Ask a Mailman (City Letter Carrier) anything

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 11 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.

686 Votes

Claims he received mail at our house that was addressed to his previous address (same town). I don't believe him, & I'm curious, could/would a postman/woman deliver post to a different address than what is marked. (Did not sign up for forwarding)

Asked by m0m2t0by over 11 years ago

I believe it would be rare for someone to receive mail at your address when they didn't put on a forwarding order and then to actually know about it. Certainly mail could be mis-delivered to your house, but how would that person know unless you contacted them somehow? I deliver mail only as addressed with a couple of exceptions. If I can see that the sender addressed it wrong (usually a wrong house #, but the correct street), I would likely deliver it to the address where the person lives. Even if someone moved in the same town but didn't put in a forwarding order, we aren't allowed to just "hand off" the mail to their new address. I did recently notice that a woman (her parents live on the route I deliver) had a piece of mail with her name on it but the address to be delivered to was in Maryland. I know the woman is now receiving mail at her parents home and likely has a forwarding order from Maryland to her parents house in NY. The letter may have been automatically re-routed to NY with the new addresses bar code put on the envelope and the letter then arrived in the computer-sorted mail for the NY address. I just delivered it knowing that the surnames matched. I hope this answers your question and thanks for writing.

685 Votes

I went through the process to get the stamp thing worked out so I could have a priority package picked up tomorrow. hubby was going to get priority box for me, they closed before bus got him there. Will mailman have one when he picks up?

Asked by deborah almost 11 years ago

When the letter carrier comes to pick up your package, they will unlikely have a priority box with them. Most of us carrier no supplies in our postal vehicle. I think you can also edit the pickup request because it sounds like you won't have the Priority Mail package ready for them. You can probably edit or cancel the pickup request if you won't be mailing the item today. If you have any other box you can use that as well unless you have selected the Flat Rate Option for your packaging. If you did select a Flat Rate option you need to use a Priority Mail Flat Rate Box or envelope.

685 Votes

I accidentally put the recipients address first then my address will the recipient still get the letter or will I have to do another envelope

Asked by Taylor about 11 years ago

The USPS uses a lot of automation to sort the mail and I think it's looking for the address in the middle of the envelope as to where to send the item. In your example, I would recommended using a new envelope. Write your address (which will be considered the return address) in the upper left hand corner of the envelope. Put the recipients address in the center of the envelope and the sufficient postage in the upper right hand corner.

685 Votes

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 almost 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.

684 Votes

thank you. that's what i hoped. i said some things after i walked away(about 20 feet). no threats were made and nobody was touched. are you allowed to have phone plugs in your ears and the radio going in your truck where you can't hear people?

Asked by tn mom almost 11 years ago

I don't like to quote too many rules here on jobstr with regards to what a letter carrier can and can't do. One of the main reasons is that many rules are barely told to us, if at all, and the enforcement of any rules seem so inconsistent even within a particular office. In our office we are told not to have both ears plugged with earphones while delivering mail (driving or walking). I use earphones but only have one ear plugged in. I wouldn't be surprised if some of my co-workers have them both plugged in, because "rules" are for other people, not them. I also think we are allowed to play a radio in our vehicles, but it shouldn't be that loud where you can't hear what's going on around you. That is rude and a safety concern as far as I see it. I'm glad that no threats were made and nobody was touched. I won't stick up for my fellow employees who have any type of bad attitude or poor work ethic or don't follow some basic courtesy rules.

684 Votes

Are the people at the counter in the post office obliged to ask me what I am sending in a Large Letter ?? thank you

Asked by Werlygig about 11 years ago

I don't believe they can ask you what is actually in the large letter, but I know if it's over a certain weight or size, they can ask something to the effect of "is the item you are mailing liquid, fragile, perishable, or potentially hazardous?" and you self-certify the answer with a yes or no. Certain batteries have to go by surface only and can't fly on airplanes. So I would take exception of they actually ask you what is being mailed if it's first class or Priority Mail. If you are mailing something via Medial Mail they can verify or even open a package to inspect that it is media (books, CDs, cassettes, video, DVD). I hope this answers your question.

684 Votes

Mailman (City Letter Carrier)

Ask me anything!

What do YOU do?

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?

Claims he received mail at our house that was addressed to his previous address (same town). I don't believe him, & I'm curious, could/would a postman/woman deliver post to a different address than what is marked. (Did not sign up for forwarding)

I went through the process to get the stamp thing worked out so I could have a priority package picked up tomorrow. hubby was going to get priority box for me, they closed before bus got him there. Will mailman have one when he picks up?

I accidentally put the recipients address first then my address will the recipient still get the letter or will I have to do another envelope

Also on Jobstr...

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?

thank you. that's what i hoped. i said some things after i walked away(about 20 feet). no threats were made and nobody was touched. are you allowed to have phone plugs in your ears and the radio going in your truck where you can't hear people?

Are the people at the counter in the post office obliged to ask me what I am sending in a Large Letter ?? thank you

Mailman (City Letter Carrier)

Ask me anything!

What do YOU do?

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?

Claims he received mail at our house that was addressed to his previous address (same town). I don't believe him, & I'm curious, could/would a postman/woman deliver post to a different address than what is marked. (Did not sign up for forwarding)

I went through the process to get the stamp thing worked out so I could have a priority package picked up tomorrow. hubby was going to get priority box for me, they closed before bus got him there. Will mailman have one when he picks up?

I accidentally put the recipients address first then my address will the recipient still get the letter or will I have to do another envelope

Also on Jobstr...

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?

thank you. that's what i hoped. i said some things after i walked away(about 20 feet). no threats were made and nobody was touched. are you allowed to have phone plugs in your ears and the radio going in your truck where you can't hear people?

Are the people at the counter in the post office obliged to ask me what I am sending in a Large Letter ?? thank you

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