Home-delivery newspaper subscribers: a rant.

[Cuban_Liberal]

While delivering a morning paper to a subsciber earlier this week, one of our carriers stepped on a child's toy left on the sidewalk, twisting and straining his ankle; he was delivering the paper at about 5:00 a.m., and the customer had no porch light on, and the sidewalk was 'as dark as pitch' (the carrier's words). His ankle is basically OK, but still pretty sore, but not sore enough for him to not be able to do his route. Any way...

Paddy and I are concerned with the safety of the carriers who contract with us, so we typed up a nice, brief memo to all home-delivery customers asking them to please remember to leave a light on and to see that all walks and steps are free from obstructions. It was inserted into all papers this morning. Just now got off the phone with a very nasty subscriber who said, quote, "I'll be damned if I'll pay Ameren/C.I.P.S. another red cent, just for your your candy-assed carrier's convenience!".

:wtf: is wrong with some people?

[madmax]

1. They're idiots...n/t

[Cuban_Liberal]

3. Well and succinctly stated!

:P

[demnan]

2. People don't realize

how dangerous they leave their homes sometime. My brother, as a postal carrier sustained a lifetime injury and permanent disability due to a screen door which was suspended too tight and slammed into his left shoulder. Three operations later he'll still have constant pain in that shoulder for the rest of his life.

[Cuban_Liberal]

5. Also true.

To the homeowner, a toy left on a sidewalk at a time when they will be safely inside isn't a big deal; to anyone who has to use that sidewalk when it's dark out, like our carrier, it's a very big deal.

:shrug:

[Bunny]

7. And they probably won't appreciate the increase in their homeowner's

insurance rates, after they are sued by someone who gets injured on their property!

Although I do agree with another poster - perhaps they should carry a small flashlight to help out. Not everyone can afford to leave lights on all night, or may forget to turn theirs on at night.

[Spinzonner]

4. How about equipping carriers with maglites or other flashlites

for such situations. I've also seen head-based lights though they are something of a novelty.

Seems like common sense to me. Expecting EVERY subscriber to turn on their lights is unrealistic.

[Cuban_Liberal]

6. They have them.

But expecting people to keep a sidewalk free from obstructions isn't 'unrealistic', IMO, but rather common sense.

:shrug:

[Longhorn]

19. You can get inexpensive head-based lights at outdoor sports stores.

My son had to have one for backpacking in Costa Rica a couple of years ago.

We leave our porch lights on all night because we live in the country and it's pitch black out there. But our paper carrier drives a vehicle and leaves it down by the road, a good hundred yards away.

[Cuban_Liberal]

8. This is one of several rants, really.

We also have subscribers call in saying they didn't get a paper, and when we go out to do the make-up delivery, we find the paper on the porch, bottom step, etc. . We have people call us and complain about the content/layout of the paper (!). We have subscribers who request that we put the paper in their mailbox, even after we explain that it's illegal to do so, and they get snotty about it. We have customers who force carriers to chase them for DAYS to collect, or who pretend they're 'not home' when the carriers arrives to collect (we require them to collect on the same day and at the same time every week), etc. . I could go on and on...

:shrug:

[shawcomm]

9. Why was the sidewalk 'dark as pitch'

if the carrier had a flashlight. I'm not disputing that you provide them, I'm just wondering why the carrier obviously didn't use it and step around the toy.

Telling a customer to spend more money to leave their lights on for someone they're already paying, and telling them to clean up their damn yards (which is how they'll see it) is going to get a bad reaction from a few of them.

[Cuban_Liberal]

10. Because it was dark outside.

We don't provide flashlights; the carriers provide their own (they're independent contractors, not employees). He wasn't using his flashlight, but I don't think it was unreasonable of him to assume that the sidewalk would be free of hazardous obstructions, even though he didn't check.

:shrug:

[Spinzonner]

14. Ah, the old Independent Contractor ploy

so the company doesn't take any responsibility for the risks its WORKERS take.

And no benefits, etc, etc.

[Cuban_Liberal]

17. Not by our choice.

It's a requirement in the contract our news agency has with every newspaper publisher we deliver for.

:shrug:

[shawcomm]

16. No, not unreasonable

I just feel bad because of the position you're in. You have a carrier who has a hurt ankle and who, I'm sure, hopes you will prevent it from happening again. Then you have customers who only want their service and not to be bothered with anything else. You're stuck in the middle.

I think it would be reasonable to do what you did in asking the people to keep their paths clear of obstruction while at the same time letting the carriers know that not all people will be agreeable and should take proper precaution, especially in the darkest of hours.

[Cuban_Liberal]

18. We tried to strike a balance.

We also reminded the carriers that their safety is first and foremost a personal responsibility.

:)

[hlthe2b]

11. More idiocy in this country than ever before.. I'm sorry for your delivery

person, but this customer is just an absolute asshole. Let him drag his ass down to 7-11 and pay full price....!


Courtesy seems to be an ever diminishing commodity in this country.
:mad:

[Cuban_Liberal]

13. True.

I checked his account records, and he's never tipped in the 8 1/2 years he's been a subscriber; I'm sure the carrier is just thrilled to deal with this asshole for the $.67/week gross profit he makes off of him...

;)

[Wcross]

12. When I was a carrier I had a few close calls....

I did it when I was a kid (11-15 yrs old) the morning paper in the Rochester, N.Y. area (democrat & chronicle). It was hell delivering in the winter on Sundays, I had well over 100 people on my route.

The one that really freaked me out was one morning while walking to a subscribers house I ran into a dead deer hanging from a tree. I guess they had killed it the day before. Freaked me out! I couldn't see it in the dark and I ran into it. I reached up to feel what I had hit and had blood all over my hands!

I still have an occasional nightmare about being shorted and not remembering who didn't get the paper.

[Cuban_Liberal]

15. How many 'stiffed you'?

How many customers never tipped you, assuming (incorrectly) that you were getting rich at 4:00 a.m. on the pennies-a-day profit you made off of each peper?

;)

[Wcross]

20. Ah, Christmas tips!

My people were real good about tipping on Christmas. I would clear close to 400 in tips during Christmas. I never got regular tips but I made enough with the route for a teenager.
What really pissed me off was the people who wouldn't pay for the dang paper- it came out of my pocket. It only happened twice and one was the people that lived right on my block! They just wouldn't answer the door on collection day. I cut them off when they got two weeks behind.