to have a word with the postie

[Shelfy]

.because they keep on letting the big heavy garden gate slam and i'm worried that they are going to damage it again and it makes a heck of a racket.I've already spent ages doing it up to prevent it from slamming hard but they seem oblivious to it slamming behind them.I spent a long time trying to get a postie to even shut the gate but i eventually made the gate easier to operate so he had no choice. What do you reckon?

Can you wedge it open until he's gone?

Last time i asked one of the postie started giving me loads of attitude and telling me how many houses they had to visit in a day.I mean as if i was bothered.All i wanted him to do was to sleave the gate as he had found it which was closed securely

I think you need a slow hinge.

That's not a bad idea mum but i don't see why i should be going out of my way to make a damn postie act in a pleasant way I.E Not slamming the gate to

I tried a slow hinge but the gate slammed even more violently and it was quite an effort to open with bags of shopping pushing against the weight of it.I prefer a well weighted gate which is easy to open and close without the slow hinge.The gate is perfectly balanced at the moment and it is easy to close but i find

Ah, well..........when you go through as many gates as your postie does in a day perhaps you'll also never remember which one to shut gently and which one is stiff and which one has a catch that doesn't work and which one doesn't shut at all !!!!!

Could you make a sign? 'Please don't slam the gate'

Get to know your postie first. Be nice to him, say hello when you pass him on the street, sympathise when it's an awful day outside, then once you're on friendly terms, make a gentle request about the gate - people do nice things for people they like.

DH was always a bit suspicious about how friendly I was with our old postie, but was highly impressed when we moved and Royal Mail kept failing to redirect packages and letters. Our old postie tracked us down to our new address with all our missing post. He also put in a good word for us with our new postie who is lovely to us too.

Then you need a slow hinge that actually works

Seriously, even if you get one postie to stop slamming it, you won't get them all to stop.

And even if you did, you won't get the leaflet deliverers and all the other people who enter/leave to stop.

Just get a decent hinge and the job's a goodun.

BerryChristmas Fri 07-Dec-12 11:08:46

Ah, well..........when you go through as many gates as your postie does in a day perhaps you'll also never remember which one to shut gently and which one is stiff and which one has a catch that doesn't work and which one doesn't shut at all !!!!!

In other words let them get away with being pig ignorant and bad mannered.Also i think you should give a postie a bit more credit i'm sure they will be able to remember my gate ,pull the other one it,s got bells on it BerryChristmas

Most of the people that come through the gate are very civilised and don't allow it to slam

I don't want a slow hinge i've tried it and it's not suitable.It's the same postie day in day out not loads of different ones.I will have a word him

I could post something very horrible but I won't.

YABU. Your gate might be 'perfectly balanced' but it is not fit for purpose. It will be used by multiple people several times over the course of the day, not just you. You need to sort out a working slow hinge so that the gate closes properly for everyone, no matter what their personal standards of gate etiquette are.

Well why did you ask if YABU?

It'smaking me SEETHE thinking about it

It's making me glaze over

But each to their own...

Stop seething. I've seen another thread by you and it strikes me that you are turning into a very unhappy stereotype. Please concentrate on being a happy person.

I share the gate with an OAP and it is partly because of her we have no slow hinge on it.It is heavy enough and it makes it very heavy to open especially when the wind is blowing in the wrong direction.I don't understand why people don't want to shut a gate in a civilised manner.As i said 99.9 % of the people that come through the gate shut it nicely .

SeasonallySnowyPeasan Why are you being so unpleasant and talking utter garbage?

my little brother is a postman - he does 12 hour days delivering all over our town - often different roads / places - you cannot SERIOUSLY expect them to remember things about certain houses?? especially if they have NEVER visited them beofre? how difficult would it be for you to wedge your gate open? i cant imagine it to be difficult!! the posties work hard, out in all weathers, you ABU it is not that they are being disrespectful - they are busy and i should imagine many gates need a good slam to close them.

As i said i will have a pleasant word with him i'm sorry for posting on here when i know that i am being perfectly reasonable to ask somebody who comes through my gate on a daily basis to shut it in a dignified way and to leave it as it was found securely shut.I think i will leave it at that really .Jobs a good un.Thanks for reading and have a good day all

How do you shut a gate in a dignified way

Thanks for the laugh.

Some vehemence on this thread!

I understand the frustration, so I don't think you're being unreasonable as such, but it does seem like you need to find other ways to prevent the gate slamming. I'm not a postie but, given that we live in a business culture where senior managers seem unable to do basic maths or come to logical conclusions, they do probably have crushingly unachievable delivery targets to meet. Hence all the running-around-not-particularly-caring-whether-a-gate-is-slammable-or-not.

Get a new gate. Problem solved.