when I realised what he COULD have done. Lazy!

Carrie

This.

I mean, all he has to do is take off the damn elastic band! It drives me nuts! I have fewer problems with royal mail than with courier companies though. At least the RM depot is on my way home from work or I can get them redelivered to a post office.

[kissthethunder]

I gotta admit, my Postal service here in this small town is very VERY good!! I've never had any issues over this past decade of package receivings!

[Dulci]

I have the most awesomest office in the history of ever.  Only one pony was ever lost in route, and I think that was on the other person's end.  The postmaster knows about me and the ponies too, oddly enough.

[Gogobinsin]

Royal Mail is usually very good around here although I did once catch the postman out - I was at home and saw him come to the door and he'd put one of those 'Sorry we missed you' cards through the letterbox and it said that I had to go collect my parcel from a post office. I opened the door as the postman was leaving and called out to him asking if he had my parcel and he said he'd left it in his van so he brought it round a bit later. He'd obviously decided he wasn't going to bother trying to deliver it cause the time it took him to come up to my house and deliver it was too quick for him to be standing at the door writing the card, he'd already written it Now he always brings parcels to the door and leaves them round the back of the house if I'm not in