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 order a package and it is snet by usps and it says out for delivery when i look up tracking number. the mail has already come today and there were no special cards saying pick up at post office will it be delivered by truck

Asked by chandler over 11 years ago

I know this response is likely too late to help you out for today, but I'll let you know my opinion. If all the scanning of the package is done properly, then the package should have been on some delivery vehicle (not necessarily the regular mail delivery) to bring the package to your address by the end of the deilvery day (apprx 5PM local time.) I hope you have received it. I make the qualifier "if the scanning of the package was done properly" because there are times where the information as to where the package is or "attempted" but wasn't really, comes up when you use the tracking number. That brings down the integrity of the scanning data. For the most part I believe the USPS does a very good job of giving the correct tracking information on packages, but I've heard stories to the contrary at times. Thanks for writing.

When do you deliver packages to 2011 pembrooke drive on Wednesdays

Asked by Juliana over 11 years ago

Juliana, This question is too specific for this message board. I don't think there is a way to find out when packages are delivered to a certain address on a certain day. Carriers have prescribed mail routes but the time of day that items get delivered varies. Some days a route is delivered by several different people due to staffing issues so it's hard to say when they will be at a certain address. Our post office has an end of day deadline where they would prefer that all letter carriers are back at the post office by 5PM unless there are extenuating circumstances like high volume, short staffing, mechanical breakdown, etc. As a coincidence, I grew up near a Pembrook Dr in Stony Brook, NY, but it's not the same one you are referring to based on the street spelling and the house number. Thanks for your inquiry.

I was gone for 5 days (Mon-Fri) and when I came home Saturday there was no mail, only the PS Form 3849 Stating: "Box full. Will be declared vacant in 10 days if no action taken". Can the postman legally remove all my mail?

Asked by DeannaSC over 11 years ago

I don't know the legal answer to your question about whether or not the letter carrier was allowed to remove your mail after 5 days of piling up or not. Hopefully it wasn't returned to the sender and is just being held at the PO. I would contact the PO either by going to it or calling and advising them you are still residing at your address. I don't think I'd empty out a mailbox after just 5 days of nobody collecting the mail. I have never been at situation but I think I may just return any future mail (after a box is full) back to the sender with the endorsement "box full". I don't know that this is even a valid endorsement so I'd have to investigate further. In the future, please note that if you go away for several days or more (up to 30 days), we will hold your mail at the post office free of charge. Upon your return, you have the option of having the mail delivered to you or going to pick it up at the PO that delivers your mail. This service is available online at www.usps.com or going to the post office and completing a yellow "Authorization To Hold Mail" form.

my mail carrier mis delivered my mail to my neighbor and she threw it in the garbage. what can i do? mail has tracking but was not insured

Asked by joek over 11 years ago

I am not sure what can be done re: the mail that has been thrown in the garbage. How do you know it was misdelivered and thrown away by your neighbor? If you are sure it has been misdelivered, you may want to call a delivery supervisor at your local post office to report it. They could then ask the letter carrier about it and make him/her more aware of their delivery quality in the future. As for the missing mail, I don't know of any recourse. Thank you for your inquiry. 

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 11 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.

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 12 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.

I would come home to an empty mailbox after work. How could I find out if mail was delivered to my house to my house the day before since I work dawn to dusk? I suspect high school kids stealing my mail when I am not home.

Asked by samantha over 11 years ago

Samantha, I don't know how you would find out whether or not mail was delivered to your house on a particular day. There are days when people receive zero mail. Is there any mail that you are expecting but don't get? Have you heard of anybody else with the same issue? It is illegal to take mail from mailbox that doesn't belong to you so I would hope the HS kids wouldn't take that chance, but I realize it does happen sometimes. Another option would be to rent a PO Box where your mail is secure. It is, however, an added expense and may not be overly convenient. While I can't comment on your personal situation, I don't think theft of mail is terribly common. I have been accused in the past of living in a fantasy world.