Mailman (City Letter Carrier)

Mailman (City Letter Carrier)

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.

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1236 Questions

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Last Answer on February 18, 2022

Best Rated

How can I get a letter to a specific mail carrier. Not necessarily the one on my route.

Asked by Jane about 9 years ago

If you know their name and what PO they work at you could mail it with their name, c/o the PO where they work and hopefully they will get it. You could mark it Personal if you want to. I have lost a lot of faith lately in things getting delivered to where they should but you could try it. I would think if our supervisor or PM saw a letter addresses to an employee they'd give it to them as long as it wasn't habitual. iVe never been in that situation so I can't say for sure. Thanks for your question.

I am a unit owner in a 114 unit condo. An owner operates a rental business in her unit. She has erected a "hotel" sign and has all 114 owners mail delivered to her, and then delivers the mail to each unit. Is this illegal?

Asked by jmasick@hotmail.com almost 10 years ago

I am not familiar with any rules that would or wouldn't allow this. On the surface it seems odd that you wouldn't be able to receive your mail directly from the USPS, but this may be the way the condo is set up. When you say an owner operates a rental business in her unit, do you mean she arranges for people to rent other condo units short-term, kind of like a rental agent? Either way, I'm not sure how this affects mail delivery. An alternative to having your mail delivered to this single unit would be to rent a PO Box. Sure it is more costly than just getting your mail delivered to the condo complex, but there is reliability and privacy/security with a PO Box.

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 9 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.

is the mailman going to be running behind on the day after Thanksgiving with his mail delivery

Asked by Teri almost 10 years ago

Teri, generally the mailman will be running behind because the day after any holiday there is often a heavier quantity of mail to deliver. I can't speak for all offices, but most of my co-workers were probably 1:00-1:30 behind their regular schedule when they started deliveries today. There was a huge quantity of parcels to have sorted by the clerks (took awhile) and also delivering these takes longer . One other factor is that the sun sets earlier this time of year so delivering the mail in the dark takes even longer.

I'm a CCA in Ohio that survived the winter (YAY!) and this will be my first summer working for the USPS. Do you have any tips for surviving the heat?

Asked by Bradan over 9 years ago

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.

How long does it take to get back to the sender when USPS tracking states : Moved, Left no address:

Asked by Nikki about 9 years ago

I don't know how long that would take. I didn't know that we are able to scan a package or item as "moved, left no address". If the system is working properly and we give that item the same attention that an originating (vs. a returned item) gets then it should just take a few days to get back to the sender. In our office which is shorthanded on clerks, I'm not so sure how quickly the item would be returned. There is a lot as a letter carrier or employee we aren't told or know how long something should take so we just learn a lot by experience. Thanks for your question.

Daughter of a deceased employee submitted an employee generated mlna with letter attached indicating father had past. I did mlna on the mail, then 2 days a fwd was put thru. Do l now fwd or mlna and will that mlna come back in dps or to office.

Asked by jvitto48 about 9 years ago

I would forward any mail you receive from this point forward since you now have a valid COA for that former employee who is now deceased. Any mail that was previously put through with the MLNA may not come back at all and was returned to the sender. If the mail happens to come back to your office I would then forward it. This is all just my opinion. I'd ask the clerk who handles forwards in your office or a supervisor, but they may also just give an opinion without knowing if there is a correct procedure.