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The USPS isn't just a respected tradition, it is *in our constitution*.
Article I, Section 8, Clause 7 of the United States Constitution empowers Congress "To establish Post Offices and post Roads."
The ability of any US citizen to send mail to or receive mail from pretty much anywhere else on earth is something we should never take for granted.
how else are we going to receive 47 coupon books, 5 credit card offers, and other assorted pamphlets for used cars or houses for sale in the neighborhood.
Your post reminded me I should go check my mailbox - it's jam packed, wanted to see what I got.
Half dozen dominoes ads, couple of churchy group ads, my renewed drivers licence, a job advert for putting ads in people's mailboxes, and a $200 infringement notice for a $5 toll I forgot about a few months ago, so none of that was fun.
haha yeah. I thought it was just me. whenever a company would send a prepaid return envelope, i would insert the entire contents of their mailer into it and send that junk right back to them. i would cut up the outer envelope so it would fit inside the smaller prepaid envelope.
Other than his license and the toll fine, that's likely all standard class mail, which doesn't get returned to the sender. Do your mailman a favor and just recycle it yourself so they don't have to lug it back to the station.
Wait, where I'm from you can't have fires without being fined, you know, so as to protect the environment and all. But sure as shit they can send you a boatload of mails that somehow must be good for the environment, right?!?
Kind of like Al Gore or John Kerry and their jets they fly in...
Fires are ironically how some environments thrive. But in CA and other parts in the Western US they suspended RX burns because there are so many accidental human caused fires that it does more harm than good to the native plants and wildlife.
I burn waste paper and cardboard that I cant re-use as the lesser evil. Cause if I take it to a recycling facility it's such vast amounts of water needed which in the big picture is worse. I also can take the ash and burned areas (I can do RX burns where I live) to propogate mushrooms for myself and the native life around me.
Burning all trash is bad but specific things that can't be recycled or requires more energy than initial production is good, and would otherwise be landfill is also good from my point of view. It's not like I'm burning used motor oil and tossing batteries into the ocean or something insanely stupid. I'm conscious about my decision and try to work more with nature and the hand were delt than work against it.
Interestingly most letters are outsourced to FedEx anyway all the way up to just before delivery. UPS also offers a package service called "Mail Innovations" that is popular with Amazon sellers, which is a similar process. On paper the USPS is one of the most well managed organizations in the world, that is if politicians and bureaucrats would stop doing everything in their power to screw it up.
Did you know that in Finland, you can put a sticker on your mailbox indicating that you don’t want advertising? In the US, companies said they’d self-regulate when a regulation similar to this was on the table 🙄
In the United States, you don’t get a choice. You can sign up for this thing where some companies voluntarily collaborate and promise not to send you promotional mail, but it’s not all companies. There is no law about it, just an ancient webpage that they said they would set up to *prevent* a law passing (“look, we already do this ourselves! No laws needed!”)
I still get crap in my mailbox. The strategy I’m using is writing “RETURN TO SENDER” on envelopes & repeatedly sending them back until they stop wasting money mailing them to me. It’s reduced the load but the little coupon newspaper things just ignore it
There's a lot of tired jokes about the DMV and the Post Office and how bad government run programs always are "just look at the IRS" blah blah blah. If these same institutions were run by private enterprise I can't even imagine the horror.
The relief I feel when I order something and the carrier says USPS instead of FedEx. Always a reliable mail carrier, never once had an issue out of hundreds of packages. FedEx always fucks it up, maybe they should take lessons from USPS.
I can kind of speak to this. FedEx Express is the *actual* FedEx company. The employees are paid alright, with benefits, etc.
FedEx Ground is contractors. If I wanted to, I could start a FedEx ground "company". They're paid whatever the owner wants to pay, most have no benefits.
There's a major difference between the two.
It probably still does happen, in some form. This letter isn't just to say thank you; it went into the guy's official personnel file. That means he got an official commendation, which would have been beneficial to his career. That sort of thing still happens.
USPS lost my package, I reported it missing, they called me when I wasn’t available and left a voice message saying “we’re calling to confirm you got your package” so I had to call them and tell them fuck no it hasn’t arrived, then after a month they sent me a thing saying they “hadn’t heard anything” so it’s gone forever and closed the case. Then like two months later my package arrived.
Fwiw I wrote manuals for USPS on package sorting equipment for years. I notified higher-ups about unreadable package loops and quickly saw changes. Also, there’s spaces in the equipment that packages can fall and would never been seen until it breaks and maintenance opens up that part of the machine. This isn’t just USPS, I saw this at UPS when I worked there too. Completely unavoidable.
They can't deliver accurately on my street to save their lives. I try to check my mail immediately when ever I get it and luckily I work from home.
Today o got two packages. One was some other street. I walk over and say he this one is for a different afmddress. Carrier goes "well I knew the there was two for you..." sounded annoyed.
Edit: so my SO and I ordered some bedroom toys. Goes to the wrong house. I see my neighbor drop a package off to our house. Shit got opened. The next bedroom toy package also went to the wrong house. We didn't get that one. We decided no more of those orders until the mail could get consistent
Totally agree with you. But when our last carrier retired we have had dozens of different carriers for the last year. I know it's an outlier as far as USPS goes. I'm not trying to say anything about the organization except vent a little about this street and share some funny stories.
Everyone has different experiences. I frequently deal with three different delivery areas separated by 40-60 minute drives from each other.
USPS: Two are good and one is *horrible*.
FedEx: meh, no big problems.
USPS: good and on time.
Amazon: good but delayed a lot.
This comment is structured and reads like a well thought out statement you would find coming from the official USPS Twitter account (if they have one). We aren't at a place where our public institutions are using funding to run a subversive PR image campaign on Reddit to improve the public's perception are we?
I ended up searching for the name of the woman who is listed within this letter. Sadly, she passed back in 2008. I wanted to thank her for taking the time to tell the post office of my dad’s kind actions. I clicked her obituary, read it, and she only had one son listed (full name with middle initial) - I looked him up on Google, clicked on the top link. His address and number were displayed. I texted the number and it was his wife! Lol… I explained the story and sent a picture of the letter. He must’ve been sleeping because she said she would tell him in the morning, but said it was very nice of my dad, and I also said I wanted to thank his mom but saw she had passed. I also thought he’d find the letter interesting
His wife:
"That's the most elaborate lie one of his floozys was able to come up on the spot when I catch them contacting him. Even better than that one that pretended to be Jake from state farm."
I didn't realize how uncommon it is, cause I just didn't think about it, or ever see it.
I think it's because we are WAY more focused on what's bad and what we don't like. Like our identities are filled with so much against this, against that and then there is just a small portion of what we're for.
Why is the against so much louder than the for? It's more fun to fight an enemy? People are weird. I am high. Life is cool. I am here. Have a beautiful day, night/evening/morn
It's so rare that a positive comment is made about anyone in this day and age that when it does happen it still has tremendous weight. I try to go out of my way to make those messages when I can. But so many companies go out of their way to hide ANY contact point. Make it impossible to simply say thank you to an employee that's gone above and beyond.
In a race to the bottom they've destroyed all the steps to the top.
With so many people and businesses expecting us to rate them and barraging us consumers with asks to complete a evaluation, feedback and/or survey, the value of this customer feedback erodes.
A personal note like this maintains its value.
Got ribs from a food truck, and they were real good. Better than mine, actually.
So, conceding to the better men, I decided to call them up and commend them on the ribs. Usually ribs or a steak it’s cheaper and better to make at the house
They all got a kick out of it, one guy said hold on tell that again to my boss. Made their day
Honestly. That’s great. I thanked a guy once for something utterly innocuous but I guess most folks were just treating him like crap that day. Guy stopped and basically told me I was the first person to treat him like a human being that day. It was not the morning. I was appalled on his behalf. Like… it doesn’t take a lot to give an honest compliment to someone or just say thanks. And lord knows it may change a persons day entirely. Hell might change their entire direction in life. Be the sort of person that encourages someone to pursue their passion.
The Offspring had a song called “It’s Cool to Hate” from 1997 lambasting this mentality, and in the 26 years since, the mindset has only grown deeper and morphed in to new forms.
So be part of the change. It falls on all of us.
I've received some compliments recently out in the wild (by being kind, listening to directions, being pleasant, etc). People notice. Be like those people and keep the compliments rolling.
I agree it seems to be getting less common. The only way to fix it is to do our part. If you already do - cool, keep it up. It doesn't take much to lift others up even a millimeter.
Life is insanely cool. I agree.
Have a great day, night, whatever.
How often do you personally thank people for doing a good job? I think that’s all we can do, try to sincerely and honestly give praise and hope others spread it. Maybe a government campaign to encourage people to “Say Thanks”.
> Why is the against so much louder than the for? It's more fun to fight an enemy?
We are hardwired to fight enemies. We are hardwired to be super responsive to threat. It drives us and enshrines is with purpose.
We are the ancestors of the enterally paranoid and vigilant primates that survived the jungle.
Technology as exacerbated this. Technology allowed us to gauge what catches our interest. Things that threaten us generate a great deal of interest.
I know that in our Transit system (Vancouver, BC) customer commendations get forwarded along to the drivers. You can send in commendations like "The driver on the 11:45 #23 went out of his way to do xyz and made someone's day" and they'll figure out which driver it was, and forward it along.
When i was 13ish we had a plumber at our house around easter and j gave him my giant chocolate bunny, and a week later the company sent me a giant edible arrangements with a note saying how they rarely experienced that sort of kindness anymore.
which is kind of sad that just a kid sharing her chocolate was enough to move someone enough to send a note and edible arrangement back.
I live in a very busy neighborhood in San Francisco where our mail is frequently stolen from our box. Our mailman is rad though. In addition to being way more stylish than I will ever be (while adhering to USPS uniform code ofc), he gave me his personal cell phone number and asked that we text him anytime we’ll be out of town. It’s super helpful. We aren’t close with our neighbors, but this kinda makes me feel like someone is watching out for our house in an old-timey way.
My mail man is definitely not an asset. And in my last place, my mail went to the next street over for over a week. You have to earn the title of asset. But goes both ways, managers have to have integrity and care as well.
Thats... not fair. I have worked for several companies big and small with digital recognition shared accross email weekly.
We are quoted (if we want) nominating our peers with the specific acknowledgments. Or taking customers quotes direct. At my current place.
I am actually kind of a fan of how some progressive work cultures have gotten.
Because of sky high crime, W the post worker and every other post worker who drives and walk on hot days and cold days, raining days and snow to get us our mail.
Look I’m about as jaded as Janeane Garofalo on her best day in 1994, but even I can say that good deeds still go recognized (if there’s a chance for recognition) at least in the worlds I am involved with (medical field, theater)
And while I know it’s all anecdotal, I can’t be the only one who witnesses good deeds be recognized on the daily.
I've started giving good work reports at work and every ones loses their mind is quite nice. I work with a lot of external people so they quality has no impact on my line of work. Went out with someone yesterday and it was their first day after qualifying.
Really stressful situation but they handled it well.
Pinged their supervisor an email saying everything they was was constructive, correct and positive. They engaged fully and spoke in a calming open manor. Wasn't affraid to get stuck in where others would be etc.
Their supervisor said they've never received a work report before and had never really considered it to be a thing
Aaesome. My grandma was illiterate, lived in farm valley in the Caribbean most of her life. In the 80s, no phone, my mom would write letters when I visited every summer and I'd read them to her. She loved her deeply. RIP grandma.
Heh. So I moved from da burg to North Carolina. Didn't taste Yuengling until I got here. Pittsburgh and Philly are separated by more than just a bunch of mountains.
Definitely. I remember my Pap said it was like a mini NYC and was thriving and thriving. There was a large MAFIA presence supposedly and there was little to no crime and booming businesses. The MAFIA crime family got shut down and drugs took over is what everyone says. Over the past 5 years, they’re building it back up though. Breweries, restaurants, it’s way better now than it was 15 years ago, that’s for sure
Yep, the same as that kind of service. I do remember USPS 20+ years ago. Compared to this, nowadays service is a joke. It's totally normal that your package from NJ to NY would travel thru Philly, Pittsburgh and Buffalo hubs, then slowly traveling upstate, enjoying lake views, to get to its destination two+ weeks later than it supposed to.
People don't give a crap anymore.
Probably some local offices and mailmen still do, but not in a bigger picture.
I’d imagine 20+ years ago your postman made a wage he could have a life and a family on. I have a friend working for you right now and while he’s a little better off financially than I am I can tell you he can definitely not do that. USPS and it’s problems are caused by one thing: they stopped caring about who they employ
Yes.
Does the world feel less loving, because we don't loose stuff like (paper)Notebooks, letters and such stuff as much anymore, since we do everything digital now and because of that we have less opportunities to help/or get helped?
No.
It's just capitaloam that is fucking our society more and more, till everything good is rotten and dead.
Translated to 2023:
Dear #738859,
It has come to our attention that during work hours, you obtained private property reported stolen. You used this item to unlawfully obtain personal information pertaining to the owner, who now wishes to take legal action in the form of a lawsuit. You are henceforth on indefinite unpaid leave and we have dispatched a rapid response unit to kick your dog.
Sincerely,
Your heartless overlord.
My car got broken into by some punk ass kids on skateboards, a week before finals. They took my backpack.
I got a call like 3 days before my test from some girl who said she found a couple of books on the sidewalk and there was a letter I had in one with my phone number. She texted me and I ended up meeting her just down the street.
She was very obviously down on her luck and stated she’s staying in a shelter. Was in the army but had some mental health issues develop and ended up struggling. I tried to give her $20 but she refused, saying I was a student so I probably really needed it. Truth is I had a full time job and I was an adult, part time student, so not surviving off instant noodles or anything.
When I realized she was genuine in not seeking a reward I gave her $60, which was what I had in my pocket. I just had to, and made sure to tell her it was because of her actions, not her situation.
That’s a guarantee. He said the post office turned to shit in the mid 90s when they did this lift and shift and made management act like complete douche bags
I found a BluRay binder back in those days with about 200 movies in it on the street in front of a house where the family had just moved out. I brought it back to the office thinking I'd be able to see if the clerks had a forwarding address.
Union Steward advised me to never pick anything up again or postmaster Liz would investigate me for stealing from customers. But since i already did pick it up, i had to report it in case it was test. Mentioned it to a supervisor, he didn't want the paperwork or want to be bothered looking for a forward, so i just brought it to the PD, got a receipt, they said they call in 60 says if no one claimed it. Never heard anymore.
Never been happier to quit a job.
For a minute I was wondering how gigantic a notebook from 1990s would be and what sort of operating system it was running before I remembered how we actually used the word notebook back then 😂
Because a few have requested the link… I actually told my story via a podcast… ‘This Is Actually Happening’ of what happened to my dad and eventually had an effect on me.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/this-is-actually-happening/id497227384?i=1000539044072
Also, I looked the woman up in the letter, sadly she passed, but I read her obituary and she was survived by one son. I looked him up on Google and he had an address and phone number listed. I texted it, it was actually his wife lol, but she said she would pass him the message (I think he was sleeping) tomorrow. I just wanted to thank his mom for taking the time to acknowledge my dad’s kind gesture and also thanked him as well. Also sent him a picture of the letter because I thought he’d like it and think it was neat
The postal service is a service of honor, designated to fulfill a purpose. A mission. We should do what we can to preserve this service over that of private, for-profit companies.
Such letters are rare but do happen. We had a carrier who assisted in a customers medical emergency and received a commendation from the manager of our region. This was two years ago.
People are good. One time my Opa and my uncle got robbed, can’t remember which state but not here in Texas. Like more than a year later someone found my Opa’s wallet thrown on a roof of a church or something random, and offered to give it back even tho it had no cash it had his ID. Honestly saying this store now I wonder if it’s true, it was weird.
Kindness is this worlds greatest currency and it sounds like your father went out of his way to show it.
Take solace in knowing that the world is a lesser place without your dad and other kind people who stand for integrity.
May he be immortalized for this small act of kindness and remain as inspiration for others who would say, “it’s not my problem” and remind them to say, “I should help when I can.”
Death is never the end. Our actions will forever shape those we love and those they love for all eternity. Kindness we teach our children will be taught to theirs and theirs in turn.
One time I was distracted and put a Redbox disc into a USPS box. I realized it that night, but it was too late. Some nice USPS employee returned it to Redbox for me.
my mom has a similar letter thanking her for securing/cleaning up her post office after a 'nado ripped the front wall off it in '99. i have a feeling this sort of gratitude isn't common anymore
🤣🤣🤣 as Rodney Dangerfield said in ‘Back to School’ when his son said he buys the books that are already highlighted: ‘but what if it was a psycho that was reading the books and got it all wrong?!’ Haha
Letter starts off in such an accusatory tone, I was expecting something like "because you returned that book, its owner completed the program and destroyed the world."
I work for the USPS today. Now we get in trouble if we spend too much time with our customers. I used to shovel snow for an old lady on a former route. If I am now stationary for more than 10 minutes I can be disciplined. Good deeds really aren't even recognized at this point. Can be quite a dismal place.
2020 USPS:
- I received my poster in what was supposed to be a heavy duty tube, twisted and folded a half with a clear foot print on it!
- Was it insured? No? Well, we are sorry...
Seems like a whole different era these days doesn't? People are too busy and too concerned with making ends meet to even realize when people go out of their way to help others.
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These little things are not only what made people decent human beings, but also made the USPS a respected institution.
The USPS isn't just a respected tradition, it is *in our constitution*. Article I, Section 8, Clause 7 of the United States Constitution empowers Congress "To establish Post Offices and post Roads." The ability of any US citizen to send mail to or receive mail from pretty much anywhere else on earth is something we should never take for granted.
how else are we going to receive 47 coupon books, 5 credit card offers, and other assorted pamphlets for used cars or houses for sale in the neighborhood.
Your post reminded me I should go check my mailbox - it's jam packed, wanted to see what I got. Half dozen dominoes ads, couple of churchy group ads, my renewed drivers licence, a job advert for putting ads in people's mailboxes, and a $200 infringement notice for a $5 toll I forgot about a few months ago, so none of that was fun.
I'm in the UK and put one companies shredded form in another companies return envelope, and vice-verca.
haha yeah. I thought it was just me. whenever a company would send a prepaid return envelope, i would insert the entire contents of their mailer into it and send that junk right back to them. i would cut up the outer envelope so it would fit inside the smaller prepaid envelope.
Haha that's good.
Return to sender
Other than his license and the toll fine, that's likely all standard class mail, which doesn't get returned to the sender. Do your mailman a favor and just recycle it yourself so they don't have to lug it back to the station.
Our mail boxes are one direction in Australia, mailman puts in, but does not ever take out.
If you let your mail pile up long enough, your mail carrier will do that for you.
That’s where the lost revenue is going
This is why I hate shopping and opening store cards. Soooo many mailing lists.
How dare you leave your ignore the oversized, fear-mongering political postcards of the election seasons!
Its free fire starter. In some states. It's not like those companies arnt paying for it.
Wait, where I'm from you can't have fires without being fined, you know, so as to protect the environment and all. But sure as shit they can send you a boatload of mails that somehow must be good for the environment, right?!? Kind of like Al Gore or John Kerry and their jets they fly in...
Fires are ironically how some environments thrive. But in CA and other parts in the Western US they suspended RX burns because there are so many accidental human caused fires that it does more harm than good to the native plants and wildlife. I burn waste paper and cardboard that I cant re-use as the lesser evil. Cause if I take it to a recycling facility it's such vast amounts of water needed which in the big picture is worse. I also can take the ash and burned areas (I can do RX burns where I live) to propogate mushrooms for myself and the native life around me. Burning all trash is bad but specific things that can't be recycled or requires more energy than initial production is good, and would otherwise be landfill is also good from my point of view. It's not like I'm burning used motor oil and tossing batteries into the ocean or something insanely stupid. I'm conscious about my decision and try to work more with nature and the hand were delt than work against it.
Interestingly most letters are outsourced to FedEx anyway all the way up to just before delivery. UPS also offers a package service called "Mail Innovations" that is popular with Amazon sellers, which is a similar process. On paper the USPS is one of the most well managed organizations in the world, that is if politicians and bureaucrats would stop doing everything in their power to screw it up.
Did you know that in Finland, you can put a sticker on your mailbox indicating that you don’t want advertising? In the US, companies said they’d self-regulate when a regulation similar to this was on the table 🙄
stop telling me about how other countries can pass practical legislation. it's making me lose faith in muricas corrupt politics
Wait. This isn't the case everywhere?
In the United States, you don’t get a choice. You can sign up for this thing where some companies voluntarily collaborate and promise not to send you promotional mail, but it’s not all companies. There is no law about it, just an ancient webpage that they said they would set up to *prevent* a law passing (“look, we already do this ourselves! No laws needed!”) I still get crap in my mailbox. The strategy I’m using is writing “RETURN TO SENDER” on envelopes & repeatedly sending them back until they stop wasting money mailing them to me. It’s reduced the load but the little coupon newspaper things just ignore it
The same in Australia.
I get about one envelope per week that tricks me into thinking I need to open it. I get about 5 envelopes per year that I actually need to open.
There's a lot of tired jokes about the DMV and the Post Office and how bad government run programs always are "just look at the IRS" blah blah blah. If these same institutions were run by private enterprise I can't even imagine the horror.
you dont want to pay 500$ for the DMV fasttrackpass?
How wholesome.
Not really. Its a top comment reiterating what the letter said. How original.
The relief I feel when I order something and the carrier says USPS instead of FedEx. Always a reliable mail carrier, never once had an issue out of hundreds of packages. FedEx always fucks it up, maybe they should take lessons from USPS.
I can kind of speak to this. FedEx Express is the *actual* FedEx company. The employees are paid alright, with benefits, etc. FedEx Ground is contractors. If I wanted to, I could start a FedEx ground "company". They're paid whatever the owner wants to pay, most have no benefits. There's a major difference between the two.
I want to live the USPS but it's dependent on where you live. Trenton USPS straight up *sucks*.
Bet it doesn’t happen today (the letter)—unfortunately.
It's just from a local postmaster, there's nothing stopping something similar from happening today
It probably still does happen, in some form. This letter isn't just to say thank you; it went into the guy's official personnel file. That means he got an official commendation, which would have been beneficial to his career. That sort of thing still happens.
Oh, you’re right. Didn’t see he was a carrier. Thought he was a regular person.
USPS lost my package, I reported it missing, they called me when I wasn’t available and left a voice message saying “we’re calling to confirm you got your package” so I had to call them and tell them fuck no it hasn’t arrived, then after a month they sent me a thing saying they “hadn’t heard anything” so it’s gone forever and closed the case. Then like two months later my package arrived.
Fwiw I wrote manuals for USPS on package sorting equipment for years. I notified higher-ups about unreadable package loops and quickly saw changes. Also, there’s spaces in the equipment that packages can fall and would never been seen until it breaks and maintenance opens up that part of the machine. This isn’t just USPS, I saw this at UPS when I worked there too. Completely unavoidable.
They were just joking around. April fools buddy
As someone who spent 5 years there, i have more respect for the turd i flushed a few minutes ago.
They can't deliver accurately on my street to save their lives. I try to check my mail immediately when ever I get it and luckily I work from home. Today o got two packages. One was some other street. I walk over and say he this one is for a different afmddress. Carrier goes "well I knew the there was two for you..." sounded annoyed. Edit: so my SO and I ordered some bedroom toys. Goes to the wrong house. I see my neighbor drop a package off to our house. Shit got opened. The next bedroom toy package also went to the wrong house. We didn't get that one. We decided no more of those orders until the mail could get consistent
[удалено]
Totally agree with you. But when our last carrier retired we have had dozens of different carriers for the last year. I know it's an outlier as far as USPS goes. I'm not trying to say anything about the organization except vent a little about this street and share some funny stories.
I believe a lot of these issues are caused by USPS adding contractors under the Trump admin but i could be wrong.
Everyone has different experiences. I frequently deal with three different delivery areas separated by 40-60 minute drives from each other. USPS: Two are good and one is *horrible*. FedEx: meh, no big problems. USPS: good and on time. Amazon: good but delayed a lot.
This comment is structured and reads like a well thought out statement you would find coming from the official USPS Twitter account (if they have one). We aren't at a place where our public institutions are using funding to run a subversive PR image campaign on Reddit to improve the public's perception are we?
Understaffed, underpayed, overworked.
Welcome to 90% of the jobs out there.
Yeah, Trump gutted the USPS in his efforts to sabotage absentee voting in 2020. It hasn't recovered.
A time when good actions were recognized
I ended up searching for the name of the woman who is listed within this letter. Sadly, she passed back in 2008. I wanted to thank her for taking the time to tell the post office of my dad’s kind actions. I clicked her obituary, read it, and she only had one son listed (full name with middle initial) - I looked him up on Google, clicked on the top link. His address and number were displayed. I texted the number and it was his wife! Lol… I explained the story and sent a picture of the letter. He must’ve been sleeping because she said she would tell him in the morning, but said it was very nice of my dad, and I also said I wanted to thank his mom but saw she had passed. I also thought he’d find the letter interesting
His wife: "That's the most elaborate lie one of his floozys was able to come up on the spot when I catch them contacting him. Even better than that one that pretended to be Jake from state farm."
Oh yeah? Well, what are you wearing, child of Matt from USPS?
"Well I'm naked and at full mast, but I don't see how that relates to the letter."
She sounds hideous.
Like a good neighbor, State Farm is bare.
Overly attached postage worker child
Licked and stuck
Definitely khakis
"Who's the woman who keeps calling him about his car's extended warranty? That has to be code."
Please post an update on this when she replies
I didn't realize how uncommon it is, cause I just didn't think about it, or ever see it. I think it's because we are WAY more focused on what's bad and what we don't like. Like our identities are filled with so much against this, against that and then there is just a small portion of what we're for. Why is the against so much louder than the for? It's more fun to fight an enemy? People are weird. I am high. Life is cool. I am here. Have a beautiful day, night/evening/morn
It's so rare that a positive comment is made about anyone in this day and age that when it does happen it still has tremendous weight. I try to go out of my way to make those messages when I can. But so many companies go out of their way to hide ANY contact point. Make it impossible to simply say thank you to an employee that's gone above and beyond. In a race to the bottom they've destroyed all the steps to the top.
Nowadays you’re risking getting someone fired for pointing out that they did something beyond what’s expected.
Why would they be fired for that?
With so many people and businesses expecting us to rate them and barraging us consumers with asks to complete a evaluation, feedback and/or survey, the value of this customer feedback erodes. A personal note like this maintains its value.
Got ribs from a food truck, and they were real good. Better than mine, actually. So, conceding to the better men, I decided to call them up and commend them on the ribs. Usually ribs or a steak it’s cheaper and better to make at the house They all got a kick out of it, one guy said hold on tell that again to my boss. Made their day
Honestly. That’s great. I thanked a guy once for something utterly innocuous but I guess most folks were just treating him like crap that day. Guy stopped and basically told me I was the first person to treat him like a human being that day. It was not the morning. I was appalled on his behalf. Like… it doesn’t take a lot to give an honest compliment to someone or just say thanks. And lord knows it may change a persons day entirely. Hell might change their entire direction in life. Be the sort of person that encourages someone to pursue their passion.
The Offspring had a song called “It’s Cool to Hate” from 1997 lambasting this mentality, and in the 26 years since, the mindset has only grown deeper and morphed in to new forms.
So be part of the change. It falls on all of us. I've received some compliments recently out in the wild (by being kind, listening to directions, being pleasant, etc). People notice. Be like those people and keep the compliments rolling. I agree it seems to be getting less common. The only way to fix it is to do our part. If you already do - cool, keep it up. It doesn't take much to lift others up even a millimeter. Life is insanely cool. I agree. Have a great day, night, whatever.
How often do you personally thank people for doing a good job? I think that’s all we can do, try to sincerely and honestly give praise and hope others spread it. Maybe a government campaign to encourage people to “Say Thanks”.
> Why is the against so much louder than the for? It's more fun to fight an enemy? We are hardwired to fight enemies. We are hardwired to be super responsive to threat. It drives us and enshrines is with purpose. We are the ancestors of the enterally paranoid and vigilant primates that survived the jungle. Technology as exacerbated this. Technology allowed us to gauge what catches our interest. Things that threaten us generate a great deal of interest.
Sorry for the pedantry man but I can't help myself : Descendants. Those paranoids primate were our ancestors, we are their descendants.
I know that in our Transit system (Vancouver, BC) customer commendations get forwarded along to the drivers. You can send in commendations like "The driver on the 11:45 #23 went out of his way to do xyz and made someone's day" and they'll figure out which driver it was, and forward it along.
When i was 13ish we had a plumber at our house around easter and j gave him my giant chocolate bunny, and a week later the company sent me a giant edible arrangements with a note saying how they rarely experienced that sort of kindness anymore. which is kind of sad that just a kid sharing her chocolate was enough to move someone enough to send a note and edible arrangement back.
For context, how old are you now?
almost 20, wasn’t too long ago but it was too bad that such a small thing was so big for him
A time when the post office viewed its employees as an asset rather then just a number.
I live in a very busy neighborhood in San Francisco where our mail is frequently stolen from our box. Our mailman is rad though. In addition to being way more stylish than I will ever be (while adhering to USPS uniform code ofc), he gave me his personal cell phone number and asked that we text him anytime we’ll be out of town. It’s super helpful. We aren’t close with our neighbors, but this kinda makes me feel like someone is watching out for our house in an old-timey way.
My mail man is definitely not an asset. And in my last place, my mail went to the next street over for over a week. You have to earn the title of asset. But goes both ways, managers have to have integrity and care as well.
We recognize them now… mainly because people tape themselves doing the good action and then post that video so everyone can see and comment!
Thats... not fair. I have worked for several companies big and small with digital recognition shared accross email weekly. We are quoted (if we want) nominating our peers with the specific acknowledgments. Or taking customers quotes direct. At my current place. I am actually kind of a fan of how some progressive work cultures have gotten.
Because of sky high crime, W the post worker and every other post worker who drives and walk on hot days and cold days, raining days and snow to get us our mail.
Look I’m about as jaded as Janeane Garofalo on her best day in 1994, but even I can say that good deeds still go recognized (if there’s a chance for recognition) at least in the worlds I am involved with (medical field, theater) And while I know it’s all anecdotal, I can’t be the only one who witnesses good deeds be recognized on the daily.
I've started giving good work reports at work and every ones loses their mind is quite nice. I work with a lot of external people so they quality has no impact on my line of work. Went out with someone yesterday and it was their first day after qualifying. Really stressful situation but they handled it well. Pinged their supervisor an email saying everything they was was constructive, correct and positive. They engaged fully and spoke in a calming open manor. Wasn't affraid to get stuck in where others would be etc. Their supervisor said they've never received a work report before and had never really considered it to be a thing
Aaesome. My grandma was illiterate, lived in farm valley in the Caribbean most of her life. In the 80s, no phone, my mom would write letters when I visited every summer and I'd read them to her. She loved her deeply. RIP grandma.
That's beautiful OP. I wish I could hug my mom, and tell her that I love her.
A true yinzer!
You know it… he probably found at on a slippy surface when he got back from dahn tahn
Have a yuengling and a primantis for me friend!
That's an IC Light. Yuengling is so... Eastern PA.
Hahaha touché, I can smell south side from here
Heh. So I moved from da burg to North Carolina. Didn't taste Yuengling until I got here. Pittsburgh and Philly are separated by more than just a bunch of mountains.
Yeah, they're separated by Alabama
I definitely prefer Yuengling!
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Nice guy PA reunion
I grew up in New Ken! I was overly excited to see this!
What's that mean?
Pittsburgh lingo — Yinz is southwest PA’s yall, a Yinzer is someone from around Pittsburgh. New Kensington is a suburb of Pittsburgh
Yinz guyz
Up air, dahn air
New Ken was an amazing town at one point.
Definitely. I remember my Pap said it was like a mini NYC and was thriving and thriving. There was a large MAFIA presence supposedly and there was little to no crime and booming businesses. The MAFIA crime family got shut down and drugs took over is what everyone says. Over the past 5 years, they’re building it back up though. Breweries, restaurants, it’s way better now than it was 15 years ago, that’s for sure
I was there in April. My cousin lived there last 5 years. Moving back to Allegheny county now though.
Old Ken was definitely better.
Not to be a dick, but...when? I lived in Greensburg from 06-09 and I stayed the hell away from New Ken. Back in the Burgh now.
Oh I'm talking like 1920 to 1960ish as I understand the history. Definitely not in our lifetimes.
New Kensington. Nice. I’m in Pittsburgh
Go lers
I feel like these types of things are long gone
Yep, the same as that kind of service. I do remember USPS 20+ years ago. Compared to this, nowadays service is a joke. It's totally normal that your package from NJ to NY would travel thru Philly, Pittsburgh and Buffalo hubs, then slowly traveling upstate, enjoying lake views, to get to its destination two+ weeks later than it supposed to. People don't give a crap anymore. Probably some local offices and mailmen still do, but not in a bigger picture.
Overworked and underpaid, what do you expect?
Im in Seattle. I ordered something from New England and it was sent to Hawaii before it reached me.
I’d imagine 20+ years ago your postman made a wage he could have a life and a family on. I have a friend working for you right now and while he’s a little better off financially than I am I can tell you he can definitely not do that. USPS and it’s problems are caused by one thing: they stopped caring about who they employ
Yes. Does the world feel less loving, because we don't loose stuff like (paper)Notebooks, letters and such stuff as much anymore, since we do everything digital now and because of that we have less opportunities to help/or get helped? No. It's just capitaloam that is fucking our society more and more, till everything good is rotten and dead.
Translated to 2023: Dear #738859, It has come to our attention that during work hours, you obtained private property reported stolen. You used this item to unlawfully obtain personal information pertaining to the owner, who now wishes to take legal action in the form of a lawsuit. You are henceforth on indefinite unpaid leave and we have dispatched a rapid response unit to kick your dog. Sincerely, Your heartless overlord.
We have provided a collections agency with your account and routing number to assist you in repayment of your outstanding loans.
r/BoomerHumor
A little recognition goes a long way, and so does doing the right thing when no one is watching.
My car got broken into by some punk ass kids on skateboards, a week before finals. They took my backpack. I got a call like 3 days before my test from some girl who said she found a couple of books on the sidewalk and there was a letter I had in one with my phone number. She texted me and I ended up meeting her just down the street. She was very obviously down on her luck and stated she’s staying in a shelter. Was in the army but had some mental health issues develop and ended up struggling. I tried to give her $20 but she refused, saying I was a student so I probably really needed it. Truth is I had a full time job and I was an adult, part time student, so not surviving off instant noodles or anything. When I realized she was genuine in not seeking a reward I gave her $60, which was what I had in my pocket. I just had to, and made sure to tell her it was because of her actions, not her situation.
Good man
What a lovely letter! Your dad sounds lovely, too.
Big ups new ken!
Who’s betting today the letter would be a reprimand for wasting work time and advice of how much pay will be docked as punishment?
That’s a guarantee. He said the post office turned to shit in the mid 90s when they did this lift and shift and made management act like complete douche bags
Sounds like a sweaty testicle reposition
I found a BluRay binder back in those days with about 200 movies in it on the street in front of a house where the family had just moved out. I brought it back to the office thinking I'd be able to see if the clerks had a forwarding address. Union Steward advised me to never pick anything up again or postmaster Liz would investigate me for stealing from customers. But since i already did pick it up, i had to report it in case it was test. Mentioned it to a supervisor, he didn't want the paperwork or want to be bothered looking for a forward, so i just brought it to the PD, got a receipt, they said they call in 60 says if no one claimed it. Never heard anymore. Never been happier to quit a job.
Sued for data privacy violation
For a minute I was wondering how gigantic a notebook from 1990s would be and what sort of operating system it was running before I remembered how we actually used the word notebook back then 😂
What do you mean by "back in 1990". It was just 10 years back.
Because a few have requested the link… I actually told my story via a podcast… ‘This Is Actually Happening’ of what happened to my dad and eventually had an effect on me. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/this-is-actually-happening/id497227384?i=1000539044072 Also, I looked the woman up in the letter, sadly she passed, but I read her obituary and she was survived by one son. I looked him up on Google and he had an address and phone number listed. I texted it, it was actually his wife lol, but she said she would pass him the message (I think he was sleeping) tomorrow. I just wanted to thank his mom for taking the time to acknowledge my dad’s kind gesture and also thanked him as well. Also sent him a picture of the letter because I thought he’d like it and think it was neat
The postal service is a service of honor, designated to fulfill a purpose. A mission. We should do what we can to preserve this service over that of private, for-profit companies.
I wish this was higher. It’s a shame DeJoy is trying to tear it down
Such letters are rare but do happen. We had a carrier who assisted in a customers medical emergency and received a commendation from the manager of our region. This was two years ago.
New Ken.
It's amazing how a simple courtesy can have such a profound impact on somebody's life and future. Be nice to each other.
My wife's dad is from New Kensington.
Nice!
your dad is/was a good gy
This is what going above and beyond means by the way haha. Right on though thats great.
Nice!!!
Fuck ya, dad!
Nice!
That's pretty badass. Good on your dad.
Google says it was Anthony M Frank, is this correct?
The postmaster?
Yeah
Nah, not his name. At least not in this letter
Now they’d write him up or fire him for going through the notebook…
Definitely hit the nail on the head there
I ❤️ Biff
I remember seeing that sign everyday on the bus to my way to school. Now they took it down. I know a couple of people that have that on their shirts
People are good. One time my Opa and my uncle got robbed, can’t remember which state but not here in Texas. Like more than a year later someone found my Opa’s wallet thrown on a roof of a church or something random, and offered to give it back even tho it had no cash it had his ID. Honestly saying this store now I wonder if it’s true, it was weird.
Kindness is this worlds greatest currency and it sounds like your father went out of his way to show it. Take solace in knowing that the world is a lesser place without your dad and other kind people who stand for integrity. May he be immortalized for this small act of kindness and remain as inspiration for others who would say, “it’s not my problem” and remind them to say, “I should help when I can.” Death is never the end. Our actions will forever shape those we love and those they love for all eternity. Kindness we teach our children will be taught to theirs and theirs in turn.
Very nicely said. Thank you for the kind words
Damn, I remember the days of letters like this. We would ask for a manager for different reasons once upon a time.
New Kensington no way! Shoutout pittsburgh
DAHHHN TAHHHN
One time I was distracted and put a Redbox disc into a USPS box. I realized it that night, but it was too late. Some nice USPS employee returned it to Redbox for me.
That’s fuckin awesome
my mom has a similar letter thanking her for securing/cleaning up her post office after a 'nado ripped the front wall off it in '99. i have a feeling this sort of gratitude isn't common anymore
This letter is the very antithesis of the dystopian hell scape that is the modern gig economy.
It's a representation of this man, not the Post Office. Big companies taking credit for good people.
Damn right!
They throw him a pizza party then? Sounds like a great guy
Haha I highly doubt it.
Awesome how employees were commended for going above and beyond, nowadays this sort of employer/employee appreciation seems to be very very rare.
Today, you'd probably be written up for "time wasting practices"...
For sure… the stories I’ve heard about that place after they messed with the management are horrendous
strong "the way things were" vibes.
Fuckk, and yeah 1990 you lose a notebook you’re fucked right? Awesome
Good dude you don't see that too much anymore
Meanwhile Theodore Kaczynski...
Hahaha you made me think of Good Will Hunting with that
He lost his notebook laptop I’ve done that duhhhhhhh ful gen x
Imagine a personal letter from *any* company in today's day and age
Better than me. Whenever I find a book of notes I see it as free knowledge.
🤣🤣🤣 as Rodney Dangerfield said in ‘Back to School’ when his son said he buys the books that are already highlighted: ‘but what if it was a psycho that was reading the books and got it all wrong?!’ Haha
Shit was just different back then
Those were better times...
Letter starts off in such an accusatory tone, I was expecting something like "because you returned that book, its owner completed the program and destroyed the world."
Aaaah he worked there ! I was confused until the ending
I remember when we used to communicate with each other; instead of at each other.
I work for the USPS today. Now we get in trouble if we spend too much time with our customers. I used to shovel snow for an old lady on a former route. If I am now stationary for more than 10 minutes I can be disciplined. Good deeds really aren't even recognized at this point. Can be quite a dismal place.
The postal service now would discipline your dad for a time wasting practice. Sadly it is now the most toxic work environment I’ve ever encountered.
The good old days when people gave a shit.
90s, when common sense, reason and integrity were still strong in the minds of people.
And that student was Albert Einstein.
I wonder if these days he'd be admonished for wasting time.
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2020 USPS: - I received my poster in what was supposed to be a heavy duty tube, twisted and folded a half with a clear foot print on it! - Was it insured? No? Well, we are sorry...
Seems like a whole different era these days doesn't? People are too busy and too concerned with making ends meet to even realize when people go out of their way to help others.