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

What's the best shoes you say would be best for a CC also I wear size 15

Asked by Mr. OKC about 10 years ago

Getting that large size shoe may require a custom order. I was just at the website for US Uniform Company. One of the items I looked up only went as high as size 14. I only looked at one type of shoe. I buy Rocky or New Balance Black leather low top athletic shoes for walking. They will have the mandated SR/USA tag if purchased through an authorized uniform vendor. I can't say any one shoe is better than the other since I don't recall every being uncomfortable in any of them. I don't remember the brand but some definitely wore out faster than others resulting in an expensive (usually more than $100/pair) replacement order. I probably go through at least 2 pair of shoes per year and walk about 5 miles per day on my route, 351 residential deliveries to their door.

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 about 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.

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

Asked by Gadgetsystem over 10 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.

Our post office in Virginia allows workers to wear their own clothes, why is this? One wore shorts so high I couldn't believe. The other wears street gang type clothes. Including a doo rag and his hat turned backwards! How can this be allowed?

Asked by BunniesQuestion about 11 years ago

If an employee is a newly hired CCA (city carrier assistant) they may not have yet received a unfiorm allowance and therefore not bought any USPS clothing. I think once probation is passed (90 days) they can purchase uniforms. Rural Letter carriers never need to wear a uniform. That being said, those not yet wearing a uniform shouldn't dress inappropriately or wear gang-type clothing (in my opinion). It would be up to the PO management to enforce this, but I've seen them be lax about it too frequently. Once an employee can purchase their uniforms, they should only be wearing USPS-approved clothing and not wearing any hats backwards. I personally hate gang-type thug looking street clothes, but it is up to the management to enforce this. Most carriers where I work dress in uniform daily and keep them moderately clean (I'm looking in the mirror when it comes to the subject of uniform cleanliness as they get dirty so easily). Thanks for this question.

I have an inteview tommrow i applied for 2 seasonal positions 2 diff counties. Today i recieved another invite to an interview on the 23rd, this same position already sent me drug/backgrnd test info through email with no interview.

Asked by Cindy over 11 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 all interviews that come your way. The reason is that you may get an offer from a later interview than at your preferred location. This is likely better than having no employment.

Is it possible for mailman to obtain my po box mail from post office on the sly and give to member of my family who wants to know what I am receiving in po box? I am missing mail from po box and I am concerned this might be the case.

Asked by Bella B. about 11 years ago

I would suggest that would be illegal to do. Mail that is addressed to a PO Box should stay in the PO Box until picked up by the boxholder. We have no rights as a letter carrier to go into the PO Box, remove mail, and give it to a member of your family. I'm not saying your carrier isn't doing this, but they would be risking their job to do what you've described. If mail continues to be missing you may want to bring it to the attention of a supervisor or the Postmaster of the office where you receive your PO Box mail

I buy and sell tickets for a living. If I had tickets shipped to several of my neighbors in random people's names would you be able to retrieve them for me if I gave you advance warning of their delivery or is that illegal?

Asked by mandm about 11 years ago

I am not sure of the legality of this, but I know I would never get involved in such a situation. I wouldn't get mail from one address and give the mail to another person especially if it had a random name. It all sounds too fishy to me. When I'm delivering the mail if I see a name that I'm familiar with but the address is not right I will sometimes deliver it to the correct address. An example that I see but am not comfortable with is one customer gets what looks like beer purchase rebate checks sent to his neighbor's house with a slightly altered last name. If I recognize this mail I will deliver to the person whose name is on the envelope. The customer has never approached me to do this and I would never have any apologies if the rebate check was delivered as addressed (to a neighbor) and disappeared. Again, it's something I would never want to be involved with because it sounds fishy and if I am not working I can't control what happens to an intentionallay misaddrressed or misnamed piece of mail. If you work something out with your neighbor that's another story which I don't need to know about. Thanks for writing.