Ask a Mailman (City Letter Carrier) anything

I had a question about EDDM. I recently had 3000 EDDM postcards delivered by 2 local post offices. It's been about about 2 weeks and I haven't heard anything as far as new clients go. Is there a way to verify they were delivered?

Asked by Rd77 over 10 years ago

I am not sure there is a way to verify they were actually delivered by the PO. In general, an EDDM should only sit for a few days at most from what I've seen at the PO where I work. I don't know if there is a specific time frame that they must be delivered after being received by the delivery PO. If you called the destination POs, I don't think there is much hope that whoever you speak to could verify if they were delivered or not. There is a good chance they wouldn't even remember it. Basically all I can say is that they should've been delivered, but can't recommend a way to verify that your EDDM postcards were delivered. EDDM stands for Every Door Direct Mail.

565 Votes

I live in a M.H park.The mailboxes are grouped together.Can I wait by the mailbox until the mail has been delivered. Then get my mail while carrier is at the next section? Mgrs at park say its a Fed. law u cant wait while the carrier is still present

Asked by RobertSC over 10 years ago

I don't know anything about Federal Law when it comes to this subject. I'd suggest that the letter carriers may not want you that close to them while they are sorting the mail because you might be able to view what mail other residents are getting which might violate some privacy rules. I've never heard of what the MHP mgr is claiming to be true. Also, I don't see why you couldn't access your mailbox once the letter carrier has locked your section and moved on to an adjacent section of centralized boxes. When I deliver to a centralized box unit, it can be a little annoying when residents come out to chat and want their mail, but I don't experience that behavior often. If I do, I'm generally pleasant with them, give them their mail if they request it (since I don't work in an area where mail theft is not common whatsoever) and move on. I should also clarify I don't regularly deliver to centralized boxes and it's only when I fill in on another route than my own do I do that. Mail is becoming less and less important to most people that some residents don't even collect their mail for days at a time. It sounds like someone is making up a story to exercise some authority that they don't have. I don't like to hear that at all.

565 Votes

Are you allowed to date someone who is on your route?

Asked by Michelle over 10 years ago

Sure, I don't think there are any restrictions on this whatsoever. I have a friend of the family who met his future wife while delivering mail to her. I think it's important to keep it professional while delivering the mail and don't do any special favors or inappropriate while in uniform. I mean having lunch with them would seem fine to me, but don't have them follow you around if you are delivering mail on foot. Romance can bloom anywhere. Two of my former coworkers met while working at the PO and later became married and have a child and work in separate locations.

565 Votes

Two questions!
1. What is the office like on the inside? Who gets an office? How/where do you pick up the mail YOU have to deliver?
2. When delivering packages that need signature, what would happen if the person is not home?
(Thank you! )

Asked by Joseph over 10 years ago

1) The PO that I work in has a lot of space inside. There are high ceilings and the main areas in the back are the carrier section, mail distribution, and parcel distribution. I work in the carrier section mostly. This area has sorting cases where we prepare any mail that has to be manually sorted into delivery order. The cases have individual dividers that hold the mail for one or two addresses. We stand up to work at these cases although a stool is provided should we need it. The mail clerks sort mail into cases based on the address on the mailpiece. The clerks are scheme-trained which means they know which route delivers the mail for that address. The parcels are sorted the same way but it's a large area because we receive so many parcels to deliver. The letter carriers take a hamper on wheels and "sweep" the mail from the clerk distribution case and then bring the mail to our own assigned carrier sorting case and sort the mail there. We mainly organize the parcels as we load our delivery vehicle. The bulk mailing/dispatch clerk has his own office and the postmaster has an office. The registry clerk has an office also because that is where the registered and accountable mail is secured. Besides that everyone else mainly works on an open floor of sorting equipment and desks. The sorting equipment is all manual. Any mail automation is done at a more central processing facility and trucked to our PO.

2) I don't deliver to many packages that need signatures. When I do attempt delivery of such a package and the person isn't home to receive it, I complete.PS Form 3849 and leave it in the customer's mailbox. This notifies them that we have attempted delivery of an item requiring a signature and they may pick it up at the PO or we can redeliver it on a future date. If the form is signed by the recipient, we can generally leave the package without the person being home. I work in a very safe community so it's unlikely a package would go missing due to theft. I think it's more common for us to misdeliver a package than for one to actually get stolen.

I hope this answers both of your questions.

563 Votes

do you think i will like it, ive had an engineering job for years on a desk, i'm bord and thought i would try this, i have passed the test and getting close to starting as a carrier , i hope its fun.

Asked by paul over 10 years ago

I'm not sure if you will like the job as a letter carrier because each person is different. There are few important things about it to know when you start out as a CCA (city carrier assistant). They include being very flexible in your schedule, being assigned different routes daily depending on staffing needs, and possibly working on Sundays and Holidays. It can be a physically demanding job and you want to be prepared for all different weather extremes depending on where you live. I enjoy the job because I'm not in an office and I can be very organized and am providing quality service to whomever I deliver mail. I recommend doing a little research on websites like postalmag.com or postalnews.com to learn of the latest issues. The USPS plans to hire tens of thousands of people in 2016, but part of the reason is that the attrition rate is high. In a recent article I read, 54.4% of CCAs didn't stay on the job for more than one year. I find the job fun, but it's been many years since I've been in a position of a different assignment each day or every few days. I do see the job as a challenge for new hires. I wish you well if you decide to become a letter carrier. Work accurately and safely, and try not to let any office negativity get to you.

562 Votes

Are letters opened by the Postal Inspection Service -- and determined to be harmless -- then forwarded to the intended recipient? Is it hard to obtain a warrant to seize and examine First Class mail? Or is it easily obtained?

Asked by Teddy almost 10 years ago

I don't know anything about who opens first class letters deemed suspicious by the USPSIS and the difficulty in obtaining a search warrant to do so. I'm guessing it's not something my local PO gets too involved in. I would think if the item is deemed harmless that it would continue on to be delivered to the recipient. I've never had any dealings with the USPSIS with regards to intercepting or seizing any mail that I deliver. We don't seem them too often at the postal facility where I work.

559 Votes

Thanks for the reply! And as far as anything illegal,I have been getting there mail every now and then,with a name similar to my dad's?? This person was living in neighborhood, but background indicates another current address,also very close by??

Asked by DwB44 about 10 years ago

That certainly sounds fishy, especially with mail of a similar name to your Dad, and also nearby addresses. I suppose you could alert local law enforcement or USPS Postal Inspection Service but have no idea what their response would be. If mail arrives at your address with dad's name a little bit "off", he could open it and if it's anything like an unpaid bill he could either do nothing about or call the creditor and say that it's not him.

559 Votes

Mailman (City Letter Carrier)

Ask me anything!

What do YOU do?

I had a question about EDDM. I recently had 3000 EDDM postcards delivered by 2 local post offices. It's been about about 2 weeks and I haven't heard anything as far as new clients go. Is there a way to verify they were delivered?

I live in a M.H park.The mailboxes are grouped together.Can I wait by the mailbox until the mail has been delivered. Then get my mail while carrier is at the next section? Mgrs at park say its a Fed. law u cant wait while the carrier is still present

Are you allowed to date someone who is on your route?

Two questions!
1. What is the office like on the inside? Who gets an office? How/where do you pick up the mail YOU have to deliver?
2. When delivering packages that need signature, what would happen if the person is not home?
(Thank you! )

Also on Jobstr...

do you think i will like it, ive had an engineering job for years on a desk, i'm bord and thought i would try this, i have passed the test and getting close to starting as a carrier , i hope its fun.

Are letters opened by the Postal Inspection Service -- and determined to be harmless -- then forwarded to the intended recipient? Is it hard to obtain a warrant to seize and examine First Class mail? Or is it easily obtained?

Thanks for the reply! And as far as anything illegal,I have been getting there mail every now and then,with a name similar to my dad's?? This person was living in neighborhood, but background indicates another current address,also very close by??

Mailman (City Letter Carrier)

Ask me anything!

What do YOU do?

I had a question about EDDM. I recently had 3000 EDDM postcards delivered by 2 local post offices. It's been about about 2 weeks and I haven't heard anything as far as new clients go. Is there a way to verify they were delivered?

I live in a M.H park.The mailboxes are grouped together.Can I wait by the mailbox until the mail has been delivered. Then get my mail while carrier is at the next section? Mgrs at park say its a Fed. law u cant wait while the carrier is still present

Are you allowed to date someone who is on your route?

Two questions! 1. What is the office like on the inside? Who gets an office? How/where do you pick up the mail YOU have to deliver?2. When delivering packages that need signature, what would happen if the person is not home?(Thank you! )

Also on Jobstr...

do you think i will like it, ive had an engineering job for years on a desk, i'm bord and thought i would try this, i have passed the test and getting close to starting as a carrier , i hope its fun.

Are letters opened by the Postal Inspection Service -- and determined to be harmless -- then forwarded to the intended recipient? Is it hard to obtain a warrant to seize and examine First Class mail? Or is it easily obtained?

Thanks for the reply! And as far as anything illegal,I have been getting there mail every now and then,with a name similar to my dad's?? This person was living in neighborhood, but background indicates another current address,also very close by??

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Two questions!
1. What is the office like on the inside? Who gets an office? How/where do you pick up the mail YOU have to deliver?
2. When delivering packages that need signature, what would happen if the person is not home?
(Thank you! )