Kevin Dean
Well-Known Member
Beala said:I'd have to agree with kevin here. Certainly the mail carrier didn't handle the situation well, but it's definitely understandable how someone in that line of work wouldn't want to put up with anything when it comes to dogs. That is, he may not have been justified, but it's understandable all the same.
For example, my mom is deathly afraid of dogs, even small harmless ones.
Um... I'm going to have to say your mom needs to grow a pair. Not being rude, but I don't consider personal phobias to be an acceptable reason to not do your job. Dealing with restrained dogs is a part of a mailman's job. People smoking is a part of a waitress's job if she works in a facility that allows smoking. These things are both known at hiring time.
The difference in this case, which makes me side with he non-delivery is that something was "unusual". Evan has a dog that is NORMALLY restrained (he has a mat that prevents the dog from jumping up to the window) and one day he was NOT. The situation changed and he had to make a judgement call. The furtherance of that is once the threat was removed normal operating should have resumed. Once the mailbox was moved away from the dog, everything should have been back to normal. The rest was unacceptable.
Evan! said:This isn't the same opinion as my Uncle---and he's a USPS bigwig who is the boss of dozens of postmasters. he says that without prior incident, there's no justification for it, and they are obligated to deliver my mail.
I'm not saying your uncle is wrong but I'm saying that "barrier = no delivery" is something that happens, and it has alway been explained to me as policy. It wouldn't be the first time I've seen a disconnect between management and line-workers, or a difference between what makes sense and what's written in SOP.
I think if there's a reasonable risk the mailman should be able to avoid it until it is removed. If the risk is your/our fault, you/we should be informed and able to take action. The whole thing changes when the "informed" thing is tossed out the window.