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

i would love to be a letter carrier! im in great shape for the work as i already walk 15 miles/ 5 days a week. the only thing is that i dont know how to drive…could someone like me be a letter carrier?

Asked by lee almost 12 years ago

I don't believe you would be hired without a driver license to be a letter carrier. It is great that you like to walk a lot which is very healthy, but many communities have mail delivery which uses a motor vehicle to go from house to house or at least uses a vehicle to get the letter carrier to their route. That vehicle is usually driven by the letter carrier themselves. In some urban environments (like some of NYC), there are "walk-out" routes where the letter carrier leaves the PO on foot with a mail satchel and/or cart and doesn't need to drive. The mail for parts of their routes are left by another carrier in a vehicle in what is called a "relay box". I dont know that this relieves the carrier from not having a driver license because when one is hired they need to be flexible in their work assignments which may include a route that has driving involved. My short answer to your question is no, but would need further research. 

I mailed a package from Texas to Australia, but it has disappeared along the way. The only tracking info says"available for pickup", but that appeared w/in hrs of being mailed and workers deemed it a mis-scan. Where do I report the lost piece?Thanks

Asked by Sandy over 12 years ago

It does seem like a mis-scan from what you've described, especially given the time stamp of the "available for pickup" scan and the fact that it doesn't even make sense. You could report the lost piece to your local post office. I don't know the procedure as to what happens from there especially if the item was not insured. Another option is to call 1-800-275-8777 (USPS). Thanks for writing.

Someone help! I applied for the seasonal work in 2 diff counties. I have an interview tommrow this is the one i really want. And in my email today i see another interview invite for the 23rd of sept. This position already sent the rug/bacgrnd info

Asked by Cindy almost 12 years ago

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.

I sent an item in a Priority Mailing envelope, but the label I purchased online via PayPal was for Parcel Select. It was returned to me as "insufficient packaging". Does this mean I have to pay all that postage again? Thanks!

Asked by Charly almost 12 years ago

Do you mean that the marking was "insufficient postage", not "insufficient packaging". If it was "insufficient postage", I'm pretty sure you would just have to pay the difference between the Parcel Select rate and the Priority Mail rate. What I'm not sure about is how you get credit for an already purchased postage label, if that's even possible. If you took this to the PO for some type of resolution, I question whether all of the clerks would know how to adjust the rate properly as the ability, care, and training of the SSAs (sales and service associates) seems to vary widely. Thanks for writing. 

Hello-
Just wondering about mailing UPS or FEDEX,and if they still stamp the city name on the envelope before it is sent out like the regular mail is done? In case you wanted to mail someone,but not wanting them to know what city it is coming from?

Asked by DwB44 about 12 years ago

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.

Hey mailman, thank you for this blog! I am going for my interview for CCA. What comes after the interview and how long is the process? I am in NY as well. Thanks

Asked by I cant wait! over 11 years ago

I'm glad you like this blog. It's my pleasure to help where I can and I have a great appreciation for those who do podcasts or other websites just for fun. Their time commitments are impressive given the work it takes to maintain a blog or a website. Since I have no experience with the CCA hiring process, I can't give you any hard facts about how long the process takes. Congratulations on getting an interview. There will likely be a drug test and medical exam if you haven't gone through that process already. I imagine it would only be 1-2 months after that to be notified if you will be hired. There are about 6 CCAs in the office where I work but there is a solid turnover among them. It's not the job for everyone. It's physically demanding, pay for CCAs isn't great ($16.50/hr Apprx) and you aren't always treated that well. I still recommend it if you get hired because long-term it has proven to be a great career for me. I wish you well and have a positive attitude.

I live in Midtown West, in an apartment building with 10 units. When I first moved in, I received mail, but about one month later, my mail delivery stopped. When I've called to PO, mail delivery resumes for a few weeks but then stops. Help!

Asked by Rob F. almost 12 years ago

Rob F., the main customer service rep phone # for the USPS is 800-275-8777. Please advise them that you are having a delivery issue at your apt. building. They will likely just forward the comment/complaint to your delivery PO and I'm not sure what will happen from there. I'd hope that you would either see the mail service resume or get an explanation as to why the mail delivery has stopped to your unit when you are residing there. Is there any construction going on at your building that would restrict access to the mailboxes which I presume are located in the entry vestibule area of the apt. building. You could also leave a note in your mailbox explaining that you reside in the building in a specific apt. and you should be receiving mail. I don't know why mail delivery would be suspended form your building or just you with no clear explanation.