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

My husband has the long weekend in May - during memorial weekend. It is our anniversary. We would like to have friday, Saturday, sunday and Monday (which rarely comes around). Can the postal mandate him to work if we already have hotels booked?

Asked by Sunny over 10 years ago

Sunny, I understand how great it would be for your husband to have 4 days in a row off from the USPS to celebrate your wedding anniversary. I don't know the size of the PO that he works in and if he is on the OT Desired List. Those two factors may not matter if the office is so short handed with staff that they need your husband to work Fri and/or Sat. I don't believe that the fact you have hotels booked would have any bearing as to if he gets off or not. I know where I work if you were to take the entire week prior to Memorial Day as a vacation week pick using AL (32 hours in this case), you couldn't be mandated to work. There is a certain "pecking order" as to if your husband is mandated to work or not. I don't know all the rules and any attempt to explain it here would likely contain errors. These rules may be in the National Agreement between the NALC and the USPS. I hope it works out for you two regarding the anniversary weekend.

Is there a typical time frame to get hired as a carrier from the first steps of applying until one lands a job?

Asked by cdaws about 10 years ago

I don't know but my guess would be 6 months or less. I don't know if there is still a test that needs to be taken to be hired as a City Carrier Assistant and how frequently the test is given. Many years ago, this exam wasn't given too frequently. Now I hear nothing about it so maybe it's an ongoing hiring process, where they are continuously hiring and training. From what I hear anecdotally, and what I personally see in my workplace we defintitely could use some new hires. It seems the demand for letter carriers exists, but the hiring of qualified candidates who make it through probation isn't keeping pace with that demand. Good luck to you!

I am expecting some mail in next few months at a house I own & rent to tenants. How can I ensure USPS will deliver it to that address? I do not wish to have it auto-forwarded to another address. Should I just leave a note for the mailman?

Asked by Dido almost 11 years ago

If you don't have an auto-forward in effect for mail to go from the house you own to another address, then it shouldn't be a problem. I do think that leaving a note for the letter carrier is a great idea. If there is a forward on file then the letter carrier may not even see the letter before it is forwarded. The forwarding is often an automated system called PARS that redirects the mail prior to the original letter carrier seeing any mail to be forwarded. I hope this helps and thank your for the question.

Does USPS have a procedure that a carrier should adhere to when they can't deliver mail because people are parked in the loading zone? Sympathetic to his problem, but it's not right when he harasses building tenants. What does USPS say he should do?

Asked by OfficeMngr over 10 years ago

I don't have an answer as to what the procedure is if the carrier can't deliver the mail because someone is parked in the loading zone of a building. I agree that the carrier should not be harassing anybody re: this. As far as I know they do have the right to not deliver the mail if there is no safe place for them to park their delivery vehicle. They could mention to the tenants or bldng/office managers as to the reason there may not have been delivery on a previous day, but I believe this can be done in a civil/professional manner. Is the building staff not enforcing the loading zone policy? I rarely deliver mail to an office building but I can see how it may be aggravating when a designated loading zone or short term parking policy isn't adhered to. Either way, nobody deserves harassment in my opinion.

You come later on Fridays

Asked by Lj about 10 years ago

I can't say for sure if we come later on Fridays or not. It usually depends on the staffing and mail volume as to what time we deliver the mail. At the PO where I work, Friday is usually like most other weekdays for mail delivery time. On Saturday, the mail may come earlier because postal routes may have closed busineses so they can start the residential delivery sooner.

I get two letters from the same company a month. They arrive together on the same day, why would the usps of postman put a question mark on the second envelope? Everything is exactly the same as far as the printing of address for example.

Asked by Mmxv over 10 years ago

It doesn't make sense why a USPS letter carrier would put a question mark on one of the envelopes that is identical to the first one. It's common for people to get multiple letters from the same company. I would only put a question mark on the envelope if I wasn't sure if the name on the envelope was correct for the address it is to be delivered to. In your example, I don't think I'd put a question mark on either piece of mail. Also, if other mail to your address has your name on it, I don't see any reason for the question mark. If it only happens once or twice I wouldn't think about it. If it happens each month and it concerns you, you could cal the local PO and talk to the delivery supervisor to see if they have any insight.

to continue on the signature confirmations, its a hassle to have to deliver the package after the customer signs the 3849, sign in person or not sign in person is the question, now we have key in the 3849 on certifieds

Asked by jrv over 10 years ago

You should be able to scan the 3849 if you choose the attempted function. At least this is how it works on the older scanners. If the "delivered" function is chosen then the 3849 (reverse) is scanned. The only change I noticed recently was having to put the 3849 bar coded # in the scanner on the "attempted" function. This allows the recipient to just type in the 3849 # when requesting re delivery. It is an extra step but if you are a city carrier, time=money.