Mail Slots
There are good mail slots...and there are bad ones. From a mail carrier's perspective, all are bad. From our perspective, the US Postal Service made a grave error in approving the use of mail slots many years ago. To date, it has cost the Postal Service millions of dollars, because it takes much longer to deliver mail into a mail slot, which means that the carrier must deliver to less houses. I have spent over two minutes on porches feeding mail into a mail slot, when it would have taken only 5 seconds to put it into a mailbox. Less houses on his/her route means hiring more carriers.
Why does it take longer? If you read the "How Is Mail Delivered?" page, you have learned that he mail carrier only has one hand free. He has to open the slot and put the mail in with one hand. If you have a mail slot, try this with various sizes of mail pieces and see how frustrating it can be...especially if that free hand is holding 10 catalogs/magazines that need to fit in that slot.
Now with that said, what problems have carriers noticed with mail slots? Bad mail slots are ones that are too small, too low, too high, pass through walls, are behind the screen/glass door, or they have to be opened outwards, such as the one pictured above. Then there are the slots that make a 90 degree turn downwards, through which you must force thick magazines. If they outlawed mail slots, mail carriers would jump for joy.
If you live in a house with a mail slot,
especially one of the older, small slots, you can do your mail
carrier a favor by installing a mailbox, such as the person did in
the picture at right. Some houses have both, and the customer
likes the mail in the slot. If I am your regular carrier, I'll
follow your desires. If I'm delivering to a house I've never
delivered to before, and you have both a slot and a box, 100% of the
time the mail is going in the box.
Want a mail slot anyway? Do your mailman a favor and install the right mail slot properly. What makes a good mail slot? Here are a few tips.
1. Size. If you are installing a mail slot,
opt for a
large one. Nothing is more frustrating than trying to fit
magazines into a small mail slot. For a standard mail box, I
can put the mail in the box and be off the porch in less than five
seconds. For a mail slot such as you see at right, it may take
me more than 2 minutes to feed all the mail through the slot.
In those two minutes, I could have delivered to four more houses!
The time it takes to feed a mail slot is taken into account in
rating how many houses are on a mailman's route. The more mail
slots, the less houses he delivers to on his route. In other
words, all the slots in the city add up to employing extra mail
carriers, therefore raising the price you pay for postage.
2. Wall or Door? If the slot goes through a 6 inch thick wall, it makes it harder for the mail to be properly inserted. However, if the slot goes through a front door, or garage door, the mail goes through it easily. Most importantly, make sure there are no bends in the slot. The mail should pass directly through the wall, and not into the slot, and then turn at a 90 degree angle.
3. Height.
This is one of the biggest problems with mail
slots. Many are mounted too
low to the ground, such as the one at right. The one pictured is
about 10 inches above ground level. This is a major problem
because of the way mail is carried by the mail carrier.
First, I have to do a deep knee bend. Second, only one hand is free to deliver the mail.
However, if a slot is at chest height, the hand that is holding the
DPS mail can open the slot, and the other hand push the mail
through.
Be sure to mount your new mail slot at chest height. About four feet high is about right for most mail carriers. At this height, we can use our hand holding the DPS to open the slot.
4. Behind the Screen Door? Putting the slot in your main door behind the screen/glass door adds to the amount of work the mail carrier must do. Now I have to open your door to put the mail in your slot. This slows the carrier down, decreasing the number of houses he can deliver on his route, which adds up to increased cost for the Postal Service, which, you guessed it, leads to increases in postage rates. Mount it behind a door, and you can thank yourself for the rate increases!
5. Garage Door. Of all mail slots, the easiest to deliver to are the ones installed in garage doors. They are usually the larger size slots, and they can be mounted at chest height. In addition, they only have to go through a wall that is about 2 inches thick. If you are considering getting a mail slot, do your mailman a favor by putting it in the garage door.
When the mail slot is on the inner door, we occasionally see the inner door open. As a general rule, the mailman should not open your door to deliver the mail. If you have a pet, it could get out, or in the case of a dog, bite the mailman. I will ring the doorbell and hand the customer the mail. Of course, this takes time, slowing the mail carrier down.
6. In or Out? If installing on a porch which is protected from the weather, use a mail slot that is spring loaded to open inwards. That way, we can push the mail into the slot with one hand, since we don't need another hand to hold the slot open. These slots are harder to find, but they are available.
Ready to buy a mail slot? Here are a few links to online retailers.