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.
I do find it odd to ask questions like that, especially the latter one. I mean if they were to explain why there were doing that it may help you understand the reason. If I'm not sure of a surname is valid to be delivered to a particular address, I may ask a person at that residence if this is a "good" name to deliver. That'd probably be the end of my inquiry unless the person wanted to offer more info. If you don't want the letter carrier asking you questions like that, please say I don't need to provide that information but the mail you've been delivering is valid (or invalid as the case may be. The flip side might be that they may not deliver a name they aren't familiar with if you don't say it is valid or not, though I think the mail should be delivered as addressed unless told otherwise. We aren't the police with regards to knowing who lives where and how long.
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If an employee is a newly hired CCA (city carrier assistant) they may not have yet received a unfiorm allowance and therefore not bought any USPS clothing. I think once probation is passed (90 days) they can purchase uniforms. Rural Letter carriers never need to wear a uniform. That being said, those not yet wearing a uniform shouldn't dress inappropriately or wear gang-type clothing (in my opinion). It would be up to the PO management to enforce this, but I've seen them be lax about it too frequently. Once an employee can purchase their uniforms, they should only be wearing USPS-approved clothing and not wearing any hats backwards. I personally hate gang-type thug looking street clothes, but it is up to the management to enforce this. Most carriers where I work dress in uniform daily and keep them moderately clean (I'm looking in the mirror when it comes to the subject of uniform cleanliness as they get dirty so easily). Thanks for this question.
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I don't think you need to hire a locksmith to replace the lock to a cluster mailbox, but to be honest I don't really know the procedure as to who maintains the boxes. It may be the USPS or it could be the complex/apt/condo management. I believe the lock may have to be changed because I don't even know if spare keys are held anywhere. If it is true that a letter carrier can get the lock changed I don't know the length of time that this takes though I imagine it is common for mailbox keys to be lost.
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Eric, I do understand what you mean. It's like they look to the CCA to clean up the table scraps when a regular is out on sick or annual leave or can't finish their route. This is the nature of being a CCA. It's important to be flexible in your availability and willingness to go help other letter carriers. With regard to the time frame to complete 3 or 4 different pieces, it's important to not get too caught up with how long they say it should take. As long as you are going at a reasonable pace and not wasting time by using your cell phone or talking too long too customers, the management can't do much too you. It sounds like you have passed probation which is good. They also need to take into account that it takes time to travel between the locations you are assigned to go to. If they give you a hard time about how long it takes to complete a section, I would respond that you are doing as best as you can. Please just deliver the mail safely, accurately and be organized.
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That is a good question which I can basically break down into a simple answer: there is no set time for switching routes for letter carriers. The system for assigning routes comes down to seniority. If a letter carrier likes the route that they have they can stay on it indefinitely for the most part. If the office goes through some route restructuring (like the territory that makes up a route changes) then you may get a new mailman. When carriers retire or leave the PO for any reason, their route goes up for bidding and the most senior letter carrier who would like that route assignment can choose it. At this point your mailman could move to another route if they want to and they have enough seniority. Some letter carriers could stay on their routes for 25+ years if they choose to. If you are having serious issues with your letter carrier, you could mention it to to them if you ever see them or you could call the delivery supervisor at your local PO. I'm sorry you are having issues with your letter carrier. There are many among us who don't do a great job or just have a bad attitude.
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Thanks for your question. Usually, we don't honor handwritten forwarding requests on a piece of mail unless the person requesting it puts on postage in addition to the already "used" postage on the letter when it was originally mailed. It is true that if the original bar code isn't covered up that the mail may not be sent to the "forwarded" address either. The best way for a previous tenant/resident to receive mail via the USPS forwarding system is to submit an official change of address application either online at www.usps.gov or via a paper form available at any Post Office. I know this is a bit lengthy of answer to your original question. The bottom line is that I don't know how you can track the mail or receive it again. It is possible that it was returned to the sender.
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I am not exactly sure what a polymailer is but as long as there is postage affixed or prepaid postage printed off the internet or a prepaid return shipping label the letter carrier should take it. We do this all the time with home-based business that sell on eBay, etsy, etc. Please just make sure the item to be mailed is visible to the letter carrier.
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