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

Are mailmans allowed to ask for surnames and how long have you lived in your residence? It's just very odd for a mailman to knock on the door and ask for details. If you find this odd, what can you advice me to do to stop him from doing it again?

Asked by Gtan2 over 11 years ago

I do find it odd to ask questions like that, especially the latter one. I mean if they were to explain why there were doing that it may help you understand the reason. If I'm not sure of a surname is valid to be delivered to a particular address, I may ask a person at that residence if this is a "good" name to deliver. That'd probably be the end of my inquiry unless the person wanted to offer more info. If you don't want the letter carrier asking you questions like that, please say I don't need to provide that information but the mail you've been delivering is valid (or invalid as the case may be. The flip side might be that they may not deliver a name they aren't familiar with if you don't say it is valid or not, though I think the mail should be delivered as addressed unless told otherwise. We aren't the police with regards to knowing who lives where and how long.

713 Votes

Does a mailman deliver mail everyday? Like to the same address? What if you live in an apartment and lost your key, could you ask a mailman to open it for you or even deliver it to your suite?

Asked by Kailey over 10 years ago

As long as there is mail to bring to any address we deliver 6 days per week (Mon-Sat). It's not always the same letter carrier who goes to the same address each day but it often is. If you live in an apartment and lost your mailbox key, I don't know that the letter carrier would open the mailbox for you or make any special delivery arrangements to deliver it to your suite or apartment unless they knew who you were and were willing to help until a replacement key could be acquired. I'm not even sure who would get you a replacement key, but I think it is the building management or the landlord.

712 Votes

When do I get a new mailman I'm having issues with mine do you guys ever change routes

Asked by Gadgetsystem almost 11 years ago

That is a good question which I can basically break down into a simple answer: there is no set time for switching routes for letter carriers. The system for assigning routes comes down to seniority. If a letter carrier likes the route that they have they can stay on it indefinitely for the most part. If the office goes through some route restructuring (like the territory that makes up a route changes) then you may get a new mailman. When carriers retire or leave the PO for any reason, their route goes up for bidding and the most senior letter carrier who would like that route assignment can choose it. At this point your mailman could move to another route if they want to and they have enough seniority. Some letter carriers could stay on their routes for 25+ years if they choose to. If you are having serious issues with your letter carrier, you could mention it to to them if you ever see them or you could call the delivery supervisor at your local PO. I'm sorry you are having issues with your letter carrier. There are many among us who don't do a great job or just have a bad attitude.

710 Votes

If a certified is thrown in the outgoing mail by human error will it come to the post office the next business day in the dps or in some form back to the post office.

Asked by jvitto over 11 years ago

I think the letter that was accidentally thrown in the outgoing mail, even if it was a certified letter, would come back the next business day or the day after either via the DPS or the registry clerk. It would rarely be the case that the letter would just disappear. At least that's what I hope would happen.

709 Votes

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can you wear used post office shirts legally if you buy it in a thrift store?

Asked by klumac about 11 years ago

I didn't know that regulation approved USPS uniform shirts were available in thrift stores. I don't know the rules on whether or not they are allowed to be worn by non-USPS personnel.

709 Votes

I did a temporary forwarding address online 3 weeks before we left. My neighbor found the postman had taken off my mailbox blocking material & stuffed a whole lot of mail in it. Can my neighbor just put my new address on the mail & redeposit it?

Asked by Phil over 11 years ago

That's good that you have a neighbor looking out for you. I don't know why the letter carrier would do what he did. Is it possible they didn't receive your forwarding order? If you did it online and received a confirmation then they likely got it. Furthermore there should be zero mail in your box if you have a temporary COA in effect and there are no other residents at your house who are receiving mail. It sounds like an oversight or carelessness. To answer your question, I would say no. Mail has to go through our CFS (computer forwarding system...or centralized forwarding system) to be redirected. You aren't allowed to handwrite the new address and then just redeposit it. One suggestion I have is for the neighbor to rubberband your mail and leave it in either your or their mailbox putting a note on top saying "please forward this mail as this addressee has a temporary COA in effect and no mail should be delivered to your permanent address until further notice". I hope that works out for you. Thanks for writing.

709 Votes

Has the mail already been delivered on Stonesboro Rd Ft Washington Maryland today 4/8/2016

Asked by Sophia Woodland about 10 years ago

As I'm writing this reply on April 12, I'm pretty sure that the mail has been delivered on stonesboro rd in ft Washington, MD by now for April 8. ???? This q and a isn't for USPS customer service or any real-time questions. I mostly answer questions about being a letter carrier and possibly make suggestions if someone has a customer service problem that doesn't need immediate attention. With regards to your question, I think that only your local PO would know when and if mail was delivered to your street.

709 Votes

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