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.
Lisa, in my experience your mail should be processed normally so you need not worry. I don't often collect mail from the blue boxes as part of my assignment but if I saw regular mail in the Express Priority Blue Box I'd just put it with other outgoing mail in my postal vehicle and it'd be treated normally. I've never heard of outgoing mail being delayed by this. Thank you for your question.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Today%20I%20accidently%20dropped%20a%20bunch%20of%20mail%20in%20the%20Express%20Priority%20Blue%20Box.%20This%20was%20mail%20for%20my%20job%20so%20it%20is%20important%20documents.%20Will%20this%20mail%20be%20sorted%20correctly%20and%20reach%20its%20destination%20in%20a%20timely%20manner%3F%20Or%20will%20this%20be%20severely%20delayed%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/17137)
Regarding the letter which you mailed without a destination address but had your return address, I don't know how long it should take to be returned to you. If handled properly my guess would be about one week. I've seen these in the mail before. It would have a rubber stamp marking which says "returned for better address" or "insufficient address" and then delivered to your return address. Unfortunately, non-deliverable mail is sometimes put on the back burner if staffing levels are low and mail needs to be handled specially. That's why I'm hesitant to say how long it will be before your letter is returned.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Hello-%0ARecently%20I%20mailed%20a%20letter%20but%20right%20after%20discovered%20I%20forgot%20to%20put%20the%20address%20label%20on%2Cbut%20did%20have%20my%20own%20as%20return%20address.%20That%20was%20last%20week%2Cmailed%20from%20another%20zip%20code%2C30%20miles%20away.%20So%20how%20long%20should%20it%20take%20to%20mail%20it%20back%20to%20me%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/16900)
Congratulations on being hired as a CCA for the USPS. I can't say for sure that it's true that you won't get a day off. From what I've seen, the CCAs where I work often work 7 days a week but it seems after a couple of weeks they are given a day off. I don't know if there are any rules that you must be given a day off after working a certain amount of consecutive days. It may depend on the staffing level of your facility. I hope that you have chosen to join the NALC. Whether you have or not, a shop steward may have a better answer than I've given you on whether or not you are required to work unlimited days in a row. I'm also on a Facebook group for postal workers. One is NALC and the other is Postal Maniacs. If you join them, you could post this same question and get answers from actual CCAs. Good luck to you. Please work safely and deliver the mail accurately. Sunday delivery usually consists of Amazon.com package delivery, not regular mail.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=I%20was%20just%20hired%20as%20a%20CCA.%20Are%20the%20horror%20stories%20about%20literally%20never%20getting%20a%20day%20off%20true%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/16443)
John, I would say it breaks a code of confidentiality that we are expected to maintain as letter carriers. We are rarely reminded of this but I'm pretty sure we shouldn't give out that information. As to whether it's illegal or not I can't comment on that. In the past I have given out little bits of information about some neighbors to others but it's rare and I shouldn't have done that. I do realize that some neighbors are friends with each other and others aren't. It's always better to be on the safe side as a letter carrier not to give out information about anyone else. One can't get in trouble that way. On another note, I rarely would comment to a customer as to what I'm delivering them when I see them. For example,I wouldn't say "your phone bill is here or looks like your wife was ordering from Kohl's again". As much as those comments may seem benign I try to be mostly professional when speaking with customers.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=this%20morning%20I%20asked%20our%20letter%20carrier%20what%20was%20the%20last%20name%20of%20a%20neighbor.%20is%20that%20illegal%20to%20give%20out%20that%20info%20%3F%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/18493)
Hotel Front Desk Agent
Have you ever had a suicide occur in one of your rooms?
Court Reporter
If your special keyboard lets you type 200+ words per minute, why doesn't everyone use them?
Hotel Employee
Can you give guests room upgrades at your sole discretion?
Sure you can. I don't see any reason why you couldn't do this. It's important to clearly write the letter carrier's name or "mailman" or something that makes it known it is for them. Postage shouldn't be necessary. I sometimes get notes asking me to hold the mail for them if they are on vacation and going away. This is a free service which is offered.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=CAN%20I%20PUT%20A%20LETTER%2Fnote%20for%20my%20mail%20carrier%20on%20the%20outside%20of%20my%20mail%20box&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/17182)
I have no idea why a letter carrier would do that without proper notice to you and how would the other resident have a key to that mailbox since you have it? Do you have a key to the correct mailbox or a newer mailbox with your correct address. I am a bit confused about your question. Is the mail for the different townhome now being delivered to the mailbox where your mail originally went? I'd recommend contacting the post office from where your mail is delivered or go to usps.com to email them with your question or call: 1-800-275-8777. They will probably contact your local post office to get some type of info as to why this happened. I'm not sure a property manager at the the townhome complex could help but it wouldn't hurt to ask.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=The%20mailman%20scratched%20the%20label%20inside%20my%20mailbox%20%28in%20a%20centralized%20mailbox%29%20and%20assigned%20it%20to%20a%20different%20townhome%2C%20I%20can%27t%20find%20my%20mail%20anymore%2C%20what%20can%20I%20do%3F%20%28I%20left%20a%20note%20inside%20the%20mailbox%20with%20my%20correct%20address%20tough%29&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/16439)
HI Jack, that is an interesting question you pose. Since I'm pretty easy going and can filter out a lot of the garbage spewed out by some co-workers and their disruptive personalities and the sometimes incompetent management, the biggest pain to me is winter weather. As warm as I can dress for the severe cold, there are occasions where my extremities just get too cold too handle it and I haven't found, or don't use, the best gloves or shoes to insulate me properly. I think if that were figured out, there isn't too much of a pain in this job. Believe me, many other letter carriers would disagree with me and can be very petty and complain about things that I feel are insignificant. Apprx 75% of the day I'm out of the office delivering mail, listening to podcasts and getting exercise by walking. I'm getting paid a fair salary with good benefits and a high level of job security. Regarding my weather comment, there are usually just a few days per year that the weather is unbearably cold. I'm not sure how I would do in much colder climates than in NY (on Long Island). All things considered, I could be doing a lot worse for a job. Thanks for your question.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=MailmanDave%2C%0AWhat%20would%20you%20say%20is%20the%20biggest%20pain%20you%20deal%20with%20in%20your%20job%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/16937)
-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
