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 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.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=I%20moved%20at%20the%20beginning%20of%20the%20year%20changed%20my%20address%20%26%20all%20of%20a%20sudden%20my%20mail%20person%20crossed%20out%20mine%20%26%20my%20kids%20names%20on%20the%20name%20card%20I%20fixed%20it%20but%20still%20don%27t%20get%20my%20mail%20how%20do%20I%20fix%20this%20and%20get%20my%20mail%20so%20I%20get%20my%20sons%20letters%20from%20the%20army&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/8445)
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)
Rob, congratulations on being hired as a CCA. I am guessing it is either Hcksville or Plainview. The PROs may be that you will have many people to meet, many opportunities for filling vacancies, and large neighborhoods to get to know. A con may be that if they are short-staffed, the mgmt can ask you to fill in and do parts of several routes in one day which may be exhausting. The positive part to that is that you are paid for all of your time work including Overtime pay. I believe you can refuse to use your own vehicle to deliver mail, however, they may not then be obligated to give you a govt vehicle to deliver the mail. If that is the case, you may have a reduced opportunity to earn a paycheck. Try to be as polite as possible when given assignments and if it turns out to be too much, speak up and advise the supervisor how much extra time you may need. Always make sure to work safely as well. Try not to get too involved with any office gossip or politics. Good luck and continue asking if you have more qs.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Hey%20Dave%2C%20I%20was%20just%20hired%20at%20a%20PO%20in%20Long%20Island%20as%20a%20CCA.%20Zip%20code%20starting%20118.%20My%20office%20is%20a%20fairly%20large%20office.%20What%20are%20the%20pros%2Fcons%20on%20being%20at%20a%20large%20office%3F%20Also%20if%20I%20am%20asked%20to%20deliver%20with%20my%20own%20vehicle%2C%20can%20I%20refuse%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/10643)
I have deleted one version of this question because it was posted twice. It is a very good question and I will try to be as clear as I can with the how and why of bidding for routes. Firstly, we bid for routes (or assignments, as it isn't always an actual mail delivery route) so that we are doing the same assignment every day in accordance with a collective bargaining agreement between the USPS and the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC). It allows carriers to choose what assignment (delivery route, collection route, parcel post route, floater route (which fills in for carriers on 5 routes on their days off and pays a slightly higher wage)) they would like to work. It is based on seniority at a specific installation, not necessarily when you were hired by the USPS. For example, if you transfer from an office in Maryland to an office in Florida, you will likely lose your local seniority putting you at the bottom of the list with regards to bidding on vacant assignments. There are probably some exceptions to this rule and often in cities there may be several delivery stations that you can bid between and not lose seniority if you bid from one station to another. I am no expert in this as I have always worked in the same post office my entire career. I think it is the fairest system around and am a big advocate of seniority based assignments. The airline industry uses it for Pilots and Flight Attendants to choose what equipment they would like to fly, what routes, what cities they would like to be based in, etc. Anyhow, back to the USPS. I am sure there is a process of online bidding, but for vacant assignments in my local post office that are put up for bid, here is how it works. Management will post a sheet a paper called a Notice of Vacancy of an Assignment. The notice will specify the assignment (usually the route #), the specifics of the shift times and days off. The notice will also specify the dates that bidding is open. It is usually a 10-day period. The supervisor will have a locked box on their desk and pink bid cards (blank) available for regular carriers to fill out to bid on the assignment and put the bid in the box. Once the bidding period has expired, the supervisor and union shop steward will open the bid box and sort all of the valid bids by seniority date. The top 3 bidders based on seniority are then announced. The winner then has 3 workdays to try the new assignment and then can decide to keep it or not. If they decide not to keep it, the 2nd and 3rd place bidders can then try out the assignment. It rarely goes past the 2nd place bidder in my experience. I hope this answers your question and thank you for writing.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=how%20%26%20why%20do%20you%20bid%20for%20routes%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/12266)
Help Desk Technician
Are people appreciative when you help them or do they just treat you like a support monkey?
Cruise Ship Officer
Is the "women and children first" rule still in effect?
Las Vegas Cab Driver
Do people ever ask you to keep your meter off in exchange for a cheaper fare?
I apologize that I don't really know what further action for you to take. Were you able to contact your rural carrier to see if they recall where they put the international express item? Did they, in fact, remember putting it into your neighbor's box (and why)? If your neighbor claims that they didn't receive the item, I don't know what else you can do to prove that they did. I suppose this is one of the risks of allowing a rural carrier to sign for certain mail items.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=My%20rural%20mailman%20put%20an%20international%20express%20in%20my%20neighbors%20box%20%28the%20mail%20carrier%20sign%20it%21%29.%20%20I%20was%20tracking%20it%20and%20when%20the%20post%20office%20was%20notified%20they%20said%20she%20signed%20it%20so%20what%20now.%20%20Neighbor%20said%20they%20didn%27t%20get%20it%3B%20maybe%20they%20did%20%3F%3F%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/11001)
I would recommend that you leave it in your mailbox the next day preferably with either a post-it note on it saying "delivered to wrong address" or writing it on the letter directly if you don't have post-it note or piece of paper to clip to it saying "delivered in error". Please return it somehow to your letter carrier or the PO as you'd probably want the same done if a letter addressed to you was delivered in error somewhere else.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=What%20would%20you%20recommend%20as%20procedure%20if%20we%20get%20someone%20else%27s%20mail%3F%20Write%20a%20note%20on%20it%3F%20Leave%20it%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/10388)
I believe that this was acceptable but am not familiar with the rural carrier vehicle regulations. The USPS would likely not let this carrier deliver the mail from that vehicle if it wasn't approved. They can see what vehicle is being used when she leaves the Post Office and returns from her route. The rural carriers in the office where I work also used to use their own vehicles but I don't remember whether or not they were right hand drive (modified for mail delivery) vehicles. In the past few years they have been given LLVs (USPS-owned vehicles) to deliver their routes and don't have the option of using their own vehicle to deliver the mail. Thanks for writing.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=A%20year%20ago%2C%20I%20had%20a%20rural%20mail%20carrier%20who%20used%20her%20own%20vehicle.%20It%20was%20a%20normal%20jeep%3B%20it%20had%20the%20steering%20wheel%20and%20gas%20pedal%20and%20brakes%20on%20the%20left%20side.%20She%20sat%20in%20the%20passenger%20seat%20and%20operated%20it%20with%20her%20left%20hand%20and%20leg.%20Was%20this%20acceptable%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/12703)
-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
