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.
If you mail out the postcards on Friday, they will generally arrive Monday or Tuesday depending on how far away the destination is from you. The USPS has been talking about a change in what is called their EXFC standards so First Class Mail that used to take 1-3 days may now take 2-4 days. I'm not sure if this is in effect or not. With regards to using the 9-digit ZIP code I don't believe it speeds up the process. If your postcards have printed addresses on them, our OCR (Optical Character Reader) probably would have no problem reading the address, spraying a bar code on the envelope and sending it on its way expeditiously. Most addressing software programs now produce an address with a 9-digit ZIP and standardized address. If you look at a lot of the mail you receive, it likely has the 9-digit ZIP code on it. We call it ZIP + 4, but it's the same thing. This codes the destination address down to a pretty small group of addresses within a ZIP code. I believe in some cases PO Boxes each have their own specific ZIP + 4. Thank you for your question.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Just%20a%20question.%20I%20send%20out%20postcards%20every%20other%20week%20on%20Friday%20do%20most%20postcard%20going%20to%20differents%20states%20typically%20arive%20on%20Monday%3F%20And%20does%20using%20a%209%20digit%20zip%20code%20speed%20up%20the%20process%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/14325)
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.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=When%20do%20I%20get%20a%20new%20mailman%20I%27m%20having%20issues%20with%20mine%20do%20you%20guys%20ever%20change%20routes&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/15297)
I don't know the answer to this, but if you bought a replacement flag that is able to go up and down, it would certainly help. As long as I'm stopping at a house to deliver mail and there is outgoing mail which is easily visible I will know to take it with me whether or not a flag is raised. The possible confusion comes on a day where there is no mail to be delivered to your address. In that case a letter carrier may not stop if there is no flag to notify of outgoing mail. Where I deliver mail (Long Island, NY) most addresses receive some type of mail daily (a local flyer or gov't mailing, advertising, etc) so this is rarely a problem. In your part of TX, this may not be the case so I can't really comment on the significance of having an operational flag.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=I%20was%20also%20wondering...The%20flag%20on%20my%20mailbox%20is%20broken.%20Is%20there%20another%20way%20to%20let%20the%20mailman%20know%20that%20there%20is%20outgoing%20mail%3F%20Or%20should%20I%20either%20buy%20another%20flag%20or%20put%20a%20note%20saying%20there%27s%20out%20going%20mail%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/15159)
I dont know what you can do for sure to stop the owner's mail from being delivered to your unit if it has your apt # on it. Your neighbor may have contacted some companies to get them to change it, but I imagine names and addresses are often sold from one company to the next which results in the wrong address being distributed to other mailers. You can put a note in your mailbox saying "please only deliver mail for (insert your name(s) here" and that may stop your neighbors mail from being delivered to you. You are correct that it is your neighbors responsibility to advise senders of their correct address if the want to receive their mail.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Hello-%0A%0AI%20live%20in%20a%20standalone%20condo%20complex%20with%204%20units%2C%20and%20I%20keep%20getting%20mail%20from%20certain%20senders%20for%20the%20owners%20upstairs%20because%20they%20seem%20to%20have%20specified%20my%20unit%20%23.%20%20I%20left%20a%20note%20for%20them%20to%20fix%20this%2C%20but%20it%20has%20not%20stopped.%20What%20can%20I%20do%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/13518)
Police Officer
Can I become a cop if I have misdemeanors on my record?
Zookeeper and Animal Trainer
Are a lot of people in your line of work vegetarian/vegan?
Fashion Model
What's the most lucrative type of gig models can book?
I am not sure how the global express guaranteed product works. I am not sure if there is a database that the USPS uses to know this. The transportation and delivery is provided by FedEx Express so it's possible they also know that the address was wrong. Hopefully you will get the document back, but I'm not sure that you qualify for a refund. That information can be find on the website about.usps.com and do a search for money-back guarantee for GXG.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=I%20mailed%20an%20document%20from%20new%20york%20to%20china%20by%20global%20express%20guarantee%20service%20via%20USPS.%20But%20it%20said%20my%20destination%20address%20was%20wrong.%20However%20the%20shipment%20wasn%27t%20even%20sent%20oversee%2C%20how%20could%20they%20tell%20the%20address%20was%20wrong%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/14182)
When a house is for sale, I will continue to deliver mail there unless the current owner/occupant has moved out and I don't see a new name on incoming mail. In this case, I mark any incoming "resident" mail as "vacant" and either discard it or return it to the sender depending on the class of mail. Once I see a new name on incoming mail, I commence delivery to that house. I don't know if this is the correct procedure, but it seems to work out fine. Thanks for writing.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=If%20you%20go%20to%20deliver%20mail%20but%20see%20there%20is%20a%20For%20Sale%20sign%20out%20by%20the%20mailbox%20will%20you%20keep%20the%20mail%20or%20still%20deliver%20it%20to%20the%20mailbox%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/14448)
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.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Dave%20%2C%20I%20recently%20sent%20off%20some%20mailed%20that%20I%20marked%20please%20forward%20with%20the%20new%20address%20to%20the%20side%20but%20I%20found%20out%20it%20never%20reached%20the%20person%2C%20I%20was%20told%20I%20didn%27t%20cover%20up%20the%20old%20adress%20or%20bar%20code%20how%20can%20i%20track%20this%20mail%20or%20receive%20it%20again.&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/12273)
-OR-
Login with Facebook (max 20 characters - letters, numbers, and underscores only. Note that your username is private, and you have the option to choose an alias when asking questions or hosting a Q&A.)
(A valid e-mail address is required. Your e-mail will not be shared with anyone.)
(min 5 characters)
By checking this box, you acknowledge that you have read and agree to Jobstr.com’s Terms and Privacy Policy.
-OR-
Register with Facebook(Don't worry: you'll be able to choose an alias when asking questions or hosting a Q&A.)
Browse Jobs
Host a Q&A
Search
Submit Your Question
Host a Q&A
Last 7
