Nothing Was Delivered

Every standard mailer worries if his or her missives will get delivered to the right addresses. And more and more these days, the U.S. Postal Service is concerned whether mail itself will survive as an advertising medium given the many cheaper and faster electronic alternatives.

At the same time, stories about postal workers not delivering mail or throwing it in the garbage are legend.

So it really doesn't help matters when behavior like Alan Gagne's comes to light.

Late last month the USPS found out that Gagne, a letter carrier for 20 years, had squirreled away thousands of circulars and hundreds of letters in drawers and closets in his apartment, according to news reports.

Some of the mail dates from the 1980s, said postal service spokesman Robert Cannon, and about 90% of it consists of circulars flagged as undeliverable because of an address change. The USPS is trying to deliver the first class letters and cards, none of which were opened, to their rightful recipients, but is having trouble because the letters are so old.

“These stories come up from time to time and the postal service might know how bad the problem is, but I'm sure they don't want to publicize it too much,” said Tony Conway, executive director of the Alliance of Nonprofit Mailers, whose members suffer just as much as commercial mailers at the hands of people like Gagne.

“But with a work force of more than 100,000, there are bound to be a few bad apples out there,” Conway added.