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

My mailman was told I moved by a neighbor. However, I have not moved and have not received mail for two weeks. In a case like this what happens to my mail and how can I get my missed deliveries?

Asked by WillT about 10 years ago

I am appalled by this story and others I've heard on this message board about strange things happening to the mail which are set in motion by people who have no right to do so. I hope that you will start to receive your mail soon. I don't know what happened to the undelivered mail. It's possible that the letter carrier submitted a "Moved Left No Address" form which would have your mail returned to the sender. Once this MLNA is canceled no mail will be returned to the sender and service should resume normally. Why would your neighbor do this to you and have you approached them about this? I'm not sure if a neighbor told me someone moved I would take their word for it.

607 Votes

I have a photograph of mailboxes in a remote part of South Dakota. There is a large barrel next to the mailboxes. Is it used for packages?

Asked by Joy over 10 years ago

Hello Joy. The area where you took the photo is probably serviced by a rural carrier or HCR (highway contract routr). These positions are different than the one I am employed as even though we all serve the same function. It makes sense to me that the barrel would be used for packages because I don't think carriers are required to deliver mail to a house that is more than a certain amt of feet from the road. The barrel is a convenient way for the customer to receive packages without having to drive to a post office which is many mlies away and has limited hours. It would also protect the package from damage in inclement weather. I can't confirm this is what the barrel is for.

607 Votes

How do i get the full name of my postman?

Asked by dave over 10 years ago

I am not sure how you would get the full name of your postman. I read that he won't give you his last name. I have no idea whether or not he has any obligation to do so. I gladly would give it out, if asked. It is also on my ID badge that I wear. I feel that it should be available to the public, but I am sure you will find great disagreement among my colleagues. If you were to call the PO and ask them, I have a feeling they wouldn't give it to you either. Some people get very private about certain matters, yet they will join Facebook and broadcast a lot about their personal lives. That's about all of the insight I have on this subject. Thanks for writing.

606 Votes

How many miles does the average mailman walk

Asked by ke about 10 years ago

I don't know Ke. I once wore a pedometer to record my steps but have since forgotten the results. I know that my vehicle odometer to/from the PO plus delivering the route is about 9 miles per day. On part of my route I have dismount deliveries where you deliver a few houses at a time, return to the truck, move it forward to another set of houses and deliver those and so on. Other parts are "park and loop" deliveries which is where most of the walking occurs wearing a sometimes heavy mail satchel. I don't know about other routes, but I'm guessing I walk maybe 5 miles total. There are probably is a way to estimate by taking the number of deliveries I have and multiply by the distance I think there is between each house. Very rough estimate of 350 houses times 50 ft equals 3.31 miles. I hope this helps, but keep in mind that the route size, delivery method, and layout vary greatly.

606 Votes

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WIll you deliver to my school room door if i leave on campus or you would leave it in front of my dorm

Asked by Joy over 10 years ago

If you live on a college campus, they probably already have established a standard method of delivery to the dormitories. They probably don't deliver it to your room. It is likely that the dormitory has central delivery boxes in the lobby area or in a mailroom. Other campuses might have all the student mail come to a central mailroom or student center which has individual mailboxes for each student. You can contact the student life office or office of residential life for more information. Thank you for writing.

606 Votes

Can letter carriers deliver mail in their own vehicles

Asked by Bailey about 10 years ago

From what I understand, most city carriers that need a vehicle to deliver the mail will use a USPS vehicle. We do have CCAs that use their own car to deliver the mail on walking routes when there aren't any USPS vehicles available for them to use. They can get reimbursed for some of their expenses when doing this. In some offices rural letter carriers have no choice but to use their own vehicles to deliver their rural routes. For ease of maintenance and not having to wear down my own vehicle, I definitely prefer using a USPS vehicle at work. I don't have a choice in the matter. Gasoline is paid for using a fleet credit card and maintenance is handled by a contracted mechanic. Thank you for your question.  

606 Votes

Hi there,

I just sent out my rent check to my landlord and realized everything was correct except I wrote 362 Box Street rather than 462 Box Street. Will it still be delivered? Or should I cancel the check and resend?

Asked by AmandaB over 10 years ago

Amanda, I can't say for sure what will happen with your rent check that was misaddressed. If the letter carrier delivers both of those addresses on Box St. and is familiar with the names on their route, they may deliver the letter to where it is intended (meaning it will get to your landlord). It's also possible that different letter carriers deliver to those 2 addresses and the letter carrier at 362 Box St. will just deliver it to 362 Box St. or return the check to the sender (you) as "Attempted, Not Known". I would recommend not canceling the check and waiting several days to see if the landlord received the check. Is there a way to contact the landlord and tell them what you did and it's possible they will ask you to resend the check or wait a few days to see if they receive it? I say this also to maybe save you money because putting a stop payment on a check often has a fee associated with it.

606 Votes

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