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.
Vbjmin, you ask a question that I'd love to know the perfect answer to as I've been struggling with this issue from the beginning of my postal career. Cold hands are really hard to tolerate especially when you will be out delivering hours and they must be nimble enough to finger the mail. I wear a glove (thick or thin) on the hand where I hold the mail and cradle the flats since I don't need that hand to finger the mail. The hand that I use to finger the mail and deliver the mail I try to wear a thinner and sometimes fingerless glove or one with small gripping dots on them This has worked okay over the years. Another item which can be useful is "hot hands" which are small single-use packets that form a chemical reaction and heat up for several hours. You can put those in your pocket or even inside your glove. I have rarely used these but my girlfriend, not a letter carrier, loves them. I have purchased many pairs of gloves over the years. It's just a matter of finding the ones that keep you warm enough but allows you to still feel the mail. Thanks for writing and winter is my least favorite season to deliver mail.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=How%20do%20you%20keep%20your%20hands%20warm%20in%20cold%20weather%20while%20holding%20or%20gripping%2C%20fingering%20and%20delivering%20a%20mail%20bundle%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/13960)
As far as I know, the break rules for city carriers are similar nationwide. We are allowed 30 minutes for lunch, up to 2 10-minute breaks plus unlimited comfort breaks (to use a bathroom). It really wouldn't be odd if the carrier was home 2-3 times a day but only one time should be more than 10 minutes (lunch time). Some carriers may have a lot of downtime on their routes if they move quickly or the mail volume is light, but my experience is that it's not a huge amt of extra time. I'm sure others will disagree with me. To answer your second question, a child shouldn't be riding along in a USPS vehicle. If the carrier is using their own vehicle that may or may not be against the rules. Either way, nobody but authorized USPS employees should be touching the mail and putting it into a community box. I'm not sure how much would get done or how much this bothers you, but you could always call the Post Office and speak with a delivery supervisor, manager or Postmaster.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=We%20have%20a%20mailman%20that%20lives%20in%20our%20area%20that%20is%20home%20multiple%20times%20a%20day.%20What%20are%20the%20rules%20for%20breaks%3F%20The%20same%20mailman%20also%20delivers%20to%20our%20boxes%20and%20lets%20his%20kid%20ride%20in%20his%20truck%20and%20put%20mail%20in%20our%20community%20box.%20Is%20this%20against%20rules%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/15517)
Certainly. You may mail a letter from anywhere to anywhere as long as you apply the proper postage. You also can put your primary residence as your return address even if you mail the letter out from a different address.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=I%20want%20to%20know%20if%20I%20have%20primary%20residence%20in%20one%20place%20and%20I%20realized%20that%20I%20need%20to%20send%20a%20piece%20of%20mail%20out%20but%20I%27m%20out%20of%20town%20and%20I%20need%20to%20send%20this%20mail%20immediately.%20%20Can%20I%20put%20my%20primary%20address%20but%20be%20able%20to%20send%20it%20out%20in%20a%20different%20city%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/13222)
Not usually. Business Reply Mail is sent to a mail processing facility like all other outgoing mail. When it gets there I'm not exactly sure how it's processed but I think the bar coding on the envelope might separate out BRM so it doesn't have to go through a canceling machine. I just know that a local PO has nothing to do with stamping the date and location on it. What the actual envelope looks like at the receiving end I don't know.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=To%20Postman-%0AWhen%20you%20send%20the%20Business%20Reply%20envelope%2Cis%20it%20still%20stamped%20at%20the%20post%20office%20with%20time%2Fdate%20and%20location%3F%0AThanks-%0ADavid%20B.&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/15029)
Starbucks Barista
What's the craziest behind-the-scenes Starbucks story you have?
Antiques Dealer
What's the most profit you've ever made from a single item?
Flight Attendant
What's the scariest flight you've ever been on?
I think that titles are sent by regular first-class mail. That is how I've seen it in NY state. I'm not sure your lender does it the same way. Either way, there is no way to find it through the USPS. I don't know how easy it is to get a replacement title from your motor vehicle bureau. I'm sure there is a process as titles are probably lost or misplaced often. When car owners receive a title, they probably put it away somewhere, never to be looked at again until they want to sell of or dispose the car. You could also call back the lender to see if they have a procedure for replacing your clear title, but I don't know about this either.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=I%20paid%20off%20my%20car%20about%203%20years%20ago%20and%20never%20received%20the%20title.%20%20I%20thought%20nothing%20of%20it%20til%20now%20since%20I%20am%20trying%20to%20sell%20my%20car.%20%20I%20called%20the%20lender%20and%20they%20said%20they%20sent%20it%20back%20in%202012.%20%20Is%20there%20any%20way%20I%20can%20find%20it%20throught%20the%20USPS%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/15397)
I dont know what you can do for sure to stop the owner's mail from being delivered to your unit if it has your apt # on it. Your neighbor may have contacted some companies to get them to change it, but I imagine names and addresses are often sold from one company to the next which results in the wrong address being distributed to other mailers. You can put a note in your mailbox saying "please only deliver mail for (insert your name(s) here" and that may stop your neighbors mail from being delivered to you. You are correct that it is your neighbors responsibility to advise senders of their correct address if the want to receive their mail.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Hello-%0A%0AI%20live%20in%20a%20standalone%20condo%20complex%20with%204%20units%2C%20and%20I%20keep%20getting%20mail%20from%20certain%20senders%20for%20the%20owners%20upstairs%20because%20they%20seem%20to%20have%20specified%20my%20unit%20%23.%20%20I%20left%20a%20note%20for%20them%20to%20fix%20this%2C%20but%20it%20has%20not%20stopped.%20What%20can%20I%20do%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/13518)
You could try again at your next available convenience when the PO is open and give it to a sales and service associate at the retail window. There are 2 other options I can think of: 1)Put the mail directly in the mailbox of the correct recipient. 2) Re-seal or tape the mail and put it in a blue collection box. If you want, you could put a note on the mail (like a post-it note) saying "opened by accident". Finally, you could put the mail back in your mailbox with a note saying "misdelivered" on top of the mail. Again, you could use a post-it note if you want. All in all, I'd say it's no big deal. We make errors in deliveries all the time. Many times the recipients may just discard the mail, so you are doing the correct thing by putting the mail back in the system to get correctly delivered.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=I%20accidentally%20opened%20neighbors%20mail%20that%20was%20put%20in%20my%20box.%20Took%20to%20post%20office%20and%20they%20were%20closed.%20What%20should%20I%20do%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/14156)
-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
