USPS Asks Residents to Clear Snow and Ice for Mail Carriers

Online sellers may appreciate the USPS campaign to get people to clear the paths to their mailboxes of snow and ice. Getting orders delivered on time is nerve-wracking enough as it is, but winter weather brings greater challenges to sellers who are judged by marketplaces on their on-time delivery.

News stories abound with the USPS’s request for help from residents to clear the way for carriers so they can receive uninterrupted delivery. And if its advice is heeded, it benefits other shipping carriers as well.

Here’s a message the USPS sent to New England publications this week as part of the Postal Service’s PR campaign:

Postal Service seeks residents help clearing a path to mailboxes

Maine – Snow and ice in New England this time of year are no surprise. We can’t control the elements that winter delivers but, for your letter carrier, these conditions can make delivering your letters and packages a lot more challenging.

Winter walking and driving are never easy, especially when days are at their shortest and carriers find themselves working more in the dark. We remind residents to watch for letter carriers on foot and slow moving postal vehicles particularly during the winter months.

Of course, the main spots to be concerned about are right at your house where letter carriers, newspaper carriers, meter readers and even delivery personnel from a florist or pizza shop may come by. For everyone’s safety, we ask that you clear the snow and ice from sidewalks, walkways, porches and steps to help prevent falls.

For mailboxes at the curb, we ask that snow and ice be removed regularly for safe access to the box by the carrier and uninterrupted delivery.

Regardless of the weather, we’ll be out there binding the nation together through mail. Doing your part to help keep our carriers safe is appreciated every step of the way.

Thank you for your cooperation,
Your Local Postmaster

The USPS has a page dedicated to service alerts where residents and businesses can check for postal disruptions – as can online sellers.

Ina Steiner

Ina Steiner is co-founder and Editor of EcommerceBytes and has been reporting on ecommerce since 1999. She's a widely cited authority on marketplace selling and is author of "Turn eBay Data Into Dollars" (McGraw-Hill 2006). Her blog was featured in the book, "Blogging Heroes" (Wiley 2008). She is a member of the Online News Association (Sep 2005 - present) and Investigative Reporters and Editors (Mar 2006 - present). Follow her on Twitter at @ecommercebytes and send news tips to ina@ecommercebytes.com. See disclosure at EcommerceBytes.com/disclosure/.