Ask a Mailman (City Letter Carrier) anything

1237 Questions

Last Answer on February 18, 2022

Do you think COVID-19 (Chinese virus) can spread through mail? Do you ever worry about getting sick or getting someone else sick?

Asked by 892374 over 6 years ago

Thank you for your question. Paraphrasing the USPS website: As per the CDC and the Surgeon General, there is currently no evidence that COVID-19 is being spread through the mail. I don’t particularly think the term Chinese Virus is appropriate.

I do worry often about getting sick or getting someone else sick. In my personal life I have distanced myself from my family for fear that I could be an asymptomatic carrier of the virus At my particular USPS facility we practice safe social distancing. While delivering mail, I don’t need to interact face-to-face with most customers so I feel that is low risk for transmitting or catching Covid-19. If I need to interact with a postal customer I can do so at a safe distance. If an item requires a signature we may sign on behalf of the recipient as long as they give us a verbal agreement that they would like the item. Starting today I’ve decided to wear a mask while inside the USPS facility. I went shopping today at BJ’s Wholesale after work and was impressed by the amount of shoppers who had their nose and mouth covered. Along with social distancing this is an effective way to help you from unknowingly transmit the virus to somebody else. I am thankful that so far I’ve shown no symptoms of the virus as I’m worried about getting it. While the majority of those who succumb to complications of the virus are usually older or have underlying medical conditions, there is. I guarantee that a younger, healthy, person will survive this virus that spreads so rapidly.

427 Votes

Could I mail a letter without a postage?

Asked by angiezhang7248 Gmail girl over 6 years ago

I recommend you do not do that. The postage is the main source of revenue that allows the USPS to exist to deliver that letter. I know that doesn’t answer your question. If you mail a letter without postage it may get through and be delivered. It’s also possible that there is another outcome. The letter may be returned to you marked “returned for postage” on the envelope. The other possibility is that the letter will reach its destination but the recipient would have to pay the postage that you didn’t put on the envelope. This is known as “postage due”. Please affix proper postage before mailing any item. The current rate (as of Feb 2020) for a first-class one oz. letter is .55

426 Votes

Do you have CB radios

Asked by Gentlemen over 6 years ago

The tractor trailers may have some type of radio communications, but as a letter carrier, I do not. We just have our personal cell phones and our intelligent mail device (handheld scanner) which can be used to communicate with the office. We rarely use that option. Mostly it’s phone calls or regular text messaging to communicate with each other (either carrier to carrier or carrier to mgmt).

426 Votes

In response to the last question. If its a bussiness cant you walk in and give it to someone who works there if theres no mailbox

Asked by James Crowley about 7 years ago

I didn’t think about that with regards to your last question about an address having no mailbox. You are correct. Many businesses don’t have mailboxes. We would just walk in and leave it with an employee at the business, at a reception area or other designated area. If the business happens to be closed when we get there, it’s normal procedure to just attempt the mail on the next delivery day. This is very common in office buildings when many businesses are closed on Saturday. We would bring all accumulated mail for delivery on the next delivery day (usually a Monday).

425 Votes

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What do you think of this?
https://youtu.be/dplvOCL2N54

Asked by Dan over 6 years ago

Dan, I watched the video and it was pretty well done.i don’t know if it’s your video or you are just referencing it. It keeps referring to the postal inspecting service but it is the postal inspection service. They are somewhat thinly staffed so I don’t know how much they will investigate this particular case but I know what you talk about and it is definitely an issue. The same thing sometimes happens in my office where if some Amazon parcels happen to not get delivered there is a scan that is put on such as “no access” or business closed” that will “stop the clock”. It definitely is a false event scan if we just happened to forget the package at our office or forget to deliver it and it would be too far to go back and deliver it. I have no idea what the financial agreement is between the United States Postal Service and Amazon but we try to make sure each package that we get every day from Amazon is delivered that same day. The quality and quantity of the employees at each office varies greatly. I take a lot of pride in my work so I try to make sure each package is delivered each day for my postal route. There is definitely a falsification of scans where it says delivery has been “attempted” and it really hasn’t. I don’t know the solution to it except more public outcry and exposure. I will not be a whistleblower, however, because I would be concerned any retaliation for this. I don’t believe I’ve ever falsified and Amazon delivery scan.

424 Votes

What do you think of mail in votes?

Asked by Mario Kart Wii underated almost 6 years ago

I am copying and pasting my reply to another post of the same subject. Thanks for your inquiry.

I believe there has been a lot of doubt purposely introduced into the voting-by-mail process by President Trump. My opinion is that voting by mail is very safe and reliable. There are a few important points I’d like to make:

If you vote by mail, please follow the instructions given on the absentee/mail-in ballot regarding deadlines and signing your ballot. Also, voter fraud via mail or in person is quite rare. Several states have been doing almost full vote-by-mail for a number of years with minimal issues.

I plan to either vote by mail or vote early this year in NY State. If you are concerned about a mail-in ballot being received by your local election authority, I recommend dropping it off at a ballot collection box. I don’t believe there should be any issue as to how the USPS processes election mail. I think of it as just like having another couple of pieces of mail per address to deliver. We absolutely have the capacity to handle this in my opinion.

My bottom line—have confidence in the USPS in handling election mail for this coming 2020 General Election.

Thanks for your interest. This is a very important issue in the year of COVID-19 where mail voting will be utilized more than ever.

424 Votes

Do you think the post offices will close?

Asked by asdf over 6 years ago

This question is being asked during the 2020 Covid19 pandemic. I think you are asking if we will close due to this and not just close in general. Also, this question was asked 2x so I deleted one of them. As I write this, the USPS is operating as best as we can under the circumstances we are faced with. We are considered and essential service so no state order can close us. Another reason that a state order can’t close us is that we are tied to the federal government and I believe only the Postmaster General (and possibly the President) could close the USPS.

In a practical sense, our mail workload will likely decrease during a time when many businesses across the country are temporarily shuttered. We have seen an increase in online package deliveries but hasn’t been a huge amt for my office to handle. Amazon is mostly delivered by a private contract courier in the area I work.

I know I haven’t answered your question yet, but here is my thought. We would probably be closed if a large number of our workforce were infected by Covid19. It’s possible a local facility could suffer staffing shortages and be unable to operate as normal. I don’t foresee a nationwide USPS shutdown, but with the situation changing daily, I feel that anything is possible. Stay safe and help Flatten the curve by doing your part.

424 Votes