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

My address has always been my mom address. Her boyfriend moved in and he keep giving important mail back to the mail carrier. For months I have not receive important mail can I take legal action.

Asked by William Legion about 12 years ago

I am sorry that I can't advise you on any legal action to be taken with regards to your situation. I find it quite unconscionable that your mother's boyfriend would return your important mail to the letter carrier if he knows that you receive your mail at your mother's address. One option would be to contact the post office that delivers your mail and mention to the delivery supervisor to mention to the letter carrier that mail addressed to you should be delivered to your mother's address and not be accepted by the letter carrier as "refused" mail. Also, I am sure you've already mentioned to your mother about what is happening and asked her to tell her boyfriend to stop doing that. I don't know the circumstances as to why her would return the mail, but it is disgusting to do that if it is just to be malicious. Thank you for writing.

How can one get driver training for the LLV TO CONFIDENTLY PASS THE DRIVER CERTIFICATON requirement. are there retired rural carriers in New york state who may be hired to provided lessons and preparation?

Asked by Chris about 12 years ago

You are asking a good question which I don't know how to answer. When we were hired, co-workers who were certified as Driver-trainers would teach us how to drive the LLV and also sign us off as being trained. I don't know anything about "off the clock" or "off the job" rural carriers who offer training lessons or preparation on LLV training. I can only speak from personal experience that it wasn't terribly difficult to learn how to drive the LLV even though the steering wheel is on the opposite side that we are used to in the United States. Overall, the LLV drives similar to other automatic drive vehicles in the US. The important things to keep in mind is blind spots and handling in inclement weather. Those are times or conditions to be extra cautious and always wear your seat belt. Good Luck to you!!

The letter that fell from the envelope has no address, just my name. What can I do just in case the mail man or postal office found it.

Asked by shan over 12 years ago

I have no idea except to notify the PO or your mailman that you are looking for a letter without an envelope. With the volume of mail delivered each day, it is unlikely that the letter would be returned unless whoever finds it is familiar with your name and where you live. 

While driving the vehicle to make a delivery, another motorist points towards the back of your vehicle as if something is wrong. What do you do?

Asked by zoom over 11 years ago

It hasnt happened to me before that somebody points to the back of my vehicle as if something was wrong. I can, however, picture that scenario. I believe I would safely pull over to the side of the road when I can and investigate what they may have been pointing at. Maybe it was a gas cap I forgot to replace, an open cargo lift door, or maybe I am dragging something. I do have people sometimes drive up near me, but if it is a busy road or they are unsafely positioned I will either ignore them or point them to pull over to the side of the road and assist them. Safety is my number one priority, because if I am injured or in a motor vehicle accident, I am not working and it could lead to internal discipline.

After working as a City Letter Carrier for 5 years, where do you think I can apply for job or what type of job I can apply to if I can't walk anymore because of medical conditions?

Asked by Thai over 12 years ago

As far as what far as what job would be a good alternate to a city letter carrier based on your medical condition, I think that working inside as possibly a retail sales and service associate would be good. The problem is that I don't believe they are hiring many workers for these positions when compared to letter carrier hiring. There are also custodial positions available in some offices, but that job requires much physical labor as well. I am sorry that I don't have any great advice for you as city letter carrier is the job most in demand. You could see if there are rural carrier associate positions available in your office or adjacent offices. Those positions don't require any walking except delivering parcels to doors sometimes, but much less than a traditional park and loop walking city route. 

At the end of your delivery day, you notice that you have some remaining flyers. What would you do with them

Asked by zoom over 11 years ago

If the flyers are unaddressed which would usually be the case when there are leftovers, I bring them back to the post office where they are usually discarded in a recycle bin. It's not too often that I have leftover flyers because they are usually distributed to the letter carriers in the correct quantity needed to cover the entire route (give or take a few). Another reason why we usually don't have leftovers is because we are supposed to count out the number of flyers needed for each section (loop or relay) resulting in a low amt of overage. I do see many flyers put in the recycle bin at the end of the day leading me to believe that some flyers aren't delivered or there is an error in the counts for some routes. A lot of flyers are probably of little interest to the recipients, but that isn't my concern. I am loyal to the mailers who are paying the USPS to provide delivery services for their advertising. 

I have a package that was suppose to be here yesterday. It said, Notice Left (No Authorized Recipient Available) February 6 2014 4:12 pm FORT RILEY KS 66442

But, I was home the whole time... Will the mail man come to my door if theres snow?

Asked by Darelle about 12 years ago

Darelle, I don't know why the status would say No Authorized Recipient Available. It seems that nobody even tried knocking/ringing your door if you were home all day but you don't remember anybody. If there is too much snow, they may not attempt delivery. You may sign the note/leave in mailbox or visit www.usps.com to ask for a re-delivery attempt or pick up the item yourself at the post office mentioned on the PS3849-Delivery Attempt Notice Left. It seems that you probably didn't even get a notice yesterday, only an online notice which may not have been true.