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.
Jasmine, it depends on a few factors such as: the history of the area with regards to packages being safely left unattended, whether the sender asked for a signature of the recipient, and if the the sender asked for the parcel to be delivered even if there is no response. For example, the town where I deliver mail is very safe with regards to theft so I'll leave almost every parcel whether or not there is someone home to receive it. In other towns/cities this may. It be the case and the letter carrier would then leave a PS Form 3849 advising the recipient that we attempted delivery of a package and nobody was there to receive it. The 3849 says that the recipient can either sign for re delivery or pickup the package at the Post Office. We deliver packages sent by Amazon.com and they want their packages delivered even when nobody is home (at least where I work in Long Island, NY.)
Funny, I had never noticed that to be the case! Just kidding. There is a very important reason the steering wheel is on the right hand side (as one is facing forward). I drive one of these vehicles. They are commonly known as LLV (long life vehicles), Jeeps, or other names. The reason for this configuration is because many mail routes have mailboxes at the street end of a driveway where a mail vehicle can drive right up to it and the letter carrier can put the mail in the box without having to leave his seat. They can just stick their right arm out of the window. On the left side of the letter carrier (where a regular vehicle would have the steering wheel) is a large metal tray where the letter carrier organizes the mail for delivery. This method of delivery is found more commonly in suburban or rural environments. I drive an LLV, and even though the route I deliver has no mailboxes at the end of a driveway (they are mostly by a front door or garage), it is safer for me to exit the vehicle on the right side instead of what is possibly moving traffic. It only took a short time to get used to driving this configuration and it seems none of my co-workers have much of a problem either. You just have to be careful of blind spots and when backing up, not unlike any conventional vehicle. You asked a great question and I may have given you more than you asked for but I hoped it helped Jeff.
If I can find a safe place nearby like near a garage door or by the front door of the house I would rubber band the mail and put it there. If it is mail addressed to an apt building and I can't gain access I would likely bring it back to the Post Office, notify a supervisor, and likely attempt delivery the next day. Fortunately, this doesn't happen very often on the route where I deliver the mail. It is inconvenient to have to bring the mail back to the PO and try again the next day.
Sure, the letter should reach its destination as long as it has the proper address and ZIP code. The only issue could be if the letter would need to be returned to you for some reason and you no longer are at the motel and there is nowhere to send the letter to. You don't need to put a return address on the letter to begin with. It's your own choice.
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I am not sure what you mean by demanding to unlock your mailbox. How does he deliver mail to a locked mailbox? Is there a small slot in the box where they can put the mail through? I have that situation with a few boxes on the route I deliver but am always able to put the mail in the slot. I wouldn't ever write on the mail demanding that it be unlocked. If a box was too full or if it was too difficult to deliver to a locked box I would just not deliver it and bring it back to the PO explaining to a supervisor why the mail wasn't delivered.
I don't believe that UPS or FEDEX do any type of stamping on their envelopes or parcels like the USPS does when processing the mail. I do know that both companies have very good tracking services for each item so the recipient can tell what facilities the item went through before being delivered to them. When they receive what you sent to them, they can likely go online with the item tracking # and find out how the item traveled from you to them. Thanks for writing.
Cindy, I dont know how to help you in this situation as I am not even sure what you are asking. Good luck on both interviews. I do realize you want one of these positions much greater than the other. Unless you get offered the job for the first interview on the spot, I highly recommend attending both interviews. The reason is that you may get an offer for the latter interview than at your preferred location. This is likely better than having no employment.
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