I live in a rural area,and your experiences may differ. But if the postal driver has been given the option of leaving a little card in your mail box rather than disrupting his route,drive another half mile to actually deliver the package,then , human nature says he will just leave the little card. Again...The service you get from the USPS depends on where you live. In my case the service is atrocious .If the item is sent by UPS I receive it. If it comes via Fedex I receive it. When it comes courtesy of the USPS, I must RETRIEVE It.