Really loud door knocking...

[Spuddybean]

Not really sure if i was overreacting. This morning i was sitting eating my breakfast in my dressing gown (9ish). I am 38 wks pregnant (not sure if that's relevant to my mental state!). Suddenly there was the loudest rapping of our letterbox. It really made me jump. It was about 10 sustained/continuous bangs.

I thought the house was on fire or something. So i raced to the door to see the post man holding a package. I said to him politely 'next time can you not knock like that please, you really frightened me' and he looked furious and said 'how am i supposed to knock then' and i replied 'perhaps a bit softer and not for so long, it was really loud'. He then stormed back to the van shaking his head (didn't get me to sign the slip) and muttering and swearing and drove off.

I could understand if he had knocked gently first but he hadn't. Also our front door opens straight off the street into the living space, so you really don't need to rattle the hinges for us to hear it.

I am very tired as not sleeping well, and the way he reacted has made me think maybe i was in the wrong. But i was really expecting him to say 'oh sorry' not give me a load of verbal.

No biggy in the grand scheme of things of course, but AIBU to think that kind of alarm raising banging should be kept for emergencies? How would you knock on a door? i always start gently.

YABABitU. I can understand why you were shocked, but I've seen people chasing postmen down the street swearing at them for 'not knocking loudly enough' so they must do it by default.

It does annoy me when I've just gotten my charge to sleep for her nap though and the postie comes along to wake her up!

yy bumperella

bunbaker we actually get our normal post at 3ish. Just for some reason the parcel came at 9. Then we still got normal post later. But it was Royal Mail delivery still. So not sure what that's all about.

Which probably also adds to why i wasn't expecting anyone at the door at that time. I usually listen out in the avo as it's the only human interaction i have some days

It comes from eastenders . Have you noticed they knock on each others doors really loudly and often ready for a confrontation. People in real.life subconsciously do it. Like watching too much football and spitting in the street.

Yes euphemia it was about 10 in really quick loud succession. I was fully expecting a neighbour covered in claret saying 'there's been an accident...'

That made me laugh crypes everyone storming round 'eachuvahs aaaahzes' on the bounce!

YABU. If he had knocked quietly and you didn't hear it we'd have a topic like 'waited in for the postman, I was in but he didn't bother knocking just posted a card through!'

He can't start of knocking quietly on every door. He'd be there all week. A sharp knock did the job and you got up quickly.

You need to chill out.

Was it special delivery? They have to be delivered before 1pm so that might be why you got it early.

Do you have just a letterbox? I think it can be difficult for people to know how much the sound of a rattling letterbox reaches into the house - some people have those, um, thingies on the inner side to block draughts and therefore can muffle the sound. He might have had problems elsewhere in getting a response from those other occupiers. Maybe you could fit a doorbell (though, from my experience, you'd also have to fit a big sign pointing to the doorbell).

I do feel sorry for most posties and other delivery people because they're often working to an almost impossible delivery schedule.

But, that's no excuse at all for that postie's attitude. Whatever his problems are, they are not of your making, and he should have responded more politely to you.

I agree ghostship i probably do need to chill out. Quite on edge with baby on the way and driving test (AIBU to be more worried stressed about the driving test than the birth?). And i suppose he did get me up quickly - i almost went into spontaneous labour!

I don't know what kind of delivery it was, he had a signy sheet but was so angry with me he stormed off holding it and didn't get it signed - whoops!

YANBU

And he didn't have to be so rude. If he was going to be an arse about it, why didn't he just smile and nod? My dad knocks like a loon too. Very annoying.

Not a postman but I once had a couple of men looking for scrap metal bang really loudly on my door then knock on my living room window! Really made me jump to be honest, was feeding my baby twins in there at the time so was very pissed off.

Oh and YANBU

Spuddy - fairly common for packages to be separately delivered, at least it seems to be here. Parcelforce came about 10:00 today with another iMac and the postman (letters) came after 14:00 (even later than they usually appear).

Have cancelled Lovefilm as I didn't always get to view the DVDs and have it back in the post the same day, which used to be possible when the DVDs arrived before 10:00 where I used to live (and postbox was just across the road!)

I think my postman relishes parcels. He's always earlier, as in 7am rather than 11am, and hammers down the door like a man posessed. I find it odd as it's the same guy, plus the entire door is single pane glass.

Bunbaker wrote "Postmen just don't have time to fanny around"

Agreed, but there have been plenty who seem to be walking away within 10 seconds of knocking, and get arsey when you open the door and they are half way down the next person's path!

If the RM has gone 'too far' then it is up the UCW (or whichever union is involved) to put forward some study and get more management out on the streets to teach them what it is like, not for postmen/women to get angry with the recipients... after all, it isn't our choice that they happen to be in a strop that day or every day, the way it seems with some !

Well at least he didn't just walk right in, i've read threads on here where people have got out of the shower to find their parcel in their house!

Agree smellslike in my old house when i had a cat, if he was on my lap and there was a loud knock/buzz, i would have bloody claw marks in my thigh!

YABU

Postmen get 100 times more complaints about 'I was in and he didn't leave a card'. 'Posties never knocked or rung the bell'. When the reality of the situation is that the doorbell doesn't work, they are vacuuming, listened to loud music... The list goes on.

Postmen NEED to knock loud.

YABU I bet they get fed up with people moaning that they never heard them knock.

i have never heard people complain they never heard them knock. I didn't realise that was common.

in your situation, o p, i would have opened the stairs window, leaned out looking down on the person at the door, and demanded aggressively 'do i owe you money? do i? how dare you knock like that at my door?'

nothing sets me off so much as a loud knock.

YABU

Presumably he's trying to make sure you got your parcel. Git.

"git" was to the postman, not to you, OP. I sounded a bit like the postman there

Get a doorbell.