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.
I don’t know how I get so many questions. My job isn’t that exciting, but my theory is that some questions have more to do with customer service issues versus my actual performance of the jon. I’m glad to answer many questions but always caution that they are out of my area of expertise and it seems there is so little consistency throughout the USPS. I occupy a miniscule part of the postal world. I also try to respond within a couple of days to each question so maybe that leads to others who have questions that i will give a prompt response. Thanks for what I think was a compliment.
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.
I think it’s just a general caution strobe that means this truck may make many starts and stops and it may be slow moving. I think it’s similar to hazard flashers.
I can’t say what the worst weather was, but extreme cold for NY Metro area (around 0F) is pretty difficult to work in. If we get a significant snowfall, our LLV (long life vehicles) perform poorly on unplowed streets and even worse on inclines. As long as you dress properly and cover your extremities well, most inclement weather is manageable. A deluge of rain is difficult to work in because you are trying to stay dry as well as to keep the mail dry. I realize this doesn’t fully answer your question, but I can’t pinpoint any “worst weather” day I’ve experienced.
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I don’t live or work in an area with tornado warnings or sirens. I imagine if there was one or a severe thunderstorm, I’d seek shelter somewhere. The vehicle I use for work would be fine if there were a thunderstorm. If there were a tornado I do not believe the vehicle would be a safe place to be. Maybe I would go see if I could find a house and get down low but I’m not really sure of the right procedure because I’ve never been involved in an area subject to tornadoes. They are rare in the northeastern US where I work.
I thought this was the Beatles, but then I looked it up on the Internet and see if it was David Bowie.
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.
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