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 much about the DDC. If I took it at the USPS, I don't remember. There could be a quiz but it's probably not too difficult especially if you've taken a DDC before outside the USPS. Important things are to always wear a seatbelt, don't drive distracted, keep a safe following distance, only back up when necessary, and always turn off the vehicle when getting out of it. I'd imagine there would be some videos. There is an entire procedure to follow each time you leave the USPS delivery vehicle which should be taught to you eventually. It is vital to follow that for safety reasons and stopping preventable accidents. Good luck!
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=I%20am%20scheduled%20to%20take%20the%20Defensive%20Driving%20Course...%20any%20advice%20or%20explanation%20on%20what%20this%20entails%3F%20My%20research%20and%20instructors%20have%20given%20me%20reason%20to%20believe%20there%20will%20be%20a%20video%20and%2For%20an%20online%20test.&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/17396)
I'm not sure why the letter carrier would do that without some type of notification that you and your mother don't live there anymore. I don't think the letter carrier should have done that. I guess you could write a note next to the other note with you and your mother's name as well. If that doesn't work, you could also contact the postmaster or delivery supervisor and explain that you still live there. I hope that helps because we shouldn't be deciding whether or not someone lives at a certain address or not. In truth, somebody doesn't have to live at an address there just to have mail accepted there.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Can%20the%20mailman%20decide%20whether%20or%20not%20you%20live%20at%20an%20address%20he%20is%20stop%20delivering%20mail%20to%20both%20me%20and%20my%20mother%20but%20still%20delivers%20to%20our%20roommate.%20as%20far%20as%20to%20write%20a%20note%20with%20side%20the%20mailbox%20with%20the%20roommates%20last%20name%20and%20%22%20only%20%22next%20to%20it.&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/18100)
It is fine to ask the letter carrier not to walk through the flower beds and then track mud onto your porch. I'll admit I'm not the most considerate person sometimes when walking across lawns and through flowerbeds. I certainly don't want to crush the flowers. Ultimately it's your property and you can request anything you'd like as to how the carrier approaches the mailbox. It's possible that even if your regular carrier adheres to your request any replacement letter carrier my not adhere to your request if they aren't notified by your regular carrier via a "carrier" alert card. Any reasonable letter carrier should understand and adhere to your request.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Thanks%20for%20your%20fast%20response.%20I%20only%20have%20one%20more%20%3F%20You%20said%20it%27s%20okay%20to%20walk%20through%20yards.%20What%20about%20landscaping%3F%20My%20mail%20guy%20was%20stepping%20through%20my%20flower%20beds%20and%20jumping%20up%20on%20my%20porch%2C%20making%20a%20muddy%20mess.%20I%20asked%20him%20to%20stop.%20Is%20that%20ok%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/18947)
You are doing it correctly by choosing "no" when the question comes on the MDD asking "is this a duplicate mailpiece". The next screen should say "label scanned in error" and then let you choose "delivered". I get this message when I accidentally have scanned a mailpiece twice in a row. The scanner is asking if you have 2 mail pieces with the same USPS tracking number which shouldn't happen. It has nothing to do whether or not it was ever scanned in the office by a clerk. The MDD doesn't hold that information. I think the only time you'd get two packages with identical tracking numbers is if the mailer printed out the same label twice and attached it to two separate items. This would be cheating the USPS out of revenue. I've seen this happen before but it is rare.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Been%20getting%20message%20on%20scanner%20when%20scanning%20a%20parcel%20on%20street%2C%20%22is%20this%20a%20duplicate%20mail%20piece%22%20scanner%20icon%20says%20no%2C%20so%20when%20l%20press%20enter%20it%20goes%20to%20barcode%20so%20l%20scan%20delivered.%20Is%20that%20right%2C%20bc%20when%20I%20hit%20yes%20in%20another%20instance%20comes%20up%202%2C&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/16991)
Bartender
How often would you date customers?
Waitress
Are you instructed to "push" certain menu items that are at risk of going bad?
Call Center Employee (Retail)
What's the craziest unprofessional-phone-rep story you've ever heard?
Jillian, we are assigned to work at a Post Office in a particular city when we are hired. That city may have just one PO or may have several stations which we can work from. To answer your question, we choose the routes that we want to take based on seniority, which I find to be the fairest way of doing most things. It eliminates any favoritism that could occur and everything is out in the open with regards to seniority. Some carriers choose routes that have more business deliveries while others may prefer to deliver to residences or a combination. Some routes require more walking than others. Some routes are entirely driving and mail is delivered from the postal vehicle directly into a curbside mailbox. In a major urban areas some buildings could be so large that a carriers route is just one building. I have stayed with the first route that I was every able to bid on successfully. My seniority (18 years) would allow me to move onto what are considered more desirable routes when vacancies occur. I'm comfortable in what I do and I know it well and I think it's a fair days work. Some carriers are a lot more picky than others. As you can see it really depends on personalities and what one perceives as desirable. I hope this helps answer your question.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=How%20do%20mail%20carriers%20figure%20out%20which%20route%20to%20take%20in%20the%20city%20there%20in&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/18355)
There isn't really much to do Brittany except to be patient. Mail can go missing or be delayed for so many reasons. Most First Class mail isn't tracked either so it's not easy to tell where it is. 2-3 days delivery is the norm for most First Class mail in the US. If a piece of mail is misdelivered by a letter carrier it's hard to say when or if it will ever get properly delivered. Has your boyfriend mailed you items before to your current address and have there been issues in the past?
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=So%20I%20haven%27t%20gotten%20my%20card%20in%20the%20mail%20and%20my%20boyfriend%20put%20it%20in%20the%20mail%20on%20Tuesday%20what%20should%20I%20do&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/18454)
Most of the following I am copying and pasting here since your q’s were similar. I hold the satchel on my right shoulder and never across my body. I’ve seen it both ways and don’t know which is correct. By carrying it on one shoulder makes it quite easy to get on and off between relays if you are moving your delivery vehicle. Carrying across your body may be better for weight distribution. I’m pretty sure I was taught to just carry the bag on one shoulder and I’m just used to it and comfortable that way. I see carriers deliver with no satchel at all which bothers me because I believe we should always use one when delivering a relay.
Copied from a previous reply by me:
Jvitto58, I don’t know what our manuals say about this situation. I always feel we are given such little guidance on when to drop off a parcel on a relay. I know you are going to have route inspections soon. I don’t have much of a memory of what they are like so I can’t give you my experience. If a parcel doesn’t fit in my satchel, I will generally deliver it when I pass the address. This may be before of after I deliver the relay depending on where the park point is for a particular relay. I don’t flag the mail for addresses that have a parcel. I deliver the mail as I normally would and then deliver the parcel before or after the relay. To be honest, I have a geographically compact route so I often deliver most of my larger parcels before I even begin delivering mail for the day. I know you didn’t ask me this and I definitely don’t recommend doing it on an inspection as it can be considered inefficient or time-wasting. I just like to get the larger items out of my postal delivery vehicle. I try not to circle back with the truck if I can avoid it, but to me there are no absolutes and each day has some different nuances when it comes to parcel delivery. Regarding your route inspection, just try to give a fair effort. Don’t hurry, but don’t be a turtle either. I truly don’t have any great guidance because I’ve rarely, if ever, been involved in one.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=What%20is%20the%20guidelines%20for%20parcels%20drops%20before%20or%20after%20a%20relay%20and%20flagging%20the%20mail.%20I%20hear%20conflicting%20theories.%20%20Also%20holding%20the%20bag%20across%20the%20body%20or%20on%20the%20shoulder.%20Route%20inspections%20next%20month.%20Apologies%2C%20carriers%20tripping%20a%20little%20in%20ofc&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/19598)
-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
