Ask a Mailman (City Letter Carrier) anything

1236 Questions

Last Answer on February 18, 2022

Dave..when you are called to help on a new to you route, do they train you on that route? I hopefully will be a rural carrier soon but are not familiar will all the roads in other towns.

Asked by Jimk almost 11 years ago

When I am asked to fill in for other neighborhoods or parts of of other routes we aren't usually trained on that route. We are often just given a map and sometimes some notes about the route, such as park points, or which parts of the route we can deliver right from our postal vehicle (rural routes are almost always delivered from a vehicle and not walking routes with a mail satchel.) When I was first hired, I went out for a few days with a carrier who showed me how to deliver the mail, but we were on their route and that didn't train us for the specifics of doing another postal route. Do you have a smart phone with a GPS application or an atlas/map you could use? That would be my advice, but the mgmt, or another carrier should at least give you some basic notes about what you are being asked to deliver, especially if there are some mailboxes/streets which aren't so easy to find. You do learn a lot on this job by actually doing it, but that doesn't make it any easier at the beginning. I wish you well JimK.

584 Votes

Our mailman brought our mail to the door ( which he never has done before ) and asked if "William" lived here. There was no mail for "William" so I'm curious as to why all of this happened

Asked by Nicolette over 10 years ago

Nicolette, I am not sure why the mailman would have done so if there was no mail for William. The reason I would do something similar is if I had a piece of mail for a surname that I wasn't familiar with and wanted to ask the resident if this name received mail at this address. More often than not, however, I will just put a question mark next to the name on the envelope that I'm not sure is valid at a particular address. If the name is invalid, the residents at that address might then leave the letter out the next day written on it "person doesn't live here" and then it will be returned to the sender "attempted, not known." Thanks for the question.

583 Votes

Also, if you can't apply in another state without being there, would it be easier to move and try to get the job there, or get a job in Kansas and then relocate? So I guess I'm asking if job transfers can be performed and you choose the location?

Asked by jadrian over 10 years ago

Job transfers are definitely allowed once you are employed in a certain location. I don't know the amount of time you have to have been in one location before transfering to another location. You probably also have to NOT be on probation or have any current disciplinary issues. Good luck to you.

582 Votes

I have a rural route, a mailbox at the highway. My mailman drove into my yard, threw my package (ATV battery) out of his vehicle towards my porch, damaging it, got stuck in yard, trenching it up bad. What can/should I do about this? Thank You.

Asked by Bill over 9 years ago

I don't know what to tell you about this with regards to what you should do. You could file a complaint/written letter to the PO claiming financial damage by the rural letter carrier, possibly including the ATV battery damage as well. I don't know how this claims process works at all with respect to any damage caused by the USPS or of an item shipped via USPS. It sounds to me that maybe the carrier shouldn't have driven into your yard to throw the battery near your porch. I don't know the rules about package deliveries on a rural route. In one way, it's good they tried to deliver a package that wouldn't fit in the RR mailbox at the highway. A possible negative is that your yard became damaged due to this. I wish you well but I don't know what type of satisfaction you'll get from the USPS. I don't have a lot of faith in their bureaucracy or claims process. I hope to be proven wrong.

581 Votes

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SENT A REGISTER LETTER IT SAID LAST WEEK LEFT NOTICE. TODAY IT SAYS DELIVERED DOES THAT MEAN THEY PICKED IT UP

Asked by MISSY over 10 years ago

Missy, I believe that the information you are getting online is correct with regards to the question about the letter being picked up. It means either the addressee went to the PO to pick up the letter you sent them or they signed the PS 3849 (notice of attempted delivery) and the letter carrier then re-delivered the letter on the next delivery day. Either way, it means that the intended recipient received the letter you sent.

580 Votes

Saw the post about disgruntled workers, and was wondering, aren't disabled vets given a higher score on the test? Maybe some had PTS or something?

Asked by Kathyc over 10 years ago

Disgruntled workers abound at the USPS but I can't say it's better or worse than other companies. I don't feel that our immediate supervisors and our postmaster are that kind to us but I'm sure it could be a lot worse. Overall our union has done a good job protecting our work rights and negotiating for a fair wage and benefits, but you will have complainers and unhappy workers no matter what. Years ago, veterans were given 5 pts preference on Federal Civil Service exams and 10 pts if you were a disabled veteran. I don't know if that still applies and if it also is in effect for exams at other levels of government. It's hard to say what makes a veteran disabled, but I'm sure Post Traumatic Stress Disorder qualifies in certain cases. Thanks for writing.

579 Votes

i mailed a letter on tuesday morning in the box in front of my apartment complex (i live in lancaster pa) 2 head to south carolina. it is now saturday night and she has no received the letter. i am wondering if this is rare or if something is wrong?

Asked by kyle over 10 years ago

Kyle, I think the normal amount of time for a First-class letter to get from Lancaster, PA to Charleston, SC, would be 2 days. From what you wrote it has already been 4 delivery days and the letter hasn't arrived. I don't know that it's rare, but it exceeds our service goal as far as I know. Are you sure you addressed the letter correctly and completely? Letters still get lost in the mail, missorted, misdelivered, destroyed by our automated sorting machines, etc. but that is all a very low percentage of the amt of mail processed.

579 Votes

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Mailman (City Letter Carrier)

Ask me anything!

What do YOU do?

Dave..when you are called to help on a new to you route, do they train you on that route? I hopefully will be a rural carrier soon but are not familiar will all the roads in other towns.

Our mailman brought our mail to the door ( which he never has done before ) and asked if "William" lived here. There was no mail for "William" so I'm curious as to why all of this happened

Also, if you can't apply in another state without being there, would it be easier to move and try to get the job there, or get a job in Kansas and then relocate? So I guess I'm asking if job transfers can be performed and you choose the location?

I have a rural route, a mailbox at the highway. My mailman drove into my yard, threw my package (ATV battery) out of his vehicle towards my porch, damaging it, got stuck in yard, trenching it up bad. What can/should I do about this? Thank You.

Also on Jobstr...

SENT A REGISTER LETTER IT SAID LAST WEEK LEFT NOTICE. TODAY IT SAYS DELIVERED DOES THAT MEAN THEY PICKED IT UP

Saw the post about disgruntled workers, and was wondering, aren't disabled vets given a higher score on the test? Maybe some had PTS or something?

i mailed a letter on tuesday morning in the box in front of my apartment complex (i live in lancaster pa) 2 head to south carolina. it is now saturday night and she has no received the letter. i am wondering if this is rare or if something is wrong?

Mailman (City Letter Carrier)

Ask me anything!

What do YOU do?

Dave..when you are called to help on a new to you route, do they train you on that route? I hopefully will be a rural carrier soon but are not familiar will all the roads in other towns.

Our mailman brought our mail to the door ( which he never has done before ) and asked if "William" lived here. There was no mail for "William" so I'm curious as to why all of this happened

Also, if you can't apply in another state without being there, would it be easier to move and try to get the job there, or get a job in Kansas and then relocate? So I guess I'm asking if job transfers can be performed and you choose the location?

I have a rural route, a mailbox at the highway. My mailman drove into my yard, threw my package (ATV battery) out of his vehicle towards my porch, damaging it, got stuck in yard, trenching it up bad. What can/should I do about this? Thank You.

Also on Jobstr...

SENT A REGISTER LETTER IT SAID LAST WEEK LEFT NOTICE. TODAY IT SAYS DELIVERED DOES THAT MEAN THEY PICKED IT UP

Saw the post about disgruntled workers, and was wondering, aren't disabled vets given a higher score on the test? Maybe some had PTS or something?

i mailed a letter on tuesday morning in the box in front of my apartment complex (i live in lancaster pa) 2 head to south carolina. it is now saturday night and she has no received the letter. i am wondering if this is rare or if something is wrong?

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