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.
If an item needs a signature (usually it’s a certified letter or registered mail), I knock on the door to obtain the signature of the resident if they want to accept the item. If they aren’t home or don’t want to come to the door, I leave a PS Form 3849 (Notice Of Attempted Delivery) which advises the customer that we had an item that may have needed a signature and the form gives them options to either pick up the item at a specific PO or they can request a redelivery. During the Covid19 pandemic, the procedure has changed slightly. As long as the customer is home and acknowledges that they want to “sign” for the item, we can print their name on the electronic scanner that they usually sign. This eliminates them from having to get too close to you or to touch the scanner. It seems to have worked well so far. Stay safe and thank you for your question.
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Maybe I have a boring existence or work in a pretty quiet area but I have never had that scenario ever happened to me whatsoever. The closest thing I’ve ever seen (which I was not impressed by) is an older man who likes to walk around the house in his underwear. He is creepy to begin with and I try not to have much of a conversation with him anyway. I don’t know what I’d do if that scenario presented itself. I could just carry in with business as usual. Seeing someone naked doesn’t totally phase me as I’ve seen topless women on beaches or even in NY City or San Francisco. I do feel it is inappropriate for someone to come to the door naked but I probably would not make a big deal of it.
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Kara, the unofficial motto of the USPS is: Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.
It isn’t true at all. For the most part, we strive to get all of the mail routes delivered each day. Due to bad weather or staffing shortages or maybe some other reasons, we don’t always deliver the mail. The LLVs are infamously poor to drive in when there is snow on the roadway. They don’t get much traction and fishtail easily. Add an incline or decline and it becomes that much more difficult.
There was a snowstorm recently in the NY Metropolitan Area where I work. The storm increased in intensity during the morning while I was out delivering the mail. At around 1130 I received a text message on my scanning device which said “all carriers return to the post office”. We didn’t finish delivering our mail routes that day. We aren’t superheroes and I think it’s smarter for us to suspend delivery when it isn’t safe to continue so we may get home and safely return to work the next day to deliver the mail.
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On the postal route, not particularly. I’m pretty easy going. I don’t really care when people just talk to you because you aren’t just a body. I mean they aren’t conversant and just want to talk about their accomplishments around the house, etc. Truthfully, it’s a waste of my time so I can tolerate it in small doses. If they get too long winded, I walk away and don’t give an excuse. I realize that wasn’t your question Rarely do I ever get complaints about my delivery or the time I arrive. The latter is out of my control. Mail is quite unimportant these days so many people don’t care when, or even, if they get a delivery. I can’t think of any stupid complaints. Every now and then there is a complaint or comment about mail being wet due to sweat on my arm. I don’t find that an unreasonable complaint, so for that customer, I try to keep her mail dry.
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I understand your frustration that the letter carrier does not wipe his feet before going to your door and there is mud on your steps. It is quite inconsiderate for them not to wipe their feet especially as you have provided a mat for that purpose. You could put up a sign near the mailbox saying “please wipe your feet on the mat provided” or if you see the new letter carrier you could mention it to them directly. I don’t know why they wouldn’t oblige to a simple request. Is there anywhere to move your mailbox so that they don’t have to walk up your steps and get the area all muddy. I rarely pay attention to what I’m walking through and tracking to a customers door. I’m pretty sure if they said something to me, I’d be more considerate. I don’t work in a particularly muddy area so I don’t know that this would pertain to me. You could take your complaint to the district level which oversees individual post offices. I don’t know that your complaint will get anywhere. My confidence level in satisfactory resolution of USPS customer complaints is a mixed bag. Thanks for writing.
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i haven’t heard of those stories and I believe they are few and far between. Also, I have no idea how people could get their hands on ballots and what they would actually do with them. I believe many absentee ballots need to be signed by the voter. The signature would then be (in theory) be matched against the signature on file for when the voter registered. I have full faith in the USPS role in voting by mail. There is about one month to go before the 2020 general election. It’s a bit early of course but I haven’t heard of too many major issues. The GOP, specifically President Trump, is trying to fan the flames of doubt for mail-in ballots. It is a false narrative. Voter fraud in general is rare. Multiple independent research has indicated this.
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That is a very timely question. I have a lot of faith in the Postal Service able to handle the volume of absentee ballot applications as well as completed ballots. Due to the coronavirus pandemic I believe it is much safer for people who prefer to vote by mail be given an equal opportunity as those who want to physically go to a polling site. In June, 2020, the area where I work had 2 elections. One was a Democratic Party primary. The other was a school budget vote. Both seemed to go smoothly with respect to sending out and retrieving and processing election mail. Several states have been conducting VBM elections for years and I don’t believe there are any major issues that have arisen with respect to voter fraud or ballots being counted.
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