USPS Customers Aggravated By Change To Drive Through Mail Drop Boxes

Image: USPS

If you have recently dropped mail off in the drive-through, you may have noticed a change to the USPS mail boxes.

By change, we don’t mean a positive impactful one for the community, in fact many valley residents are unhappy by the Postal Service new “snorkel boxes.”  If you have noticed a difference in the appearance of the blue collection mailboxes in your community, you are not alone.

The new mailboxes now require individuals to exit their vehicle in order to deposit their mail, whereas before they were able to drive up and deposit letters in the old mailboxes. Not only do the new boxes add extra time for drivers waiting to deposit their mail since each person must open their car door to reach the drop box, but the change also could cause a door ding against the mailbox. In addition, the mail slot crevice is smaller than before, only permitting limited letters and envelopes at a time.

Customers are complaining that they are not as easy to use as the old ones, are a total “a pain” and go against the intended purpose of the mailbox being a drive-through.

These new collection boxes have been placed in the Upper Middle such as the postal service location near Camelback and 20^th Street, and throughout the entire valley.

The USPS is cognizant of the fact that its current drop boxes may be challenging to use, which is a source of annoyance for customers. Nonetheless, these containers have been specifically devised to prevent criminals from pilfering mail from within.

The USPS reported on May 12th that they will be increasing their efforts to combat mail theft by placing 12,000 ‘high security’ blue collection boxes across the country. This is part of their expanded crime prevention measures. These mail boxes are being added throughout the nation during the next year. USPS has stated it will not reverse course in its objective of transforming mailboxes around the nation, regardless of customer complaints.

USPS customers can appreciate and understand the need to improve mail security, but can’t fathom why the new mailboxes are placed so far away from the curb, making the drive through mail process so difficult.  One suggestion would be for the USPS to move the boxes closer to the lane of traffic so customers do not have to open their door and step out of their vehicles.

As the USPS evolves during to their comprehensive 10-year revamp as part of its Delivering for America (DFA) plan, which began in 2021, it doesn’t look like that will include making dropping mail from your car easier and efficient.