Video: Postal Service admits error in leaving bins full of mail unattended in lobby

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WINTER HAVEN, Fla. – The U.S Postal Service admits hundreds of pieces of mail were mistakenly left unattended inside a Winter Haven post office.

On Sunday, a customer noticed five giant bins filled with letters and packages in the lobby, and there wasn’t a single worker in sight.

“It’s like a smorgasbord for a thief,” said Al Smith, who snapped some photos of the mail in disbelief.

Smith ended up calling the postal inspector who said they would contact a manager to get it taken care of, but then he said he returned about 45 minutes later to find the mail was still there in the open.

“I worked for the postal service way back in the day and that was a big no-no,” said Dan Bourdin, who lives and works in Winter Haven. “Someone would lose their job over that definitely.”

Source: Postal Service admits error in leaving bins full of mail unattended in lobby – Story | abcactionnews.com | Tampa Bay News, Weather, Sports,

  • LloydStreetMarty

    My bet would be that the contract driver couldn’t get into the dock area before any clerks arrived and left it there without telling anyone.

  • Patty

    That’s was I was thinking. No other reason to have those wires in the lobby or box area.

  • Ken Smith

    Dan – the postal worker’s union makes sure that no one gets fired – no matter how bad they screw up.

  • madasheck1

    That seems plausible, but if that is the case, why didn’t the clerk(s) go looking for mail that should have been there. The only answer is: no excuse, sir.

  • disqus_2xHlByI0n1

    Well Ken it is like any other company in the United States if a supervisor does there job and documents a workers screw ups then a person can get fired. The problem is people do not want to take the time and do that documentation. I have seen quite a few career employees get fired from the post office.

  • duh

    Try reading the story before pontificating. It was Sunday- there weren’t any clerks working.

  • Mr. Rogers

    It wasn’t a postal worker- it was a contract driver. Always best to read the story or watch the video before posting stupid comments.

    Who’s Dan?

  • Lisa Demars

    Takes alot to do that.

  • Lisa Demars

    Figures it had to be something like that. Thats what happens when the PO contracts out. They get what they pay for,they dont want to pay their own. Beengoing on for years.

  • Lisa Demars

    I worked for the PO for 33 years,KennedyAirport station. We had a lobby also. AND SECURITY! There isnt a PO anymore without security. I’ll guarantee someone was watching.

  • Lisa Demars

    If the tours are switching over,it doesnt work like that. Driver was probably late. As usual.

  • Lisa Demars

    If theres deliverys theres someone there to recieve it,anyday of the week. Like I said,he was probably late,off loaded his stuff and took off. Probably put it where he wouldnt be seen doing it. CONTRACTORS ARE NOT POSTAL WORKERS! Keep that in mind.

  • duh

    Like I said- it was Sunday. Sunday deliveries don’t happen everywhere- most offices are closed on Sunday, so there wouldn’t be anyone there. Contractors do deliver mail to some post offices when they aren’t open, but the mail is supposed to be left in a locked area, not in a box lobby that’s open to the public.

    Yes, contractors are not postal workers. So?…

  • Mr. Rogers

    Lots of postal workers think every post office is just like the one they work in. I don’t know how you define “security”, but you can bet that the Winter Haven PO doesn’t have a postal police officer on duty in the lobby on Sunday. They obviously have a surveillance camera in the box lobby, but that doesn’t mean they have someone monitoring it 24/7. My local PO is locked up tight on Sunday- no one working, no “security”.

  • Janet Jamison

    Surely, it was a barely trained newbie who managed this little screw up. If you have no investment in the job and can get the same pay with way less BS almost anywhere else, why would anyone want one of these second tier jobs at the PO ?

  • Janet Jamison

    Read the story. Same thoughts..someone new, barely paid, incredible time pressure and little training. As Grandma used to say, “haste makes waste.” Still true and corporate wide…

  • duh

    It isn’t a plant- there are no “tours switching over” It’s a post office that’s closed on Sunday, and no one was working there!

  • duh

    Because there were no clerks- it was a Sunday- the office was CLOSED.

  • Esther Cart

    How did the driver leave the mail in the lobby, rather than on the dock? Either someone is really stupid, or someone didn’t show up to unlock a gate??? There’s got to be more to it than we see here!