WWYD, regarding smoking mail carrier

I can guarantee that he is not allowed to smoke on or in government property. I would go to the post office and make a complaint. If your package still smells like smoke, take it along

I ended up having to get a PO box. I was not happy even with that but it was better than smoky mail. I have a rural route and they drive personal vehicles.

This was going to be my suggestion.

I agree. I complained a lot and was not charged. It was a huge hassle to go to the PO to pick it up though. I now have a new carrier and have resumed my normal delivery, but I did have a PO box for 2-3 years I think

IF the carrier is driving a USPS vehicle and not his own vehicle he ir she is NOT allowed to smoke in it.

They know this and are still smoking. What is talking to someone who is deliberately disobeying a policy going to do. They know they aren’t allowed, they do it anyway, you can talk until you’re blue in the face & I can’t see what difference it would make. If the don’t care about the policy & the vehicle smelling, why would the care uf yoyr mail smells.

I would go to the post office about it. This is clearly something he is not supposed to be doing and you definitely should not be getting smoke smelling mail and packages.

The vehicle may or may not be fleet. My dad was a postal carrier for years until he retired, and he was paid mileage, but supplied his own vehicle. The same is true for the carriers in my town… none of them drive vehicles that are owned by the USPS.

I detest the smell of cigarettes too.  I have asthma and I have to leave an area if someone near me is smoking.  So bringing that into my home is a definite no.  Smoke lingers for so long.  My next door neighbor and his wife were heavy smokers.  I only had one small window on that side of my house, in the master bathroom.  I could be downstairs and suddenly get a strong whiff of smoke.  I would have to run upstairs and close that window.  It meant the neighbors were home and they opened their back slider.  The smell was that strong.  I could smell it even if they were not home, but it got insanely strong when they were.

I liked them as people, but they stunk!  I was happy when they decided to move.  The new buyers had to completely tear out all the flooring, cabinets, drywall, and insulation in the house, and then spray a sealant on the wood framing.  They thought the windows were tinted until the wife squirt Windex on the back slider and rivulets of brownish yellow ran down.  Years and years of multiple packs a day each will do that to an house.  They had to replace those too.  By the time they were done, no surface inside the house remained from the previous owners and everything else was well sealed with double coats of spray.

The wife and two sons went to a hotel until all the changes were made because she refused to expose them to that stench.  She didn’t move in until everything was replaced.  And even with all that work, I could still smell it when they opened the windows to their home if my windows were open too.  It was truly that bad.

They asked me about whether or not they ever cleaned and I had to tell them that they didn’t.  The husband had MS and the wife said she worked all week long so she had zero intentions of working when she came home.  They did zero cooking and had meals delivered.  They also sent laundry out to be done and a crew maintained the lawns.  They sold the house to move into a small condo to eliminate the yard care costs and to get a smaller place.  And it took months to get someone to buy the place at all.  Most people turned around at the entryway because the smell was so horrible.

The man borrowed my fax machine just overnight when he was sending in applications for work.  When he brought it back the next day, I had to put it in the garage inside of a trash bag until I had time to clean it.  I had to completely take it apart, throw away the stack of paper, and wipe down all surfaces with rubbing alcohol, inside and out.  The Q-tips and paper towels I used were yellow from just 24 hours of exposure to their home.

So yeah, I really really sympathize with you.  I cannot stand that smell.  I would talk to the mailman, knowing that he probably won’t do anything to change, but as a first step, I would at least give him the courtesy to ask him.  Then I would take any package and a handful of mail to the post office and have the postmaster give it a sniff.  You should not have to deal with that on a daily basis!  Tell them that you have witnessed him smoking in the vehicle on his breaks.  They would just have to go smell the interior of the vehicle themselves to know you are reporting the truth so I don’t think getting a video would be necessary.

If nothing happens, I would work my way up the chain until they either get him to quit smoking in the vehicle or put him on a different route.  And his hands are going to be covered with the smell as well, so just him handling your mail is going to affect it.  I suppose there is nothing you can do about contact transference like that but getting him to stop smoking inside the vehicle should help a lot.

I would also request better packaging. Fabrics should be sealed in protective bags or plastic that smoke shouldn't penetrate. This would protect contents from smoke, water, dirt etc

From a non-smoker to a smoker, me asking someone not to smoke is not going to go over well.  I would never approach someone on that subject because I know damn well if he knows he isn't supposed to in the first place then someone asking him to stop, he isn't going to. 

Call USPS (the main number) and tell them. They will trickle it down to the local branch. I did this because the guy was leaving his butts all over my yard. I would watch him throw them out of the mail truck. After I complained it stopped. Everything stinking like smoke is a deal breaker for me. I would also file a claim for the yarn.

That really wouldn’t even help. My MIL was a chain smoker and once she gave us a couple completely sealed bags of wrapped Halloween candy that she didn’t open because she just had a couple kids show up to trick or treat. We thought surely because it was all basically double wrapped it would be fine plus the bags had only been in her house for a short time, but it was long enough that the wrapped chocolate inside tasted like someone wiped out an ashtray with them! We ended up throwing all of it away. 😫