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'm waiting for mail , but the mail I'm waiting for has a different apartment number . How can I change it so that my mail gets put in the right mail box

Asked by Mary over 10 years ago

I am not sure I can exactly answer your question properly. If the mail has already been sent, I don't know of any way to change the apt. number to the correct one. You can contact the sender so if they mail you anything in the future that they should address it with your correct apt. number. Since it seems like the mail has already been sent, you could leave a note on the mailbox of the apt. to where the mail was sent or you could could contact the post office to tell them there may be a piece of mail incorrectly addressed to another apt. # and that it should go to the mailbox that belongs to you. I don't know if either scenario will help as it probably depends on the willingness of your "neighbor" or the personnel at the USPS to assist you. I hope you get the mail you are waiting for.

Is it okay to finish a route and take the half hour lunch at the end then drive back to office

Asked by JVitto over 10 years ago

I used to do this but was then told that I really should take the 30 minute lunch within 6 hours of my BT (begin tour) time. I now take lunch from approximately 1300-1330. The new scanners that we have tells the mgmt where we are so they can see if we are sitting for 30 minutes at the end of the day instead of our approved lunch period. If the management doesn't give you a hard time about it, I don't see why not but the union and managers technically should be enforcing the 6-hour rule for taking a lunch break. I've become used to it so it's no big deal to take lunch when I'm supposed to and not at the end of the delivery route.

How long will it take for mail to get to California from Arizona

Asked by Heem over 10 years ago

I think it should be 2-3 days for First Class Mail from California to Arizona. Our mail transportation is pretty reliable when it comes to meeting our delivery service goals as long as the mail isn't missorted or misdelivered.

Thanks for the answer, but doesn't each carrier have a route number, like C001-19046, the last part being the zip code that they deliver to? So if I addressed it to Letter Carrier Route C001-19046 he /she would get the letter?

Asked by Jane over 10 years ago

You are the right track with your question. C001, for example, would be City Route 1. I don't think there is a special ZIP code for the route #. What you could I address the item to "Letter Carrer C0001" and then the PO name and address and 5-digit ZIP code. I think the addl 4 digits for the ZIP code would be -9998 for mail going to the PO and not to a customer. Don't quote me on that last part. I've reread your question now. If you put C001-19046 on the top line of the address they might get the letter. I've never seen this done before but it does make sense. I would recommend addressing the envelope to "Letter Carrier C001", but it's your choice.

I am waiting for my package outside my apartment's mail box am I allowed to ask for my package before he or she puts it in my mailbox

Asked by Jaime over 10 years ago

It depends on who your letter carrier is. Some will give it to you ahead of time and others will want to place it in the mailbox so they know you have legitimate access to your mailbox. As long as I knew the individual resided at the address associated with the package or they could prove it with identification, I would hand them the package. In my career I've never had a problem. Please remember that not every letter carrier behaves the same way. Thank you for the question.

I'm considering looking into a job with the Postal Service, I've read a lot of negative reviews online, but would like to know first hand what it's like working for the postal service. Can you tell me your personal pros and cons of the job?

Asked by thekraken almost 11 years ago

I will certainly tell you my experience, but keep in mind that everybody is different in how they handle a job and how hard they want to work and under what conditions. To sum up before I get into the details, I really like the job a lot, but the management and some co-workers aren't so great. When you first start out as a letter carrier, you will likely be a CCA , a city carrier asst, which doesn't guarantee you too many hrs/week, lower pay ($15.50/hr apprx) and minimal benefits. As time goes on and others retire or leave the USPS for various reasons you'd become a FT regular letter carrier with a guarantee of 40 hrs/wk minimum plus health, retirement, paid time off benefits. The pro of the job for me is that you get decent pay and benefits and security for a job that requires a low amt of education (though I do have a college degree), exercise on walking routes and much of the day (apprx 6 hours) away from the office not having to deal with co-workers or management who can be vile or aggravating. There are some very nice people I work with. I generally just see my co-workers for a couple of hours in the AM and maybe 10-20 minutes before we go home at apprx 4:30 PMG. Over the years I've had some health issues which required extended absences. While I can't say the employer was great to deal with during the absence I didn't worry about losing my job and was paid for some of the time I was out (using paid sick leave). Depending on where you work geographically, weather can be issue and you need to be prepared to be outside for many hours per day. The staffing at my office has been a bit low for awhile and there is a lack of quality workers replacing them. This has resulted in a lot of Overtime work available (a good thing or me), but also a lot of mandatory work even for those who don't want it (not so good). It's also difficult to get time off unless you have a vacation block picked out. I also happen to be a bit of a perfectionist with regards to delivering mail accurately and this job works well with my organizational skills. From my experience, more people like to be negative about the job than positive. I understand some of their complaints and feelings, but I choose to be positive and grateful for what I have and not dwell on the little stuff. I tune out then negativity the best I can and do my job. Good luck to you and please ask any more specific questions if you have them.

Is a mailman allowed to write on your mailbox

Asked by sfood over 10 years ago

I believe it would be okay to write in a mailbox the number of the address in case it wasn't clear. They shouldn't be writing much else either on or or in the mailbox. This is my opinion and don't know the rules about this. As a letter carrier, my main frustration in delivering mail on a route I'm not familiar with is a missing house number. I have written numbers inside the lid of a mailbox in the past, but it was with a pen and hard to discern on dark metal. I don't think the name of the occupant should be written on the box by the letter carrier.