An Open Letter to All Postal Delivery Service Workers

To who this may concern:

Over the past 24 hours, I've realized that I've underestimated the working force of all postal delivery services.

From UPS to FedEx, Amazon to the United States Postal Service, I have discovered a new respect for both the delivery drivers and the storefront workers.

For everyone who constantly complains about their packages not arriving on time or at an inconvenient time, this article is aimed at you – so listen closely with an open mind.

I'll begin with a simple apology.

I was one of those people who got angry about a late-night delivery. I was someone who didn't appreciate the hard work of those who have to keep track of packages, mail and basically anything that gets ordered and shipped out through either a website or a third party. I was uneducated about the system and I'm sorry for my ignorance and short temper.

I was wrong.

My story begins like this:

On Monday night while I was sleeping, my doorbell rang around 9:25 p.m. With all the tension in the world and my recent move to a new area, the only thoughts that ran through my mind were for the worst. It's funny how quickly we jump to assumptions when the unknown throws a curveball our way.

Woken up and frazzled, I opened the door cautiously to a delivery driver speeding off and a package on the front steps.

"Are you (bleeping) kidding me?!" I shouted out to the truck that was clearly too far to hear my anguish.

It's rare that I post negativity or complaints on my social media, but that night I did out of raw emotion and anger. Within seconds I found myself caught up in a storm of backlash. The anger I felt towards the driver was now being sent back at me in a stroke of instant karma. That's when I realized that I was a bit irrational and should have cooled off before attacking like a troll.

After some research, I learned that ever since early March when the pandemic and its subsequent quarantine hit the country, a sudden increase in online ordering created a surge of business for all platforms of delivery services. The workers are barely able to keep up, but somehow get the job done after working 12 hours per day, some even more.

Delivery bays and storefronts are packed to the brim with an overwhelming amount of packages on the daily, mostly due to the trucks not being able to fit it all in one trip. I had no idea this business and these workers were under that amount of stress.

So, to the guy who delivered a package to my front door and rang my doorbell late at night to alert me so that my package wouldn't get stolen, I truly do apologize for being rude and insensitive. I wish I had known then what I do now. Knowing that, for the most part, your trucks aren't even returned back to their bays until 10 p.m. – just in time to grab a quick rest before doing it all over again the next day – saddens me. When do you even get to see your family? I know that you're eating on the go because there's simply not enough time in the day. There are delivery times that need to be met and no time for breaks, just the stresses of driving an oversized vehicle through narrow city streets and covering as much ground as possible before the sun sets at the end of the day.

Talk about an eye-opener.

Now that you, the reader, have a little better understanding of the chaos of the daily tasks that have to be met each and every day, while you get to spend time with your family as these drivers are constantly separated from theirs while on the road, perhaps you'll think differently next time your package is an hour late or at an unreasonable time.

Not everything is perfect and some things, such as traffic and fatigue, is out of their control.

Allow me to end this with a thank you, for your hard work and dedication to a job that's not as easy as some people may think. In a world where patience is thin and kindness comes sparingly, I've come to terms with how much is actually on your plate and for that I am grateful.

Hopefully, this message is spread abundantly so that the world can learn a thing or two about the everyday life of a postal delivery service worker, people doing everything they can to complete your order from the moment you click on "complete purchase" to the time your order arrives at the retail service centers and eventually finishing at your front door.

Let's try to keep this in mind next time you order something off of Amazon, that's all I'm asking.

Sincerely,

A Better Educated and More Understanding Gazelle