Mail Delivery
 

What is the reason that mail is delivered to the mail stops instead of home delivery? This has probably been answered in prior posts but I was unable locate any posts about this using the search feature.

I also have another question about the mail there not really trying to steal your thread but I think it goes to the general question about the mail.

I mailed a letter from the mail station and it took 17 days to reach the destination. Today I received a letter that was post marked on December 24th what is the deal with those mail stations. Other neighbors have told me that if they have important mail to send they take it diectly to the Fruitland Park Post Office. I have seen the inside of the Hemingway station and I saw baskets of trash,baskets of mail and kind of a real mess.

I like the mail stops than having mail boxes in front of every house. Spuce Creek looks terrible with all of the mail boxes in front of the houses.

I like knowing that my mail and my packages (or keys to get my packages) will be there at 2 PM when I am ready to go down and get my mail.

I have never had a problem with the mail service at the mail stops. I mail my Blockbuster DVDs on a Monday AM and they arrive at BB on Tuesday AM. They ship my new DVDs on Tuesday and I get them on Wednesday. I send mail to people in TV and they get them in two days - a trip to Daytona and back. I get my MEDCO deliveries in two to three days.

I personally do not like the stacks of aluminum cans that people put out for the Lions club but it is for a good cause. I do no like the dog owners using the mail stops for a doggy bathroom. I do not like people leaving their old phone books at the mail stop. It is not a recycling place.

If you have a problem with the delivery and the mail stop, document it and give it to the postmaster at Lady Lake PO for handling. It is probably a mail carrier problem.

I never considered mailboxes to be eyesores. With the exception of two apartment buildings we lived in when we were younger we've always had a mailbox in front of the house, either on the house or a rural mailbox out by the road. It's neither good or bad, just something that's always been there. I doubt if I'll like going to the mailstop in the pouring rain though.
The Villages way sure gives the Post Office a break. Most folks get home delivery for their 42 cents.
Around here some areas, such as town house complexes, have cluster mailboxes near the entrance of the complex, sort of like a mailstop. I think that's because the streets within the complex are private roads.

We usually have warm rain...on those days it freezes we go the next day. A lot of things are different than "the way they were up north"
When in Rome...........

Or east or west. I guess that's a good thing. I'm not complaining. Just wondering why. Our home is maybe 5 minutes from the mail station so it doesn't make much difference for us.

when I have lived...
 

where there is a central mail stop it is simply for ease of the mail system. One stop every 10 houses or so instead of many stops. I can't speak for TV but that is the case where I now live.

SSmith

Well, here in TV it's more than 10 or so houses. It's one big central location with boxes for every house in that Village. I think that if you are a person who thinks "Green" you'll see this is one way to cut down on fuel use by the USPS, and also exhaust emissions and USPS personnel, as it would take more than the one employee who services the central mail center to personally deliver to each individual home. Anyway, we're an active bunch here and the mail center is in the same location as the village pool, usually, so in warm weather you can take a dip, and get your mail and meet and greet the neighbors. It's a good way to get exercise if you walk to the mail center also.

seems most in my neighborhood drive to get their mail so the "green" ideal is not working here

I like it. When I first visited I thought the mail system was weird, but now I feel it's pretty darn sensible. It's green - saves on labor, gas and structure. It's efficient and safe. It gives me a reason to talk a little walk every day.
I do wish they would add a paper recycling bin to each mail station.

I have a cousin who use to be a "community architect." He says that the mail stations are to provide a "sense of place" in a residential community, where neighbors see each other and talk.

The only negative we've had is that we frequently receive over night envelopes by US postal Service. Although they are suppose to be delivered to the house by 11 a.m., they are rolled up like a newspaper and stuffed in our little box. With no concern whatsoever for what's inside that cardboard envelope, they are smashed into the tube.

I've called the post master no less than 5 times and have been told that if a house is more than 1/2 mile away from the postal station, they have no obligation to deliver it to the house. This, despite the fee paid for guaranteed delivery.

Otherwise, the postal stations provide a nice diversion to get away from the house. They are, however, another place where you have to be all eyes to see what people are going to do driving in and out.

Not only is it a lot cheaper for the post office to deliver to a central station, you also don't have to deal with the snowplows knocking down the mail boxes.

Or the kids with baseball bats!

Another plus is that the mail centers are kept air conditioned in summer, so, anything delivered to your box or the parcel boxes is kept climate controlled (meds, chocolate, food, etc).

It's easy to hop in the golf cart to go up and check the mail.

Did you know there is one day a week pick up for recycling? Why add another collecting place that would have to be maintained.

Here is the real answer.

Harold Schwartz did not think mail boxes lined up and down the street in front of each home was attractive. He said "No mail boxes".

Is this the real answer? Dunno. The salesman who sold us our house was one on Mr. Schwartz original salesmen and he is my source.

The box size may be a holdover from the days when most mail was small envelopes. Letter boxes. The PO is slow to adjust.

I have seen some boxes in other locations that are flatter and wider and will accommodate large envelopes with ease. These boxes are not only much better for the addressee they would make it much easier and faster for the deliverer.

Mal Delivery
 

Maybe it's just me, but just about anything that goes in my mailbox, could just as easily go in the trash. Anything worth getting...credit card statements, bank statements, investments, utility bill, etc. come to me via the internet and I pay them the same way...online banking. Just about everything I get in the mailbox is junk mail and goes into the trash. In fact, we have a mail station, similar to TV and we only check the mail every 3 or 4 days.

Generally the developer works hand in hand with the postal service to determine the best delivery method for a development. If it is a new area the postal service will push for central delivery and they generally prevail. Then the type of mailboxes is decided, ours are a nice alternative to the clusters of freestanding metal boxes that hold mail for about 16 addresses. Imagine having rows of those boxes lining a street behind your home. Curbside mailboxes have been a dying breed for years - delivery is costly, they cause many accidents as the postal vehicle pulls away from the box, and as stated above are targets for snowplows and baseball bats. If you build a house right in the middle of an established community of curbside delivery that is what you will get. (Holds true for just about all delivery, if all of your neighbors get door delivery you generally will get it as well. If they all walk to the corner to a cluster of boxes get ready to join the parade.)

The postal service has many types of delivery personnel. If you live in a city where delivery has been established for years you most likely have a "city letter carrier". If you live in the country you most likely have a "rural carrier". In some small towns you can only get your mail in a mailbox at the post office, likely placed there by the postmaster or a clerk. (There are many levels of postmasters and they can perform various duties. A postmaster of a small town can be a part time job, placing mail in PO boxes, selling stamps, and even sweeping the floor. The postmaster of most cities never touches the mail and has a staff of managers and supervisors to oversee the employees sorting and delivering the mail. There are varying levels in between.) Most delivery in The Villages is performed by contract employees. They are not career postal employees, have no benefits, but still have to go through security checks, drug tests, etc.

A general misconception about mail is that it is "my mail". Actually it is in control of the person who mailed it to you until the carrier delivers it to you. The sender can recall mail and control delivery. For example, if I send you an Express envelope I can waive the requirement for you to sign at the time of delivery. Often that mail is left in your mailbox. I can restrict delivery so it must be delivered to and signed for by you. I can request that mail be returned to me with your new address if you have moved. I can also retrieve mail anytime up until it is delivered by completing a form requesting recall of the mail. (In theory that sounds great but in reality chances of getting one piece of mail back can be tough. The postal service handles over 650 million pieces of mail every day, it's the old needle in the haystack story, but I think modern technology has made it an easier task.)

Now a brief on "junk" mail. I spoke about controlling the mail. You often control what junk mail you receive. If you subscribe to certain publications (let's use fishing as an example) they sell their mailing lists to companies that send you advertisements relating to fishing. If you buy from just about any mail order company you will be placed on their mailing list. When you buy a new appliance and fill out that handy registration card and answer that you like to travel, go hiking, and play golf you are opening the floodgates of advertising relating to those activities. True, a lot of what we get here is inviting us to some seminar on investing, etc. But take a close look at those catalogs and ads specifically addressed to you. Think about it for a minute and you may find you're getting John Deere advertisements because you once entered a drawing to win a free lawn mower. Five houses and about 9 years ago I took one of those 7 day bike tours to the Outer Banks. Somehow those ads (from the company I used and their competitors) have kept up with all of my moves and I still get them on a regular basis.

I agree with memason, everything in our mailbox is junk and we only check it every few days. Everything else come electronically. Companies are going to start charging people that want to have a paper bill sent to them every month. Need to keep up with the times! The mail service will eventually become more of a package delivery service just like UPS and FedEx. That is why so many of the commercials that you see for the post office are about their package delivery service!

Wow BogeyBoy, that was some explanation! I think you pretty much covered everything.
I was a mailman many years ago for a short time but never knew most of this stuff.
Thanks

Also if you are gone for a couple of days you do not have to worry about mail in box being tampered with.

Guilty here about driving but I always stop at the mail center on my way to the Colony Plaza Publix or the gym at Colony Cottage. I don't feel the need to pick up the mail every day and we can go two or three days sometimes before our mailbox is emptied.

Personally, I prefer the mailbox in front of each home for the convenience but there is good in having the mail center. Incoming mail is secure in those locked boxes and the same for outgoing mail in the secured mail slot.

that is really a concern here in TV:D