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.
Emily, I'm not sure what combination lock you are referring to. Is it one of those old fashioned ones on a PO Box? Whether it is that one or one on a mailbox at your residence won't change my answer. I was just curious. I haven't heard that it is technically illegal to hand someone mail but I'm not versed in the legalities of this subject. I can see that the USPS may be hesitant in handing mail to someone without confirming their identity or being personally known to the employee. If you have a physical disability which prevents you from getting your mail, it would make sense to have some alternate method provided but I don't know how far the USPS is required to go in accommodating you. If you are unsatisfied with the response from your local PO, I would recommend going up the chain at your PO such as talking to the Postmaster or their boss. I don't know what their response will be given the varied nature of our personnel.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=I%20cannot%20physically%20open%20my%20combination%20lock.%20I%20have%20been%20hand%20given%20my%20mail%20for%202%20years.%20I%20was%20told%20that%20a%20new%20supervisor%20is%20coming%20and%20they%20will%20no%20longer%20be%20able%20to%20hand%20it%20because%20it%20is%20technically%20illegal.%20Is%20this%20true%2C%20can%20I%20get%20an%20exemption%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/13411)
I probably should have just deleted this question for being non-pertinent to the job of a mailman but I prefer not to delete any questions posted here. My request would be for people not to post a question here that is not germane to the profession of Mailman. Thank you.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Nowadays%20students%20are%20depending%20%3Ca%20href%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fessayacademia.com%2Fperfect-term-papers.php%22%3Eterm%20paper%20writing%20service%3C%2Fa%3E%20for%20their%20tasks.%20Can%20we%20trust%20them%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/12229)
I think you will likely receive the item but there may be a delay of several days. The letter will first likely go to the PO that the ZIP corresponds to. The clerks at that office would then need to send the letter back to a central mail facility where it might be manually corrected (the proper ZIP being researched and put on the envelope) and then continue to the intended destination. I'm not sure I have the procedure correct. It's also possible the letter could be returned to the sender with the endorsement of "No Such Street in this ZIP code" but I've never seen that before.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=If%20someone%20mailed%20me%20something%20with%20the%20correct%20address%2C%20city%2C%20and%20state%2C%20but%20wrong%20zip%20code.%20What%20will%20most%20likely%20happen%3F%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/15285)
JD, good job for sticking with it for 7 years so far. There are many people who couldn't handle even one NE winter. I have trouble myself with the very cold weather, plus snow, and ice. The LLVs are horrible with snow in handling especially on any inclines. I have felt the way you have several times, and I have also felt the opposite as well (meaning I love the career). I admit it is difficult at times when you aren't feeling satisfied to stick with this career. Here is my advice, but keep in mind I don't know your personal living/financial situation. Being a city carrier and making apprx $50K+ a year seems to be a decent salary with benefits and union protections. I know it's a physically hard job, but you could apply to transfer to a less harsh area climate wise. My parents have been a big influence on me when I was on the verge of resigning on a few occasions. They said that it won't be easy to find a similar paying job without any special skills. I've also had to seek professional help in the past couple of years which has been worthwhile. This is probably more information then you want to know but as of now I am glad that I didn't go through with the rash decision of quitting the USPS. Have you thought about switching to the clerk craft? Would you rather maybe work inside as a Sales and Service Associate? There are pros and cons to that as well. I do feel bad for anybody who is unhappy with their position, but am hopeful they can stick with it and maybe their feelings will change for the better. I would have a very hard time working too long if I weren't satisfied at the position. Please try to keep your head up and dress appropriately for the weather. Thanks for writing.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=I%27m%2032%20and%20have%20been%20a%20city%20letter%20carrier%20for%20seven%20years%20now.%20I%27ve%20become%20very%20unsatisfied%20by%20the%20job.%20I%20just%20don%27t%20want%20to%20deal%20with%20the%20bad%20new%20england%20winters%20and%20the%20physical%20nature%20of%20the%20job%20anymore.%20Have%20you%20ever%20felt%20this%20way%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/13014)
Nurse Practitioner
Could a nurse practitioner do the job of a primary care physician?
Sr. Software Engineer
Is it basically impossible for a skilled programmer to be out of work these days?
Zookeeper and Animal Trainer
Why are some people so protective of endangered species?
Candy, I'm not sure whether or not you will get the mail you are looking for. It depends on how well the letter carrier knows the names that are in the apt. building, the size of the apt. buidling (if it's a very large building, they may not be able to see all of the names on any directory), if they can clearly see who belongs in each apt, and if the regular carrier is working that day. Some carriers will treat a wrong apt. # the same as if the letter was mailed to a wrong address and either deliver it as addressed (to the wrong apt. # in your case) or return it to the sender. There is no clear cut answer as to what will happen to your mail. There are so many inconsistencies at this job that I can't predict what someone else may do. Also, if it's not the regular letter carrier working on the day your mail arrives and they aren't familiar with the apt. #'s/names, they may just deliver the mail to the apt. # written on the piece of mail. In that case, maybe the tenant who receives it will get the piece of mail to you.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=I%20was%20supposed%20to%20be%20getting%20mail%20from%20somewhere%20but%20I%20see%20that%20they%20have%20the%20wrong%20apartment%20number%20for%20me...is%20this%20a%20problem%20if%20my%20name%20is%20on%20the%20mail%20and%20obviously%20my%20mailbox%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/13584)
David, you are correct about parcel delivery becoming ubiquitous. When I started at the USPS in 1998, there was so much actual mail to be sorted and delivered with only a few parcels. The pendulum is definitely swinging the other way and I truly can envision a time where mail becomes very insignificant compared to parcel delivery. Right now, we seem to have a fair amount of both. In developments that have cluster delivery boxes (usually apartment buildings or condominium complexes) or in a PO lobby we do use parcel lockers. I don't know how it would work with having boxes on the street similar to the USPS collection boxes used today. Currently the parcel lockers work this way---If a customer has a package to large to fit in their regular delivery receptacle, the carrier will put the package in the parcel locker, lock it with a key they have and put a separate specific parcel locker key in the regular receptacle of the parcel recipient. When the postal customer goes to retrieve their mail, they will see the parcel locker key and use that key in a specified parcel locker. Once they insert the key and turn it, that key stays in the lock, the locker opens and the customer retrieves their parcel. It is a very efficient system as opposed to going to the door of a customer (in a centralized delivery environment) to just use the parcel lockers.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=With%20parcel%20deliveries%20becoming%20so%20ubiquitous%20thanks%20to%20internet%20shopping%2C%20I%20have%20often%20thought%20that%20a%20mailbox%20similar%20to%20the%20USPS%20blue%20mailboxes%20might%20be%20a%20good%20and%20secure%20way%20to%20delivering%20parcels.%20Do%20you%20know%20how%20these%20actually%20work%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/12580)
Boo, I have never heard of this happening where somebody can reverse delivery on an item that has tracking. My inkling would be that this is not allowed even if it were possible. The only way you would get the letter back is if it was refused at the destination or the address was invalid. You could call 800-ASK-USPS or go to your local Post Office but I don't think that you will get a different answer. Upon further review I went to ehow.com where there is a column written with the title "How to Retrieve a Letter Already Mailed Through the Post Office". The column mentions a form called an application for recall of mail and the steps to fill it out. Also if you go to USPS.com and lookup Package Intercept that may help you as well. You have asked a good question as it got me to do a little research to learn that this service does exist for a fee. The fee looks to be 11.50 per piece. Thanks for writing.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Hi%2C%20i%20sent%20a%20letter%20today%20with%20tracking%20on%20it.%20Can%20i%20get%20it%20reversed%20delivered%20back%20to%20me%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/12980)
-OR-
Login with Facebook (max 20 characters - letters, numbers, and underscores only. Note that your username is private, and you have the option to choose an alias when asking questions or hosting a Q&A.)
(A valid e-mail address is required. Your e-mail will not be shared with anyone.)
(min 5 characters)
By checking this box, you acknowledge that you have read and agree to Jobstr.com’s Terms and Privacy Policy.
-OR-
Register with Facebook(Don't worry: you'll be able to choose an alias when asking questions or hosting a Q&A.)
Browse Jobs
Host a Q&A
Search
Submit Your Question
Host a Q&A
Last 7
