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.

SubscribeGet emails when new questions are answered. Ask Me Anything!Show Bio +

Share:

Ask me anything!

Submit Your Question

1236 Questions

Share:

Last Answer on February 18, 2022

Best Rated

Why is it important to be a role model and expert to achieve qsc in your restaurant

Asked by Ruth00 over 9 years ago

I don't believe you meant this question for me as I don't work in the food service industry and am not familiar with QSC.

How late could I expect to possibly have my package arrive tonight?

Asked by Brian almost 10 years ago

I don't know if you will receive the package tonight. This time of year I'd say that most packages are delivered by 6PM, but each office probably has varying times due to mail volume and staffing levels. During the holiday season, we deliver some packages on Sunday as well. If you have a tracking number you can track the shipment at www.usps.com but I'm not sure how well it works with items that originated from another country.

What does the carrier or post office do if my home-based business gets too much mail to fit in my cluster mailbox (on a regular basis)? I can potentially see getting two or three crates of mail daily.

Asked by James about 10 years ago

I am not sure what your post office or letter carrier will do if you are unable to provide a large enough receptacle for your daily mail delivery. Since you live in a place with only cluster boxes, it seems you have no choice in the matter. If I were able to get to your actual unit or apt. door, I'd likely leave the mail by the door and maybe ring your doorbell. I don't know the procedure for where you live and from what I hear on this Q and A board and from other msg boards, the delivery procedure is far from uniform in multi-unit dwellings. One option is to rent a PO Box which come in different sizes, but that would require an extra cost and a trip to your Post Office on a regular basis. If you stop in to your local post office and present this question to a delivery supervisor, hopefully they can give you a better answer. Good luck with your home-based business.

What do you do if somebody on your route walks up and asks you if you would hand them their mail instead of putting it in the box?

Asked by bryce almost 11 years ago

If I had the mail somewhat accessible in an easy manner and if I knew who they were (which I usually do since I dsliver the same route daily) then I would hand them their mail. This doesn't happen very often though. If their house is later in the route and their mail isn't quickly accessible, I don't go out of my way to give them their mail that far ahead of time. I may make an exception if it is asked once in awhile, but not on a regular basis.

If I had a letter mailed but moved during the time the mail was being sent would it still make it to my new address?

Asked by fred almost 11 years ago

If you put a mail forwarding request in to the PO via the website www.usps.com or via paper at your local post office then the mail may get forwarded to your new address. Most first class mail is forwarded from a previous address to a new address for 1 year. If the letter was actually delivered to your old address and arrived before the PO rcvd the forwarding order than the mail may not make it to your new address. If the new resident gives back the letter for the old tenant as "moved" then it may possibly be forwarded to the new address If the PO has a valid forwarding order request on record.

I live in an apartment building ( in Canada ) with locked mailboxes for each apartment at the front.of.the building. My neighbor moved out and left a letter for the mail person to put her mail in my box... is this legal?

Asked by Pepper almost 10 years ago

I don't know anything about the rules/laws in Canada about redirecting mail to another address just with a note. Are you okay with this? If so, then if it happens, so be it. If you don't want this or the Canada Post doesn't operate that way, then I guess it's more of an issue. I know I wouldn't abide by a letter like this. In the United States for mail to be put in another addresses mailbox (legally), a forwarding order has to be submitted with the US postal service and then the mail will be properly redirected, even if it is just a next door neighbor. I have one customer on the route I deliver that owns 2 houses adjacent to each other. One of them is for sale. Once that house is sold, I will need to have a forwarding order submitted to have mail forwarded from the sold house to the unsold house (if that's what they want). Thanks for the question.

It is unusual for a mailman to refuse to deliver in 1 to 3 inches of snow if it was not cleared? He is walking across the same amount of snow in neighboring yards after leaving their porch. He grabbed and threw my snow shovel out in my yard today.

Asked by Mike almost 11 years ago

I don't know what is common or not for a mailman to do in that amt. of snow. It seems strange that they would do it for some customers and not others. That said, if a carrier feels they can't safely approach a mailbox due to snow, then they may refuse. I think it all comes down to a judgment call by the letter carrier if there is any doubt for their safety in approaching a mailbox. As to the inconsistency of doing one house as opposed to another house which seem similarly cleared or not cleared, I don't know why that decision is made.