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.

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Last Answer on February 18, 2022

Best Rated

If I don't empty my mailbox for a week or two but it is not full, is my postal carrier allowed to post notes on my door demanding I empty it and threatening to send it back?

Asked by jordan over 11 years ago

Jordan, first of all, thank you for writing in to this Q and A board. I don't know the rules as far as sending back mail because you haven't emptied your box for a week or two and your box is not full. If I were the letter carrier, I would just continue to deliver mail until the box is full and then probably return any future mail endorsed "box full" to the senders (or discard the mail if it is unendorsed Standard Class mail.) I don't recall ever coming across this situation in my postal career, but if it came about I'd probably ask my supervisor for direction. It is not in my nature to leave any notes (esp. threatening ones) for the most part.

My mother had a bill to mail, everything was in the envelope and it was stamped. Some time after 6pm, I walked down to the blue collection box and mailed it. She didn't seal the envelope. Can I ask the carrier to open the box and find the envelope?

Asked by L.Williams about 11 years ago

You may certainly ask a carrier to open the collection box, but I don't know if they will. I don't even have keys to open one of those boxes so it's possible the carrier you ask won't have access to the collection box. If you are able to have a carrier open the box, if there is a lot of mail in there, I don't know that they will take the time to go through it to find the bill you are looking for. Bring ID with you in case they want to match up the unsealed mail with your address. As I said, I don't know what response you will get from the letter carrier, but was just giving you some possibilities. It is also possible that the bill will get to the destination unsealed and all will be fine.

Do u guys run next week at all cause I have a package being sent out tomorrow and I was wondering if I'm going to get it before the new year

Asked by bre about 11 years ago

Bre, there is an excellent chance you will receive the package before the new year. Our operations are pretty much 24/7 when it comes to moving the mail through our delivery network. This time of year with heavy mail volume I think that most packages will arrive within 1-5 days from where they are shipped. Our service is quite reliable in my opinion. Happy New Year!

do mailmen carry flat rate boxes and envelopes on their vehicles for people who need them along the route?

Asked by neva over 11 years ago

Generally I would say no. I know that I don't carry them in my vehicle. We are told to empty out our vehicles each night. Maybe some carriers do bring them with, but I would doubt it and we aren't told to by management. If a customer asked me to bring them some I would the next day. The best way to get supplies is to visit a Post Office or order the Priority Mail supplies for free at www.usps.com. Thank you for your inquiry and I think Priority Mail is one of the most reliable services that the USPS provides.

If DOG is barking in fenced in front yard, should the mail carrier still enter when sign on gate warns of the dog?

Asked by herding hollywood over 11 years ago

I know I have sort of answered this question already, but I will again. I would say that a letter carrier shouldn't enter a yard where a barking dog is visible and not on a leash and could physically come in contact with the letter carrier. If the owner isn't present to accept the mail, the carrier is best advised to bring the mail back to the post office and notify the supervisor why the mail couldn't be delivered. The USPS wants to reduce the number of dog bites because it is dangerous to the letter carrier and costly to the USPS because of any time off required and any medical treatment needed. Fortunately where I work I don't hear of too many dog/carrier incidents, but I do realize other areas may not be as safe. 

Hello-
Just wondering about mailing UPS or FEDEX,and if they still stamp the city name on the envelope before it is sent out like the regular mail is done? In case you wanted to mail someone,but not wanting them to know what city it is coming from?

Asked by DwB44 over 11 years ago

I don't believe that UPS or FEDEX do any type of stamping on their envelopes or parcels like the USPS does when processing the mail. I do know that both companies have very good tracking services for each item so the recipient can tell what facilities the item went through before being delivered to them. When they receive what you sent to them, they can likely go online with the item tracking # and find out how the item traveled from you to them. Thanks for writing.

If I leave an outgoing 1st class letter/envelope in my mailbox is the carrier obligated to take it? My old mail carrier always took it but my new carrier is saying I should schedule it. You can't schedule 1st class mail as best I can tell.

Asked by Cathy over 11 years ago

As far as I know, if a first class envelope is left out for mailing and has sufficient postage on it, it should be taken when the carrier is doing their regular delivery. I am not sure what they mean by scheduling it. That is definitely done for parcels so the USPS knows whether or not to bring a postal vehicle (in case the carrier only delivers via foot.) I hope your new carrier is not just being lazy. I'm sure you have already done this, but please make sure that the outgoing letter(s) are obviously visible to the letter carrier to take. Thanks for writing.