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

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 When forwarding requests are no longer active, is there anything at the sorting case/facility that automatically designates the mail as UTF?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 almost 13 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.

Is it usual for mail carriers to run late on routes? My mail is usually here early in the AM but has not yet got here yet.

Asked by Hello about 13 years ago

Sure it's common to run late. It's possible the carrier had another assignment to do before starting their regular route. Also, if staffing is short, a route may be broken up into several sections and a carrier will do that section for overtime which could vary the delivery time greatly. Thanks for the question. 

What time does a city carrier usually have to report to the post office in the morning to start? I have a good chance at getting this position but am wondering in advance because I need to put my daughter in daycare and very few open that early.

Asked by Jess about 12 years ago

I can't speak for all POs, but from what I have experienced, most full-time assignments start between 7-8 AM and end 3:30-4:30PM. For a newly hired carriers, they might start later in the day as there may not be enough work for them to work a full day or the operations require that they work much later. I've seen a 10-11AM start time for the CCAs (city carrier assistants) when they aren't needed to cover a whole assignment  . During peak vacation time (usually summer months), many offices are shorthanded due to carriers being on vacation, so CCAs possibly start their workday the same time as other regular carriers. There are some assignments (like a parcel post or collection route) which usually start a bit later in the AM. In our office that is a 10AM-6:30PM assignment. Thanks for writing and good luck. 

I wrote an incorrect retrun address home # on an important legal document I am expecting (passport). Express Mail via USPS. How to catch it before it goes back to the sender ? Please help.

Asked by TP about 13 years ago

I am not sure. If you put the correct town on it where it is supposed to be returned to  maybe contact your PO to alert them of this error and what the correct address should be. This way when it arrives at your local PO, they will have been advised as to the correct address to deliver the passport.

i think the usps gave my package to the r\wrong address

Asked by moshe ratner over 12 years ago

That is certainly possible. We do make errors. I don't know how to proceed from here, except if you think you know where it went to you could contact the USPS to see if they could contact the "wrong" recipient to get the package back though I don't know how likely that is. Good luck

I wrote wrong street adress(I missed some letters) but zip code I wrote correctly. I will get my package or not?

Asked by Mikas over 12 years ago

Mikas, I think it is very likely you will receive your package as long as the clerks in your PO can figure out which street you meant to put in your address and that it isn't similarly named with another street in the same ZIP code. The ZIP code is definitely a very important piece of the address to get correct because that will result in at least getting the package to the right PO building and the staff there will hopefully (and likely) be able to figure out the intended address.

I bought some things on eBay Then later, I noticed that I made a small mistake on my shipping address. The zip codes, state, and city are all correct, but i misspelled my street address by a letter off. Will my deliveries still be able to reach me?

Asked by Luan over 12 years ago

In most cases, if the error is that minor and the misspelled street doesnt match another street in the same ZIP , the delivery should still reach you. Misspellings occur all the time with mailed items and letters.