MailmanDave
17 Years Experience
Long Island, NY
Male, 43
I am a City Letter Carrier for the US Postal Service in NY. I've been a city letter carrier for over 17 years and it is the best job I've ever had. I mostly work 5 days per week (sometimes includes a Saturday) and often have the opportunity for overtime, which is usually voluntary. The route I deliver has about 350 homes and I walk to each of their doors to deliver the mail. Please keep in mind that I don't have authority to speak for the USPS, so all opinions are solely mine, not my employer.
Amy, it's been awhile since I've worked in extreme heat (mid-90s and above would be my unscientific definition), but I'll just give you some generic advice. The suggestions I have are: 1) Keep hydrated. Even if you aren't thirsty just keep drinking. Many liquids are lost through perspiration, and if you need to take more bathroom breaks, you just do so. It is rare I get a headache from the extreme heat and I credit that to drinking water or other non-diuretic liquids. 2) Wear as light as clothing as possible. 3) Keep your head covered with a wide-brimmed hat to protect from the sunlight. I've found this to be more comfortable then not wearing a hat. 4) Don't exert yourself too much. The pressures of the job have some letter carriers rushing through their routes, but that could tire you out quickly if it is very hot outside. I keep a moderate, rational, pace, and if anyone ever questioned why it took longer to deliver a mail route (not common to be questioned especially in weather extremes), I'd just say it was for health and safety reasons. As an aside, the heat never bothered me compared to very cold conditions. I realize that you can cover yourself sufficiently when it's extremely cold, but my extremities still hurt when exposed. It's difficult for me to feel the mail if my fingers aren't touching the mail directly. I hope this helps. Basically, it comes down to preparation and hydration.
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I don't have an answer as to what the procedure is if the carrier can't deliver the mail because someone is parked in the loading zone of a building. I agree that the carrier should not be harassing anybody re: this. As far as I know they do have the right to not deliver the mail if there is no safe place for them to park their delivery vehicle. They could mention to the tenants or bldng/office managers as to the reason there may not have been delivery on a previous day, but I believe this can be done in a civil/professional manner. Is the building staff not enforcing the loading zone policy? I rarely deliver mail to an office building but I can see how it may be aggravating when a designated loading zone or short term parking policy isn't adhered to. Either way, nobody deserves harassment in my opinion.
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I have no idea why your aunt would take your packages to your uncle's house and he would open them? That sounds illegal to me unless you have some sort of relationship with them to allow this. I'm assuming you don't live together and aren't happy about this. Your aunt must also live nearby. Was anything missing from the packages? You could start by asking your aunt why she did this and tell her not to. You could also mention it to a delivery supervisor at the USPS where she works. I don't know what kind of family tension you want to cause but if something is actually stolen you could call the police to file a complaint. I also have no idea how far that would go. Whatever you do, it sounds like a real sleazy thing for your aunt and uncle to do and I would never imagine doing this.
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I believe it would be okay to write in a mailbox the number of the address in case it wasn't clear. They shouldn't be writing much else either on or or in the mailbox. This is my opinion and don't know the rules about this. As a letter carrier, my main frustration in delivering mail on a route I'm not familiar with is a missing house number. I have written numbers inside the lid of a mailbox in the past, but it was with a pen and hard to discern on dark metal. I don't think the name of the occupant should be written on the box by the letter carrier.
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It depends when you drop the letter in the blue collection box. If it is before the daily pickup time (which is usually posted on a label somewhere on the box) then it is likely going to be on the same dispatch truck as if you put the letter in a box at the PO. The truck then goes to a centralized mail processing facility. If you put the letter in a blue collection mailbox after the daily cutoff time posted on the mailbox, but the local PO is still open, you'd probably be better off bringing the letter there for mailing. At most POs you can probably bring in letter up until 1700 for same-day processing.
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It doesn't make sense why a USPS letter carrier would put a question mark on one of the envelopes that is identical to the first one. It's common for people to get multiple letters from the same company. I would only put a question mark on the envelope if I wasn't sure if the name on the envelope was correct for the address it is to be delivered to. In your example, I don't think I'd put a question mark on either piece of mail. Also, if other mail to your address has your name on it, I don't see any reason for the question mark. If it only happens once or twice I wouldn't think about it. If it happens each month and it concerns you, you could cal the local PO and talk to the delivery supervisor to see if they have any insight.
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I don't know how much your license suspension will affect your job chances with the USPS. You do need a valid driver license to be a letter carrier as far as I know. You said you have fixed the suspension for texting while driving recently. I don't know if you need to provide this information to the USPS proactively or only if they ask. I would think somewhere along the application process they'd ask you questions about your past driving history and possibly request a motor vehicle department drivers abstract which has your history of suspensions convictions violations, etc. Please be sure to answer all questions honestly and possibly have proof available that your license is no longer suspended. Good luck to you and put that phone down while driving. I understand it's tempting.
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