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

Can my mailman hand my package to my neighbor for her to give to me, without my permission ?

Asked by sunnywithachanceofrain over 9 years ago

I generally wouldn't do that unless I knew the neighbors were friends with each other and could be trusted to give the package to the correct recipient. I've never been in this situation since I can leave packages at a customers house without someone home to receive it. I don't know technically what we are allowed to do without your permission but we are trusted to protect the US mail and deliver it safely to the correct address.

what do i do with mail that was delivered to the po box irent but isnt addressed to me?

Asked by po box over 9 years ago

If you have received incorrect mail in your PO Box, you can do a few things. You can write on the envelope, "addressee unknown" and push it back through the PO Box so it lands on the floor or leave it in an outgoing mail collection box. Either way, the PO Box clerk should see that it doesn't belong to you after you have written on it and either forward it or return it to the sender. You could probably also keep the mail but that may not be ethical especially if it was important mail. I'm sure many PO Boxes get closed and the renter doesn't leave forwarding instructions.

Is being a mail carrier dangerous? Are you given any sort of protection in case of an emergency?

Asked by Rose over 9 years ago

I don't think being a letter carrier is dangerous with respect to personal safety. I think most people respect the letter carrier enough not to assault or harass them. I can be accused of looking at this situation through rose-colored glasses because I am a male and deliver mail in an affluent area where very little violent crime occurs. You need to be vigilant for loose dogs and to drive carefully. The only protection we have for an emergency is for a dog attack. In that case we have dog repellent spray plus a mail satchel which could be used as sort of a shield between you and the dog. Most workplace injuries are falls which results in cuts, sprains, bruises and broken bones. In case of a real emergency we would call 911 and alert the Post Office.

Follow up question i was the guy who asked about the eddm would i a regular size label fit where it says local postal customer do you think it fit?

Asked by Andrew about 9 years ago

Andrew, you may want to email the vendor of the postcards to see the size of the white box. It looks like it would fit in the white box but I can't say for sure as I don't know standard address label sizes. I recommend doing this before ordering the cards because I don't know if they issue refunds. I see there is an area where your card customization needs to be double checked since there are no changes once the order is placed.

Are mail carriers allowed to have tattoos and/or piercings?

Asked by Rose over 9 years ago

Yes, I've heard of nothing to the contrary and I know that many of the younger letter carriers have tattoos and piercings.

My landlord & I have the same mailbox & for some reason his girlfriend & son continue to take my mail into the house & when I ask about the landlord says no your mail isn't in my house & 10-15 mins later he appears with my mail

Asked by Cynthia over 9 years ago

They really shouldn't be taking your mail into their unit or house or apt if you don't shared the same living space with them and they aren't responsible about giving it to you. It may not be easy but you could politely ask the landlord and girlfriend and son to maybe leave your mail in the box or slip it under your door if that's accessible or appropriate. I agree it's not good for you to need to be concerned if someone is taking your mail and giving it to you at their convenience. I know it's not the answer you'd like to hear, but a PO Box rental would solve this issue. The drawback is that it costs money and is probably less convenient than getting mail at your residence. The USPS would probably not get involved in separating out your mail and putting in to a different mail receptacle unless the unit was officially designated an apt for mail receiving purposes. I don't know how one would go about doing this or the complexity of it. We have a database of authorized addresses that we go by to deliver the mail and if there aren't multiple units designated in the same dwelling, all of the mail would normally be put together.

Can you leave a street you are delivering mail on to use the restroom in a emergency and then return to that street and continue where you left off....?

Asked by Deborah Sala over 9 years ago

Definitely. It's never been an issue as far as I know to take a bathroom break as needed even if it means leaving the street you are delivering mail on to go use a lavatory at a public business. That's what I usually do. I'll leave my route and go to a gas station or the public library that are near my route as needed. It doesn't have to be an emergency.