[Durham INC] Postmaster Mike King
TheOcean1 at aol.com
TheOcean1 at aol.com
Fri Nov 11 10:14:41 EST 2011
Mr King,
I'd like to know who is your direct supervisor. Please provide an email
address.
I'm hearing from others in East Durham who have put up as many as 5
mailboxes due to that letter.
Also note that the form letter states that it is REQUESTING postal
customers change their mode of delivery, while the handwritten portion says MUST.
Which is it? A request or a must?
Since you are new to Durham, let me offer this friendly suggestion:
Ignoring these emails and failing to reply ~ probably not your best option.
Bill Anderson
In a message dated 11/10/2011 10:39:20 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,
cpalenchar at hotmail.com writes:
If I can pile on the agenda-- I'd also really like to know what can be
done in cases where the homeowners/neighborhood was not educated/organized
enough to fight the change of service "trick". My neighborhood (Old East
Durham) has mailboxes all along the street-- not because it should, but because
most people didn't realize the postman was putting a "misleading" letter in
their mailbox. One neighbor of mine put up with 3 (or was it 6 months) of
held/returned mail to win the battle for her porch mailbox. It's completely
unfair to expect individuals to have to fight such high levels of abuse,
and then if they give in, make the change permanent after some period of
time. So- I'd definitely like a clarification on what the policy on conversion
really is.
-chloe
____________________________________
Date: Wed, 9 Nov 2011 19:29:10 -0800
From: bulldurhamnc at yahoo.com
To: inc-list at rtpnet.org
CC: mike.e.king at usps.gov
Subject: Re: [Durham INC] Postmaster Mike King
Hey Darius,
That sounds like an absolutely horrendous experience. I'm happy to
include you in the meeting, but I would like to stress that the first order of
discussion has to be local post office practices and how they effect
neighborhoods. That would mean talking first about the issue Myers raised:
threatening to cut off mail delivery if a particular household does not put up a
mailbox on a post by the street. Then, second, I would like to find why he
thinks there are so many complaints about postal service in East Durham.
(I don't see these kind of complaints on other listservs.) And then I would
like to hear why there is a problem with contacting the Postmaster at the
post office, or their 800 number. In other words, I would like to have
him address general policies and practices. I don't want to get bogged down
in a long discussion of why a particular package didn't get delivered, or
why someone wasn't in his office on a particular day.
I hope this sounds reasonable. I welcome your comments and the comments
of others as well.
John
--- On Wed, 11/9/11, Darius Mercedes Little
<Darius.M.Little at alumni.unc.edu> wrote:
From: Darius Mercedes Little <Darius.M.Little at alumni.unc.edu>
Subject: Re: [Durham INC] Postmaster Mike King
To: "Mike Woodard" <mike at mikewoodard.com>, inc-list-bounces at rtpnet.org,
bulldurhamnc at yahoo.com, inc-list at rtpnet.org, TheOcean1 at aol.com,
andrew.sugg at duke.edu
Cc: mike.e.king at usps.gov
Date: Wednesday, November 9, 2011, 7:04 PM
I'd like to enjoin with this endeavor as well.
The Postal Service has become very nonchalant as it relates to their
seeking to foster positive Consumer/Clientele Relations.
I sent a Packet to a friend in Colorado this past Summer. Normally, a
citizen can simply fill out a "Trouble Ticket" which notifies the Postmaster
of where mail issues may be consistent.
I went to the Post Office and was directed by the counter staff to knock
on the "Postmaster Door". I visited the Post Office and knocked on the
door, continuously, on several different days, at various times. Eventually,
the white male with curly hair that everyone who frequents the Post Office
in Downtown Durham knows, goes: "Mr. Little, you're not having much luck
are ya? You should just call the 1-800 number." He kindly gave me the
number, but I was on-hold for literally, 1 hour and 25 minutes. I gave-up and
filed a complaint online.
I received a call from an individual named "Fadra" (pronounced: Fay-druh)
asking me to call them back.
Well, I've called the Post Office for over 2-weeks, daily and this phone
rings forever and nobody ever picks it up. Ever.
So, I must say, the opportunity to meet the postmaster is almost orgasmic
at this point.
I normally lay back and observe in INC, but not on this one. I demand to
be on this Committee/Board/Council/ Ad Hoc/whatever.
Thanks,
Darius
--------------------------
Darius M. Little
Executive Business Consultant and
Strategic Marketing Analyst
(web) www.linkedin.com/in/dariuslittle
Manta Business Profile/Report:
_http://www.manta.com/c/mtlwj1m/little-s-business-consulting _
(http://www.manta.com/c/mtlwj1m/little-s-business-consulting)
"And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall
receive." [Matt 21:22]
-----Original Message-----
From: "Mike Woodard" <_mike at mikewoodard.com_
(http:///mc/compose?to=mike@mikewoodard.com) >
Sender: _inc-list-bounces at rtpnet.org_
(http:///mc/compose?to=inc-list-bounces@rtpnet.org)
Date: Wed, 09 Nov 2011 18:38:17
To: <_bulldurhamnc at yahoo.com_
(http:///mc/compose?to=bulldurhamnc@yahoo.com) >; <_inc-list at rtpnet.org_ (http:///mc/compose?to=inc-list@rtpnet.org) >;
<_TheOcean1 at aol.com_ (http:///mc/compose?to=TheOcean1@aol.com) >;
<_andrew.sugg at duke.edu_ (http:///mc/compose?to=andrew.sugg@duke.edu) >
Cc: <_mike.e.king at usps.gov_ (http:///mc/compose?to=mike.e.king@usps.gov) >
Subject: Re: [Durham INC] Postmaster Mike King
Count me in for the meeting. This will be Round 3 for me and Bill Anderson
on this issue.
If the Postmaster won't agree with his agency's own policies, I will be
prepared to advocate using the resources available to me.
It's a shame and a real waste of time that we have to fight this battle
every few years. The Post Office should listen to the community it serves.
Councilman Mike Woodard
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mike Woodard
Email: _mike at mikewoodard.com_ (http:///mc/compose?to=mike@mikewoodard.com)
Web site: www.mikewoodard.com
Mobile: 919.599.5143
-----Original Message-----
From: "Myers Sugg" [_andrew.sugg at duke.edu_
(http:///mc/compose?to=andrew.sugg@duke.edu) ]
Date: 11/09/2011 04:30 PM
To: "John Martin" <_bulldurhamnc at yahoo.com_
(http:///mc/compose?to=bulldurhamnc@yahoo.com) >, "_inc-list at rtpnet.org_
(http:///mc/compose?to=inc-list@rtpnet.org) " <_inc-list at rtpnet.org_
(http:///mc/compose?to=inc-list@rtpnet.org) >, "_TheOcean1 at aol.com_ (http:///mc/compose?to=TheOcean1@aol.com) "
<_TheOcean1 at aol.com_ (http:///mc/compose?to=TheOcean1@aol.com) >
CC: "_mike.e.king at usps.gov_ (http:///mc/compose?to=mike.e.king@usps.gov) "
<_mike.e.king at usps.gov_ (http:///mc/compose?to=mike.e.king@usps.gov) >
Subject: Re: [Durham INC] Postmaster Mike King
When and where from me.
From: John Martin [mailto:_bulldurhamnc at yahoo.com_
(http:///mc/compose?to=bulldurhamnc@yahoo.com) ]
Sent: Wednesday, November 09, 2011 4:28 PM
To: Myers Sugg; _inc-list at rtpnet.org_
(http:///mc/compose?to=inc-list@rtpnet.org) ; _TheOcean1 at aol.com_ (http:///mc/compose?to=TheOcean1@aol.com)
Cc: _mike.e.king at usps.gov_ (http:///mc/compose?to=mike.e.king@usps.gov)
Subject: Re: [Durham INC] Postmaster Mike King
I find this whole situation troubling and Postmaster King's evident
indifference, disturbing. The East Durham neighborhood listserv has had
frequent complaints of incompetent service in East Durham, e.g., people who have
lived at an address for years suddenly having their mail returned to
senders with a notice that no such person lives at the address. Whenever one
person complains, invariably three or four more chime in with recent accounts
of horrible service. I think that Postmaster King would be well-advised
to make sure that his carriers are actually performing their duties
competently before he worries about the placement of mailboxes.
As INC president, I'm certainly willing to lead a delegation to meet with
him if he is unwilling to come to one of our meetings. I would suggest
that our President-emeritus and attorney, Tom Miller, also be included, along
with City Councilman Mike Woodard, and Tracy Lovett, Congressman David
Price's Durham liaison. I would also want to include people like Bill and
Myers who appear to be particularly well-versed in these issues.
I am open to anyone else attending as well.
John Martin
President, Durham InterNeighborhood Council
--- On Wed, 11/9/11, _TheOcean1 at aol.com_
(http:///mc/compose?to=TheOcean1@aol.com) <_TheOcean1 at aol.com_ (http:///mc/compose?to=TheOcean1@aol.com) >
wrote:
From: _TheOcean1 at aol.com_ (http:///mc/compose?to=TheOcean1@aol.com)
<_TheOcean1 at aol.com_ (http:///mc/compose?to=TheOcean1@aol.com) >
Subject: Re: [Durham INC] Postmaster Mike King
To: _andrew.sugg at duke.edu_ (http:///mc/compose?to=andrew.sugg@duke.edu) ,
_inc-list at rtpnet.org_ (http:///mc/compose?to=inc-list@rtpnet.org)
Cc: _mike.e.king at usps.gov_ (http:///mc/compose?to=mike.e.king@usps.gov)
Date: Wednesday, November 9, 2011, 12:06 PM
Hard to call it a relationship, Myers, but I just got off the phone with
Mr King (who is CCed) and will gladly forward his reply to this message back
to the INC listserv.
Just FYI, when the 2005-2006 issue came up, I was passing the INC gavel to
Mike Woodard, so we have always had two past presidents visiting with each
new post master... and there have been a few.
It's my understanding from our long ago meeting with Postmaster Chris
Tinkham, that Postmaster Patrick Harkin was demoted over the issue, and Mr
Tinkham was quite willing to work with the neighborhoods. He even committing
to pay residents who had been forced to put up rural mailboxes in "porch
delivered" neighborhoods.
That's why Mike Woodard and I have met with all the incoming Postmasters,
including Dominic Camasso when he replaced Tinkham, and we did so again
when Mike King took the helm.
Unlike all the previous Postmasters, Mr King just told me that the USPS
has the right to independently decide to change the mode of delivery. So I
asked if he was available to meet with the InterNeighborhood Council at our
Nov meeting, and he instantly said he wasn't available. So I asked if he
would be available to meet the 4th Tues in Jan 2012, and he said he wouldn't
commit to an appointment that far out, and we'd need to check with him
after the first.
He explained his unusual response by telling me that his family was more
important than any neighborhood, and he has a handicapped daughter who's
needs come first. (media is welcome to quote me as to that being virtually
verbatim)
While I applaud Mr King's dedication to his family, I think a greater
dedication to the neighborhoods is in order, as that is the job that is
putting food on the table for his family. Meanwhile, Myers, I would encourage
you to bring those letters and those news articles to every INC meeting until
we can secure a guest appearance with Mr King.
Hopefully we'll eventually arrive at a win/win solution as we did with Mr
Tinkham so long ago. One last suggestion for Mr King, check your own postal
manual (which is generally not available to the public, but we were able
to secure a copy of the appropriate pages). Six years ago, and perhaps it
has changed in the meantime, it stated that placing a rural mailbox in a
porch delivered neighborhood causes the carrier to walk a zig zag route that
is not efficient.
The member neighborhoods of InterNeighborhood Council look forward to your
reply, and to meeting you in person, at your earliest convenience.
Bill Anderson
Past President INC
PS: If those letters are exactly the same as the letters six years ago,
they will be cleverly worded to "trick", not "require", the postal customer
to change their mode of delivery. And that change in mode of delivery
becomes permanent after 30 or 90 days, I can't recall which. There are still a
few mailboxes in Northgate Park which look utterly ridiculous.
I can't speak to whether the postal manuals have changed in the past half
dozen years, but I rather doubt Durham's neighborhoods have reversed how
they feel about this unconscionable practice.
In a message dated 11/9/2011 10:22:00 A.M. Eastern Standard Time,
_andrew.sugg at duke.edu_ (http:///mc/compose?to=andrew.sugg@duke.edu) writes:
Does anyone here (Bill, how about you?) have a relationship with the
acting and now permanent postmaster for Durham, Mike King? The ever deceptive
practice of “we are going to withhold your mail until you erect a rural
mailbox and return to send” even though postal regulations don’t allow this,
is back in full swing in my neighborhood. I have a copy of two letters
from the post office where this threat is made. This is for a new neighbor
of mine on Echo Road, in Long Meadow. I still have copies of the 2005 &
2006 Herald Sun articles outlining this practice, and how USPS was going to
back off, as they didn’t have this authority. If anyone has a current
relationship with the postmaster, please let me know. I really want to help
this homeowner.
Thanks,
Myers Sugg
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