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.
I can't say for sure if we come later on Fridays or not. It usually depends on the staffing and mail volume as to what time we deliver the mail. At the PO where I work, Friday is usually like most other weekdays for mail delivery time. On Saturday, the mail may come earlier because postal routes may have closed busineses so they can start the residential delivery sooner.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Do%20you%20come%20later%20on%20Fridays%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/15881)
Your postal carrier shouldn't be misdelivering the mail at all. We all make mistakes but it shouldn't be a regular occurrence as you imply happens with your neighbor's mail coming to you. I think it's nice of you to bring it to your neighbor but you certainly don't have to. It is not rude whatsoever to leave the mail in your mailbox so the carrier can see it and hopefully deliver it correctly. I know you may not feel comfortable leaving a note in your mailbox with the incorrectly delivered mail stating that this is a regular occurrence and please be more careful with your delivery, but this type of note would be entirely appropriate. I care so much about delivering properly that I appreciate it when a customer tells me about an errant delivery or leaves the letter in their mailbox to be re-delivered. I wish all of my co-workers felt the same way. Some do and some don't. Thanks for your question.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=My%20mail%20carrier%20frequently%20delivers%20mail%20to%20my%20house%20for%20my%20neighbor.%20I%20have%20been%20walking%20it%20over%2C%20but%20it%20is%20happening%20almost%20daily%20now.%20How%20can%20I%20solve%20the%20situation%3F%20Is%20it%20rude%20to%20leave%20it%20to%20be%20re-delivered%20when%20the%20%20address%20is%20so%20close%20to%20me%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/14608)
Hello GrannyBlu72! It was fine to drop the letter to your granddaughter in the Priority Express Blue Box on the street. That probably happens all of the time and the letter carrier who collects it would just put that envelope into the regular mail processing stream. As long as you used proper postage for what you mailed and put the correct address on the envelope, the letter will get to your granddaughter. When she receives it, however, is a different story. The letter would likely be collected from that blue collection box on Monday and if sent to the regional mail processing facility (which most mail is sent to even if addressed to the same town that it is mailed in), the turnaround time is usually 2 days. It is likely your granddaughter will receive the letter Wednesday. Until recently, mail within a certain processing area would take just 1-day to reach it's destination.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Dear%20Mailman%20Dave%2C%0A%20I%20went%20to%20mail%20a%20letter%20in%20a%20first%20class%20standard%20envelope%20to%20my%20granddaughter.%20I%20accidently%20placed%20my%20envelope%20in%20a%20USPS%20Priority%20Express%20blue%20box%20on%20the%20street.%20This%20was%20done%20on%20a%20Sunday%20around%2012%3A00%20PM.%20Will%20my%20mistake%20delay%20my%20granddaughter%20from%20getting%20the%20letter%20on%20Monday%3F%20We%20both%20live%20in%20the%20same%20state%20being%20ten%20minutes%20away%20from%20each%20other%2C%20and%20we%20share%20the%20same%20main%20post%20office.%20I%20also%20forgot%20to%20add%20a%20return%20address%2C%20but%20I%20know%20for%20certain%20I%20wrote%20the%20forward%20address%20correctly%20and%20used%20a%20first%20class%20stamp.%20Any%20help%20given%20would%20be%20greatly%20appreciated.&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/15208)
Bradan, Congratulations on surviving the winter! That can't have been fun at all. I'm just glad it's over also. As much as the heat isn't fun, I prefer it over the cold. I know there are others who feel quite differently about that. As far as tips go, my main tips are: 1) Drink plenty of water or some other liquids. I've heard different schools of thought whether or not Gatorade is good. My joke is that on the internet you can find anybody to support your opinion. I would guess that it works but there is a very high sugar content. The key is to stay hydrated.
2) Wear a hat to block the sun off your head and face. I wear a cowboy-type hat which works well. I fold the edges up by the ear so it doesn't look so funny but there is a tradeoff in that I'm exposing more of my face to the sun. I'm not sure what the official name of the hat is. You could also wear a white mesh pith helmet. Baseball caps will help as well but not cover too much of your face or neck for sun exposure. I also wear sunglasses most of the time.
3) Wear as light clothes as possible. I usually wear shorts in the warm weather and a short-sleeve uniform shirt with a t-shirt underneath.
Those are the basic tips that I can think of. Make sure to ask or take a cue from your fellow carriers, as I'm far from being an expert on this. On the very hot and humid days I consume water without even thinking about it, usually bringing about 2 liters with me plus some orange juice to drink with lunch.
Good luck to you. During July and August there is so much extra work to do because of our fellow workers going on vacation. We never seem to have enough help. I'm sure that story is repeated in many Post Offices nationwide.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=I%27m%20a%20CCA%20in%20Ohio%20that%20survived%20the%20winter%20%28YAY%21%29%20and%20this%20will%20be%20my%20first%20summer%20working%20for%20the%20USPS.%20Do%20you%20have%20any%20tips%20for%20surviving%20the%20heat%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/15045)
MBA Student
Is business school a party compared to law or med school?
Magician
What's the most amazing magic trick you've ever seen?
Zookeeper and Animal Trainer
Are a lot of people in your line of work vegetarian/vegan?
Based on the office where I work, there are about 25% female carriers. I can't say at all what it is at other locations. Lately, the CCAs who have been hired are more like 50% female. Some of them are quite petite so I don't know how they do the job lifting heavy parcels and walking with loaded mail satchels. I give them a lot of credit. I believe you should be able to lift up to 70 lbs, but I don't think that is tested and I see some carriers give their heavier parcels to a parcel post driver to deliver. I don't think that is necessarily fair that they don't have to carry the same load as I do, but I don't care enough to speak up or cause an unnecessary conflict.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=What%20percentage%20of%20mail%20carriers%20would%20you%20say%2C%20are%20female%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/15454)
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.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=are%20mail%20carriers%20required%20to%20deliver%20to%20separate%20boxes%20at%20a%202-family%20house%2C%20assuming%20the%20boxes%20specify%20%27apt.%201%27%20and%20%27apt.%202%27%20%28particularly%20if%20the%20boxes%20are%20on%20different%20levels%20separated%20by%20stairs%29%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/15992)
The mail will still likely make it to your address in the USA, but the proper addressing format would be to have the bottom line read the country of destination. The ZIP should go on the same line as City and State. The Street (or PO Box) should go on the line above City, State, and ZIP code.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=If%20I%20address%20mail%20like%3A%0A.%0AJohn%20Cook%0A123%20Ort%20Rd%2C%20New%20York%2CNY%2CUSA%0A%7Ezip%20code%7E%0A.%0AWill%20it%20still%20be%20delivered%20to%20my%20house%20from%20an%20outside%20country%20or%20does%20the%20zip%20code%20go%20back%20up%20by%20the%20street%20and%20city%20name%20or%20does%20it%20not%20matter%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/14721)
-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
