Ask a Mailman (City Letter Carrier) anything

My employer forgot to add my apartment number to my check can i meet the postmaster at my apartment to get it or will they not have it?

Asked by Jen over 10 years ago

Jen, I'm not sure if the letter carrier (postman, mailman, they all are synonymous) would have your paycheck if you met them at the mailboxes for the apt. building. Sometimes if there is no apt. number on a piece of mail, it could be sent back to the sender for "Insufficient Address, Apt. # Required", or they may have it with them and try to figure out the correct apt. # if they don't already know it. Some carriers are familiar with who lives in which apt. so they deliver the mail anyway without an apt. number on the address. I think a lot will depend on who is delivering mail the day you go out and meet them. I know this doesn't help you, but in the future the apt. # is so important to put on an address to insure proper delivery. It's also a good idea to label either the outside or inside of your mailbox with your name and apartment number. Thanks for your question and I hope your paycheck arrives.

757 Votes

there is a blue usps collection box in the parking lot of a group of stores. when the stores are closed security people order you off the premises. is there a regulation requiring boxes to be fully accessible by the public 24/7?

Asked by stephen allen almost 11 years ago

There is no regulation that I'm aware of that requires the collection box to be accessible 24/7. I know that in the town where I work some office buildings have collection slots in their lobby and I think an access card is required to enter the building during "off" hours. The mail collection slots serve the same purpose as the blue collection boxes meaning mail is picked up from those boxes/mail slots on a regular schedule.

755 Votes

can i give the mailman a letter without postage if i give them the money to pay for the postage when the deliver to my house?

Asked by sean about 10 years ago

Sean, it depends on your letter carrier and their willingness to do this. I would do it if it's not too frequent a request and it was just a letter or large envelope, meaning it just needs a stamp or two. On my initiative, I keep some postage stamps in my wallet and will honor that request most of the time. To be honest it doesn't come up too often. If I notice an item has insufficient postage I may just affix one of my own stamps and send the item on its way. There is no requirement that we do any of this and I don't want customers to get in the habit of requesting this service. The reason I have this attitude is because there are easy ways to buy stamps in quantity. The USPS allows you to buy them online, or 24/7 at any PO that has a Sales and Service Kiosk. Supermarkets and Wholesale Clubs sell postage stamps as well. I know this doesn't answer your question, but so many communication and financial transactions are more easily done online that mailing letters is becoming much less significant.

753 Votes

Recently our mailman has been on our case saying that our cars are parked too close to the mailbox. We have given the same amount of space since 1988. Is there a set amount of space left-to-right that must be present for the postman to deliver?

Asked by Austin about 11 years ago

This is a bit of a tricky situation and I don't know the right answer. On one hand you have a street that you are allowed to park and some neighborhoods don't have enough available space to leave sufficient room for the postal vehicle to get to the mailbox without the letter carrier having to get out of his vehicle to affect delivery. On the other hand, if the letter carrier feels that the approach/departure to the curbside mailbox is unsafe or too small they don't have to get out to deliver the mail as far as I know. I don't know if there is a set amount of space to be left before and after a mailbox that needs to be left for the postman to deliver. Also, I always wondered what's to stop someone else for parking "too close" to your mailbox on a public street causing you to not get mail delivery. If you live in a public community (as opposed to a gated/private community for example), you have no more right to parking in front of your house than I do. That would be a situation beyond your control. I'm sorry that I don't have a better answer for you. Thanks for writing.

753 Votes

I accidentally paid for postage on a holiday online and the post office isn't open. Will the package still be mailed if I bring it the day after?

Asked by Nixie almost 11 years ago

Yes, it should be fine to pay for postage on a holiday and bring it to a Post Office the next day. If you need to hand it to a window retail clerk, they would hopefully just accept it. At the worst, they might postmark the package to show which day the package was actually entered in to the mail stream. I think that is the same if you happened to pay for the postage on a Sunday but wouldn't actually mail the package until Monday. Thank you for using the USPS for mailing the package.

753 Votes

i would love to be a letter carrier! im in great shape for the work as i already walk 15 miles/ 5 days a week. the only thing is that i dont know how to drive…could someone like me be a letter carrier?

Asked by lee almost 11 years ago

I don't believe you would be hired without a driver license to be a letter carrier. It is great that you like to walk a lot which is very healthy, but many communities have mail delivery which uses a motor vehicle to go from house to house or at least uses a vehicle to get the letter carrier to their route. That vehicle is usually driven by the letter carrier themselves. In some urban environments (like some of NYC), there are "walk-out" routes where the letter carrier leaves the PO on foot with a mail satchel and/or cart and doesn't need to drive. The mail for parts of their routes are left by another carrier in a vehicle in what is called a "relay box". I dont know that this relieves the carrier from not having a driver license because when one is hired they need to be flexible in their work assignments which may include a route that has driving involved. My short answer to your question is no, but would need further research.

752 Votes

At times I am working in my lawn and I see the mailman drive up. She always gets my mail in her hands, then once she sees me in the lawn she drives away and holds the mail until tomorrow (when I am inside). Is that a problem?

Asked by Bryce over 11 years ago

I don't know why a letter carrier would approach your house with mail in hand and then decide to not deliver it unless there was some safety issue in completing the delivery. Next time you see the letter carrier you could ask her why she does that or you may call your post office and mention it to the delivery supervisor. It's a problem if there is First Class or Priority Mail which is being curtailed for no apparent reason. Those classes of mail should be delivered the day that they are received at your local post office. As to whether it's a problem or not, part of it is up to you if you if it bothers you that your mail is being delayed for no reason and you'd like to make an issue of it. For some people, especially younger people, the US Mail is really not that important to them so if it comes a few days later than it should it may not make a difference. I'm not trying to say that it's correct/legal for mail to be delayed for no reason. I'm only implying that it's not too important to some recipients when they receive their US Mail.

751 Votes

Mailman (City Letter Carrier)

Ask me anything!

What do YOU do?

My employer forgot to add my apartment number to my check can i meet the postmaster at my apartment to get it or will they not have it?

there is a blue usps collection box in the parking lot of a group of stores. when the stores are closed security people order you off the premises. is there a regulation requiring boxes to be fully accessible by the public 24/7?

can i give the mailman a letter without postage if i give them the money to pay for the postage when the deliver to my house?

Recently our mailman has been on our case saying that our cars are parked too close to the mailbox. We have given the same amount of space since 1988. Is there a set amount of space left-to-right that must be present for the postman to deliver?

Also on Jobstr...

I accidentally paid for postage on a holiday online and the post office isn't open. Will the package still be mailed if I bring it the day after?

i would love to be a letter carrier! im in great shape for the work as i already walk 15 miles/ 5 days a week. the only thing is that i dont know how to drive…could someone like me be a letter carrier?

At times I am working in my lawn and I see the mailman drive up. She always gets my mail in her hands, then once she sees me in the lawn she drives away and holds the mail until tomorrow (when I am inside). Is that a problem?

Mailman (City Letter Carrier)

Ask me anything!

What do YOU do?

My employer forgot to add my apartment number to my check can i meet the postmaster at my apartment to get it or will they not have it?

there is a blue usps collection box in the parking lot of a group of stores. when the stores are closed security people order you off the premises. is there a regulation requiring boxes to be fully accessible by the public 24/7?

can i give the mailman a letter without postage if i give them the money to pay for the postage when the deliver to my house?

Recently our mailman has been on our case saying that our cars are parked too close to the mailbox. We have given the same amount of space since 1988. Is there a set amount of space left-to-right that must be present for the postman to deliver?

Also on Jobstr...

I accidentally paid for postage on a holiday online and the post office isn't open. Will the package still be mailed if I bring it the day after?

i would love to be a letter carrier! im in great shape for the work as i already walk 15 miles/ 5 days a week. the only thing is that i dont know how to drive…could someone like me be a letter carrier?

At times I am working in my lawn and I see the mailman drive up. She always gets my mail in her hands, then once she sees me in the lawn she drives away and holds the mail until tomorrow (when I am inside). Is that a problem?

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