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.
I believe if you change the location of your mailbox, it would be wise to contact the local post office that handles your delivery. I don't know the rules as to if this is allowed or not. I would think that if it doesn't create any inconvenience for the carrier, it might be possible. To be honest the rules of delivery are applied so inconsistently that I can't tell you for sure what will happen.
Rae, I don't know why you would receive a letter with an X on the return address. It doesn't really make sense to me. One theory would be that it was mailed and then our automated letter sorting system accidentally read the return address as the destination address. Maybe if a letter carrier saw that they would put an X through the return address so that the only address that could be read by a machinery or person would be your address. This is just a guess on my part. Thanks for writing.
I don't think the average carrier makes 72K, but I am glad to discuss what I make and put it in perspective. I haven't worked most of 2013 due to being out with an illness. Much of this illness is covered by paid sick leave so my salary for 2013 isn't too far out of line what most carriers probably make who weren't ill. My pay stub through pay period 26 of 2013 (which should be the last pp of the year) says $65200. To be quite honest that is a good salary for not having worked for more than 1/2 of the year. The highest salary I've ever made was probably in the $70-75K Range and that would include working overtime. Raises are passed out based on a contract which is agreed upon between the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) and the US Postal Service. They are often passed out 1X per year if you are at top pay. If you are working your way up to the top salary then you would get raises a bit more frequently. In conclusion, there is potentital to make superb salaries if you are willing to work all of the overtime that is asked of you which may mean coming in to work on a day you are usually off or maybe even working on a Sunday. I can't guarantee this, but if you did a little research under "NALC National Agreement 2014" there may be a published pay chart as to what carriers get paid. Thank you for your question.
I am not sure why the note was placed in your box and the routing slip was maybe just being used for scrap paper to write the note. I am speculating that whoever wrote the note just wanted to verify that your partner's name was valid to receive mail there. Maybe the PO box clerk was filling in for the regular PO box clerk and didn't know your partner gets mail in your POB since your name is the only name renting it. I would just return the slip saying that your partner receives mail and the name and address is correct to come to your PO Box. That clear up any confusion on the part of the USPS employee that wrote the note.
Suicide Hotline Manager
Has anyone killed themselves during a call?
Border Patrol Agent
Do you ever feel sorry for the illegals you catch trying to cross the border?
Private Detective
Yes, the mail should be delivered the next day. I don't personally remember ever skipping a house due another vehicle blocking access to the mailbox, but I'm sure it is a common occurrence for carriers who have routes where they deliver directly to a curbside mailbox (also known as a mounted route or rural mailbox). If it were to happen several days in a row, I don't know the time frame where the mail would eventually be returned to the sender as undeliverable due to blocked mailbox access. The same goes for if we are unable to get to a mailbox or street due to severe weather. In that case we also would attempt to deliver ALL the mail on the following delivery day.
Yes, before one is hired they are often given a drug test. I have not been tested since but imagine it is is possible that I could be given one at anytime.
Alex, you can certainly ask the letter carrier to do whatever you want with your mail. If he/she is following proper protocol, they won't follow your request. We are instructed to deliver all mail to its address because someone has paid us to do so. We will not go through the mail for a certain recipient and then discard some of it. The recipient should be going through the mail themselves and discarding/recycling what they don't want. I do realize there is such a high percentage of mail delivered on a daily basis that a customer doesn't want, but as the letter carrier we shouldn't be getting involved in their mail.
-OR-
Login with Facebook (max 20 characters - letters, numbers, and underscores only. Note that your username is private, and you have the option to choose an alias when asking questions or hosting a Q&A.)
(A valid e-mail address is required. Your e-mail will not be shared with anyone.)
(min 5 characters)
By checking this box, you acknowledge that you have read and agree to Jobstr.com’s Terms and Privacy Policy.
-OR-
Register with Facebook(Don't worry: you'll be able to choose an alias when asking questions or hosting a Q&A.)