Advertisement - Click to support our sponsors.
Kokua Line
Question: On Monday, Oct. 23, several residents in the Keapuka area received their mail at 6 p.m. What was the reason for the late delivery? Plus, the carrier delivered the mail to the wrong homes because it was already dark. The regular carrier is always late. The reliever comes earlier than her. Also, why can't we receive our MidWeek on Monday instead of Tuesday or Wednesday? Whenever Monday is a federal holiday, we receive our MidWeek on Wednesday, when the sales already begin. The carrier delivers some of the MidWeeks on Monday and the rest on Tuesdays. What is the reason for this? Late delivery due
to sick postal carrierAnswer: The regular carrier for Keapuka "clocked out at 2:30 p.m." on Oct. 23 because she was sick, said U.S. Postal Service spokeswoman Felice Broglio. Two other carriers delivered the rest of her route, returning to the office shortly after 6 p.m.
Kaneohe Postmaster Ron Dowell apologizes "for any inadvertent misdeliveries by the substitutes," Broglio said.
Although mail is delivered six days a week, routes are adjusted for eight hours of work, five days a week, for regular carriers.
It is possible that a "substitute" carrier, who regularly delivers mail on the sixth day, will make deliveries either faster or slower than the "regular" carrier, Broglio said.
Also, the volume of mail might be lighter or heavier on any given day, thus affecting deliveries, she said.
"On average, Kaneohe letter carriers return to the office around 3:30 p.m. and no later than 5 p.m.," she said, adding that isolated incidents of late deliveries may occur.
The most common cause of late deliveries is when a route is split among several carriers after they have finished delivering their regular routes, Broglio said.
For example, she said, say there are 40 routes, but five carriers call in sick one day. In that case, supervisors may solicit the aid first of carriers willing to come in on their day off. Supervisors also may split the routes among several on-duty carriers who will make additional deliveries at the end of their routes, Broglio said.
As for MidWeek, Broglio said the preferred delivery day for the weekly paper is Tuesdays when possible, but that the acceptable delivery range is Monday to Wednesday.
Because Mondays are traditionally the heaviest delivery day for all post offices, most offices will deliver MidWeeks on Tuesdays, she said. "When the carrier loads the truck with the bundled MidWeeks, they may not always have the exact count needed for the entire route.
"When this happens, they deliver the balance on Wednesday."
The number in each bundle varies according to the thickness of each issue, Broglio added.
She said the Kaneohe postmaster has not received complaints about misdelivery in the Keapuka area. However, if you want to pursue your complaint, call 1-800-275-8777 and select the appropriate option to be connected to the Kaneohe post office.
Lavender blues
For sentimental reasons, I am trying to regain a matching lavender skirt and lavender reversible vest outfit that I "lost" to Goodwill or the swap meet awhile ago. The outfit is handmade, of soft, suede-like material, solid print. The skirt is of medium length, no ruffles. The reversible vest, made of the same material on one side, has wide armholes and no buttons. If any reader has this outfit or knows where they can be found, please call me at 526-9019. -- Irene
Need help with problems? Call Kokua Line at 525-8686,
fax 525-6711, or write to P.O. Box 3080, Honolulu 96802.
Email to kokualine@starbulletin.com