Ask a Mailman (City Letter Carrier) anything

Hypothetically speaking of course.... Suppose we sent a care package to someone famous at their home address. The package says that it's out for delivery, but the status hasn't been updated for 3 days now. Any guesses?

Asked by mtmom over 11 years ago

There is no need for you to be hypothetical in your question. I'm sure care packages are mailed to famous people all the time. Sometimes they give out their address of their personal representative or agent to maintain privacy of where they actually reside. It does seem strange or incorrect for a package to be out for delivery and no status update for three days. I'd normally say that if a package is out for delivery there should be some follow up status the same day (i.e. Delivered or Attempted). While I can't say for sure what happened to your package, hopefully it was delivered but the letter carrier forgot to scan it accordingly. This would be a mistake on our part. Thank you for your inquiry.

911 Votes

Is being a mail carrier a good job for introverted people?

Do you ever get used to being out in the cold/wet weather?

Would you do another job if given the opportunity

Do you ever regret becoming a carrier?

Asked by Clint about 12 years ago

Clint, Thank you for 4 interesting questions.

1) I think that being a letter carrier is fine for all types of personalities. There is no requirement to talk to the customers as far as I know. I happen to be somewhat social and enjoy the interaction with my co-workers and customers, but some of my co-workers are very quiet, just come to work, deliver the mail, and don't say too much. I prefer them much more to people who don't know when to be quiet or talk entirely about themselves constantly.

2) Not really. The cold/wet weather doesn't bother some people, but I don't particularly like or get used to working in it. My advice is to learn to dress properly. That is VERY important because being wet and/or cold for hours is not somthing I get used to. The biggest problem I have dealing with is my hands being cold. The rest of your body you can cover up sufficiently in almost any weather. It is difficult for me to "finger the mail" if I'm wearing warm gloves on my hand, but I make do somehow and the climate I work in isn't known for lots of severe and cold weather, though it happens for sure.

3) Yes, but of course it depends on the type of job, pay, benefits, etc. The list of jobs I would take is probably much shorter than the ones I wouldn't take. For example, I wouldn't ever want to work in Food Service or Custodial Services.

4) No, I won't say that it is my dream job, but I'm glad that I wound up as a letter carrier and hope to be able to comfortably retire after working the required number of years. I've had some internal and external issues during my career (I won't get into details online), but in the long run it has been definitely a job I'm glad I chose. My father encouraged me to get into this career and I am glad he did seeing how secure it has been.

910 Votes

Is my mailman not returning the ads from a previous occupant to sender because he doesn't have to? I don't want to start a war over something he has no control over.

Asked by St KING almost 12 years ago

I am not exactly sure what you mean by this but I'll give it a crack. I am also copying and pasting this answer as you seem to have asked the same question twice. With regards to advertising mail, or any mail, the letter carrier should only be delivering mail to your residence that has your name OR has another name plus "or current resident" on the address label. If it just has the previous occupants name and doesn't say "or current resident", you certainly have the option to leave it in the mailbox with a note on it saying "addressee doesn't live here. please return to sender". Depending on the class of mail there is a chance we don't actually return the ad to the sender, but we do discard it at the Post Office. It is called NOVM (No Obvious Value Mail). Mail that would fall in that category is in the class of Presorted Standard Mail. Most mail that is Presorted Standard and doesn't say "or current resident" and has a previous occupants name could be discarded into the NOVM at the PO. I don't know that I would call your letter carrier lazy, but maybe they aren't paying attention to the name on the mail. You absolutey have the right to put the ad back in the mail if you wish.

909 Votes

Part 2 is what kind of supplies do you normally carry with you on your route? A few pens for yourself, maybe some stamps as a convenience to customers. Also are new CCAs allowed to use GPS on an unfamiliar route? Thanks for your time!

Asked by Sparky66 over 11 years ago

Sparky, again you're welcome regarding this forum. It can get a bit exhausting trying to keep up on the many questions asked, but I rarely get more than a couple per day. Furthermore, I volunteered to do this so I have nothing to complain about. On the route each day I carry a couple of pens, some scrap paper if I need to make some notes, water, my lunch, and sunglasses. I happen to have some stamps in my wallet and will give them to customers on occasion, but that's rare. Most of the time they have the envelopes ready to be mailed with the proper postage. I also don't want them to get in the habit of them thinking it's part of my job to have stamps with me, because it isn't. Fewer and fewer people are mailing letters these days and are paying their bills electronically. I don't see anything wrong with a CCA using a GPS on their smartphone to navigate to/from routes. The USPS should really be giving you a map with directions if you are unfamiliar with a route, but I am pretty sure our CCAs use their own GPS to get around the town. Since I do the same assignment each day and know it automatically I can listen to an ipod while delivering the route. I don't know if this is actually allowed but I think it should be. I only have one earbud in at any time. I think I'd get bored pretty quickly if I didn't listen to something (music/podcasts) while delivering the mail. The postal vehicle I drive doesn't have a working cigarette lighter outlet to charge up my PED so I am careful about not draining the battery during the day or I can carry a portable battery supply(but have never actually had to use it).

907 Votes

I recently mailed my passport for renewal via priority mail and the postal clerk entered the wrong zip code and now it has been stuck at the processing center for a week now, so what happens next?

Asked by pruqui about 12 years ago

I am not sure what happens next. Eventually, the Priority Mail envelope (which contains your passport) should either have its ZIP code manually corrected and sent to the proper Passport Renewal Office, or be returned to you "Undeliverable As Addressed". I don't know the time frame that this will all take, but with Priority Mail, the item shouldn't be sitting in a processing center for a week. You can call 1-800-ASK-USPS for possible assistance.

906 Votes

What is the best way to insure that your mail is delivered the fastest? Directly handing it to your mailman or taking it to the post office?

Asked by Iris over 12 years ago

It is probably a toss up as to which is the quickest. To make sure that it gets dispatched with the mail the day you leave it at the PO, I'd recommend bringing it directly to the PO. The reason why I call it a toss up is that the final dispatch of mail from a post office to the processing facility doesnt happen until all of the letter carriers have returned from their assignments and back to the local PO.

905 Votes

I think you misunderstood my question. I meant when the person walks up next to his box when you drive by, do you give him the mail, or do you put it in the box anyway? My carrier won't deliver my mail unless I am well away from my box when he comes.

Asked by bryce over 12 years ago

I deliver the mail via foot and don't drive up to a mailbox as you describe. The town in which I deliver mail does have sections where the letter carriers do drive up to a mailbox and put the mail in. I did this when I was a substitute letter carrier and will do it on occasion if that carrier is out or needs assistance. If the situation you described occurred while I was delivering, I would hand them the mail. I don't know if there is a policy against handing the mail directly to a customer in the environment you described. Some carriers may not want to hand the mail directly to a customer from their postal vehicle for safety reasons.

904 Votes

Mailman (City Letter Carrier)

Ask me anything!

What do YOU do?

Hypothetically speaking of course.... Suppose we sent a care package to someone famous at their home address. The package says that it's out for delivery, but the status hasn't been updated for 3 days now. Any guesses?

Is being a mail carrier a good job for introverted people?

Do you ever get used to being out in the cold/wet weather?

Would you do another job if given the opportunity

Do you ever regret becoming a carrier?

Is my mailman not returning the ads from a previous occupant to sender because he doesn't have to? I don't want to start a war over something he has no control over.

Part 2 is what kind of supplies do you normally carry with you on your route? A few pens for yourself, maybe some stamps as a convenience to customers. Also are new CCAs allowed to use GPS on an unfamiliar route? Thanks for your time!

Also on Jobstr...

I recently mailed my passport for renewal via priority mail and the postal clerk entered the wrong zip code and now it has been stuck at the processing center for a week now, so what happens next?

What is the best way to insure that your mail is delivered the fastest? Directly handing it to your mailman or taking it to the post office?

I think you misunderstood my question. I meant when the person walks up next to his box when you drive by, do you give him the mail, or do you put it in the box anyway? My carrier won't deliver my mail unless I am well away from my box when he comes.

Mailman (City Letter Carrier)

Ask me anything!

What do YOU do?

Hypothetically speaking of course.... Suppose we sent a care package to someone famous at their home address. The package says that it's out for delivery, but the status hasn't been updated for 3 days now. Any guesses?

Is being a mail carrier a good job for introverted people?Do you ever get used to being out in the cold/wet weather?Would you do another job if given the opportunityDo you ever regret becoming a carrier?

Is my mailman not returning the ads from a previous occupant to sender because he doesn't have to? I don't want to start a war over something he has no control over.

Part 2 is what kind of supplies do you normally carry with you on your route? A few pens for yourself, maybe some stamps as a convenience to customers. Also are new CCAs allowed to use GPS on an unfamiliar route? Thanks for your time!

Also on Jobstr...

I recently mailed my passport for renewal via priority mail and the postal clerk entered the wrong zip code and now it has been stuck at the processing center for a week now, so what happens next?

What is the best way to insure that your mail is delivered the fastest? Directly handing it to your mailman or taking it to the post office?

I think you misunderstood my question. I meant when the person walks up next to his box when you drive by, do you give him the mail, or do you put it in the box anyway? My carrier won't deliver my mail unless I am well away from my box when he comes.

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Is being a mail carrier a good job for introverted people?

Do you ever get used to being out in the cold/wet weather?

Would you do another job if given the opportunity

Do you ever regret becoming a carrier?