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 was looking at the USPS website about Priority Mail Express and it says that there is a guaranteed delivery date but it's not available in all areas to be exactly the next day. We used to deliver Express Mail on Sunday but that may be only available in certain places. If you sent the item out on Friday it was possibly past the deadline for Saturday delivery and the destination PO may not offer Sunday Priority Mail express delivery. In this case the item you mailed will be delivered Monday. There is a decent amount of information about Priority Mail Express on USPS.com. Be sure to read the disclaimers as it pertains to service being available 365 days per year.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Hello%20I%20have%20a%20question%20for%20you%2C%20if%20I%20played%20for%20the%20flat%20rate%20overnight%20shipping%20with%20usps%2C%20why%20does%20the%20tracking%20number%20tell%20me%20that%20I%20won%27t%20get%20it%20for%20two%20days%3F%20I%20sent%20it%20out%20on%20Friday%20they%20said%20it%20won%27t%20get%20there%20until%20Monday.&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/15668)
It's pretty rare but sometimes a phone number is printed on the outside of the envelope. I've never heard of a mailman calling a customer to tell him about a certified letter but that doesn't mean it can't happen. If we can't deliver a certified letter the normal procedure is to leave a form called a PS 3849 in your mail receptacle informing you of our delivery attempt and how to go about receiving the certified letter. If I were you I'd ignore the VM unless they were very specific and it's something you were expecting. They also could have looked up your phone number but it's not part of our normal procedure and if it was a mobile # it wouldn't show up on any directory.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=I%20got%20a%20voicemail%20saying%20%22This%20is%20your%20mailman%2C%20I%27ve%20got%20certified%20mail%20for.%20Are%20you%20home%3F%22%20I%20live%20in%20an%20apartment%20complex.%20How%20did%20the%20mailman%20get%20my%20phone%20number%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/15428)
You don't need to explain to any USPS employee why you are returning the mail. It is none of our business. As long as it is an unopened, first-class letter, you should be able to just write "refused" on it and have it returned. Personally I would just discard any unwanted mail. I've received debt collection letters in the past and have just ignored them and not returned them. There are certain classes of mail where we won't return to the sender because the sender has paid a pre-sorted standard rate (which is lower than the first-class rate). In that case, we just recycle any unwanted mail.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=They%20give%20my%20returned%20letters%20back%20asking%20me%20why%20i%20am%20returning%20it.%20%20Isnt%20that%20a%20breach%20of%20privacy%20rightt%3B%20flagging%20my%20mai%3F%20%20Do%20i%20have%20to%20explain%20harrassement%20to%20themnand%20why%20i%20am%20returning%20it%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/15256)
I'm not really sure how to answer this question because I would have suggested speaking with the letter carrier or delivery supervisor to make it clear where your apt. is and that you have no access to the packages in the front of the house as the gate is locked and you have no key. You have already done that according to your question. Is the rear apt. accessible to the letter carrier without the key? Where does the mail get delivered to? is it safe to go to the rear of the house? I agree that it's lousy that the carrier just throws the parcels to the front. Possibly a replacement letter carrier delivering the route doesn't realize they can go to the rear even though the packages say so. I would contact the PO and say that situation hasn't been resolved. I'm not sure how much help they will be but you deserve a clear answer and good service from us.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Hi.%20Though%20my%20apt%20%23%20says%20REAR%2C%20the%20mail%20carrier%20throws%20my%20packages%20over%20the%20front%20gate%2C%20that%20I%20don%27t%20have%20a%20key%20to%20open%2C%20vs%20the%20rear%20gate.%20I%27ve%20discussed%20this%20with%20him%20in%20person%20before.%20No%20change.%20How%20can%20I%20get%20him%20to%20deliver%20the%20packages%20correctly%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/15656)
School Teacher
Do you think teachers are underpaid? Why?
Casino Marketer
What would be some less obvious ways someone could save money on a Vegas trip?
Beauty Queen
Have you ever suspected that the judging in a pageant was rigged?
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.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=My%20boyfriend%20is%20just%20started%20working%20for%20the%20USPS%20and%20has%20only%20been%20by%20himself%20for%202%20days%20and%20they%20are%20complaining%20that%20he%20isn%27t%20going%20fast%20enough.%20It%27s%20a%2014%20mile%20walking%20round%20and%20the%20want%20him%20to%20start%20at%208.30%20and%20be%20done%20by%2012.30%20is%20this%20realistic%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/15419)
It should come to your residential address. There are probably millions of people who run businesses from their home address and it's no issue as far as I know to receive mail at a residential address for a business. If you were concerned about this, you could put a visible note inside or on your mailbox with the name of your company or saying "accepting mail for (insert name of company) so that there is no confusion to your letter carrier. There really shouldn't be any confusion. I just deliver the mail by address and if the recipient or company name is incorrect they could leave the mail out for me to have it returned to the sender.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Will%20mail%20with%20my%20company%20name%20on%20it%20still%20come%20to%20my%20residential%20address&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/15693)
Another good question that I'll fail miserably at. It's hard to find good gloves that will keep your ha ss warm and dry plus allow you to easily finger the mail. While I walk I wear a pretty regular glove on the hand where I hold the mail and then may leave the hand I use to finger the mail exposed but put it in my pocket between houses to keep it somewhat warm. You may also purchase single use hand warmers which you can keep in your pocket and they should last you the whole work day. Some carriers wear sealskin type gloves. I've never tried some so I can't comment on how good they are. Basically I own many pairs of gloves and just do a lot of experimenting to get it right. If it's raining try and bring multiple pair so you can exchange out wet gloves for dry gloves.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=On%20the%20topic%20of%20keeping%20dry%2C%20have%20you%20come%20across%20a%20good%20brand%20of%20gloves%20that%20keep%20your%20hands%20dry%20and%20warm%20during%20these%20colder%20months%20of%20rain%20and%20chills%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/16215)
-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
