To expect them to shut the gate?

[nomoreheels]

Our new postman & some of the leaflet delivery people have a bad habit of leaving our gate wide open as they leave. We always have it shut because:

• when it opens it alerts us that someone's there & we sneak a look from upstairs (particularly useful when it's dodgy youfs up to no good; sadly we get ASB sometimes. Or for screening if I don't want to answer, eg religious folk)

• it stops dogs from getting in & chasing our cats or doing their doggy business

• and finally, we hate how it looks when it's wide open. Personal taste perhaps, but there's a lack of taking pride in homes in our area (lots of litter, weeds, crumbling exteriors, broken gates) - so we try to keep it looking as nice as possible.

I think if the gate is shut when you come through, close it on the way out. It only takes a second.

I'd be curious to know whether gate closing is covered in Royal Mail delivery policies - anyone know?

I am on a short fuse anyhow as DD has just started teething at 3 months & I'm seriously sleep deprived, so it's bugging me even more than usual. Would IBU to give the next culprit an earful the next time it happens?

This winds me up too. The postman, paper boy and DH all leave the gate wide open. We have a 4 yo who can open the front door, and having the gate shut gives me an extra few seconds to catch her if she does abscond.

One of my neighbours has a "Please shut the gate" sign on their gate. Don't know where you get them, or whether people take any notice.

I think if you did give someone an earful they'd just look at you like

Get one of those spring thingies that automatically closes it.

Yes, this happens at my house as well. I've opened the door and asked the postman to shut the gate before, it's seriously annoying. I don't want a child or animal escaping from my house, so there's a bloody reason for the gate!

YANBU

Get a sign for the gate - along the lines of 'If you can't shut the gate don't bloody open it!'

Good point re: DC safety too - not relevant for us yet, but one day...

Yeah, they'd probably give me a look but I might feel better!

A spring is a good idea, I'll look into it. A sarcastic sign would be satisfying but probably ignored. :)

It's annoying as we had a lovely postie before, who was very polite whenever we spoke & always shut the gate. I miss him!

But it could be relevant, nomoreheels! How is the postman (etc) to know if you have a menagerie of animals and children in the house?! They should just shut the bloody gate as standard.

I think it's good manners to close any gate/door that you've opened.

I have a slidey porch door and some postmen leave that open. Bloomin' annoying.

Quite right Tidydancer, was just musing that I hadn't thought of that. They should definitely just do it as standard.

I've just found a RM forum which said that it's unofficial good practice to close gates as long as they're in good working order.

You could get more and more upset Or....... You could just get a spring that shuts the gate automatically.

Oh I know, I was angry on your behalf, not angry at you. :)

It's not beneath me to chase delivery people up the road to tell them to do it. It's not asking too much is it?!

YANBU, I share a gate with my neighbour, path down the middle of two front gardens iyswim, I shut it and the sad bastard husband walks straight out when my door closes and opens it. It is driving me insane!!!

Ha Tidydancer, good on you for telling them off.

I've just had a look for springs but they're for wooden gates & require drilling to fasten them. Mine is wrought iron & I wouldn't feel safe drilling into it - but the bars are quite thin as well.. Help!

new gate?

No can do, we're skint & besides, it's a nice period gate. I'll just have to get some metal drill bits (thankfully I already have a good drill & goggles) & try to find a spring with a small fixing area.

Now added to my already long list of non-essential DIY... :)