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

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Recently started a business on eBay. One of the orders was marked as DELIVERED on the same day it was shipped, but the final destination is my own city. It's been seven days. What does this status mean? Will the shipment still reach its destination?

Asked by Freddy G almost 13 years ago

I don't know why there would be a "delivered" scan on a package that was shipped the same day as the status you are referencing. That status usually means that the package was delivered. If the destination city is the same as the sending city, 7 Days seems like way too Long. Inside a city is usually the next day or 2. I don't know if your package will arrive at its destination but hope it will. You may call 1 800 ASK USPS with the tracking # to see if there is any more info/suggestions. 

Is it possible to tell the location of the mailbox where a letter was mailed from?

Asked by pookiebear over 12 years ago

Your q came in twice so I deleted the second one. I don't know that you can tell which mailbox a letter was sent from. When a carrier picks up letters from the blue collection boxes or from a residence, they commingle those letters with all of the others thatb have been picked up and generally get sent to a mail processing for sorting.

Do I need to go to the post office to mail a letter to Guatemala, or can I just put a couple extra stamps on the letter?

Asked by Bri over 12 years ago

I think if you put a total of 3 Forever Stamps on an envelope that would be sufficient to cover a letter to Guatemala. The minimum rate for a letter there is apprx. $1.10 so 3 stamps would be good to be on the safe side. A trip to the PO wouldn't be necessary unless the item weighed more than 13 oz. I think.

Can you place package in the blue collection boxes? I looked it up online and see conflicting answers. The USPS site says only stamped mail up to 13 oz while many discussion boards say this does not apply to prepaid postage so if fits its okay.

Asked by Amanda over 12 years ago

n the blue collection box, you can put a package with pre-paid postage if it is metered from a computer program like click 'n ship or Business Reply Mail. The 13 oz limit applies if the package only contains stamps. If it is greater than 13oz and only contains stamps it must be presented to a postal employee. This is due to aviation security regulations

My son works at convienence store standing and walking 12 hours a day can you please tell me what kind of shoes you wear. thankyou donna

Asked by donna over 12 years ago

I wear uniform issue letter carrier shoes. The brand I usually wear is New Balance and have a special non-slip surface. The USPS provides us with a yearly allowance to put towards uniforms and footwear.

Can a mailman place a stamp on a letter and mark a big "x" across the stamp and deliver the letter himself or have a Co - worker deliver the letter without it going through the USPS mail system?

Asked by Just asking almost 11 years ago

I am sure this is done sometimes and possibly even without a stamp (which I think is very wrong to do). I sometimes see a card or letter being mailed from one customer on the route to another. I guess I could just cancel the stamp with a pen and deliver the letter directly, but I put the mail into the regular outgoing mail dispatch and have it run through the system. Delivery time is usually 2 days later. I have never heard either way if there is a proper procedure to be followed. If a co-worker gave me a letter to be delivered, I'd likely deliver it without it going through the mail processing system. It rarely comes up though.

What dose it mean when a postman comes to your door to ask if this person lives at this address but wont let you know who is asking ?

Asked by teresa beecham over 11 years ago

Teresa, I am not sure what that means. I do have two theories on what it might be. First, sometimes I have a piece of mail addressed to a house and I'm not familiar with that name receiving mail there and I want to make sure that I'm delivering the mail properly. In that case I will either knock on the door and ask if that name should receive mail there or (actually more often) I will just put a "?" next to the name that I'm inquiring about and deliver the letter. In that case whoever receives the letter can leave it out for me the next day if the name in question is not correct. The second theory, which may be the one in your case, is that a law firm, collection agency, or IRS, etc., or someone else wants to know if a certain name resides at your address. They will mail the PO a special form requesting that information and then we will fill out the form confirming that the name in question receives mail at that address or not. I've never actually went to someone's door to ask because I know if the name in question is valid or not. I don't know that we aren't allowed to divulge who is asking because I've never been in that situation. Anyhow, I would guess that it's optional whether or not you want to divulge that information to the postman or not. We can't force you to do that. Please be advised that these are just speculations on my part as to what it means when the mailman came to your door to ask if a person lives at your address. Thanks for writing.