Ask a Mailman (City Letter Carrier) anything

1237 Questions

Last Answer on February 18, 2022

If I put the correct apartment (Superintendent) on shipping address but forget to put the word 'APT' before it, will it disrupt the delivering of my package?

Asked by Francesca almost 11 years ago

In my opinion it is fine to leave off the word "APT" at any time as long as you have indicated what the Suite, Apt, Unit, Lot # is along with the proper street address for the property. In your example "SUPT" is sufficient if that is a legitimate apt. designation. I live in an apt. building as well and for my address I usually just put the street address and then "1A" following it on the same line and never had an issue. I am glad you brought up this question because it is difficult and frustrating to try to deliver mail in a multi-unit building without the Unit # also in the address. A carrier who does the route on a regular basis will often memorize who lives in what unit, but a replacement carrier (which is very common) should not be expected to know who lives where and it is very time consuming to have to consult a building directory for the proper unit #.

689 Votes

How often do mailman empty out the big blue usps boxes they have outside usually in every street in the neighborhood?

Asked by Leora over 10 years ago

Those are known as collection boxes and on the label which is usually inside the pull-down lid or outside the lid is a schedule of the pick-ups from the box. It is usually 1-2 times per day in the office where I work in suburban Long Island, NY. I've rarely seen it be more than that but in busier urban environments it could be more. Our app for iPhone has a "location" option where you can search for Blue Collection Boxes and the last collection time is posted.

689 Votes

I recently moved and started giving people my new address. Do I need to tell my mailman my name so he can deliver my mail or will he deliver it because it has the correct address

Asked by Linda almost 11 years ago

Linda, generally if a letter carrier sees a new name at an address he will deliver the mail without any notifcation from the new resident. This is especially true if the letter carrier knows that a previous owner or tenant has moved out. If you are moving in with someone, the letter carrier also should be delivering the mail anyway. Sometimes if I see a new name at an address and I'm not sure if it is correct I will put a question mark next to the name on the envelope and deliver the mail. If I don't get the mail returned with a message on it saying "person doesn't live here", then I will know that the new name at that address is valid. That being said, it wouldn't hurt to leave a notice by your mailbox or to tell the letter carrier that your name is valid at the new address. I don't think it is necessary, but I know I would never mind getting a personal confirmation of a new resident having moved in somewhere. Thanks so much for writing.

689 Votes

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 almost 11 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.

688 Votes

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if i didn't put in a change of address at the post office where i used to live and then i send a letter to the irs using the address at a motel i am temporarily staying at will it still reach its destination

Asked by william over 10 years ago

Sure, the letter should reach its destination as long as it has the proper address and ZIP code. The only issue could be if the letter would need to be returned to you for some reason and you no longer are at the motel and there is nowhere to send the letter to. You don't need to put a return address on the letter to begin with. It's your own choice.

687 Votes

If I sent a letter to the wrong address, or address that doesn't exist, how long would it take, approximately, for me to receive it back?

Asked by BP almost 11 years ago

I would guess about 2 weeks if you were to get it back at all. Theoretically if you sent it to the wrong address and it was delivered there, it is conceivable that the recipient may not return the letter to the mail carrier even though they should. If you sent the letter to an address that doesn't exist, the item should be returned with the endorsement "No Such Street" or "No Such Number". I am just not sure of the actual time frame it would take for it to get back to you. It may depend on the workload of the nixie (not deliverable mail) at the destination PO. Thanks for your inquiry.

687 Votes

I have been having problems with my postman for a year. He has peppered my dogs and I have complained numerous times what do i do now? Also he has put a fake notice to "tether my dogs." It has no official seal and the envelope is a blank oneisitreal?

Asked by Alex almost 11 years ago

I am not sure why a postman would be spraying/peppering dogs without actually feeling or being threatened by dogs. We are told to just skip any residence that has loose dogs and notify the supervisor upon return to the PO as to why you didn't deliver the mail. It isn't uncommon for a postman to leave a note for a patron to contain the dogs or "fix your mailbox", etc. We do have more official notices that we can use to ask residents to rectify a situation which is preventing mail delivery, but I'm not sure how frequently they are used. The management in our office isnt terribly communicative with us about this, but I can't tell you what it is like at other Post Offices.

687 Votes

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Mailman (City Letter Carrier)

Ask me anything!

What do YOU do?

If I put the correct apartment (Superintendent) on shipping address but forget to put the word 'APT' before it, will it disrupt the delivering of my package?

How often do mailman empty out the big blue usps boxes they have outside usually in every street in the neighborhood?

I recently moved and started giving people my new address. Do I need to tell my mailman my name so he can deliver my mail or will he deliver it because it has the correct address

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

Also on Jobstr...

if i didn't put in a change of address at the post office where i used to live and then i send a letter to the irs using the address at a motel i am temporarily staying at will it still reach its destination

If I sent a letter to the wrong address, or address that doesn't exist, how long would it take, approximately, for me to receive it back?

I have been having problems with my postman for a year. He has peppered my dogs and I have complained numerous times what do i do now? Also he has put a fake notice to "tether my dogs." It has no official seal and the envelope is a blank oneisitreal?

Mailman (City Letter Carrier)

Ask me anything!

What do YOU do?

If I put the correct apartment (Superintendent) on shipping address but forget to put the word 'APT' before it, will it disrupt the delivering of my package?

How often do mailman empty out the big blue usps boxes they have outside usually in every street in the neighborhood?

I recently moved and started giving people my new address. Do I need to tell my mailman my name so he can deliver my mail or will he deliver it because it has the correct address

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

Also on Jobstr...

if i didn't put in a change of address at the post office where i used to live and then i send a letter to the irs using the address at a motel i am temporarily staying at will it still reach its destination

If I sent a letter to the wrong address, or address that doesn't exist, how long would it take, approximately, for me to receive it back?

I have been having problems with my postman for a year. He has peppered my dogs and I have complained numerous times what do i do now? Also he has put a fake notice to "tether my dogs." It has no official seal and the envelope is a blank oneisitreal?

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