Ask a Mailman (City Letter Carrier) anything

I left a letter in my landlords mailbox in a stamped envelope with my return address and her receiving address when she checked the box her mail was there but my letter wasn't what happens if mailman took it thinking it was outgoing mail

Asked by Kate about 10 years ago

From what you described there should be no problem in your landlord eventually receiving the check. It's possible that the letter carrier took the envelope thinking it was outgoing mail. Since it had a stamp on it and the landlord as a receiving address, they will likely get the check in a couple of delivery days. If a letter carrier sees an unstamped envelope in a mailbox they will often take it as outgoing mail without looking at the destination address. Thanks for your question.

544 Votes

Lets say its a chilly day probably in the 30's-40's range and raining. I have rain gear for the rest of my body but nothing for my hands. How do you keep your hands dry? Warmth is not a major concern atm, just keeping them dry. What do you do?

Asked by Kruesser almost 11 years ago

Those days aren't fun whatsoever and I don't know that I have a good answer for you as I'm more concerned with the cold. I have heard of seal skin gloves which may work well to keep your hands dry but still be able to finger the mail. I'm sorry I don't have a more concrete answer for you. It's good that you have rain gear for the rest of your body. Don't wear any cloth gloves because they will get wet quickly and soak through to your skin. To find help on this and other questions, I would recommend the Facebook user group titled: USPS postal Maniacs. There are over 9000 USPS employees who are members and are pretty good about voicing their opinions on postal questions (often very negative, but they have a helpful side as well).

543 Votes

I live in a building with mailboxes we tennents access by key. However I found out that the management at our building puts the mail into the boxes and not the mailman. My boyfriend says this is illegal. What can I do to amend this? I live in Canada

Asked by Flower almost 11 years ago

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.

542 Votes

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.

541 Votes

I recently finished my route, came back office and someone defaced my time card. I took a picture, notified my steward to meet with postmaster on Monday. No point in notifying supervisor it was Saturday, rather go to postmaster. Any thoughts,

Asked by rocketman60 over 10 years ago

First of all, I want to say that it's disgusting that a co-worker would do that. It could almost be taken as a threat from a co-worker and make for a hostile environment. I think you did the right thing by taking a photo of it and getting your shop steward involved. It wouldn't have hurt for you to notify the supervisor since they are next up the chain of command. It sounds like you feel that this is serious enough to go right to the postmaster and I understand that. I don't know if your office has internal video cameras which would cover the area by the time clock. That'd give you all of the evidence you need. Be careful not to just wildly point fingers as to who you think has done the defacing, but if you have had a noticeable conflict with one co-worker you could mention that in the meeting with the postmaster and your shop steward. Nobody at work should have to put up with that kind of defacement or intimidation and I really hope that the management and NALC doesn't take this lightly.

541 Votes

Hi again i got everything figured out with my postcard and am going to be sending out 10,000 at once. Would i be able to get a bulk discount for this? or would it be wiser to pay for first class postage? and will they be delivered the same either way

Asked by Andrew almost 10 years ago

I didn't realize you'd be doing such a large mailing. I believe that amt of postcards would qualify for a discount but sometimes it depends on the quantity of pieces for a certain area, how the mailing is prepared, and where you enter it into the system (some large mailings are cheaper to drop off at a mail plant vs. a local PO). The name for a bulk mailing discount is usually called presort standard and presort first class Mail. The standard doesn't get handled as quickly as first class mail which is why it's cheaper. I am sure the answer is quite a bit more complex than what I've told you. Some resources that I'd look for are the Direct Marketing Association or search for "USPS bulk mailing discounts" or "basics of bulk mailing USPS". If stamps or meters are not affixed to your postcards you can't just drop them in a mailbox. The mailing would need to be processed through the BMEU (business mail entry unit). You may also need to get a bulk mailing permit to use an indicia and get a discount. I don't know these details at all. You ask good questions but my area of knowledge has more to do with the job of a city letter carrier. That is why I'm not being any more specific. Anything I've typed here is what I've learned over the years by asking my associates similar questions that you have asked. None of this knowledge is necessary to be a letter carrier.

541 Votes

are mail carriers required to deliver to separate boxes at a 2-family house, assuming the boxes specify 'apt. 1' and 'apt. 2' (particularly if the boxes are on different levels separated by stairs)?

Asked by Joe about 10 years ago

I don't know the procedures for determining whether a not a building is "officially" considered multi-unit for mail deliver purposes. I once had a person who was leasing part of a house of I could put his mail into a separate mailbox on the side of a house and I said no. The house is considered one address and all of the mail goes in a single box. The landlord can separate the mail. I would think if it's a 2-family house and the boxes are clearly marked as "apt 1" and "apt 2" or something similarly distinctive and the mail is addressed accordingly it may be okay. I truly don't know what constitutes multi-unit or not as far as mail delivery goes. I also don't know if the stairs have any effect to the answer. It's not uncommon to walk up stairs to deliver mail so I can't outright say no due to the stairs separating the mailboxes of the 2 units.

541 Votes

Mailman (City Letter Carrier)

Ask me anything!

What do YOU do?

I left a letter in my landlords mailbox in a stamped envelope with my return address and her receiving address when she checked the box her mail was there but my letter wasn't what happens if mailman took it thinking it was outgoing mail

Lets say its a chilly day probably in the 30's-40's range and raining. I have rain gear for the rest of my body but nothing for my hands. How do you keep your hands dry? Warmth is not a major concern atm, just keeping them dry. What do you do?

I live in a building with mailboxes we tennents access by key. However I found out that the management at our building puts the mail into the boxes and not the mailman. My boyfriend says this is illegal. What can I do to amend this? I live in Canada

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!

Also on Jobstr...

I recently finished my route, came back office and someone defaced my time card. I took a picture, notified my steward to meet with postmaster on Monday. No point in notifying supervisor it was Saturday, rather go to postmaster. Any thoughts,

Hi again i got everything figured out with my postcard and am going to be sending out 10,000 at once. Would i be able to get a bulk discount for this? or would it be wiser to pay for first class postage? and will they be delivered the same either way

are mail carriers required to deliver to separate boxes at a 2-family house, assuming the boxes specify 'apt. 1' and 'apt. 2' (particularly if the boxes are on different levels separated by stairs)?

Mailman (City Letter Carrier)

Ask me anything!

What do YOU do?

I left a letter in my landlords mailbox in a stamped envelope with my return address and her receiving address when she checked the box her mail was there but my letter wasn't what happens if mailman took it thinking it was outgoing mail

Lets say its a chilly day probably in the 30's-40's range and raining. I have rain gear for the rest of my body but nothing for my hands. How do you keep your hands dry? Warmth is not a major concern atm, just keeping them dry. What do you do?

I live in a building with mailboxes we tennents access by key. However I found out that the management at our building puts the mail into the boxes and not the mailman. My boyfriend says this is illegal. What can I do to amend this? I live in Canada

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!

Also on Jobstr...

I recently finished my route, came back office and someone defaced my time card. I took a picture, notified my steward to meet with postmaster on Monday. No point in notifying supervisor it was Saturday, rather go to postmaster. Any thoughts,

Hi again i got everything figured out with my postcard and am going to be sending out 10,000 at once. Would i be able to get a bulk discount for this? or would it be wiser to pay for first class postage? and will they be delivered the same either way

are mail carriers required to deliver to separate boxes at a 2-family house, assuming the boxes specify 'apt. 1' and 'apt. 2' (particularly if the boxes are on different levels separated by stairs)?

Login

Forgot Your Password?

Register