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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1237 Questions

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Last Answer on February 18, 2022

Best Rated

How do you make sure you get up in the morning? Do you have a lot of alarm clocks going off at different times? Do you have someone give you a wakeup call?

Asked by JTDN about 12 years ago

My brother works at a PO and I believe he uses the many alarm clocks method (including one across the room). There are apps that will give you a wake up call. I just set one alarm and Try to get 8 hrs. Sleep so getting up and to work on time isn't too hard for me. Promptness and attendance is an important part of staying employed. 

867 Votes

How do you organize the mail so you know you give all the mail to the right house?

Asked by cmac about 11 years ago

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.

867 Votes

I moved at the beginning of the year changed my address & all of a sudden my mail person crossed out mine & my kids names on the name card I fixed it but still don't get my mail how do I fix this and get my mail so I get my sons letters from the army

Asked by Starr about 12 years ago

I Have heard this question come up several times.  While we don't use name cards where i work, I don't know the reason why the letter carrier would change the names on your mailbox. If you ever see him or her, I would try to set the information correct with them. If that doesn't work, try to contact your PO for assistance. You certainly deserve to get mail addressed to you. 

867 Votes

Someone I know moved. I wanted their new address without them knowing. I addressed an envelope with their old address and put 'return service requested' above it. The person told me today that they're received the envelope. Why did this happen?

Asked by Amt over 11 years ago

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.

866 Votes

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What did you do uniform wise before you got your uniform allowance? Did you buy anything with your personal money? If so what? What did you buy with your first allowance?

Asked by Bradan almost 11 years ago

I think it was about 3 months (probationary period) before I received a uniform allowance. I think I dressed mostly in blue and wore jean shorts or blue jeans as a uniform for the lower part of my body and a dark t-shirt for the upper part. It was during summer months so outerwear wasnt too much of an issue but I probably had a rain jacket and baseball cap. I don't think anything had the USPS logo on it. I can't remember if I bought anything with my own money but probably would have, if necessary. With my first allowance (which was higher than subququent years), I probably bought long and short sleeved uniform shirts, a winter jacket, shorts and pants, shoes, and a baseball bap. It has been quite a few years but this is a guess as to what I bought. I know the items can be a bit pricey and eat up a uniform allowance quickly. On Long Island, NY where I deliver mail there used to be actual uniform stores that we could go in to and purchase our clothing. The one closest to wear I work/live has closed so I spend my entire yearly uniform allowance online. Some vendors will offer you a 10-20% spending bonus if you use the entire allowance at one time. I recommend purchasing items that will keep you warm and dry in bad weather even if it means spending out-of-pocket having used up your uniform allowance. It is difficult for me to work in the cold and always have to layer up properly in the winter. I don't know where you live if this is a factor or not. Good luck in your postal career and keep your head up even if management doesn't treat you like they appreciate you.

866 Votes

Are there any specific USPS regulations for installing a mailbox at my home on Long Island?

Asked by chertz almost 12 years ago

They are likely the same nationwide.

866 Votes

I am having problems with the Zip + 4 digits. I have noticed that with just the first 5 my package gets delivered. but with the plus 4 it gets undelivered (auto due to apt no. ebay) is it possible some mailmen are not familiar with it still?

Asked by Bert over 11 years ago

I don't know why it would make a difference whether or not your package had the 5-digit ZIP or the Zip + 4 digits. I don't know anybody who I work with who pays attention to it or needs to pay attention to it. If the parcel has the correct address including the apt. #, I would think that would be sufficient to get it delivered. The only suggestion I'd have is to contact the PO to mention this to them. Leaving a note in the mailbox won't help because it seems like you probably have several different letter carriers.

865 Votes

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