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.
The Facebook Link does work, but why do I only see one photo with a date stamp of 2012? As far as what we are a.lowed to do I don’t think an LLV should be parked for :45 in front of the house of a letter carrier as we only are allotted :30 for lunch and that includes any travel time. I will say that enforcement of any rules regarding this is far from uniform. Our organization is entirely inconsistent in so many ways and some supervisors don’t care what you do as long as you don’t get hurt and don’t cost them overtime unnecessarily. Others are more strict and sometimes they play favorites which I find entirely unprofessional. The bottom line as far as your question is: I don’t think it’s appropriate but I can’t say for sure that the carrier is doing something against the rules. One letter carrier in my office used to drive his delivery vehicle home for lunch as his delivery route was nearby his house. , but he never stayed for more than about :25.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Are%20u%20allowed%20to%20go%20home%20with%20your%20llvs%3F%201%20carrier%20here%20does%20up%20to%2045%20minutes%20a%20day%20right%20after%20doing%20office%20work.%20Home%20is%20south%20of%20post%20office.%20Route%20is%20north%20of%20post%20office.%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Frobert.philips.1675%20.%20Saw%20again%20today.&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/19167)
Re: your orientation, it's good to know its for 5 days. I don't know whether or not that included the driving course. I can't tell you how much things have changed in 17 years. There is a lot more automation of mail and less manual sorting than in the past. Working in Brooklyn I don't know which vehicles are driven. I imagine there are mostly walking routes with a satchel or pushcart, but it will still be necessary to be trained on driving postal vehicles. It usually takes one day or part of one day for driver training and evaluation. I find a lot of negativity among some coworkers and try to steer clear of them as I am a generally positive attitude person. Also, please don't believe all that you hear. People like to spread garbage rumors which could be true but you never know.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Cool%20enough%2C%20we%20are%20both%20from%20Long%20Island.%20So%20your%20answering%20from%20your%20experience%20is%20probably%20good%20for%20me.%20This%20orientation%20for%20me%20will%20be%20in%20Brooklyn%20%26%20for%205%20days.%20Two%20more%20questions%20currently%20on%20my%20mind..%201.%20When%20does%20one%20take%20the%20driving%20course%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/17371)
GG, I don't really have a suggestion for you. If it were affecting your mail delivery in any way I'd be quite upset and concerned. In theory, they shouldn't keep holding someone's mail for pickup indefinitely. I mean they shouldn't be able to have their mail held, pick it up, and then just put it on hold again. The solution for that person would be to rent a PO Box and have their mail forwarded to it. I know we often won't hold mail for individuals at a certain address. We usually hold the entire mail for an entire address but I can't quote you any internal policies on this because I don't know them. If any mail for the previous owner actually gets delivered to your house, I'd say that you should feel free to discard it since the PO isn't helping you at all. I know it sounds vindictive but the person who moved out or sold the property should either fill out a proper COA or just not care about any mail addressed to him at your current residence.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Someone%20is%20using%20my%20physical%20address%20for%20mail%20but%20asking%20the%20PO%20to%20hold%20their%20mail%20for%20pick%20up.%20He%20used%20to%20live%20at%20the%20property%20but%20sold%20it%20in%20Nov2016.%20He%20will%20not%20complete%20a%20change%20of%20address%20form%20and%20the%20post%20master%20will%20not%20help.%20What%20can%20I%20do%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/18415)
I do understand what you mean. Your question is "If a carrier takes the 'shortcut' to your mailbox vs taking the stairs at the far end based on his direction of travel are you liable for any injury. I don't know the answer to this for sure but I'd hope not. We are covered by workers' compensation insurance through our employer (the USPS) and I don't know that the USPS or the letter carrier (individually) could file a successful liability claim against you as the homeowner. I can see if you were very negligent as a homeowner and maybe caused some type of tripping hazard to be left unattended perhaps there could be some liability, but I have really no insight on this.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=I%20thought%20of%201%20more%20%3F%2C%20sorry.%20If%20%20a%20carrier%20jumps%20onto%20my%20porch%20where%20there%20are%20no%20stairs%20and%20gets%20injured%20doing%20that%2C%20am%20I%20liable%3F%20To%20get%20to%20the%20stairs%2C%20one%20must%20cross%20my%20small%20yard%20%26%20enter%20at%20far%20end%2C%20based%20on%20the%20direction%20he%20travels%20on%20his%20route.&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/18948)
Birthday Party Clown
OK seriously, how DOES the clown car thing work?
Lifeguard
Did you ever have to perform CPR or mouth-to-mouth on a swimmer?
Veterinarian
How do you break the news to a kid when his pet dies?
You're not supposed to wear your own shoes while you're a letter carrier. As part of your yearly uniform allowance you may order USPS-approved SR/USA shoes. They are almost always black in color and are slip-resistant. I'm not sure how strictly it is enforced but I always wear the approved shoes. If you were to fall while delivering mail one of the first things that will be looked at is whether or not you were wearing the proper footwear. I don't take very good care of my footwear and I deliver mail on a walking route so my shoes tend to wear out quickly. I pay apprx $110/pair for the USPS-approved work shoes. On a yearly basis we are allotted apprx $450 for our uniform purchases.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Can%20you%20wear%20your%20own%20shoes%20during%20work&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/18578)
It's very common for people not to check their mailbox daily (me included). If there is mail in there from previous days I generally wouldn't look for any outgoing mail. Outgoing mail should have uncanceled postage and be clearly visible when you open the mailbox. Sometimes people leave the lid open or place the letters vertically to show that they have outgoing mail. If the item has no postage I just leave it there. Other people or companies aren't supposed to leave items in a mailbox but it's common and I just ignore it. Landscapers or oil delivery companies sometimes leave an invoice in the mailbox. Every now and again I forget to take someone's outgoing mail, but not often. Some mailboxes may have a red plastic flag that is put in the "up" position to notify the letter carrier that there may be outgoing mail. Upon collection of the mail, the letter carrier should put the flag in the "down" position. These flags are more common in a rural or suburban delivery environment.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=How%20do%20you%20know%20if%20what%20is%20in%20the%20mailbox%20is%20outgoing%20mail%20to%20be%20collected%20or%20if%20the%20resident%20just%20left%20something%20in%20their%20mailbox%3F%20I%20know%20sometimes%20people%20forget%20to%20check%20their%20mailbox%20everyday%20%26%20sometimes%20a%20neighbor%20may%20leave%20somethin%20in%20the%20box&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/17406)
Jonas, I am no legal expert to cite which laws may or may not have been broken. I am pretty sure that this isn’t an appropriate action on behalf of your husband’s friend. In fact, I’m very disturbed to hear this story. You are completely correct that our job is to deliver the mail, NOT ask any q’s or comment about the mail destination or be a private detective. You need not answer him at all or you could take it a step further and say “Do not ask me anything about my mail”. I’m not so sure I’d threaten to report the letter carrier for his actions but you’d be within your rights to do so if the problem continued. I hope this issue doesn’t continue for you.
On a related note, I definitely do pay attention to where mail is going to or coming from. I would never comment on it to a customer or talk about it with someone else. We should be trusted employees and have an obligation to keep all information confidential.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=My%20husband%20friend%2Cmail%20man%2Casked%20me%20why%20I%20have%20mail%20going%20to%20another%20mans%20house.That%20man%20is%20my%20payee%20rep%20and%20accountant.Your%20job%20is%20to%20deliver%20the%20mail%2C%20you%20are%20a%20mail%20man%2Cnot%20a%20private%20detective.Did%20he%20break%20any%20laws%2Cthis%20is%20not%20the%201st%20time%20w%20nosey&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/19521)
-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
