Ask a Mailman (City Letter Carrier) anything

1237 Questions

Last Answer on February 18, 2022

The mailman at my office came in to deliver mail and I told him that we had moved our postage machine from one location to another and he told me that they get paid by the foot and his supervisor measures it once a year. Is that true? I doubt it!

Asked by Shan over 10 years ago

I have not had an office to deliver on a regular basis so I can't comment as to how far a letter carrier is supposed to go I to an office to deliver or retrieve outgoing mail. Usually I'd expect to mostly deliver to a mail room or reception desk. As far as getting paid by the foot, I can assure you if it is a city letter carrier they are being paid "on the clock" meaning it has nothing to do with distance traveled on foot, but only by time working. A rural letter carrier may have a different way to calculate their pay where I don't know the details. If your letter carrier is wearing the traditional blue uniform, it is likely they are a city carrier and if the location of your postage machine took them longer to access, they'd actually be paid more money because it took them longer. I am being picayune but I hope you understand the point. Some mail carriers are just lazy, will feed you a line, or genuinely know some of the rules about office delivery.

524 Votes

Postal Carrier delivered over 150 postcards to ONE hotel that I paid to deliver to every home and business. What are my rights for damage caused to my 15 businesses I represent that depend on revenue from it?

Asked by Phil about 10 years ago

Phil, it sounds like you were using our EDDM Retail service which allows mailers to target an area of the town with a simplified (unaddressed) mailing which would go to each address on a route or group of routes. EDDM stands for Every Door Direct Mail. It has been very popular since it was introduced by the USPS several years ago. It is very bad that a postal carrier would deliver it to just one address though I have heard this complaint before. I don't know what your rights are re: a refund of the mailing costs. I'd contact your local postmaster or escalate to our consumer affairs department (which I think we have) to try and make sure it doesn't happen again. I don't believe you are eligible for any damage beyond the cost of the postage, but I could be wrong about this. Hearing a complaint like this doesn't surprise me as I get the impression that these mailings (EDDM) aren't treated as well as addressed mail but absolutely should be. We are paid to deliver the mail accordingly. I'm sorry that you had this bad experience with the USPS and hope you would give us another chance.

524 Votes

Can a mail carrier talk for hours on the job(2–3) with just one person,give people rides in her mail truck, and take car rides with neighbors while still in uniform? This is the worst mail carrier I've had. Everyone in my apartment also gets few mail

Asked by Caroline over 10 years ago

I am appalled at these observations of a mail carrier. If they are a city letter carrier, they aren't allowed to do any of the as far as I know. The actions seem completely unprofessional and probably against postal regulations. I would never give someone a ride in my mail truck or even have enough time to talk to one person on the route. If I talk to someone for even a few minutes I start to get anxious that I'll be late returning to the PO from my delivery route. I don't think it is against the rules to take a ride with someone while you are in uniform as long as the mail is secured in the postal delivery vehicle. We are authorized a 30 minute lunch break, two 10-minute breaks, plus whatever bathroom breaks are necessary. I have heard stories like you have told while reading some Facebook Forums or message boards. They are definitely working somewhere I'm not familiar with and with a management who doesn't care to do anything about this. I believe in an honest day's work for an honest day's pay. People like you have observed have probably been ripping off the USPS and the ratepayers for years. There are definitely other USPS workers who would disagree strongly with my comments, but this is how I see it. If you know for sure you aren't getting all of your mail, you could bring it to the attention of the delivery supervisor of your local PO. I would question how you would know you are missing anything. It's possible that your apartment complex residents don't receive a lot of mail. Thanks for writing.

524 Votes

Hi I think that I put in my mail in the mailbox without closing the envelope. What will happen to the papers inside the envelope?

Asked by mm almost 11 years ago

It is possible that the contents of the envelope stayed in the envelope and the item will reach its destination. If the papers fall out and there is no address on them to either return the papers to you or continue on to the intended recipient, those papers would probably wind up at a "nixie" or "dead letter" area and disposed of eventually.

523 Votes

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I have an interview Thursday to be a city carrier, is it possible for me to carrier four days and go to school the other two?

Asked by N ADAMS about 10 years ago

I don't know this answer since I don't work in the hiring area and don't know what the conversations are like. My guess from what I've seen is that it's not likely that a 4-day schedule will be allowed and then 2 days at school. The CCAs in our office have to sometimes work on Sunday delivering Amazon.com packages. I think that CCAs are supposed to be available on a very dynamic schedule so I don't know if you could get an agreement from the USPS to guarantee no work on the days you'd like to go to school. It doesn't hurt to ask and just because I haven't seen it done doesn't mean it's not possible. Good luck.

523 Votes

An X roommate put a vaction hold on my address. They do not even live here. ..What can I do? And can I press any charges.

Asked by moriah about 11 years ago

Moriah, that is pretty rotten that an ex-roommate would put a hold on all of the mail to your address. I believe you may have to call the USPS help line or visit your local post office to say that your mail shouldn't be held. They shouldn't give you a hard time if you prove that is your address. As far as pressing any charges, I don't have any legal background on what the crime would be and if any charges would stick. The USPS CS # is 800 275 8777.

523 Votes

I am expecting a check from Prudential that was mailed out on the 29th. They said 3-5 business days but its the 6th day and its not here. My apartment number wasn't on the mail but whats more likely, the snow storms delaying mail or was it returned?

Asked by Anthony over 10 years ago

It is possible that the mail from Prudential is delayed due to the storm or because there is no apt. # on the address. I am not sure which would be more likely. I don't know how strict your post office or letter carrier is on delivering to multi-unit buildings with no apt # on the mail. I would think that if they know what unit the letter should go to it would be a good idea to just deliver it there. In general it is important to put your apt # on your address, but I think you know that. I'd recommend giving it a few more days before worrying that the check is really lost. Thanks for the question.

522 Votes

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Mailman (City Letter Carrier)

Ask me anything!

What do YOU do?

The mailman at my office came in to deliver mail and I told him that we had moved our postage machine from one location to another and he told me that they get paid by the foot and his supervisor measures it once a year. Is that true? I doubt it!

Postal Carrier delivered over 150 postcards to ONE hotel that I paid to deliver to every home and business. What are my rights for damage caused to my 15 businesses I represent that depend on revenue from it?

Can a mail carrier talk for hours on the job(2–3) with just one person,give people rides in her mail truck, and take car rides with neighbors while still in uniform? This is the worst mail carrier I've had. Everyone in my apartment also gets few mail

Hi I think that I put in my mail in the mailbox without closing the envelope. What will happen to the papers inside the envelope?

Also on Jobstr...

I have an interview Thursday to be a city carrier, is it possible for me to carrier four days and go to school the other two?

An X roommate put a vaction hold on my address. They do not even live here. ..What can I do? And can I press any charges.

I am expecting a check from Prudential that was mailed out on the 29th. They said 3-5 business days but its the 6th day and its not here. My apartment number wasn't on the mail but whats more likely, the snow storms delaying mail or was it returned?

Mailman (City Letter Carrier)

Ask me anything!

What do YOU do?

The mailman at my office came in to deliver mail and I told him that we had moved our postage machine from one location to another and he told me that they get paid by the foot and his supervisor measures it once a year. Is that true? I doubt it!

Postal Carrier delivered over 150 postcards to ONE hotel that I paid to deliver to every home and business. What are my rights for damage caused to my 15 businesses I represent that depend on revenue from it?

Can a mail carrier talk for hours on the job(2–3) with just one person,give people rides in her mail truck, and take car rides with neighbors while still in uniform? This is the worst mail carrier I've had. Everyone in my apartment also gets few mail

Hi I think that I put in my mail in the mailbox without closing the envelope. What will happen to the papers inside the envelope?

Also on Jobstr...

I have an interview Thursday to be a city carrier, is it possible for me to carrier four days and go to school the other two?

An X roommate put a vaction hold on my address. They do not even live here. ..What can I do? And can I press any charges.

I am expecting a check from Prudential that was mailed out on the 29th. They said 3-5 business days but its the 6th day and its not here. My apartment number wasn't on the mail but whats more likely, the snow storms delaying mail or was it returned?

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