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'm sure each Post Office has a slightly different dispatch schedule for mail being sent off to a P&DC (Processing and Distribution Center). I think that our Post Office dispatches the mail 2-3 times per day. I don't think that something mailed in the morning gets to its destination sooner than a letter which is collected prior to our final dispatch which is usually around 6PM. We have service levels which basically say if a letter or parcel is mailed on a certain date (before a final dispatch) that it should reach its destination by a certain date. This is usually 1-3 days depending on the distance between the origination and destination Post Office and the class of mail that is being sent (1st Class, Priority, Express, Parcel Post, etc).
ST, I'm not sure what happened in your situation. Some USPS carriers may be trained or take it upon themselves to do things differently than others. If the letter carrier saw the one letter in your mailbox but the rest of the mail taken in (by you), they might think it's mail for a person no longer living there and return it to the sender "Attempted, Not Known" or "Unable to Forward" or something else. It seems likely that this is what happened and the letter wasn't stolen though I can't says for sure.
In my experience it isn't too common for anyone to get terminated for anything. I mean people are given a letter of removal but the union often will appeal that and the carrier is reinstated. If it isn't the first time something happened that was the carrier's fault it may be more difficult to appeal successfully. If you are a CCA it is probably easier to fire you if you get in an at-fault accident. I don't recall any letter carriers at my office ever being terminated for an at-fault MVA. I can't speak for any of the other thousands of offices nationwide. Drive carefully, defensively and don't be distracted.
Chris, the pleasure is mine to help out where I am able to. I am not sure what your comments mean regarding the Darwinian approach, except possibly that I was just stating the obvious to drive carefully. I am not familiar with what the USPS Manual says, but does that state several simulated scenarios to be passed? Good luck to you if you are trying to get hired as a letter carrier with the USPS.
Lifeguard
Professor
Couples Therapist
That sounds absolutely wrong what is done. The only time that a worker can open a package that i know of is if it is Media Mail. That class of mail is subject to inspection if a worker wants to verify that the contents qualify for the Media Mail rate. Does the worker say why he opens then packages? I haven't heard of your situation before.
The letter carrier should not be putting himself in that risky situation. Is it possible for you to relocate your mailbox outside the contained area where your dog is? I don't believer a letter carrier wants to bring out your mail each day not knowing whether or not he will have safe access to your mailbox. Again, I am not sure why he would enter the fenced in area when told not to. With regards to getting nipped in the leg, I am not sure what happens next. I wouldn't worry about it if you aren't contacted by the post office regarding your dog.
If the package is supposed to be delivered Monday, I would see if you could somehow contact (via phone or email) your local PO early Monday AM and see if they could "intercept" the package before returning it to the sender. I know some POs would be very helpful and others not at all. This is a sad aspect of the company that I work for. We are sometimes overwhelmed and feel we don't have the time to go the extra step to help out in a situation like yours. Somebody would need to go look at the parcels for the route which covers your house and try to find the parcel and correct the address. If you don't know how to contact your local PO, please call 1-888-ASK-USPS to see if they have any suggestions. I wish you well.
-OR-
(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-
(Don't worry: you'll be able to choose an alias when asking questions or hosting a Q&A.)