Ask a Mailman (City Letter Carrier) anything

1237 Questions

Last Answer on February 18, 2022

Is it ture that your in line to be the president. Wayyyy down the line and unlikely but are you?

Asked by Coool dudeeeee over 5 years ago

Lol. Not me. The Postmaster General of the United States used to be in the line of succession for the Presidency. I believe that to no longer be the case since 1970 when the position was removed from the Cabinet of the President. That is around the same time that the USPS was created. Prior to that, the organization was the US Post Office Department which was an executive branch agency. When I looked on Wikipedia for Presidential Line of Succession, the Postmaster General was nowhere to be found on the list.

215 Votes

So I know this video has been out there for a while but what do you think? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOCyzG4BktQ

Asked by Ryan about 5 years ago

I have never seen that video before. Not knowing the background of the situation, I can’t make a judgment. I know that there are mentally ill and depraved people who work at USPS and in the public. Either this woman perceives she is being stalked by this letter carrier or she actually was being stalked and he is denying it.

211 Votes

What is the hardest part of your job?

Asked by Ryan about 5 years ago

I’m not sure what the hardest part of the job js. Most challenges are surmountable. I like most aspects of being a letter carrier. I would say working in the snow or dark is the most difficult part to do. If one has the proper cold weather gear and lighting for working in the dark, these challenges are much more manageable. Most of the time I’m able to work during daylight hours but in the fall/winter the sun may set at 1700 which could easily result in us working in the dark. Our vehicles perform quite poorly in the snow so it is sometimes hard to safely drive them. Dealing with a difficult supervisor or manager is sometimes hard as well. They are known to be unreasonable at times in their requests for being on time. That ebbs and flows. Sometimes there are weeks of “civility” followed by several days of nastiness and what feels like disparate treatment. Most of the time I let in roll of my back and don’t escalate a situation. In general, I am very organized so delivering mail is quite an easy job and goes somewhat smoothly on a daily basis.

208 Votes

Should someone have a degree to do this job?

Asked by Bobby about 5 years ago

It is definitely not a requirement whatsoever to have any higher education for this job. No college degree is needed and won’t likely help or hinder your chances of being hired. I have a Bachelors degree (4-year) from s public university in NY. Most of my work colleagues don’t need have college degrees. The job as a letter carrier can be taught in a very short amount of time. You must be in reasonably good physical health and having good organizational skills and being a safe worker are important. I think having a degree helps me understand more about the USPS in general. I am curious by nature so I like to learn more than just how to do the job. Many of my coworkers aren’t that well educated and tend to believe things too easily they may hear through the rumor mill and spread it as fact. I really don’t like misinformation.

208 Votes

Also on Jobstr...

Call Center Representative

Are you allowed to hang up on a caller if they're being very rude?

Special Education Teacher

How come it often takes years to figure out that a kid is dyslexic?

Programmer

Why are so many developers such bad communicators?

Your welcome

Asked by Jess almost 5 years ago

Thumbs Up

208 Votes

What’s your opinion on the post master general

Asked by Billy almost 5 years ago

I feel that Louis DeJoy, our newer Postmaster General is a political hack who was appointed due to his loyalty and fundraising support of President Trump. Most of our recent previous PMGs have been USPS employees, but that isn’t necessary to be able to do the job successfully. There is no doubt that our organization isn’t modern and doesn’t run that efficiently. Some changes are necessary, but the changes proposed not long before an election where a large amt of ballots will be submitted via mail bodes of a deliberate attempt to sow doubt in the USPS ability to handle the mailed ballots. Fortunately, there was a lot of pushback from the public and some courts about these changes. I don’t feel I was ever affected by them at my facility. After the 2020 election, DeJoy said he will again propose some major changes. If Trump loses the election, I’m not sure that DeJoy will even stay on the job. I don’t believe he can be fired so easily, but maybe he doesn’t even really want this job long term.

207 Votes

What are some types of questions you wished people would stop asking

Asked by QUESTION TO ALL about 5 years ago

I am not sure if you’re referring to this forum or out while I’m delivering mail. Either way, the answer would be the same. I am very patient and I don’t get annoyed by questions. I triy to put myself in the shoes of the person asking it and if I can I will educate them. I deliver mail on the same route each day so I know most of the residents. There usually aren’t many questions and most of the time I don’t see a lot of people during the delivery day. I admit I get annoyed if people just want to talk in general because I don’t have the time to do that on my postal route and sometimes you are just a person that they want to talk to and you could be anybody. While I am friendly it is not my job to be a social worker. Fortunately, I don’t have many incessant talkers that I deliver mail to. I either avoid them if possible or just walk away after maybe giving them a minute or two of my time.

207 Votes