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.
Congratulations on being hired by the USPS as a letter carrier. We often walk for 4-5 hours per day so it is important to wear comfortable shoes. The shoes that can be purchased with a uniform allowance can easily cost $100/pair. They are usually black leather athletic or walking shoes with a certified slip-resistant grip. You don't need to spend that kind of money on your own for shoes. To get an idea what the shoes look like, do an Internet search for letter carrier uniform shoes. I wear New Balance and Rocky shoes. Since the prices for our uniforms are pretty high, you can search non-uniform websites to see if less expensive shoes are available. I am fortunate to never have had any chronic foot pain from being a letter carrier, so I can't be any more specific as to what to avoid when purchasing shoes. Good luck to you Dee!
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=I%27m%20about%20to%20start%20working%20as%20a%20Mail%20Carrier%20and%20I%20need%20a%20really%20good%20pair%20of%20walking%20shoes%20but%2C%20I%27m%20unsure%20of%20what%20kind%20to%20get.%20What%20kind%20of%20shoes%20will%20be%20best%20for%20all%20the%20walking%20that%20I%20will%20be%20doing%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/15369)
Flower, whether you live in Canada or the U.S., my answer to your question is the same: I don't know what can be done to amend this. I don't know that it is illegal either. Most apartment buildings that I've seen have a cluster of mailboxes near the lobby and are serviced by a USPS worker (in the US). I, too, live in an apartment building (a cooperative) and a USPS Letter Carrier distributes the mail. Management has no access to the cluster boxes as far as I know. On the flip side, there may be some arrangement for the management to deliver the mail in your building though I don't know the mechanism that would allow for such an agreement. The only thing I can compare your situation to is that many college campuses have mail that is distributed by non-USPS employees into boxes usually at a residence hall or student center/union. I did that for one year when I attended a university in NY.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=I%20live%20in%20a%20building%20with%20mailboxes%20we%20tennents%20access%20by%20key.%20However%20I%20found%20out%20that%20the%20management%20at%20our%20building%20puts%20the%20mail%20into%20the%20boxes%20and%20not%20the%20mailman.%20My%20boyfriend%20says%20this%20is%20illegal.%20%20What%20can%20I%20do%20to%20amend%20this%3F%20I%20live%20in%20Canada&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/14655)
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.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=How%20do%20you%20survive%20the%20extreme%20heat%3F%20Also%20after%20a%20long%20hot%20day%20do%20you%20get%20a%20headache%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/15240)
Yes, we were closed in Nassau and Suffolk for Tuesday Jan 27 due to a pending snowstorm. I believe NY city POs were closed as well. I think it was a good move based on what actually fell where I deliver the mail. The roads were at least passable and most customers had shoveled their walkways to their doors and driveways. Otherwise, delivery of mail may have been extremely difficult. Now to answer your question. I don't remember a time where we were fully closed due to a snow forecast. There have been times where we have come to work and found the road conditions too difficult or unsafe to deliver the mail. I know of no database that has information about the history of when we were closed for an entire day. On Monday, I delievered apprx 80% of my possible deliveries before we were told to return to the Post Office and not report back to work until the morning of today 01/28/15. I'm not a fan of delivering in snow and ice, but we make do the best we can.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=RECENTLY%20A%20CLOSING%20OF%20ALL%20OF%20NASSAU%20AND%20SUFFOLK%20WAS%20DUE%20TO%20BAD%20WEATHER%21%20MY%20%3F%20WHEN%20WAS%20THE%20LAST%20TIME%20THIS%20HAPPENED%20HERE%20IN%20LONGISLAND%3F%20AND%20OR%20WHERE%20CAN%20I%20FIND%20A%20HISTORY%20OF%20INCLEMENT%20WEATHER%20CLOSINGS%20FOR%20NASSAU%20AND%20SUFFOLK.%20THANKS%20DAVE%21%21&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/14430)
Veterinarian
How do you break the news to a kid when his pet dies?
CPR Trainer
Why does the 'official' CPR method change from time to time?
Security / Bodyguard
Are you expected to take a bullet that's meant for someone you're guarding?
That is interesting to hear yet not surprising to me. There are certain parcels that are supposed to have a scan on it whether or not it's actually delivered on a particular day. Amazon.com parcels are one of these types of parcels but it may occur on other parcels as well. I don't think it's right for the USPS to be doing this because it is misrepresenting the status of a parcel. In your case the fact that you live in a residence that is never closed makes it even more wrong to be scanned as "business closed". Sometimes a letter carrier may forget to deliver a parcel or it is missorted to another route and there is no time to get it correctly delivered on the same day. In this case, it might be scanned "attempted" or "business closed". In my opinion both of these scans are wrong and misleading to the recipient and/or shipper. I hope you have at least received the parcel the next delivery day. I've never been asked to scan a parcel wrongly and would refuse to do so. You may see this more lately as the volume of our parcel business for the month leading up to Christmas is probably double or more our normal parcel load.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=I%20live%20in%20a%20residence%2C%20never%20closed%2C%20but%20have%20had%20three%20occasions%20recently%20when%20an%20item%20wasn%27t%20delivered%20with%20a%20reason%20listed%20in%20tracking%20as%20business%20closed.%20Why%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/16078)
If someone writes the wrong address but a letter carrier recognizes the name as to where the letter should go, it may be delivered correctly. If we can't figure out where the letter should go and there is a valid return address on the letter, we may send the letter back endorsed "Attempted, not Known" referring to the incorrect address that was written on the envelope.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=What%20if%20someone%20send%20u%20mail%20but%20right%20the%20wrong%20address&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/14301)
Kathy, usually they aren't in trouble when being followed. It's a fairly normal procedure done 1x a year. As far as giving him a good review, you could write a letter to the Postmaster at your local Post Office where Ken works or possibly the website www.usps.com has a "contact us" option. To be honest I don't know what would happen with such a letter, but I hope that Ken would at least hear about it and get a copy. If you don't see Ken being followed in the future you can rest assured he probably wasn't in trouble. I realize that you often aren't home when he makes the mail delivery.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=I%20asked%20about%20ken%2C%20my%20mailman%2C%20thanks%20for%20response.%20Was%20hoping%20he%20wasn%27t%20in%20trouble.%20Is%20there%20a%20place%20to%20give%20him%20a%20good%20review%3F%20%3A%29%20I%20will.&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/13409)
-OR-
Login with Facebook (max 20 characters - letters, numbers, and underscores only. Note that your username is private, and you have the option to choose an alias when asking questions or hosting a Q&A.)
(A valid e-mail address is required. Your e-mail will not be shared with anyone.)
(min 5 characters)
By checking this box, you acknowledge that you have read and agree to Jobstr.com’s Terms and Privacy Policy.
-OR-
Register with Facebook(Don't worry: you'll be able to choose an alias when asking questions or hosting a Q&A.)
Browse Jobs
Host a Q&A
Search
Submit Your Question
Host a Q&A
Last 7
