Ask a Mailman (City Letter Carrier) anything

1237 Questions

Last Answer on February 18, 2022

I'm sure you heard about that lunatic in Canada who mailed pieces of a dead body to some Canadian govt officials. They said that these packages stunk to high heaven and some were literally leaking blood - how did this get past their postal service???

Asked by naaaaasty about 13 years ago

I am not familiar with that story which you mention though it does sound disgusting. If we ever saw a package that was leaking fluids and/or had a noticeable strange smell, our procedure is to report it to a supervisor who could then decide whether to take any further action with re: to calling postal authorities or local police. I would hope if that same situation happened in the US that the package would be intercepted long before it reached its destination but you can never be sure as a lot of what happens depends on the personnel handling the package and how much they care or are paying attention.

1329 Votes

I had a package shipped from a suburb of Boise, Idaho last Tuesday via standard parcel. This morning I got a message that it was in Denver! Did it really take 7 days to travel 850 miles?

Asked by Jim about 12 years ago

Standard Post is our economical way to ship parcels. The method of transport is usually by truck (ground) vs Priority Mail, which is often by FedEx air transport. For this reason, standard post usually takes longer. I don't know how long your package should have taken from Denver to Boise but 1 week sounds somewhat reasonable. Priority Mail is almost always 1-3 days but you pay accordingly for the faster service.

1321 Votes

With the price of gas so high, why doesn't the postal service convert to non-gasoline vehicles?

Asked by BlackberryGuy almost 13 years ago

Good question. I think that it would be too expensive upfront as you mentioned, and the USPS doesn't seem to be in that good of a financial position right now. It is true that the LLVs we use get very poor gas mileage as we are starting and stopping the engine many times per day and some of us drive very short distances. I get the impression that the USPS is currently in more of a survival mode than in being too innovative as of late. We probably could use some type of congressional relief of our current requirement to prefund future retiree health benefits This requirement is resulting in significant paper losses for the USPS which probably also hampers the drive to be more eco-friendly and economical.

1320 Votes

Have you ever witnessed a carrier intentionally tamper with mail so it is un-deliverable (like tape over the address... I think a carrier did this to my package), steal the contents, etc.? If you haven't witnessed it, do you think it's likely?

Asked by Disappointed over 12 years ago

I haven't witnessed anyone deliberately tampering with a package, though every now and then a box arrives empty, so it could have broken open in transit or tampered with. If a carrier were to do this on any regular basis, customers would become suspicious and probably call the PO. If the PO rcvd too many calls about 1 route, I imagine they'd get suspicious and look into it. Overall, I think tampering and theft is rare but I am sure it happens in such a large organization. Thank you for the question.

1315 Votes

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If it snows and I have a curbside mailbox, what's my obligation to make it accessible to the mailman? I've had some mailmen who delivered when the box was surrounded by 4 ft of snow, while others have skipped us when there were a couple inches.

Asked by G.C. almost 13 years ago

I don't know the regulations exactly when it comes to curbside delivery. I can assure you it is printed somewhere, possibly on the USPS website. I think that the carrier has to be able to approach your mailbox, deliver and then drive away without leaving the vehicle. That said, some carriers I know would rather deliver the mail and not have to bring it back to the PO and then attempt delivery the following day. I understand the frustration with the inconsistency, but If I had to pick one way or another, it is acceptable for a carrier to skip a delivery if he can't get to a mailbox for the reason of too much snow or a car blocking the mailbox. The school of thought might be that if we deliver when there is 4 ft. of snow on the ground, what incentive does the resident have to clear a path to so the carrier can drive his vehicle directly up to the curbside mailbox?

1309 Votes

actually, the money was just put into my home mailbox and disappeared after the mail was delivered....do i assume the mail carrier has it?

Asked by $400-less_none-the-smarter about 12 years ago

Sorry for the slow reply. The letter carrier possibly just took the envelope without looking to see if it was addressed or had postage and put it in the outgoing mail. If that happened it is doubtful that it would appear again. Did u ever try contacting the PO? I am not sure they would be of any help. I understand this may be a tough one to solve.

1309 Votes

It's no secret that post offices have reputations for being insanely slow and inefficient. Does the USPS "care" about this and try and actively improve it, or is it just accepted because the public has little choice but to use their services?

Asked by Shana about 12 years ago

That is true in many offices, probably more in urban environments. I don't know if it still happens, but a supervisor sometimes does a lobby sweep to see if anyone on line can be helped without having to see a clerk. (Like picking up mail that was on hold). They employ "mystery shoppers" who come in unannounced and make notes of the efficiency and accuracy of the clerks. I think that the USPS does care about providing good customer service, but it's hard to really effect change among workers who don't care that much. I guess I am fortunate to work in a decent office where most workers do a fair job. I don't think I have thoroughly answered your q, as I don't have inside knowledge of how upper management feels about their service.

1284 Votes

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Mailman (City Letter Carrier)

Ask me anything!

What do YOU do?

I'm sure you heard about that lunatic in Canada who mailed pieces of a dead body to some Canadian govt officials. They said that these packages stunk to high heaven and some were literally leaking blood - how did this get past their postal service???

I had a package shipped from a suburb of Boise, Idaho last Tuesday via standard parcel. This morning I got a message that it was in Denver! Did it really take 7 days to travel 850 miles?

With the price of gas so high, why doesn't the postal service convert to non-gasoline vehicles?

Have you ever witnessed a carrier intentionally tamper with mail so it is un-deliverable (like tape over the address... I think a carrier did this to my package), steal the contents, etc.? If you haven't witnessed it, do you think it's likely?

Also on Jobstr...

If it snows and I have a curbside mailbox, what's my obligation to make it accessible to the mailman? I've had some mailmen who delivered when the box was surrounded by 4 ft of snow, while others have skipped us when there were a couple inches.

actually, the money was just put into my home mailbox and disappeared after the mail was delivered....do i assume the mail carrier has it?

It's no secret that post offices have reputations for being insanely slow and inefficient. Does the USPS "care" about this and try and actively improve it, or is it just accepted because the public has little choice but to use their services?

Mailman (City Letter Carrier)

Ask me anything!

What do YOU do?

I'm sure you heard about that lunatic in Canada who mailed pieces of a dead body to some Canadian govt officials. They said that these packages stunk to high heaven and some were literally leaking blood - how did this get past their postal service???

I had a package shipped from a suburb of Boise, Idaho last Tuesday via standard parcel. This morning I got a message that it was in Denver! Did it really take 7 days to travel 850 miles?

With the price of gas so high, why doesn't the postal service convert to non-gasoline vehicles?

Have you ever witnessed a carrier intentionally tamper with mail so it is un-deliverable (like tape over the address... I think a carrier did this to my package), steal the contents, etc.? If you haven't witnessed it, do you think it's likely?

Also on Jobstr...

If it snows and I have a curbside mailbox, what's my obligation to make it accessible to the mailman? I've had some mailmen who delivered when the box was surrounded by 4 ft of snow, while others have skipped us when there were a couple inches.

actually, the money was just put into my home mailbox and disappeared after the mail was delivered....do i assume the mail carrier has it?

It's no secret that post offices have reputations for being insanely slow and inefficient. Does the USPS "care" about this and try and actively improve it, or is it just accepted because the public has little choice but to use their services?

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