Ask a Mailman (City Letter Carrier) anything

1237 Questions

Last Answer on February 18, 2022

Let's say you ordered something 'embarrassing' (although not illegal or hazardous) such as a playboy magazine or whatever, that is in a boxed package. Is there a way for the mailman to know what you have?

Asked by robert almost 10 years ago

I'd say there is no obvious way to know what is in a box. The return address can sometimes give a clue, but if it's Adult Entertainment or sexual toys/gadgets, the mailer is usually discreet in the return address and packaging. Playboy magazines that are subscribed to are usually easy to spot because it comes via Periodical Class, is polywrapped and you don't see the cover. I do notice those magazines (but few people get them anymore) and ads for Adult Videos, but nothing else really catches my eye when delivering packages or mail with respect to them being embarrassing. Good question.

447 Votes

how late does the mail carrier run pls hlp thnx

Asked by deedee over 9 years ago

I don't know where you live but delivery is usually done by 5:30 or 6PM based on my experience. I suppose if an office is short-handed or the mail volume is too high then delivery may be much later. The route which I deliver in Long Island, NY generally is done by 3:30 PM if the mail volume (including parcels to deliver) is average. So you can see there is quite a range as to how late a letter carrier route can be and there are variables that make it hard to pinpoint when delivery will be on any given day. Thanks for your question.

447 Votes

Have you ever drove a 2 ton postal van and do you think a lady carrier can drive one if short in stature?

Asked by PK over 9 years ago

I only drove a two ton van a few times in my postal career and that was many years ago. I didn't feel comfortable driving such a large vehicle but some of my co-workers don't mind it. I believe they aren't that hard to handle. As far as a woman of short stature I don't know if a lady carrier can drive it. We have females that drive the two ton postal truck and do it fine. They are probably 5' 5" or taller so I can't say how the visibility is for a short person. I don't know about the adjustability of the seat height.

446 Votes

This might be just my mother telling this to us as kids but if you have a community mailbox like in a neighborhood, is it illegal to walk up to him?

Asked by Jennifer over 9 years ago

If you mean that you live in an apartment complex or community where it is served by a cluster box which contains many addresses then I can tell you it isn't illegal at all to walk up to a letter carrier. It actually never is unless you plan to threaten or harm the individual and that could result in you doing something illegal. If we are putting mail into a cluster box (aka NDBCU) it could be annoying to us if we have a lot of mail to sort plus we may not give you your mail directly. I hope this answers your question.

446 Votes

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Postal Carrier delivered over 150 postcards to ONE hotel that I paid to deliver to every home and business. What are my rights for damage caused to my 15 businesses I represent that depend on revenue from it?

Asked by Phil over 9 years ago

Phil, it sounds like you were using our EDDM Retail service which allows mailers to target an area of the town with a simplified (unaddressed) mailing which would go to each address on a route or group of routes. EDDM stands for Every Door Direct Mail. It has been very popular since it was introduced by the USPS several years ago. It is very bad that a postal carrier would deliver it to just one address though I have heard this complaint before. I don't know what your rights are re: a refund of the mailing costs. I'd contact your local postmaster or escalate to our consumer affairs department (which I think we have) to try and make sure it doesn't happen again. I don't believe you are eligible for any damage beyond the cost of the postage, but I could be wrong about this. Hearing a complaint like this doesn't surprise me as I get the impression that these mailings (EDDM) aren't treated as well as addressed mail but absolutely should be. We are paid to deliver the mail accordingly. I'm sorry that you had this bad experience with the USPS and hope you would give us another chance.

446 Votes

Have you ever had to sign someone's name for them on a package because they weren't home? and also is there any way that doing this can screw over the customer?

Asked by Fern over 9 years ago

I sign customer's names on accountable mail or packages that need a signature if I know them and they'd likely want that done. I frequently do this but technically it's not allowed unless the recipient has given previous written authorization to do this. So far, it's never been a problem in my career that I've signed for an item, but I don't expect others to do the same. As far as if this can screw over a customer, I don't know. I suppose if you signed for a package for a customer and then never delivered it to them it could be a problem. I think in that case the letter carrier would be questioned because the intended recipient never received the item and will say it's not their signature on the PS 3849 or electronic signature record.

445 Votes

Is it possible for a mail carrier to overlook mail that is supposed to be delivered to you?

Asked by Ariel over 9 years ago

Definitely. Most of the time we deliver the mail that you are supposed to receive, but it's possible that the mail for you has been missorted and will show up later on the delivery route and the letter carrier doesn't backtrack the same day to bring it to you. You should get the mail the next delivery day. If the mail was misdelivered to another address it could be days (if at all) for you to receive the mail you are supposed to. The reason is because if mail is misdelivered its up to the errant recipient to put the mail back in a mailbox to be correctly delivered. They may do it right away, in a few days, or not at all.

445 Votes

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Mailman (City Letter Carrier)

Ask me anything!

What do YOU do?

Let's say you ordered something 'embarrassing' (although not illegal or hazardous) such as a playboy magazine or whatever, that is in a boxed package. Is there a way for the mailman to know what you have?

how late does the mail carrier run pls hlp thnx

Have you ever drove a 2 ton postal van and do you think a lady carrier can drive one if short in stature?

This might be just my mother telling this to us as kids but if you have a community mailbox like in a neighborhood, is it illegal to walk up to him?

Also on Jobstr...

Postal Carrier delivered over 150 postcards to ONE hotel that I paid to deliver to every home and business. What are my rights for damage caused to my 15 businesses I represent that depend on revenue from it?

Have you ever had to sign someone's name for them on a package because they weren't home? and also is there any way that doing this can screw over the customer?

Is it possible for a mail carrier to overlook mail that is supposed to be delivered to you?

Mailman (City Letter Carrier)

Ask me anything!

What do YOU do?

Let's say you ordered something 'embarrassing' (although not illegal or hazardous) such as a playboy magazine or whatever, that is in a boxed package. Is there a way for the mailman to know what you have?

how late does the mail carrier run pls hlp thnx

Have you ever drove a 2 ton postal van and do you think a lady carrier can drive one if short in stature?

This might be just my mother telling this to us as kids but if you have a community mailbox like in a neighborhood, is it illegal to walk up to him?

Also on Jobstr...

Postal Carrier delivered over 150 postcards to ONE hotel that I paid to deliver to every home and business. What are my rights for damage caused to my 15 businesses I represent that depend on revenue from it?

Have you ever had to sign someone's name for them on a package because they weren't home? and also is there any way that doing this can screw over the customer?

Is it possible for a mail carrier to overlook mail that is supposed to be delivered to you?

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