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.
Congratulations Mr. fulltime. That's a clever name. As far as any tips or advice I have a few. First, you are there to serve the residents or businesses on the routes, not the regular carrier who normally does the route. This means you don't have to do any favors or anything that the regular asks you to do for the customers. Please just be conscientious about delivering the mail properly and accurately. I'd recommend not going too fast just to get the route done. It's best to go at a consistent moderate pace and don't waste time on your cell phone texting and talking to people when you should be focused on working safely and efficiently. If you aren't sure about a certain delivery or maybe how to do a route, you can ask the regular carrier and hopefully they will help you. I have a route which I deliver daily, but when I have a non-scheduled day, the T6 delivers it. I give my "floater" or "comp person" the information they'd need re: houses where there are vacancies or forwards or dogs to be aware of. If the regular carrier comes in for his non-scheduled day for OT, it's possible (depending on how your office operates) you could be "bumped" off that assigned route for the day and deliver another route in the office. My advice would also be to try to stay out of any office politics if possible. Having the same route to deliver daily, I don't need to know much about what else is happening at the PO. Good luck to you, sir!
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=In%20less%20than%20two%20weeks%20I%20will%20be%20converted%20to%20full%20time%20on%20a%20T6%20route.%20Do%20you%20have%20any%20tips%20or%20advice%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/18155)
I don't know the answer to this. Most of the time we deliver all of the mail each day that is in our building unless we get backed up with volume or are short on staffing. This may not be the case in the office that delivers your mail. If there is a merchant that you want to go to with a coupon but it arrived late, you could ask the merchant to honor the offer or the business could contact the post office to inquire why their mailing was delivered late. I'm just speculating, but I would think any 3rd Class Mail (the new official term for this will be USPS Marketing Mail) should be delivered within a few days of it being received at the Post Office. Having answered many questions on jobstr, I can see that service consistency varies greatly from office to office and even among the letter carriers in that office.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=My%20wife%20and%20I%20have%20recently%20had%20a%20new%20mail%20carrier%20who%20does%20not%20deliver%20our%203rd%20class%20mail%20on%20time%2C%20so%20we%20are%20losing%20out%20on%20some%20coupons%20we%20consider%20valuable.%20%20Is%20there%20anything%20we%20can%20do%20besides%20filing%20a%20complaint%20with%20our%20postmaster%20%3F%20%20Please%20help&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/17915)
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)
Jvitto48, thanks for your question but I’m sorry that I can’t give you any assistance in this matter. I don’t know if your local shop steward or area representative can help with this. I’ve never been too involved with any rte inspections, or if I have, it was so many years ago and I don’t remember. NALC has a 2012 “guide to route inspections” available online as a PDF but it’s 188 pages long and may not even address your question about base parcel amount. I don’t know how the base parcel amount is arrived at. I also don’t know if it includes every scannable parcel. My generic advice is to take all authorized lunches and breaks, as well as one or two bathroom breaks if needed. I know route inspections can make people anxious but my attitude has always been that whatever time it takes is valid as long as you aren’t obviously extending your street time. I’ve received between 1-5 sampling requests daily and I know that is a valid use of time while scanning the flats and letters. Good luck on the inspection. I know that’s easy for me to say not being involved. Thanks for writing.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=What%20is%20the%20amount%20of%20time%20a%20carrier%20for%20parcels%20over%20the%20base%20amount.%20%20Or%20what%20is%20my%20base%20parcel%20amount%20for%20a%20route.%20Had%20100%20%E2%80%9Cscanner%20hits%E2%80%9D%20went%20over%2040%20minutes%20street%2C%20took%20lunch%20and%2010%20minute%20break%2C%20doing%20route%20inspections%20next%20month%20in%20Massapequa&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/19551)
Certified Nurse Aide
Is it true that STD rates in nursing homes are going through the roof?
Sr. Software Engineer
Is it basically impossible for a skilled programmer to be out of work these days?
Air Traffic Controller
Have you ever ordered a pilot to abort mid-takeoff?
This job message board isn't a customer service site to advise when mail will be delivered to a specific address. Depending on staffing and quality of the operations at your local PO will have an impact as to when your mail is delivered. In my experience mail is usually delivered between 0930 and 1800 but have heard about mail being delivered much later in some locations. If you called the USPS general customer service number i don't think they'd give you anymore of a specific answer either.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=what%20time%20mail%20man%20delivers%20mail%20in%20181%20willow%20rd%2018%20san%20ysidro%20ca%2092173&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/17766)
For the drive and drop, I have heard that the satchel should be used as a protection in case of a dog attack. I can’t verify that is true, but I’ve rarely seen any carriers use their satchel for this type of delivery. I deliver to many houses using this method and have never carried a satchel with me. As far as seat belt use is concerned, I put it on each time I go anywhere even if just between houses that are near each other. For me, seatbelt use is an absolute all of the time. It’s an automated muscle memory item so I don’t even think about it.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=My%20route%20is%20a%20drive%20and%20drop%20for%209%20houses%2C%20an%20anonymous%20source%20said%20l%20don%E2%80%99t%20have%20to%20use%20my%20satchel%2C%20l%20disagree%20and%20does%20the%20carrier%20have%20to%20use%20seat%20belt%20after%20every%20stop%2C%20not%20sure%20on%20that%2C%20thanks%20again&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/19563)
Jessica, that is an interesting story. A little bit of light soap opera drama perhaps. Thanks for sharing your story and glad I could help with any insight of how easy (or not easy) it is to change routes.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=I%27m%20definitely%20not%20uncomfortable.%20I%20just%20thought%20it%20was%20strange%20he%20wasn%27t%20replying%20to%20my%20messages%20all%20of%20a%20sudden%20and%20then%20I%20saw%20the%20new%20carrier.%20I%20assumed%20his%20wife%20found%20out%20how%20flirty%20he%20was%20and%20made%20him%20change%20routes.%20But%20this%20happened%20this%20week.&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/19360)
-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
