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Re: mud stomping as part of a non-digital weekend


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Posted by LeviLovR on February 17, 2020 at 00:17:52

In Reply to: mud stomping as part of a non-digital weekend posted by Zonie on February 16, 2020 at 20:10:14:

Unfortunately you will probably get that same letter back again. I can tell you how to fix the situation once and for all.

Addresses are no longer read by human eyes. When a letter is dropped into a mail drop box it is collected and sent to the nearest mail processing center in your state. They are run through a machine that scans them from the bottom up searching for a zip code or other information. When it finds the information a bar code is sprayed on both the front and back side of the letter. This bar code is what actually tells the system where to send the mail. It goes through the system and all your mail is sorted by machines and put into what is called delivery point sequence. Machines literally sort the mail and put it into trays that go back to your local Post Office and are then given to each carrier to take out on their own route. No more hand sorting like when I first started, or very little. It's all done by machines. So different than when I first started. A good carrier should have seen the letter and fixed the problem, but I cannot tell you how many times customers came into the Post Office with this same problem stating the letter kept coming back to them. Here's what you do:

Cross out the bar codes - FRONT AND BACK. If left on either side the machines will pick it up and sort it right back to that address. Humans won't touch it until the carrier puts it back in your box. It just keeps running through the system reading that bar code. I would also cross out the entire addressee portion of the envelope, leaving only the return address so the machines find THAT zip code and address and send it back there. No matter what make sure those bar codes are deleted.

You could have taken it to your local PO and given it to the clerk at the counter who should do what I have just described. I know that's a pain in the butt, but I have done this so many times for so many people. For the most part the automated system works great, but when it doesn't it's a mess. The system works the same way whether you have street delivery or a PO box, machines all sort them in the (hopefully) correct order. It definitely saves time, but unfortunately lots of carriers don't read the addresses and just stuff it in the box. Such is the way of the world now days. So if you do get the letter back, and I expect you will, follow my instructions. Hopefully this will help you and any others out there in the USA who run into this problem. It is fascinating to watch the machines do their stuff as they process thousands in mega seconds.

Gotta love technology. Lost our cable in an ice storm last week which affected both tv and internet. Problem corrected and then happened again next day. Problem was traced back to some kind of faulty wiring in the cable company, not the ice. It happened all over the New England area and supposedly customers can get a refund on their bill - any where from $1.00 to $10.00 from what I've heard - but the customer has to contact the cable company and they verify you lost service. Not worth the effort in my book.

Sorry you didn't have a chance to get muddier. Sounds like it would have been a great opportunity.




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