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

can i give a mailman my package to ship off or take back

Asked by juan almost 11 years ago

You can give a mailman any package that has the postage paid on it either via a computer printed label (such as Click 'N Ship) or a label where the recipient will pay the return postage. In the latter case, the label will clearly say "No Postage Necessary If Mailed Within The United States". Postage may also be a postage meter or by affixing stamps to the package to cover the postage. Every letter carrier should accept the package no questions asked. The exception to this would be a city letter carrier who may not have a USPS vehicle which they are operating from and are unable to bring the package back to the Post Office. In that case I believe you can go to www.usps.com to schedule a package pickup. Thanks for writing.

I am expecting an envelope that was shipped via First Class Mail with Delivery Confirmation. Will it be delivered to my mailbox or to my door? I am asking because I would like it to be delivered to the mailbox because I won't be home. Thanks!

Asked by TomT about 11 years ago

Generally if the item fits in your mailbox and doesn't require a signature it would be put in your mailbox. This includes First Class Mail with Delivery Confirmation (which rarely would require a signature unless the sender requests it). I hope that is what happens in your case. You may not have read my other replies on this forum but I do a lot of hedging in my answers due to the lack of consistency in delivery and procedures which I hear about both where I work and other places around the country. Also, I don't like to give misinformation or mislead anybody. As much as I know how things should be done with regards to mail delivery, the reality is it doesn't always work out that way. Thank you for writing.

I ordered 2 items and stupidly but the wrong house number on the delivery information.I just checked my tracking and it says being returned to sender,I have another package being sorted at the moment probably out for delivery Mon.How do I stop same?

Asked by Ger almost 11 years ago

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.

How often do you encounter 'suspicious' letters? or letters that you think may contain illegal substances?

Asked by Boe almost 11 years ago

I can't remember a time that I came across any suspicious letters or packages, or at least not as of late.  Not long after 9/11 I think there was anthrax sent through mail or something like that to Washington DC. It made me nervous and I think I had some type of reaction that I may have contracted it and had trouble breathing. It turned out to be all in my head and nothing ever came of it. There probably is drugs sent through the mail or maybe other illegal substances but I have no experience with it fortunately. 

I put a letter in a blue collection box today, probably around 12:30. In the past, I know USPS has tried to phase these boxes out and I am worried that they are no longer thought of as important to check. How often are they really checked for mail?

Asked by Dennis over 11 years ago

You can rest assured that those blue collection boxes are checked at least 1 time after the time on the label for the stated day. For example, if the label says Mon-Fri 3PM, you can rest assured that the box is emptied AFTER 3PM each day M-F but before the last truck has been dispatched from the local post office to a regional processing and distribution center M-F. (also known as a P&DC or "plant"). Inside each collection box is a bar code which is scanned by the collection box letter carrier. The scan records the time that the box was emptied and is recorded on a central internal computer system.

my mail carrier refuses to close the lid (flip-up lid worksfine) after delivering my mail.. instead of closing, she gives a quick flip & drives off. Drives me crazy but afraid to address it out of fear she will "lose" my mail.
How should I address?

Asked by Scott over 11 years ago

Scott, you ask a very good question and I do understand your hesitation for wanting to address this issue with her for fear of retaliation. I would take the step of writing a note for the carrier and politely asking them to close the lid after delivering the mail. I realize I agreed with you that there was a slight risk in addressing the issue, but if dealt with politely I'd hope there would be no cause for retaliation. Also, a call to the delivery supervisor would be appropriate if you dI'd see any obvious retaliation.

In your experience, when a CCA or a Letter Carrier gets into an accident while on the job and it is his or her fault, would they still be kept on the job or terminated?

Asked by Larry about 10 years ago

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.