Mailman (City Letter Carrier)

Mailman (City Letter Carrier)

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.

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Last Answer on February 18, 2022

Best Rated

are mailman allowed to hand mail stay to a person or is he suppose to put it in the mail box

Asked by jbo over 10 years ago

I believe it is fine to hand the mail to a person if they are reasonably sure that is the person who lives at the address where the mail is going to or authorized to receive the mail. We are advised not to hand mail to young children or if there is a dog present who could possibly lunge at the mailman's hand as it is being given to a patron. That is mostly for safety reasons. 

Mr. Mailman, what if you made a mistake and used a government issued bulk mail permit for personal use? I didn't use town funds to pay for the mailing, there was no monitory cost to the town but I am about to be questioned by a prosecutor

Asked by bulk bum over 11 years ago

I don't believe it is legal to use a bulk mail permit for personal use, especially if it is a taxpayer-funded government account. I am not a lawyer so I can't give you any legal advice in this forum. If it were me in the situation, I'd own up to the mistake, show that you paid for the mailing with your own funds. Again , an atty may tell you something different So if this might result in a legal action against you,consulting an atty may be a good idea. 

I recently moved into my new home and my letter carrier has refused my mail delivery until I convert to a curbside mailbox, this also includes large packages. Is he allowed to make such request where I have to comply in order to receive my mail?

Asked by New experience! almost 11 years ago

I don't know the USPS rules on a letter carrier requesting a mailbox be converted to curbside. I assume that you currently have a mailbox near a door to your house or affixed somewhere on your house which requires the letter carrier to leave their vehicle to affect delivery. I would think that large packages would need to be brought to the door regardless of where your mailbox is placed. Where are the mailboxes installed on the other addresses in your neighborhood? I'm sorry I don't really have any insight on your situation though I would think the request would have to come from a higher source than your own letter carrier and be made to a large area and not just you. One option would be to call your local post office and speak to a delivery supervisor about this request or even the postmaster or the district office which services your community.

I have my mailman ask if he can use our bathroom everyday he delivers Mon-Fri. I do have a business but it is a private bathroom for employees only. You have to walk through the office to get it. Your thoughts?

Asked by Tom H. over 11 years ago

I would think its a nice courtesy that you extend to the letter carrier as we sometimes have limited options as to where we go to the bathroom. There is certainly no rule that says you have to let them use it, but its a nice courtesy. I am not sure how you would approach him to ask them not to use it. That may be a bit awkward. Does his/her use inconvenience your employees? Is the letter carrier respectful of the bathroom and doesn't mess it up? I've never had anyone decline me the use of a restroom, but if they did, I would hopefully just find another business/office to go to. 

How heavy a package can you pick up from my house? I heard no more than 14 oz. once; another time I heard no more than a pound (16 oz)?

Asked by Peg. over 11 years ago

If the Package only has stamps, I believe 13 oz. is the maximum weight for pickup. If you use an electronic shipping label (eBay, Amazon) then the maximum is 70lbs. Also, people sometimes return merchandise with a pre-paid return shipping label. That, too, has no limit. the reason for this rule has to do with aviation security aNd being able to track down a sender should a package contain illegal or dangerous contents, including explosives. 

I want to become pen pals with convicts, some of which are murderers. I really do not want to use my real name in these letters. If I open up a PO Box legitimately, will mail addressed to another name with the correct box number make it to my PO box?

Asked by Frank over 11 years ago

I think when you open a PO box, you need to show ID and give your real name as authorizEd to rcv mail there I don't know that the PO Box clerk will accept mail for a different name addressed to the proper PO Box. One other option is to use a commercial mail receiving agency like the UPS store. I don't know if they are as strict with their requirements for receiving mail. 

SO - I get a lot of mail addressed to previous tenants of my apartment (who I don't know at all). How can I stop this? If I put a note on my box "current residents only" then listing the current residents, can the mailman cooperate?

Asked by TiredOfTheGames over 11 years ago

I would think the mailman would cooperate if you left a note clearly statiNG who the current residents are. Please keep in mind that we would still deliver mail that says "or current resident" even if it still had a previous tenants name. If you get a regular piece of mail with the name of a previous tenant you can right on it "moved" or "doesnt live here" and leave it where the letter carrier can see it. I hope this helps.