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.
LA, it is awful that mail is being stolen. I don't know what good it will do, but I would recommend reporting that to your local post office or the Postal Inspectors. To answer your question, I don't know that a mailman would get involved with being responsible for a key to a private mailbox. If everyone on their route did that, how would they keep track of all of those keys? Furthermore, if that mailman was off/sick/vacation, how could you be sure that the replacement mailman would get the key? I just don't think it will be feasible or practical or possibly even allowed. Another option (though less convenient) would be to rent a PO Box which would definitely be secure.
No, you don't have to start at the bottom. Many mail carriers start out in that position. Nowadays, you are likely to be starting as a CCA (City Carrier Assistant). I think that the position is one you are just paid per hour worked and I don't know that there is any health insurance or other benefits or guarantee of hours either. As full-time positions become available in an office, a CCA is often promoted to the position of Full Time Regular Letter Carrier which has many benefits as well as a guarantee of 40 hours per week. If you visit www.nalc.org and look at the left hand side of the page there is a section that says "Welcome, New Hires!" which should answer any CCA questions in greater detail.
I believe the service standard for a letter from Burbank to LA is 1 day. It is not a guarantee but most letters probably meet that standard.
I am sorry but I am not familiar with the application process and how it would work if you didn't live in the area. If you go to www.usps.com and look at careers that may give you an idea. I hope in your case that it is possible.
Hotel Travel Blog Active 2019
What do you do if a guest is doing something illegal in a room?
Stand-Up Comedian
What's your worst bombing story?
Dating Website Employee
How does a dating site get its first 10,000 customers?
Victor, I am not sure what to tell you about what happened to your HS transcript being mailed to CUNY. Either it has been lost somewhere or the CUNY bureaucracy is slow in updating their site, but I would hope that isn't the case when it comes to something as important as college admissions application. Mail does go missing and is misdeliveered sometimes but we are generally a good delivery service, just not perfect.
Netta, this q and A website deals more with questions about a job or career with the USPS as a mailman. I don't have specifics about customer service issues or delivery times. In most places, I'd guess that mail is delivered between 0930 and 1630 barring any staffing or weather issues.
Larry, congratulations on becoming a CCA for the USPS. It's not an easy position of being given different assignments daily that you possibly aren't familiar with and expected to perform like you are. I don't know of a trick to organizing the mail, but I'll explain what I do. Regarding the mail, when you pull it down from the carrier case, you may want to number the trays in delivery order and then load them in reverse order to the back of the truck. Put the highest numbered trays towards the back of the cargo area (closest to the driver) and the lowered numbered trays towards the liftgate in the cargo area. This is assuming you are driving an LLV and are on a walking route (park and loop). With regards to parcels, if they are small enough to be put in plastic trays, you may line them up in delivery order or at least keep ones of the same street together. For larger parcels I try to load them in by street (or section of street). I make it sound easy, but a large part of that is because I deliver the same route each day. If it was a new route, I would probably just keep the parcels together by street name. I understand that a lot of what I'm telling you is easier said than done, and with time you should become more efficient and familiar with the routes in your office. Be patient and work safely. Thanks for your question and it will be worth the wait to become a regular carrier.
-OR-
Login with Facebook (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-
Register with Facebook(Don't worry: you'll be able to choose an alias when asking questions or hosting a Q&A.)