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

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 over 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. 

Are mailmen allowed to return ads from previous occupants to sender or is mine just lazy?

Asked by St KING almost 12 years ago

I am not exactly sure what you mean by this but I'll give it a crack. I am also copying and pasting this answer as you seem to have asked the same question twice. With regards to advertising mail, or any mail, the letter carrier should only be delivering mail to your residence that has your name OR has another name plus "or current resident" on the address label. If it just has the previous occupants name and doesn't say "or current resident", you certainly have the option to leave it in the mailbox with a note on it saying "addressee doesn't live here. please return to sender". Depending on the class of mail there is a chance we don't actually return the ad to the sender, but we do discard it at the Post Office. It is called NOVM (No Obvious Value Mail). Mail that would fall in that category is in the class of Presorted Standard Mail. Most mail that is Presorted Standard and doesn't say "or current resident" and has a previous occupants name could be discarded into the NOVM at the PO. I don't know that I would call your letter carrier lazy, but maybe they aren't paying attention to the name on the mail. You absolutey have the right to put the ad back in the mail if you wish.

My fiancé is a CCA and we planned to go out of town for the weekend after he got off work Saturday. His boss told him on Thursday he had to work Sunday. Can they force him to work or fire him for not showing up even though Sunday isnt a reg work day?

Asked by Mmmmm over 12 years ago

I don't know for sure whether or not your fiance's boss can make him work on Sunday. I know when I was a PTF (Part-time Flexible) we did work Sunday's on occasion and during this time of year (December) it would be pretty common. He should speak to your boss and say that you already made plans to take a small trip which would include Sunday and could he possibly have off of work that day. I do understand that being a CCA is difficult with scheduling because you are expected to be available on virtually any day. Please make sure he asks off ahead of time for the wedding (If you have a date scheduled).

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 over 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. 

i ordered live fish off ebay will the mailman just them in my mailbox or what

Asked by sam over 12 years ago

I am not sure, but if it is properly packaged and labeled, I think it would be fine to leave in a mailbox if it fits and no signature was required. I am imagining that it comes in a styrofoam box and inside there are some bags with the fish in them, but I really don't know.

If the zipcode is wrong, one city over, will i still get my package?

Asked by kaylee over 11 years ago

Not necessarily. Did you put the right name of your community but the wrong ZIP? If so, there is a good chance that the PO at the wrong ZIP city will cross it out and then the package will be sent to your community where it will then be delivered. If the name of the town and ZIP is incorrect on the package, and nobody at the receiving PO recognizes the address as belonging to your community then they may return the package to the sender as "NSS" meaning No Such Street or "NSN" meaning No Such Number. A lot may also depend on how savvy or caring the personnel is at the PO that originally receives the package to have it rerouted to your town where you could then get it delivered. I hope it works out for you. in the future, please remember that a correct ZIP is very important in an address. Thanks for writing!

I have gone through all my training as a mail carrier and just finished my driving test. .Everything went well and he said I did well but im not comfortable with the 2 ton. Will i be asked to drive this or was it just to familiarize me with it?

Asked by Daniel M almost 12 years ago

Congratulations Daniel on finishing your training as a mail carrier including the driving evaluation. With regard to driving the 2-ton vehicle, I don't know if you will ever be made to drive it. I would hope that you wouldn't be. I know that I am in the same position as you with regards to driving it. I have only driven it a few times in my career and and am never asked to drive it. If you didn't feel comfortable driving it, I would speak up and mention that you don't think it is safe for you to drive it and see if you could get out of doing it. I wish you well.