Comment by cujo | Hacker News Reader

Comment by cujo | Hacker News Reader

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People don't complain about USPS because they suck at delivering to my "island" home in the middle of a swamp. They complain about USPS because somehow they seem to get a lot of employees who just don't try.

In my experience, Fedex and UPS deliver when they say they will. USPS "attempts" deliver all the time only for the package to fail to arrive. I live in the urban part of a small city/big town. There is essentially never a reason a package can't be delivered.

My latest gripe concerns the USPS person that delivers my daily mail. She loves to catch me outside and let me know that she doesn't "legally" have to deliver my mail if there is snow on my steps. I live in New England. Everyone has fucking snow on their steps.

Snow can and will cover up ice. That makes walking those steps inherently dangerous. She's being a bit of a jerk about it, but really she just wants her safety to be assured.

"Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds"

(Written above the postal HQ in Manhatta)

What about broken hips?

I live in New England too, back when I lived in a suburb the first thing we did when it snowed (and even while it snowed) was clear a path and the steps for deliveries. I could understand not being home a few times to clear them, but I also know I wouldn't want risk walking on snow covered steps if I could avoid it...

Ive had this issue to.. I live in RI. In 2013 there were a bunch of huge snow storms and my roommates and I were lazy college kids and dont go the extra mile shoveling out the front of the house where the mailbox was. We dint get mail for a month, until the post office told us that we had mail waiting at their location.

She walks up and down snow covered steps all day every winter. She can't do her job if she slips and injures herself. The policy makes good sense.

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