Ask a Mailman (City Letter Carrier) anything

1237 Questions

Last Answer on February 18, 2022

Are you still a Mailman? By the way thanks for asking my previous question. :)

Asked by angiezhang7248 Gmail Girl about 5 years ago

Yes, I am. it’s my pleasure to be able to answer questions that relate to my profession. am very fortunate to still be employed during the Covid19 Pandemic. Our workload has slowed down significantly since earlier in March, 2020. On most days there isn’t enough work to fill up a full 8-hour shift so we sometimes have to pivot. That means we complete our own assigned route plus :30 on another delivery route all within an 8-hour workday. The important part is staying safe and not being infected with Covid19. It is a scary disease with so many people dying.

200 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.

196 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.

196 Votes

Your welcome

Asked by Jess almost 5 years ago

Thumbs Up

196 Votes

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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.

193 Votes

Also why do people use a mail truck while others sue their personal vehicle with a mail sticker on it and a amber light?

Asked by Cayla about 5 years ago

I’m not sure why some people use a personal vehicle. Usually those are rural letter carriers who are compensated for using their own vehicle and have an amber light to warn you that it’s a slow moving vehicle and will make frequent stops. When I was first hired we sometimes have to use our own vehicle and could get some type of reimbursement for it. There was one regular carrier who would use his own vehicle each day because he preferred to. I don’t have a choice I have to use an LLV which is fine as I would prefer not to use my own vehicle and I do not have the capacity either to handle the parcel load. On some city routes, a carrier may use their own vehicle to get themselves from the office to their route. A parcel post carrier brings their relays of mail to boxes along the route. This would happen in offices where there are not a sufficient quantity of vehicles for each carrier. Our office has one vehicle available per route and a couple of spares.

193 Votes

What would happen if a mailman or woman was caught stealing or at least snooping through someones mail?

Asked by Henry about 5 years ago

I don’t know for sure what would happen if a letter carrier was caught stealing or snooping through someone’s mail. If the postal inspectors are involved, they could have the employee arrested and then have a prosecutor charge them with a crime. To me, this is the same as discarding mail that you don’t want to deliver. I would like to think that most of the time, the letter carrier would be fired from the USPS, but our union often fights a termination and the employee may keep their job. I do wish we were more punitive when a postal employee tampers with the mail at all, but they sometimes just get warnings and are back on the job.

193 Votes

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Mailman (City Letter Carrier)

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