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

Hello I live in a townhouse and I'm receiving Registered Mail soon. where we live we have a common area where there are a bunch of postal boxes and I was wondering if I leave a note to authorize mailman to sign will they? I'm never home what do I do

Asked by Charles over 11 years ago

If it is truly a registered letter, a letter carrier will usually not sign for it even if you have given them written authorization because registered mail can sometimes be very valuable and individual custody is tracked along the way. If you mean a certified letter (which is often confused with registered mail) many letter carriers will deliver it and sign for you if you've given them authorization. I know that I would in this situation. Does your PO have Saturday retail hours? If so, you can pick up the item then unless that is also when you aren't home. Thanks for writing.

Did someone in my house take my mail after it was delivered and give it to me later? A letter was postmarked 2/11/15, I got it 3/28/15- the envelope didn't indicate it had been delivered to a wrong address first. So what else could explain the delay?

Asked by Edison about 11 years ago

I can't say for sure what happened to the letter, but if it were originally misdelivered it isn't likely to have taken more than a month and a half to get properly delivered to you. The delay could be explained if the original recipient held on to the letter for awhile without putting it back in the mail to be properly delivered. It certainly is possible that someone in your house took the mail and gave it to you later, but I don't know your household dynamics or relationships.

I left a letter in my landlords mailbox in a stamped envelope with my return address and her receiving address when she checked the box her mail was there but my letter wasn't what happens if mailman took it thinking it was outgoing mail

Asked by Kate almost 11 years ago

From what you described there should be no problem in your landlord eventually receiving the check. It's possible that the letter carrier took the envelope thinking it was outgoing mail. Since it had a stamp on it and the landlord as a receiving address, they will likely get the check in a couple of delivery days. If a letter carrier sees an unstamped envelope in a mailbox they will often take it as outgoing mail without looking at the destination address. Thanks for your 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 over 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.

Will a mail man come back afyer his route if there is a package to large for him to carry

Asked by logan about 11 years ago

I am not sure. If the letter carrier is using a postal delivery vehicle like a 2-ton truck or LLV (long-life vehicle), they will usually deliver a parcel before or after they deliver the mail and smaller parcels on that street or area. If they are a foot carrier with a walk-out route that means they don't drive a delivery vehicle and another postal employee, usually a Parcel Post carrier, would deliver the large parcel separately. Thanks for your question.

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 about 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.

Actually had two questions for you?

1. Is there radio in the mail delivery truck that you can listen to when driving?

2. Do you get a pension or a 401k since you work for a company ran by the government?

Asked by Andrew over 10 years ago

Two good questions that are easy to answer. 1) there is no radio in the LLV which I drive. It's possible some postal vehicles have radios but not the one I use. Some carriers bring a portable radio with them or listen on their mobile devices to music or podcasts. I listen to podcasts while delivering the mail. I have one ear with the earphone in it and the other left open so I can hear any traffic or people looking to get my attention. We are probably not supposed to work with both ears covered. 

2) I get both a pension and a 401(K) type program since I'm employed by a quasi-governmental organization. The pension is called FERS (federal employees retirement system) and the 401(K)-type program is called the Thrift Savings Plan. Along with Social Security, they make up the 3 "legs" of the retirement system under which I'm covered. The TSP offers a lot of potential growth because you can contribute a lot of your earnings plus the USPS matches some of your contributions. You choose how aggressive of an investor you want to be with your TSP contributions. Thanks for your questions and asking something I actually know about. Many of the questions here I can only answer by my experience not necessarily what the rules may be or how different people would act in a situation.