E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSSSecurity camera captures a mailman in Hollywood, California throwing a package containing a 1938 cuckoo clock over the homeowner's fence. KNBC's Stephanie Elam reports.
LOS ANGELES -- Michael Oreb couldn’t wait for the United States Postal Service to deliver his 1938 German Black Forest cuckoo clock. His grandparents had one, his dad has one, and now he would, too.
“I tracked it all the way from Pennsylvania to Bell Gardens to here,” Oreb said. On the lookout for the delivery Tuesday, Oreb eyed his surveillance video but was shocked when he saw the delivery.
“I looked and he pulled up, threw it (the box) over the fence and then got in the van and drove off. I went out there and picked up the thing and he was already up the street,” Oreb said.
See the original report at NBCLosAngeles.com
“I pretty much figured that it was going to be damaged from the distance that he’d thrown it,” Oreb said as he opened the box and found things were a little cuckoo with the clock.
“The chains no longer work. I guess they're jammed up in the back. And one of them is off the rails. And the second hand is catawampus, it's loose," Oreb said. "But I don't know what else is broke until I take it in and have them look at it."
Oreb said he immediately called the postal service to tell them what he caught on video. He says a helpful company representative was at his door in 10 minutes, but he wouldn’t let her take the clock.
“I will take it in and find me a repairman who works on antique clocks and have them repair it and I’ll send them the bill,” Oreb said.
Related: FedEx guy tosses computer monitor over fence
USPS released the following statement, “The U.S. Postal Service was dismayed to see the video of one of our employee throwing a parcel over a fence. That does not represent the kind of service we strive to provide our customers. This matter is currently being investigated to determine the appropriate actions to be taken with regards to the employee and our customer.”
Oreb doesn’t think the driver should lose his job, but he should be reprimanded.
The California resident installed the surveillance camera system a week ago, after the Hollywood arsonist targeted nearby homes.
“My wife didn’t feel safe because we've only been here seven months," he said. "So far, it’s worked out well.”
More content from msnbc.com and NBC News
Leave a Comment:
This type of foolishness has been going on for quite some time. Fed Ex, UPS, USPS are guilty of this behavior. It depends on the employee.
USPS not run by the feds?? since when??
The USPS is not run by the Federal Government.
Unfortunately The Postal Service is expected to finance itself, it is not allowed to set its own rates, choose its own hours, or determine its internal policies. That's up to Congress.
Unfortunately Congress has been playing games with USPS funds. They have taken billions out of the USPS to fund retirements decades in the future while not allowing rate increases to cover the costs. Independent audits have shown that the USPS has already over funded its Civil Service Retirement Fund by over $50 billion dollars and also has over funded the Federal Employee Retirement System by nearly $7 billion dollars.
the usps S U C K S, they have lost four items that I have bought, I for one will be glad when they go bankrupt.............................................
uh, Silver, they would have gone bankrupt a long time ago were it not for the fact they're still largely funded by the US government. And will you really be glad when they "go bankrupt"? I still think its a pretty darn good deal a stamp that costs less than $1.00 sends a letter anywhere in the world. If you're sending packages there are plenty of other good options (UPS, FedEx, etc.) but you'll probably pay more.
Where do you people come up with this crap that union members can't be fired. I have a few ex-co-workers who might disagree. BTW, in case you think that only a union member does stuff like this, remember the Fedex driver throwing the TV over the fence? Fedex is a NON-Union company. Bad employees are bad employees.
Thank you...finally someone with a union comment with a little common sense. And you're right...last I heard they were a non-union company. I happen to know someone who works for them. Crappy, lazy employees exist in both the union and nonunion sector. I guess it's just easier/more fun to union bash then to just call it for what it is...a lazy a-hole who doesn't have a lick of pride in his work.
The customer is being nice stating he doesn't think the postal worker should be fired- I happen to think otherwise. There was zero excuse to do what he did and I'm glad the camera caught him. All delivery people whether it's Fedex, UPS or USPS should be aware that many people have cameras installed for surveillance purposes; I know I do!
Too bad he didn't just toss all the junk mail he had in the nearest dumpster instead. Stupid postman....
I almost ran over a USPS worker as I was pulling out of my garage (in Escondido, CA). He cut across my lawn and in front of the garage to deliver the mail to the door mailbox. We asked him to come up the driveway as this was safer. He got annoyed and continued to cut across the lawn (and in front of the garage). So we put up a fence and put the mailbox outside the fence. Easier for everyone, right? No. Instead, he got mad at us for making him walk several more feet and around a fence. (!?) After we complained to the post office, we never saw him again. I assumed he was transferred to another route. (Though I wonder if someone else ran over him...?)
The mail carriers, UPS and FEDEX people we work with here in small town Missouri are great.
Perhaps it speaks well for the USPS that one knuckle head mishandling a package is national news.
Last year I sent about 1200 packages insured and 800 uninsured through USPS. Insured packaged arrived perfectly. I was shipping out of Glenside, Pa at first. I had a package disappear that was headed to Illinois. It was 2 weeks since it was shipped and it never had a scan on it's delivery confirmation. I called the PM at Glenside and he assured me it wasn't there because they inspect the facility every night. Sure enough, the package arrived 3 days later damaged. Every since that, I had nothing but issues with Glenside, PA PO. Uninsured packages I sent were getting damaged weekly, including one I shipped to Canada in a Medium Priority Mail box that had $300 worth of product in it. It looked like it got ran over by a truck. In all, 7 packages shipped out of Glenside were damaged in a 1 month span. I started going to the Jenkintown PO and haven't had a problem since. If you have a bad PO, you are better off avoiding it like it's the plague. If you complain to anyone in your local PO, watch out. They will be looking for your packages just so they can damage them intentionally.
My father used to work at the post office and I used to go in the back where the mail was sorted and believe me when I tell you that those packages are not handled with care. The clock was probably damaged before the letter carrier threw it over the fence.
I really hate to take the side of the postal worker but if you think that was the hardest toss that clock received on it's way to Pennsylvania you're probably mistaken. What is the correct procedure for delivery of a large box not sent requiring a signature when there is a fence surrounding the house? I'd bet there was even a pad lock on the gate so the worker couldn't walk up to the front door even if he wanted to.
Anyway, I guess I'd like to make sure I had all the details before anyone got fired. Even the crazy guy collecting the cookoo clocks thinks so.
Here are some photos of the package that went to Canada.
http://www.blowoutcards.com/forums/baseball/165277-careful-using-post-office.html
Of course I've I've always had a good local PO so that's half the battle, but I've never lost a single item in the mail. I can not recall a single item I've ordered or shipped that I have had a problem with. I think that speaks pretty highly of our delivery systems.
Union worker....probably complaining that he wants a raise now.
Just get a mailboxes etc or ups store box. You people are so lazy. I have one and its the best decision ever. Only cost 156 per year for the smallest box since I only use that address for packages. I have yet to receive a broken package.
You'd think carriers would've learned after the last Fedex one that ended up on Youtube (which then led me to discover many more Youtube submissions of even more lazy crazy delivery people).
Outrageous. I guess I should consider myself lucky; whenever I had a package that did not fit into the mailbox of my parents' home (back when I lived with them), instead of cramming it in there, throwing it in the air or placing it by the front door, the postman would leave a card asking me to go to the post office listed on said card to retrieve my package. I thought this was the norm, but seeing this article, apparently not. Now that I live in a condo, I don't have to worry about such issues as they have 2 large closets for the postman to drop large packages into, but no one should have to go through this. This postman obviously does not enjoy his job, so give it to someone who needs it and will enjoy it. There's no excuse for poor customer service and no one should be forced to put up with it!
I can kind of understand the fedex guy doing this. Fedex and UPS put a lot of pressure on their employees, that's why the UPS guys is always running, and those brown vans are always speeding.
But the Postal Service? Who's breathing down their neck?
If u have something of any value at all, why wouldn't you specify shipper "signature required?"
If the guy leave it at the door, u complaint when it's stolen, if the guy comes back, it costs more to everybody.
Get on with the program people. U want it cheap, u get it cheap.
I specified "signature required" on a 150LB box that was over 4 feet tall. Do you think they got one NO. They left it anyway. & mangled the box by tumbling it off the truck end over end. Then UPS tried to downpay it when we had the incident on our security system! We came home to a mangled box of clothes scattered out of the box. Signature required though.
I to have a camera system installed at my house. My dad passed away this summer & I had to go on short notice & clean out his stuff. I had so much stuff that my car was unsafe to drive 900 miles back to my home on the east coast. So I went to the UPS store & filled up a large box with about 150LBS of my dads things. I left special instructions to "handle gently" & was reassured by ups that the box wouldnt be left anywhere without a signature or handled harshly. 3 days later when my wife gets home she finds the box torn open & my dads things scattered on the front porch. So we rewind the video & sure enough the ups guy tumbles the 150lb box end over end & onto the pavement as his way of unloading it. Then he just leaves it on the porch without a signature probably becasue he knew we were gonna be pissed when we saw the condition of the box. UPS gave us the run around & we had to fax them recips more than 3 times becasue they kept loosing them. Finally we got $100 worth of shipping refunded & $150 in damage refunded becasue we dont know what all might have been lost. This is an ugly brown stain on UPS' reputation with us & it wont just go away & we wont just forget about it. My dads memory will be forever intermingled with them ruining the box then leaving it against their own policy. Their poor handling of the situation doesent help either.
Hehe, think thats bad, go to youtube and search Fed-ex and UPS
Sadly, cases like this are common and happen all the time. its not just USPS, but UPS and FedEx.. its happens.
The postal worker went Cuckoo.
This gentleman was very kind, to say this man should not be fired. If this is a first offense, then perhaps. However, given the current need for people to find jobs, it seems they would have a good reason to replace this gentleman with someone who would represent the USPS better.
The postal employee needs to be seriously disciplined! That behavior is unacceptable customer service. I'm glad the post office had someone out there so fast and i hope they resolve the issue quickly. Sometimes the best customer service is seen in how a company handles a valid complaint.