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 don't know why that would be. I don't have any involvement in how the mail is transported and processed and I also don't know the operations at your local post office. Where I work most of the mail that comes into the building on any given day goes out the same day or the next day. Some of the reason for this is that much of our catalogs and magazines come to our PO via FSS trays. These are trays of flats (the more official name for catalogs and magazines) where the items are all sorted in delivery order and ready to be delivered without any additional sorting. FSS mail gets delivered the same day they arrive at a local PO. Not all POs receive FSS mail so it's possible that flats are curtailed for one or two days a week. I am just speculating and don't really know if that is what happens. As an aside, actual magazines (like Time, People, TV Guide, local newspapers) are considered Periodicals Class mail and should be delivered the same day that they arrive at your local PO. FSS stands for Flats Sequencing System.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Is%20there%20a%20reason%20why%20we%20should%20be%20getting%20our%20magazines%20and%20catalogs%20all%20on%20one%20day%20and%20usually%20the%20weekend%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/16339)
I don't know anything about how a route is established and what it would take to get it changed from a riding route to a walking route. Do you know if they are city or rural letter carriers who deliver your mail? Normally if a carrier is driving in a delivery vehicle and the mailboxes are at the street they should be able to approach and leave the mailbox without having to get out of their delivery vehicle to affect delivery. If a car is parked in the way and the letter carrier can't reach the mailbox without getting out of their delivery vehicle they have the option to skip delivery and attempt it the next day hoping there will be clear access. I am not familiar with an area where some houses are riding and some are walking when they are near each other. Usually it's one or the other. For example, all of my deliveries are to a mailbox which is usually attached to an actual residence so I walk between delivery points. Other carriers stay in their delivery vehicle and put mail in mailboxes which are along a road or curb. This is also known as curbside delivery. My suggestion would be to call the post office and speak to a delivery supervisor or manager about this. I don't know if they will be of any help. Is it possible for you to move your car or even the mailbox so the letter carrier can more easily gain access to the mailbox? You shouldn't have to go without mail delivery but there are certain regulations to be followed so the letter carrier can do their job in an efficient and safe manner.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=i%20live%20in%20a%20rural%20area.%20The%20house%20that%20i%20purchased%20was%20an%20established%20riding%20route.%20The%20mailman%20wont%20deliver%20my%20mail%20stating%20the%20car%20is%20in%20the%20way.%20How%20do%20I%20request%20a%20walking%20route%20when%20all%20other%20stops%20around%20my%20house%20are%20walking%20stops.&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/15571)
Thanks for the compliment PK. I've been delivering mail for more than 16 years now. I've had a lot of personal ups and downs, mostly off the job, but glad to have continued to work and have the job security of the USPS. If you mean delivering mail for 7 hours, I think that would be hard for most people. But if you mean 7 hours street time that is a bit different because then you'd factor in loading time,lunch and breaks and travel time to/from your route. The route I deliver is approximately 6:40 total but only 5:20 Apprx is actually delivering mail. It's not too exhausting except if the mail load is heavy. My hints are to try to be as organized as you can, don't engage in too much small talk with the customers, and get a good nights rest and have a healthy breakfast. That all works for me. Everybody is different plus the difficulty of the route may vary between cities. I deliver on a flat terrain besides walking up steps to the mailboxes. If you have to walk a lot of hills that could make you more tired. Good luck to you and what might be a 7-hour route could take you longer or shorter based on the above factors.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=With%20you%20having%20longevity%20as%20a%20carrier%20your%20service%20is%20appreciated%21%20With%20your%20expertise%20do%20you%20think%20it%20would%20be%20hard%20to%20carry%20a%207hr%20route%20for%20a%20rookie%20carrier%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/15911)
I am not sure how to answer this correctly. If you can find the letter carrier who inadvertently RTS the package and positively ID that the package belongs to you, I don't see why not. I just don't have a lot of faith in some of my co-workers how helpful they would be if asked to find a package that they hadn't been in possession of. Actually it would be more of a supervisor issue to try and find the package. Either way I hope it worked out for you or whomever you wrote this for. We probably shouldn't have made the mistake in the first place unless the package was addressed improperly.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=If%20a%20package%20was%20inadvertently%20RTS%20on%20a%20Saturday.%20Can%20it%20be%20picked%20up%20that%20same%20day%20once%20the%20mail%20carrier%20brings%20it%20back%20at%20the%20end%20of%20his%20shift%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/15672)
Debate Coach
Are presidential debates actually "debates", by the traditional definition?
Dating Website Employee
How does a dating site get its first 10,000 customers?
HR Executive
What's the worst reaction you ever witnessed during a lay-off?
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.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=what%20do%20i%20do%20with%20mail%20that%20was%20delivered%20to%20the%20po%20box%20irent%20but%20isnt%20addressed%20to%20me%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/15694)
That sounds somehwat accurate. I am no expert when it comes to administering the ODL. It also seems to change from office to office as to what counts and what doesn't count for OT. In our office if you are next up to be asked in for your NS day and you are unavailable or refuse then you'd be "marked" for an 8-hour opportunity. As for where you'd be on the list the following week, it depends how many of the other carriers in your group came in on Tuesday. If all of the other three car came in (or refused) on their NS day it's possible you'd still be first for next week. In our office the total amt of OT hrs you worked for the quarter (which would include pieces on other routes) also affects where you are placed each week on the list for the NS day. Those with the lowest amt of OT hrs in a quarter are usually asked first for their NS day. I hope this helps a little bit but your office may operate differently.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Tuesday%20is%20my%20ns%20day.%20I%20am%20on%20the%20ot%20list.%20I%20was%20%232%20last%20week%20so%20%23%201%20this%20week.%20I%20filled%20out%20slip%20not%20available%20so%20for%20next%20week%20l%20get%20penalized%20to%20%23%204%20which%20is%20how%20many%20carriers%20on%20the%20list%20in%20my%20group%20is%20that%20accurate%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/17006)
Your mail shouldn't be returned because you don't pick it up daily. I've never heard of any obligation one has to pick up their mail at any specific interval. If the mailbox fills up, I know mail can be returned but I'm not sure if that means the overflow mail or the mail in the box already. In my experience it's very common for mail to be left in the mailbox for days. It doesn't bother me one bit and it's rare that the mailbox gets so full that action must be taken. Without knowing any further details, it sounds like your letter carrier is being a jerk and looking for conflict rather than providing quality service.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Can%20the%20mailman%20return%20my%20mail%20because%20I%20don%27t%20pick%20it%20up%20everyday%20as%20he%20says%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/16827)
-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
