Ask a Mailman (City Letter Carrier) anything

1237 Questions

Last Answer on February 18, 2022

So I sent you a link to this dudes video before. But he made another one. Here it is.
https://youtu.be/nl7Q_iKIaf0

Asked by Good sir over 6 years ago

While his videos are entertaining, he picks and chooses the FedEx Ground events that were higher profile. I think overall they do a decent job, but the quality of people hired by these contractors can be lousy. The FedEx Express company is a different story. They are usually much more polished company employees. I think any delivery employees should be trained better on proper handling of their freight and safe driving. The USPS has some lousy employees as well.

463 Votes

What do you do if your in a accident?

Asked by Ruth over 6 years ago

Fortunately this has not happened to me and hope it doesn’t but of course it could. If we get into an accident we would call 911 if necessary and definitely call our supervisor. The supervisor would come out to the scene take some photos take a report and then we would either go to an emergency room if necessary or just go back to the office. If there is more of the route to still be completed, other letter carriers will probably have to finish up the delivery, likely with OT pay. More often than not, the letter carrier Who was involved in the accident may not be able to drive a postal service vehicle until they have gone through some driver refresher training. If the accident was clearly not their fault they may be able to skip this step. I have had some close calls, but fortunately the only collisions i have had were minor involving side-view mirrors striking some tree branches and breaking the mirror.

461 Votes

But it’s important

Asked by RED ALERT over 6 years ago

How is it important to the Letter Carrier blog?

458 Votes

I heard you guys are supposed to back into parking spaces is that true. Is it also true that if you hit something that could be it for your job

Asked by Mr C about 7 years ago

These are 2 good questions which, as always, don’t have definitive answers.

1) On the subject of backing into parking spaces it has been so many years since I was trained on driving a postal vehicle but I do think that is what I was taught. I do this almost always when driving a postal vehicle or personal vehicle. While it is definitely refrained on by management to back up the vehicle, it is recommended to park this way so when we leave the parking space, it’s much easier to see the situation. When we back in we often will know the current situation so can back in more safely to a space. Most of our vehicles don’t have backup cameras so there are some more difficult areas to see when the vehicle is in reverse. I think it’s a great idea to back in as often as possible as long as you aren’t delaying traffic behind you. I often use my hazard flashers when I want a car to pass me so I can put the vehicle in reverse.

2) in general, if you strike an object or get into an accident, you won’t lose your job. I’ve never seen a letter carrier fired for this reason unless they were in their first 90 days (the probationary period). Most of the time, you are prohibited from driving a USPS vehicle until you get some remedial training or watch some safety videos. I suppose if you had multiple motor vehicle accidents or were find to be willfully negligent with the operation of the vehicle, you could be terminated. We are represented by a union so most terminations would be challenged via grievance procedure. If one were found to be under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs while driving a postal vehicle, that may also lead to termination.

457 Votes

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Do you like your job?

Asked by Sanw about 7 years ago

Absolutely! I couldn’t think of doing any other job. It wasn’t always this way but I realized over the years it’s a great fit for my personality. By no means is this for everybody and many coworkers complain constantly. I have my conflicts with mgmt and the overall operation but that doesn’t take away from my love of the job. I am paid to exercise (walking about 7+ miles per day) listen to podcasts, and provide a service to our customers. I don’t have to deal a lot with office politics because I’m out of the building for about 3/4 of the work day. The pay is adequate for my lifestyle and there is a good amount of OT available to increase my income if so desired. Eventually, the USPS will be in severe financial stress so I don’t know how the changes will affect how I feel about the job, but I’m content as of now. Thanks for writing in with this question.

450 Votes

Is that a photo of you sir?

Asked by Reed over 6 years ago

No, it isn’t a photo of me. I answer the qs posted here somewhat anonymously. I have no authorization from my employer (USPS) to do this forum. As you can see I do disparage them and my co-workers on occasion so they probably wouldn’t appreciate my comments. My description is as specific as I’d get and want to make sure I stay out of trouble for this. Many employers have social media policies where they want to control the message through a PR or corporate communications dept.

449 Votes

Is USPS better then private shipping companies?

Asked by Jimmy over 6 years ago

Not really. If you are referring to FedEx or UPS, they have a very good reputation for quality work and they are profit driven so their management is under pressure to get things correct. I also think that they have better technology. The flipside to that is that they are sometimes more expensive and do not go to every address in the USA. I think USPS does a very good job in delivery but we employ too much “dead weight” and people not caring about quality work. Of course, those other companies may have the same issues, but I think their employees are on a shorter leash if they make too many errors. I am proud to work for USPS and what I do, but don’t think we are better than the major alternatives.

449 Votes