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

On the topic of keeping dry, have you come across a good brand of gloves that keep your hands dry and warm during these colder months of rain and chills?

Asked by Kruesser over 10 years ago

Another good question that I'll fail miserably at. It's hard to find good gloves that will keep your ha ss warm and dry plus allow you to easily finger the mail. While I walk I wear a pretty regular glove on the hand where I hold the mail and then may leave the hand I use to finger the mail exposed but put it in my pocket between houses to keep it somewhat warm. You may also purchase single use hand warmers which you can keep in your pocket and they should last you the whole work day. Some carriers wear sealskin type gloves. I've never tried some so I can't comment on how good they are. Basically I own many pairs of gloves and just do a lot of experimenting to get it right. If it's raining try and bring multiple pair so you can exchange out wet gloves for dry gloves.

621 Votes

Hi, my mailman has a bad habit of putting the wrong mail in the wrong box. 2day a package was delivered to our apt in locked box thing & he obviously put the key to it in the wrong 1. How should I word a letter to my neighbors asking for my package?

Asked by Joanna almost 11 years ago

I don't know how you know for sure the package was delivered to the parcel locker section and the key put into the neighbor's box. If you are sure of this (based on the fact that your mailman has made mistakes in the past) then I would put a notice on your neighbor's door. You don't have access to their mailbox so you can't put it in there. The notice can say: "I believe the letter carrier errantly delivered a package to you (or put the parcel locker key in your mailbox) that should have been for me. If you have received this package, please deliver it to me or leave it by my door. "

You may also want to include your phone number on the notice. Unless your neighbors or morally challenged they should give you the package without incident. I hope this helps you Joanna and you receive your package.

621 Votes

If schools close will you/a mailmen or women still come to deliver us our newspapers or mail?

Asked by Shayreisch@yahoo.com over 11 years ago

Yes, if a school is open or not has no direct bearing on whether or not the US Mail gets delivered. That being said, if a school is closed due to extreme weather, it is possible that we can't deliver the mail either. Generally it would take a pretty heavy snowfall and unplowed roads to stop us from delivering the mail. In my career as a letter carrier, we have only suspended delivery a few times due to poor weather. Our delivery vehicles are very poor on icy and snowy roads which is quite unsafe and makes me a bit nervous to drive in those poor conditions.

621 Votes

I'm a CCA in Ohio that survived the winter (YAY!) and this will be my first summer working for the USPS. Do you have any tips for surviving the heat?

Asked by Bradan about 11 years ago

Bradan, Congratulations on surviving the winter! That can't have been fun at all. I'm just glad it's over also. As much as the heat isn't fun, I prefer it over the cold. I know there are others who feel quite differently about that. As far as tips go, my main tips are: 1) Drink plenty of water or some other liquids. I've heard different schools of thought whether or not Gatorade is good. My joke is that on the internet you can find anybody to support your opinion. I would guess that it works but there is a very high sugar content. The key is to stay hydrated.

2) Wear a hat to block the sun off your head and face. I wear a cowboy-type hat which works well. I fold the edges up by the ear so it doesn't look so funny but there is a tradeoff in that I'm exposing more of my face to the sun. I'm not sure what the official name of the hat is. You could also wear a white mesh pith helmet. Baseball caps will help as well but not cover too much of your face or neck for sun exposure. I also wear sunglasses most of the time.

3) Wear as light clothes as possible. I usually wear shorts in the warm weather and a short-sleeve uniform shirt with a t-shirt underneath.

Those are the basic tips that I can think of. Make sure to ask or take a cue from your fellow carriers, as I'm far from being an expert on this. On the very hot and humid days I consume water without even thinking about it, usually bringing about 2 liters with me plus some orange juice to drink with lunch.

Good luck to you. During July and August there is so much extra work to do because of our fellow workers going on vacation. We never seem to have enough help. I'm sure that story is repeated in many Post Offices nationwide.

621 Votes

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I have gotten a lot of junk mail and became kind of lazy and let my mailbox fill up a little. Today I checked my mail and everything was gone but I haven't moved. Can I get my mail back??

Asked by Desi over 11 years ago

I don't know why the mail would have been removed from your mailbox unless the box was maybe overflowing. In that case we may suspend further delivery or empty the mailbox and return any accumulated mail to the senders or discard the mail depending on the class it was sent. Maybe the letter carrier thinks you have moved. It seems the mail has been removed a bit prematurely, but I don't know of a way to get the mail back.

620 Votes

If I'm not putting my address on a letter that I'm mailing do I still have to put my city, state, and zip code?

Asked by Msjas92 over 10 years ago

Not at all. As far as I know, there is no requirement for any return address or partial return address. It is important for the destination address to be complete. This mainly would be an issue if you wanted to receive the item back to you in case it was undeliverable for any reason. I'd recommend putting a return address on a letter that is being mailed, but it's your decision and you probably have your reasons for not wanting to put one on the letter that you are mailing.

619 Votes

I accidentally put the recipients address first then my address will the recipient still get the letter or will I have to do another envelope

Asked by Taylor almost 11 years ago

The USPS uses a lot of automation to sort the mail and I think it's looking for the address in the middle of the envelope as to where to send the item. In your example, I would recommended using a new envelope. Write your address (which will be considered the return address) in the upper left hand corner of the envelope. Put the recipients address in the center of the envelope and the sufficient postage in the upper right hand corner.

619 Votes

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