Background: Our town has the mailboxes on the curb – like you see in rural neighborhoods. Each house has it’s own mailbox and the mailman just drives a little car down the road, pausing in front of each house to put the mail in the box. The mailman will park and get out to deliver packages or c.o.d.s etc.
Problem: The other day I had to go to a local public school to tutor. The parking lot was full so I went to one of the side streets and parked in front of a house. It wasn’t a "no parking" zone and I did not block the driveway. However, I was in front of the mailbox, but not so close that a mailman couldn’t have gotten out of his car, walked the 5 feet and put the mail in. I was there for about 50 minutes from 2pm to 2:50pm.
When I got back there was a nasty, unsigned note either from the home owner or the mailman, on my windshield. It read:
"Your blocking the mail delivery.
RESPECT." (grammatical error is their’s)
Obviously their point being that I showed a lack of respect to someone by parking where I did. I have been in this town for 2 years but prior to that lived in a big city where we had mailboxes on our houses and not on the curb so I’m not sure if there is an unspoken rule about blocking mailboxes. Since the mailman can still walk the 5 feet to deliver the mail I’m not sure what the problem is. Also, if you can’t park in front of mailboxes or driveways (obviously) there isn’t much room to park.
So, was I in breech of parking etiquette? Are there more rules I should know of?
Looking at some of the answers, I am absolutely baffled as to how does the mailman make his delivery without getting out of his car. What is the big deal for having to walk 5 feet?
Luckily we do not have such a "big issue" with our postal services in England. Our postmen will come right up to our doorsteps just to ensure our posts are delivered. But then who am I to argue with local customs in your country? I wonder who lacks the respect of true postal services spirit initiated by Rowland Hill.
Do they know who was Rowland Hill?
No, you are in breach of postal etiquette. Most postal workers will not leave their vehicle to deliver to a blocked mailbox. Some areas forbid their postal workers from leaving their vehicles to deliver to a blocked mailbox.
That person did not get their mail that day. Pisses me off too, when someone does that to us, especially since we are in an area that has plenty of other parking, so blocking a mailbox is really just rude.
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Whether or not you were in breach is not the issue. That was a very extreme reaction to a first offense. If you had been blocking the mailbox repeatedly, then the note was warranted, but since it was your first offense (unintentional at that), they should have let it slide. Just take this as a learning opportunity and let it slide. From now on, just avoid parking close to the mailbox.
I have never heard of mailbox etiquette because I too live in a big city. I would assume though, that some unspoken rules do exist.
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You were in the wrong.
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sorry man you’re at fault…
there are certain rules that apply when govt employees are involved…they have the "right of way" more often than us
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Mail carriers that ride in vehicles will not deliver mail to a mailbox that they cannot access while still inside their vehicle. They have a very limited time to deliver the mail and if they were to get out of their vehicle all the time, it would take them days to deliver 1 day’s worth of mail. They are paid based on how much time they are allotted for delivering mail not on how much time it actually takes them. That time allotment is based on a mail count in Feb/March which happens to be the lowest mail count of the year.
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If you are fully aware of the mail delivery situation in your community, then I would say that you should have chosen a different place to park.
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Looking at some of the answers, I am absolutely baffled as to how does the mailman make his delivery without getting out of his car. What is the big deal for having to walk 5 feet?
Luckily we do not have such a "big issue" with our postal services in England. Our postmen will come right up to our doorsteps just to ensure our posts are delivered. But then who am I to argue with local customs in your country? I wonder who lacks the respect of true postal services spirit initiated by Rowland Hill.
Do they know who was Rowland Hill?
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I am an itinerant therapist, and have been traveling to people’s homes for several years to provide 30-minute therapy sessions. A few years ago I blocked a mailbox, and was leaving the home as the mailman was driving up. He actually told me that if i was there in the future he wouldn’t be able to deliver the mail. So, i never blocked the mailbox again! I guess it’s just one of those unwritten rules those of us who don’t have a mailbox at the curb don’t know.
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