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 and good luck to you in your postal career. I'm glad you love it so far. Despite some personal hurdles I've had along the way, I absolutely love it most days and feel very fortunate to have this career. I don't know Powerade but I'm assuming it's an energy drink. I see Gatorade is the main competitor. The main criticism of those types of drinks is the high sugar content. My advice (with no scientific background) is to just drink 1-2 day at most and then hydrate with water. I mostly d non-sugar naturally flavored sparkling water beverages. I drink it quite a bit on hot days and it seems to help so much. I've avoided the Powerade type drinks mainly because I don't want to ingest so much sugar that could hurt my teeth and body. Moderation is my advice. Thanks for writing.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=I%20have%20been%20a%20CCA%20for%2060%20days%20now.%20I%20love%20the%20job.%20What%20do%20you%20recommend%20for%20me%20to%20keep%20myself%20hydrated%20during%20the%20summer%20when%20it%27s%20hot.%20I%27ve%20been%20drinking%20Powerade%20but%20I%27ve%20read%20drinking%20too%20many%20of%20those%20aren%27t%20good%20for%20you.&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/18889)
Jessica, it depends who you ask or are dealing with regards to who is emptying the locked box. If I personally knew you or you could show me some ID if I didn't know you, I'd gladly return the letter if I could easily find it. Sometimes there are hundreds of letters in the blue collection boxes and the carrier who is collecting the mail from that box may or may not have the time, patience, or personality to return your letter to you. It may be worthwhile to just send another envelope with a check in it if you can't retrieve the letter you accidentally put into the collection box without the check. I've never been told that I'm not allowed to return a letter once it is placed in a collection box, but, then again, our training and procedural enforcement is quite poor so that's why the lack of uniformity across the USPS. Thank you for writing.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=After%20I%20put%20my%20mail%20in%20a%20lock%20box%20and%20I%20decide%20I%20want%20my%20mail%20back%20%28forgot%20to%20put%20a%20check%20in%20a%20letter%29%2C%20can%20the%20mail%20carrier%20give%20it%20back%20to%20me%20or%20not%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/18010)
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)
Martha, I have no knowledge in the field of hiring and retests for when one fails an LLV test. Since you are applying for a different position at a different location, it's possible they let you retake the exam, but I'm just guessing.
I have no idea about the internal communications of USPS HR and if one dept or location would even know about the other. I'm guessing with the internal HR technology that they might share information about your past applications to the USPS but have no idea what impact that would have for your future hiring prospects. It is very important to learn how to drive the LLV safely and responsibly. I hope you get to take the exam again because I found that once you learn how to operate an LLV safely it becomes second nature even though the steering wheel is on the right side of the vehicle.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Hi%2C%20I%20recently%20failed%20the%20LLV%20test%20for%20RCA%20and%20I%20asked%20if%20I%20can%20retake%20the%20test%20again%20but%20their%20answer%20is%20their%20are%20not%20sure.%20I%20was%20told%20I%20was%20ineligible%20for%20that%20position.%20I%20interviewed%20for%20CCA%20will%20I%20be%20able%20to%20retake%20it%20since%20it%27s%20diff%20location.&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/18080)
Flight Attendant
What's the scariest flight you've ever been on?
Starbucks Barista
If a homeless person wants to use your bathroom, are you supposed to stop him?
Peace Corps Volunteer
Are Peace Corps volunteers just a bunch of "hippie freaks?"
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)
Barring any unforeseen delivery issues or delays, most First Class mail is delivered nationwide in 2-3 days. You would hopefully have it by Friday. A card is considered First Class mail and the current rate is .49 for up to 1 oz. Brittany, In my experience a very high percentage of mail arrives "on time" so I do hope this is the ask with the card sent to you. Thank you for your question.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=My%20boyfriend%20sent%20me%20a%20card%20in%20the%20mail%20on%20Tuesday%20when%20will%20I%20receive%20it%3F%20%20Is%20this%20considered%20first%20class%20mail&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/18453)
I don't think you'd get in trouble for that. The recipient may question why the mail and documents look water damaged but I don't know that they could pinpoint it was you who sent it in that condition. Mail is often wet when I deliver it in the rain. It's difficult during downpours to keep it dry and to be honest I don't try that hard to keep it completely dry. The bottom of my mail satchel gets wet very easily so when I carry mail in it the edge of the mail will often get wet. If the recipient has an issue with the condition their mail came in they may just ask you to resubmit the documents if that is possible. Thanks for the question and I hope I helped you.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=If%20I%20sent%20out%20documents%20and%20mail%20that%20got%20wet%2C%20will%20i%20get%20in%20trouble%2C%20and%20will%20anyone%20know%20it%20was%20me%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/18856)
-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
