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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Last Answer on February 18, 2022

Best Rated

My mail carrier frequently delivers mail to my house for my neighbor. I have been walking it over, but it is happening almost daily now. How can I solve the situation? Is it rude to leave it to be re-delivered when the address is so close to me?

Asked by MB over 11 years ago

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.

We are having our front steps removed for some landscaping and the mailman won't be able to get to our mailbox that is right by our front door. What do we do?

Asked by Melissa about 10 years ago

If it is a temporary change, you could put a replacement mailbox or cardboard box (or anything labeled US mail) in an area visible and accessible to your letter carrier. I had a resident recently move the mailbox to near his garage because his whole front steps area of the house was being ripped out, expanded, and rebuilt. Your letter carrier shouldn't give you a hard time about this. If you get a chance you can mention it to them ahead of the construction beginning, or post a note by your present mailbox that you'll soon be providing a temporary alternate area to deliver the mail. Thanks for your question and consideration.

My boyfriend is just started working for the USPS and has only been by himself for 2 days and they are complaining that he isn't going fast enough. It's a 14 mile walking round and the want him to start at 8.30 and be done by 12.30 is this realistic?

Asked by aallee about 11 years ago

It doesn't sound reasonable to me to even have a 14-mile walking route to begin with. That is walking more than a half-marathon daily. If you had zero mail to deliver and walked 14 miles you may be able to cover the route in 4 hours if walk at 3.5 MPH. That is faster than most people walk or at least about the average walking speed. Please tell your boyfriend to do the best he can, walk safely, and that the rate he is being asked to walk at is unrealistic. I just did a quick internet search for "average walking speed" and it is 3.1 MPH. This doesn't include delivering mail or any weight added if your boyfriend is carrying a satchel of mail. USPS management is known for being unreasonable at times.

On mail box cluster Iw do know which solt each person's mail goes in

Asked by Mark over 10 years ago

If a neighborhood has cluster boxes, it's usually a group of 6-30 addresses per cluster box. I actually made up that number. Where I deliver to cluster boxes, they range from 4-16 addresses per cluster box. As the letter carrier, I have a key which opens up the cluster box fully and then i can sort all of the mail for those addresses at one time. The boxes are usually well labeled inside (with the cluster panel open) to know where to put the mail. It's important for the letter carrier to know whether to put the mail either above or below the address if the slots are stacked vertically. I have seen my fellow letter carriers, and I'm sure myself make errors in deliveries to cluster boxes. I also live in an apartment building where mail is delivered into cluster boxes near the elevators. It can get more tedious than walking from door to door delivering mail but it is more efficient to deliver mail to cluster box units.

If someone sends you mail today from Chaska and Elk River what day will it show up in Zimmerman? Let's say if someone needs money for a form thing and they send it that day how long will it take to show up at that place they sent it at?

Asked by Morgan Gilman over 10 years ago

I see on a map you are referring to towns in MN that are about 55 miles apart. That's the mileage from Chaska, MN to Zimmerman, MN. I'd say it's approximately 2 days to get from the origin to the destination. For example, if the letter was mailed on a Tuesday before the collection deadline it should be delivered by Thursday. I hope this answers your question. It's also not a good idea to send actual cash through the mail if you can avoid it.

If I address mail like:
.
John Cook
123 Ort Rd, New York,NY,USA
~zip code~
.
Will it still be delivered to my house from an outside country or does the zip code go back up by the street and city name or does it not matter?

Asked by ghords over 11 years ago

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.

While driving the vehicle to make a delivery, another motorist points towards the back of your vehicle as if something is wrong. What do you do?

Asked by Tolu Akande almost 11 years ago

If I were in motion, I'd safely pull over, put on my four-way flashers, and then get out to investigate. It's possible that my gas cap is hanging out the side of the LLV, the back gate isn't secure, or maybe I'm dragging something. It could also be something that I haven't thought of. If the motorist is still around I'd ask them what they are pointing out.