Ask a Mailman (City Letter Carrier) anything

I have a fenced in front yard with a latched gate. On the gate is a permanent sign that reads "BEWARE OF DOG." My mail box is on the front porch. The carrier must enter the fenced in zone to deliver the mail. If DOG is present should carrier enter

Asked by herding hollywood almost 12 years ago

I would say that the letter carrier shouldn't enter the fenced in zone to deliver the mail if a dog is present. We often have service talks that are aimed at preventing dog bites. One point that is made is to not go into an area where a dog is loose. To be honest, though, many of us are comfortable around dogs and won't follow that rule all the time. If I encounter what looks like a dog that could cause me harm I avoid that house/area and bring any undelivered mail back to the post office. In my career I don't remember not being able to deliver mail due to a loose dog. The bottom line is that a carrier shouldn't put themselves in a situation where they are at risk for an unwanted encounter with a canine.

876 Votes

HOW DO YOU DRIVE YOUR CAR ON THE WRONG SIDE? DOES IT HAVE SPECIAL PEDALS?

Asked by JESS about 12 years ago

It isn't very difficult to drive our delivery vehicles with the steering wheel and pedals on the "wrong" side. The delivery vehicle which is commonly used it sometimes referred to as an LLV (Long Life Vehicle). The controls are the same as if you were driving from the normal side of a car (the left side if you are facing forward). If you are in an urban environment, there could be some safety issues each time you have to pull away from a curb and make sure nobody is coming on your side. There are mirrors which provide you with a field of view for safety. In a suburban/rural environment where the LLVs are used more frequently, safety is still a major concern so you must be very careful each time you move your LLV from one delivery spot to the next. Backing up is something that you should try to avoid as much as you can due to the limited visibility behind an LLV. I found it pretty easy to drive once I got used to it. The vehicles just don't handle too well in ice and snow. In dry weather and rain they are fine.

875 Votes

Thanks for your reply. I was a carrier with the USPS back in the day. This is a relatively new mailbox, and the carrier definitely broke it as a result of how he opened it each day over the last few years. We'll see what the USPS does for me. Thanks.

Asked by David almost 12 years ago

You're welcome David. It's my pleasure to try and assist where I can. It's just that I have so little confidence in the operation at times and how the management can resolve situations satisfactorily. I know it's not a good attitude, but if I worked for a company that focused on the customer and quality of work and one that treated its workers with greater respect, I'd give you a more optimistice answer. It's not that we are a horrible place by any means, but being a quasi-governmental orgnaization, I feel that it's just kind of "eh" at times. Some of us work hard and try our best, while others, it seems, work against the operation it seems. Fortunately it's more the former than the latter overall. Thanks again for writing and feel free to post your results on this Q and A site.

874 Votes

If I were to send a letter envelope with more than just a letter, like if it had a ring inside as well, would it be able to go through the mail system without a problem?

Asked by Gabriela almost 12 years ago

More than likely the envelope with the irregular thickness item in it would make it through the mail system as long as the item didn't puncture through the paper envelope and possibly get lost. The letter sorting process is highly automated so the item in the envelope could get damaged as it goes through the letter sorting machinery. For this reason, I highly recommend using a small padded envelope to protect any fragile or valuable contents that need to be mailed. The cost to mail this is higher than that of a letter-sized envelope but well worth it.

873 Votes

After I put my rent check in the mail, I noticed that I accidentally wrote 362 Box Street rather than 462 Box Street. All of the other information was correct. Will it still be delivered to him or should I cancel the check and resend? Thanks!

Asked by AmandaB over 11 years ago

Amanda, I can't say for sure what will happen with your rent check that was misaddressed. If the letter carrier delivers both of those addresses on Box St. and is familiar with the names on their route, they may deliver the letter to where it is intended (meaning it will get to your landlord). It's also possible that different letter carriers deliver to those 2 addresses and the letter carrier at 362 Box St. will just deliver it to 362 Box St. or return the check to the sender (you) as "Attempted, Not Known". I would recommend not canceling the check and waiting several days to see if the landlord received the check. Is there a way to contact the landlord and tell them what you did and it's possible they will ask you to resend the check or wait a few days to see if they receive it? I say this also to maybe save you money because putting a stop payment on a check often has a fee associated with it.

873 Votes

Thanks for answering so fast. I asked our mailman today why we only got 1 electric bill when we normally get 5 (we own 5 properties). He said he was off yesterday. I said it was from last week - then he said 'it's coming'! I will put in a complaint.

Asked by Linda A almost 12 years ago

You're welcome Linda A. I try to respond quickly so I have very few questions pending. I hate to have a backup of email in general. You did a good job by asking the mailman where the bills might be. I can't imagine ever answering "it's coming". There is no doubt that an electric bill is First Class so a mailman generally would have it, deliver it, and that's all. We have no idea what's in the pipeline with regards to First Class mail like Bills, Mortgage Statements, greeting cards, etc. I'm not trying to discourage you from using the USPS, but does your utility offer you electronic delivery of the electric bill. My utility is Con Edison (NY City) and it has probably been 4-5 years at least since I received an electric bill in the US Mail. I get the bill online and have it deducted each month from my checking out. No worries whatsoever. I know that e-payments and finance is not for everybody, but just wanted to throw the idea out there and this doesn't make up for the fact that you didn't get a paper electric bill that you are supposed to. I hope your complaint helps somewhat. If nothing else, it will advise your mailman that you aren't satisfied with his delivery effort and aren't going to sit idly by if he isn't delivering what he's legally supposed to in a timely manner. Thank you so much for writing.

871 Votes

If I put the correct apartment (Superintendent) on shipping address but forget to put the word 'APT' before it, will it disrupt the delivering of my package?

Asked by Francesca almost 12 years ago

In my opinion it is fine to leave off the word "APT" at any time as long as you have indicated what the Suite, Apt, Unit, Lot # is along with the proper street address for the property. In your example "SUPT" is sufficient if that is a legitimate apt. designation. I live in an apt. building as well and for my address I usually just put the street address and then "1A" following it on the same line and never had an issue. I am glad you brought up this question because it is difficult and frustrating to try to deliver mail in a multi-unit building without the Unit # also in the address. A carrier who does the route on a regular basis will often memorize who lives in what unit, but a replacement carrier (which is very common) should not be expected to know who lives where and it is very time consuming to have to consult a building directory for the proper unit #.

871 Votes

Mailman (City Letter Carrier)

Ask me anything!

What do YOU do?

I have a fenced in front yard with a latched gate. On the gate is a permanent sign that reads "BEWARE OF DOG." My mail box is on the front porch. The carrier must enter the fenced in zone to deliver the mail. If DOG is present should carrier enter

HOW DO YOU DRIVE YOUR CAR ON THE WRONG SIDE? DOES IT HAVE SPECIAL PEDALS?

Thanks for your reply. I was a carrier with the USPS back in the day. This is a relatively new mailbox, and the carrier definitely broke it as a result of how he opened it each day over the last few years. We'll see what the USPS does for me. Thanks.

If I were to send a letter envelope with more than just a letter, like if it had a ring inside as well, would it be able to go through the mail system without a problem?

Also on Jobstr...

After I put my rent check in the mail, I noticed that I accidentally wrote 362 Box Street rather than 462 Box Street. All of the other information was correct. Will it still be delivered to him or should I cancel the check and resend? Thanks!

Thanks for answering so fast. I asked our mailman today why we only got 1 electric bill when we normally get 5 (we own 5 properties). He said he was off yesterday. I said it was from last week - then he said 'it's coming'! I will put in a complaint.

If I put the correct apartment (Superintendent) on shipping address but forget to put the word 'APT' before it, will it disrupt the delivering of my package?

Mailman (City Letter Carrier)

Ask me anything!

What do YOU do?

I have a fenced in front yard with a latched gate. On the gate is a permanent sign that reads "BEWARE OF DOG." My mail box is on the front porch. The carrier must enter the fenced in zone to deliver the mail. If DOG is present should carrier enter

HOW DO YOU DRIVE YOUR CAR ON THE WRONG SIDE? DOES IT HAVE SPECIAL PEDALS?

Thanks for your reply. I was a carrier with the USPS back in the day. This is a relatively new mailbox, and the carrier definitely broke it as a result of how he opened it each day over the last few years. We'll see what the USPS does for me. Thanks.

If I were to send a letter envelope with more than just a letter, like if it had a ring inside as well, would it be able to go through the mail system without a problem?

Also on Jobstr...

After I put my rent check in the mail, I noticed that I accidentally wrote 362 Box Street rather than 462 Box Street. All of the other information was correct. Will it still be delivered to him or should I cancel the check and resend? Thanks!

Thanks for answering so fast. I asked our mailman today why we only got 1 electric bill when we normally get 5 (we own 5 properties). He said he was off yesterday. I said it was from last week - then he said 'it's coming'! I will put in a complaint.

If I put the correct apartment (Superintendent) on shipping address but forget to put the word 'APT' before it, will it disrupt the delivering of my package?

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