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.

SubscribeGet emails when new questions are answered. Ask Me Anything!Show Bio +

Share:

Ask me anything!

Submit Your Question

1237 Questions

Share:

Last Answer on February 18, 2022

Best Rated

Someone help! I applied for the seasonal work in 2 diff counties. I have an interview tommrow this is the one i really want. And in my email today i see another interview invite for the 23rd of sept. This position already sent the rug/bacgrnd info

Asked by Cindy over 11 years ago

Cindy, I dont know how to help you in this situation as I am not even sure what you are asking.  Good luck on both interviews. I do realize you want one of these positions much greater than the other. Unless you get offered the job for the first interview on the spot, I highly recommend attending both interviews. The reason is that you may get an offer for the latter interview than at your preferred location. This is likely better than having no employment.

Recently I came home during the time my mail was being delivered (I am usually at work), and the mailman (Ken, great guy for years, I order a lot) jeep-type vehicle was being followed by a USPS small SUV with flashing lights. What does this mean?

Asked by Kathy coffman over 11 years ago

Kathy, I can only guess that Ken was being followed by a supervisor in another USPS vehicle doing a route inspection. They are usually done about once per year on city carrier routes to see how long it takes a carrier to do their route and if they are doing it properly and safely. Sometimes they will ride in the same vehicle as the carrier and sometimes behind in another vehicle. If the mail volume has increased significantly then the carrier may be allowed more time to complete their route or may have some territory taken off the route to allow the assignment to stay within the normal window of an 8-hour work shift. There may have been another reason for Ken being followed though I'm not sure what it could be. (Possibly a mechanical issue where Ken asked someone to come out and rescue him if the truck broke down, though that call is usually made after the fact).

I was supposed to be getting mail from somewhere but I see that they have the wrong apartment number for me...is this a problem if my name is on the mail and obviously my mailbox?

Asked by Candy over 11 years ago

Candy, I'm not sure whether or not you will get the mail you are looking for. It depends on how well the letter carrier knows the names that are in the apt. building, the size of the apt. buidling (if it's a very large building, they may not be able to see all of the names on any directory), if they can clearly see who belongs in each apt, and if the regular carrier is working that day. Some carriers will treat a wrong apt. # the same as if the letter was mailed to a wrong address and either deliver it as addressed (to the wrong apt. # in your case) or return it to the sender. There is no clear cut answer as to what will happen to your mail. There are so many inconsistencies at this job that I can't predict what someone else may do. Also, if it's not the regular letter carrier working on the day your mail arrives and they aren't familiar with the apt. #'s/names, they may just deliver the mail to the apt. # written on the piece of mail. In that case, maybe the tenant who receives it will get the piece of mail to you.

Can I put outgoing mail in my mailbox with the flag up if there is still mail in it that hasn't been picked up? The people I share a mailbox with are slow to collect their mail but I feel it might be rude to remove it just so I can mail something!

Asked by beb over 11 years ago

I would think that it is fine to put outgoing mail in your mailbox with the flag up even though those who share the mailbox with you haven't picked up their mail. The suggestion I would have would be to push their uncollected mail towards the back and your outgoing mail clearly visible towards the front of the box so the letter carrier can easily tell the difference. Hopefully that will work out acceptably for everyone.

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 over 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.

How long does a postal carrier have to deliver bulk mail?We mail a time sensitive local newspaper. It is taking 10 days before being delivered.there is no direct answer from local postmaster or carrier. How many days to deliver bulk mail?

Asked by Georgia over 11 years ago

I don't know the answer to this question. In the PO where I work, the supervisors manage when bulk mail is distributed for delivery and we will deliver it on that day unless there is some extenuating circumstance why we can't. I notice that most bulk mail that comes to our PO is usually delivered within 3-4 days, often earlier. 10 days seems like an awfully long time for bulk mail to be sitting around no matter the time sensitivity or not. When your mailing is given to a BMEU (Bulk Mail Entry Unit), do they have any straight answer either? I agree that this is poor service if you can't get any range of time or reason why it's taking so long to be delivered. I do acknowledge that bulk mailings do get put to the bottom of the list as far as priority of which class of mail to deliver, but there isn't a huge amount of First-Class Mail and Periodical mail to go through that a bulk mailing should take so long. I'm just speaking from the perspective of where I work and can't really comment on the operations of another post office.

Got hired and going to be the only CCA in our small office. What are your suggestions on me becoming a career carrier down the road? Our office does not offer it because it s small.

Asked by JDK almost 12 years ago

Congratulations on getting hired as a CCA. I understand what you are saying that your small office won't have any openings for a career position anytime soon. I don't know if there are offices in the nearby area where you could inquire as to whether they would have any older carriers retiring soon which would create more internal movement. I'm sorry but I have no knowledge about the process for converting from CCA to regular carrier, except a lot of patience. I wish you well in your new position.