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.
That is true. On our website you can track if a package has arrived at the delivery unit (your PO) if it is an express mail piece, it maybe can be intercepted before sent out for delivery (usually by a parcel post driver or someone other than the regular carrier). Often, the Express Mail items go out for delivery not long after they arrive at the PO after the carriers have started their regular routes.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=regarding%20picking%20up%20mail%20thats%20showed%20up%20after%20postal%20carrier%20left%2C%20If%20the%20letter%20is%20shipped%20overnight%20express%20can%20you%20pick%20it%20up%20then%3F%20I%20heard%20from%20someone%20they%20showed%20up%20when%20the%20delivery%20truck%20arrived%20and%20was%20able%20to%20get%20the%20package%20when%20%40%20PO&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/9221)
Arlene, as far as I know full postage must be paid when mailing used clothing domestically. You can mail the item via USPS Parcel Post which is less expensive than Priority Mail. You can often donate used clothing to local organizations like Goodwill or The Salvation Army. I would recommend doing a web search in your area to see if it's possible to donate the clothing without having to use the USPS and pay postage.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=If%20I%20want%20to%20mail%20used%20clothing%20%20to%20someone%20in%20the%20U.S.%20as%20a%20donation%20do%20I%20have%20to%20pay%20full%20postage%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/12058)
I have no idea why that happened. I assume you mailed the envelope to their old address because you wanted their new address. You probably also assumed that the USPS would return the envelope to you with the new address of the person who just moved instead of forarding the letter because you endorsed the letter "return service requested". I'm sorry I have no further information and I don't know that your local PO would know a lot about this either. As a letter carrier we are taught close to nothing about what that endorsment means, except that it can be processed through the CFS (Comuterized Forwarding System) which handles forwardable/returnable mail. Normally, Standard Class mail without an endorsment can be discarded if the addressee has moved. If the class of mail has the enodrsment, then the CFS processes the said item, though I don't really know what happens to it exactly.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Someone%20I%20know%20moved.%20I%20wanted%20their%20new%20address%20without%20them%20knowing.%20I%20addressed%20an%20envelope%20with%20their%20old%20address%20and%20put%20%27return%20service%20requested%27%20above%20it.%20The%20person%20told%20me%20today%20that%20they%27re%20received%20the%20envelope.%20Why%20did%20this%20happen%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/10266)
For the first 1-2 of hours each morning, letter carriers are busy sorting mail in delivery order so that when we go on our routes, the mail is organized. Each route has a pre-determined order of delivery and we have carrier cases (think of a desk with vertical dividers fof each address or building). After we are done sorting the mail we take it out of the carrier cases and put in trays or rubber band it so it stays organized. Before we actually put the mail in a customer's mailbox, we should be going through the mail we sorted to verify that it is the right mail going to the right house. The vast majority of the mail that we deliver is already sorted by a machine at a regional mail processing plant. The mail arrives at our local post office in delivery order (I'd say a fairly high level of accuracy) and as we go deliver the mail we merge that mail together with the mail we have sorted manually at the post office. The amount of mail we manually sort is so much lower than it used to be either because of automation or a decline in mail volume. When I started working for the USPS only letter size mailing was able to be put in order. Now we have machines that can sort flats (magazines, catalogs) in delivery order which is impressive as well.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=How%20do%20you%20organize%20the%20mail%20so%20you%20know%20you%20give%20all%20the%20mail%20to%20the%20right%20house%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/12357)
Antiques Dealer
Does a piece's value increase significantly if it has a cool "back-story" to go along with it?
Waitress
What types of customers are the worst tippers?
Firefighter
What kind of shape do firefighters need to be in?
I apologize on behalf of the USPS for such bad behavior by the letter carrier. Did you ask him something that may have bothered him. Were you polite to him? Either way, he should not be rude to you and I don't think it's appropriate for him to curse either. My only suggestion is to call the PO where he works and speak to a delivery supervisor. I'm not sure that would resolve anything. They are sometimes ambivalent about this.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=hi%2C%20mailman%20on%20my%20route%20tdy%20%28main%20mailman%20is%20great%20guy%29%20was%20rude%2Fdismissive%202%20me%2C%20asked%20him%204%20his%20name%20he%20evaded%20%3F%2C%20told%20my%20this%20was%20his%20street%20and%20he%20didnt%20give%20a%20fck%20who%20i%20was.%20don%27t%20feel%20safe%20w%2Fhim%20in%20my%20building%20or%20handling%20my%20mail.%20any%20recourse%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/9311)
As far as I know, there is no other PO besides the one that delivers your mail that could do anything with the information whether you have moved or not. Other mail processing facilities just sort the mail according to ZIP code to get it on its way to your local PO. They aren't concerned with the name on the mail. Do you live with anybody else who may write that on the mail and put it back in the outgoing mail? As long as your local PO knows you haven't moved, nobody should be having your mail returned to the sender. You could also put a note and tape it inside your mailbox saying "(your name) is a valid name to deliver here".
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Some%20of%20my%20mail%20gets%20%22this%20person%20has%20moved%22%20and%20returned.%20My%20local%20post%20office%20said%20they%20straightened%20it%20out.%20But%20it%20is%20still%20happening.%20Do%20some%20post%20offices%20still%20have%20me%20listed%20as%20%22moved%22%2C%20if%20yes%3A%20How%20do%20I%20tell%20all%20post%20offices%20I%20haven%27t%20moved%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/14458)
Unfortunatley, you are probably stuck with the new carrier. Do you know the reason that there was a change in postal carriers? Some of the reasons are: a change in the territory that makes up a route, a carrier chooses to leave their route for another one, or a carrier retires or transfers to another office. When this happens, the route often goes up for "bid", and the most senior carrier who desires to do the route that includes your street gets that assignment. It is not based on how friendly, efficient, or safe that this carrier works. There are plenty of letter carriers at the USPS who won't win congeniality awards or hard worker accolades. There is very little corrective action that can be taken as long as the carrier shows up for work and doesn't get into any motor vehicle accidents. I don't know how you would feel about calling the delivery supervisor to voice your concerns about the new carrier and the safety of their driving as well as them forgetting mail, but you could do that. I don't know what kind of response you will get or if it will change anything, but I don't think it would hurt to mention it. Those qualities are very unprofessional and unsafe in a letter carrier. There are some of these carriers at the office where I work as well. I try to have as little as possible to do with them whatsoever. I'm sure this problem isn't uncommon in the USPS and most other companies. Thanks for writing to jobstr for advice.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Recently%20we%20had%20a%20change%20in%20postal%20carriers.%20Our%20old%20guy%20was%20very%20efficient%20and%20kind%2C%20always%20greeting%20us.%20The%20new%20guy%20is%20gruff%2C%20speeds%20through%20the%20neighborhood%2C%20rude%2C%20forgetting%20mail%20from%20time%20to%20time.%20We%20miss%20our%20old%20guy%21%20Are%20we%20stuck%20with%20this%20guy%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/13313)
-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.)
Browse Jobs
Host a Q&A
Search
Submit Your Question
Host a Q&A
Last 7
