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

Thanks for your helpful blog. Few questions!
I have a interview in a week as cca1.
1) What should I wear for interview?
2) How soon can you become a regular employee?
3) Do you get better hours when you become a regular employee? Can you refuse O/T?

Asked by Andy b over 10 years ago

Andy, I am glad to write this blog of my experiences and advice as a letter carrier for the USPS. To answer your questions:1) I'd wear a suit if you have one, or ar least a shirt and tie with nice pants and shoes. Try to be clean cut, ambitious, professional and polite. I don't know how much appearance counts in a USPS interview, but it can't hurt to take the above advice. Be on time and respectful of the interviewer.

2) Becoming a regular from a CCA is usually just a matter of waiting until there is a vacancy in your office or station that remains unassigned to a regular carrier. Then it may take a month or two to become a regular carrier. The time that it takes for a CCA to become a regular carrier depends on the staffing and turnover where you are assigned to work. I can only speak for my PO, but I've seen it take as little as one year and as much as 8 years (that is when we had PTFs (part time flexibles, a precursor to CCAs) to become a regular employee.

3) When you become a regular employee, the hours get much more stable and predictable. You generally work 5 8-hour days per week with set hours. As a CCA, you pretty much work when they want you and for as long as needed per day. There aren't many rights for a CCA with regards to hours except if they are "holding down" a regular assignment for a rte that is temporarily vacant due to illness or vacation. As a regular employee, you can refuse OT if there is enough staffing to cover all of the assignments in a day. The management can mandate carriers to work OT if they are short handed and those who want to work OT already will be working some amt of OT. The rules for this are a little complex so I won't go into it here.

Thanks for your questions and good luck Andy.

can i take my to the mailman to ship off or take bato that specific location

Asked by juan about 11 years ago

You can give a mailman any package that has the postage paid on it either via a computer printed label (such as Click 'N Ship) or a label where the recipient will pay the return postage. In the latter case, the label will clearly say "No Postage Necessary If Mailed Within The United States". Every letter carrier should accept the package no questions asked. The exception to this would be a city letter carrier who may not have a USPS vehicle which they are operating from and are unable to bring the package back to the Post Office. In that case I believe you can go to www.usps.com to schedule a package pickup. Thanks for writing.

Hi. When forwarding requests are no longer active, is there anything at the sorting case/facility that automatically designates the mail as UTF? Also, how are letters with "return service requested" endorsements handled by letter carriers or PO?

Asked by Old Address Follow Up about 12 years ago

I don't think there is any automation involved after 18 months from when a forwarding order started. At the sorting case, a carrier has pink cards with stickers on them which can say when a particular forwarding order started. I keep those cards for about 2-3 years and once the forwarding order has expired (18 months), I put a line through the sticker and maybe a little marker at the address in the carrier case indicating UTF. "Return service requested" AFAIK means that if the letter was going to be forwarded to a new addrees, the sender would like the letter returned to them with the new address info. The carriers handle them just as they would any forward and the CFS (Computerized Forwarding System) will know that the sender wanted the letter returned. The sender does pay an extra fee for this service.

Someone who lived here several years ago (before the previous owners) has Secretary of State mail being delivered. I wrote return to sender as I have no idea where they live. It was returned and says unable to forward. What do I do?

Asked by BG about 11 years ago

BG, I'm not sure why you got that mail back when you wrote on it "return to sender". I have 2 suggestions for you: 1) maybe write "person doesn't live here, return to sender" instead of just "return to sender" on mail.

 

2) Discard/recycle any mail you get for them. You did your part by trying to return the letter to the sender (which is very nice and appropriate IMO), and you don't have to try again to return it. It wouldn't be a bad idea to try again, but I just don't want you to have to play the "revolving door" game with that letter when you shouldn't have to.

 

Thanks for the question.

Is it possible to go to the post office to ask for my package before it is delivered via postman?

Asked by Carly over 11 years ago

I believe you generally can't pick up a package before it is delivered because it is possible that the carrier has already left the PO with it and is out on his or her route or the retail window isn't open yet. Even if the retail window was open, I'm not sure that the retail sales associates would want to search through the parcel area or ask the carrier to assist in searching through the parcel area for a specific parcel. The bottom line is I don't know the rule regarding your question if there is a rule on this to give you an accurate answer. It's possible that it is just a personal decision on the part of an employee.

Why is it important to be a role model and expert to achieve qsc in your restaurant

Asked by Ruth00 over 10 years ago

I don't believe you meant this question for me as I don't work in the food service industry and am not familiar with QSC.

Hi! I've had some mail (along with a battery) sitting in my mailbox for a couple days, my key is missing. Can I leave a note for the mail carrier to deliver the mail to my house? Even though it's a neighborhood mailbox? I'm in Texas, if that helps.:)

Asked by Randy about 11 years ago

Randy, I dont know the answer to your question. I can see it turning out both ways. On one hand, the carrier may be familiar with you and/or the neighborhood and feel it is safe enough to leave the mail by your door without risk of it being stolen. On the other hand, they may have rules saying that this is forbidden and not be able to verify that you actually wrote the note. you could also call your local PO to find out if they can be of any help, but I'm guessing they will say that you have to get a replacement key and can't risk bringing the mail to your door. I'm being purposefully vague because I have a feeling that there would be different answers from different offices/personnel. I hope you can find your mailbox key.