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 mail carrier says he can not “leave notice” for Amazon packages if i don't answer at my apartment. he has to leave the package at my door. i had one stolen once and don't want package left. there is now office

Asked by David over 11 years ago

David, i don't know the answer to resolving that issue, but it does seem wrong for the carrier to leave the package at your apt. door if you don't feel it is safe for that to be done. You are saying there is now an office? Do you mean an apt. rental office that would accept your parcels is available? Maybe a sign could be said to leave packages at the rental office. I don't know that your letter carrier would do that. Finally, your letter carrier is correct (at least from the perspective where I work) that we are just to leave Amazon parcels at any address and not scan it "attempted". We scan it delivered even if they are on a vacation hold and then we hold the parcel at the PO until delivery to this address has resumed. This doesn't make sense if you live in area where a secure place to leave a parcel isn't available. Another option may be to rent a PO Box for your parcel deliveries  but that requires time and an additional cost. Thanks for writing. 

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 almost 11 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.

Im a new CCA and im wondering what the uniform regulations are if we dont have an offical uniform yet. Do i wear board shorts, collared shirt or what? How about shoes? Leather shoes are expensive, what can i wear instead?

Asked by mike about 11 years ago

Mike, I believe it takes several months before your probation is over and you receive a uniform allowance. I don't know for sure what the uniform regulations are, but the CCAs in my office where jeans and t-shirts mainly. They should tell you at orientation what is acceptable and not acceptable. The shoes must not be open-toed. I may have worn sneakers during my probationary period. The shoes that are purchased with the uniform allowance can easily cost $80 and up. Good luck to you and work safely.

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 over 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.

What happens to a regular carrier on the ODL if his supervisor calls him in on his day off, but the carrier doesnt answer his phone.

Asked by Jason about 11 years ago

Jason, I'm no expert on the rules and regulations with reference to our union contract (NALC/USPS National Agreement), but I can give you my take on it and anecdotal experience. I feel that if the supervisor hasn't scheduled you before you left work on your previous work day to work your day off you have zero obligation to answer the phone or to come to work. I would probably recommend not even responding if you feel that there will be a conflict if you refuse to go to work. It makes perfect sense that you already had other plans, you are away for the day, had a MD's appt, etc, and you can't come to work. Just to be sure, you never have to tell mgmt what you were doing on your day off. My anecdotal experience is that nothing can be done with regards to discipline for not answering the phone or going to work on your NS day if you haven't been previously scheduled or mandated. I've never heard of an attempt to discipline someone for this.

So I was home all day and received from 3849 as far as I can tell guy never left his truck. When is a carrier supposed to fill out the form an why did my working doorbell not ring? Is this common?

Asked by upset mo fo about 11 years ago

It doesnt sound too common to me though it doesn't surprise me at all when I hear this story. If a carrier has an item that needs a signature or needs to be handed to someone personally then they should make an attempt to ring the bell or knock on the door. If you live in an area where snow or ice would prevent them from getting to your door then it is appropriate to leave the PS Form 3849 in your mailbox. Sometimes the carriers are too lazy or under a lot of time pressure to get done so they may cut corners when it's time consuming to go to one's door. This is not a legitimate excuse, but I'm not surprised by what happens. In my office we are pretty short staffed as of late and I see quite a bit of mail not getting delivered correctly or in a timely fashion. It's pretty pathetic if you ask me. The rough winter in the Northeastern US with a lot of snow, etc. doesn't help matters. On a side note, I'm not a fan of your user name as it denotes profanity which is not very classy. Just my opinion, of course.

Can a mailman refuse to deliver mail to a rural box if the box is open?

Asked by Collette almost 11 years ago

I'm not sure why a mailman would want to refuse delivery to a rural mailbox if the lid is open. Most of the ones I see just have flip down lids which aren't secure or they have no lids at all and may have broken off over the years. I don't know the exact rules of what condition a rural mailbox must be in to receive mail. I suppose if the carrier felt the mail wasn't secure they could refuse delivery until the condition of the rural mailbox is rectified. I've never refused to deliver mail due to an open mailbox, but then again, I'd rather deliver the mail then have to bring it back to the PO and re-attempt delivery on a subsequent day. Thanks for your question.