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

I want to tip my mailman in cash at Christmas. I realize this is against USPS regs. What will happen if I do so?

Asked by Kate almost 11 years ago

Kate, I first want to say thanks for using this Q and A board on jobstr. It is fun interacting and trying to help others with postal-related questions. I am no expert and the views are my own. I'd probably get some type of communication from management (and not in a good way) if they found out I was doing this. So far, so good. Anyhow, to answer your question after my long-winded introduction, yes, most of us will certainly accept tips during the holidays even though it is against USPS regulations. Please don't fell any pressure to do so as I fell that is completely unethical and plenty of people that I deliver mail to don't tip me at all which is fine. We are all paid a fair salary with benefits and a have a retirement plan. If you do tip your mailman at Christmas in cash, the only thing that I hope happens is that you get a thank you acknowledgement. I think that is very thoughtful of you. Merry Christmas to you.

Mail carrier continues making same mistake of leaving wrong mail in my mailbox. He has been delivering our mail from the first day we bought our house (5 years ago). Is he or USPS testing my honesty?

Asked by Ana over 11 years ago

Ana, I can't answer why the letter carrier is consistently leaving the wrong mail in your box on a regular basis. Is your house number clearly visible and is the mail that is put in your box clearly not for your address? I'd recommend a couple of remedies, though I don't know if it will work. 1) Affix a note which won't come off to the inside of your mailbox, or on the outside which is visible and states that only mail for (your names) should be delivered to your mailbox. 2) If you see your letter carrier, you may address this issue with them. 3) You may call the PO which that carrier works from and speak with their delivery supervisor explaining that you continuously get wrong mail in your mailbox. I do hope that works for you as accuracy is part of of our job requirement and I try to take pride and delivering mail correctly on the first attempt.

im in the process of being a mail carrier and when I applied I was assigned a post office location far from my home and ii don't have a car.if im hired am I able to get transferred closer to where I live?

Asked by sam about 12 years ago

If you are hired as a letter carrier, it's likely you will be a City Carrier Associate (CCA). You'd be assigned to a specific post office which is where you'd be expected to work. You may ask to be hired at an office closer to home, but usually transfers take place after you have passed a probationary period (90 days I think) and worked in a location for at least 1 year. 

If my package arrived in the post office at 10:16 am, will my package come today?

Asked by Kir over 12 years ago

Not necessarily.  Carriers are often already out of the PO by that time. You should definitely rcv the package the next day at the latest. 

if the mail man takes ma mail cause i was out of town what should i do

Asked by thalia over 12 years ago

Depending on how long you were out of town, the mail was probably being held at the PO you to pick up. If you were out for a certain amt of time and never contacted the PO, it's possible they returned the mail to sender. If a mailbox is full, the overflow is usually held at the PO until the cust. Mailbox is emptied. I am just giving you scenarios on what I think should happen. As much as there are sets of rules to be followed in this situation, nobody seems to know exactly what is correct and different carriers will handle it differently. 

After 13 years of doing the job does your body hurt? Do you have any job related injury due to the constant strain of your job such as casing mail or carrying your mail. If so does your work cover this if its not a specific event?

Asked by Dustin about 12 years ago

Dustin, Fortunately my body doesn't hurt due to the strain on the body and the repetitive motions on the job. There are quite a few co-workers who have hip, back, and foot pain. A couple of carriers have had joint replacement and returned to full duty, maybe a bit slower, but back at work. I don't think there is coverage for long-term illnesses if it is not specific. If the injury got to be so bad that you couldn't perform the job for more than 1-year you could apply for a disability retirement. Work, doesn't cover any short term disability. That is one reason you get 13 days of sick leaver per year. 

i have been waiting on a check that was mailed out over ten buisness days ago it was not sent certified and i have not got it what can i do ?

Asked by melissa about 12 years ago

I don't have any good advice as to what to do re: the check. On occasion mail isn't delivered as quickly as it should be. Sometimes it could be diverted by accident to a different PO and then take time to get to the correct PO. ultimately, after waiting a few more days, you may contact the sender and see if they can issue a replacement check.