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.
If the mail arrives at the PO for delivery on the Saturday and the recipient's office or building is closed, we hold the mail at the PO until the following delivery day (usually Monday) and deliver it then. We will do the same thing if a business or institution is closed any other day of the week. We will hold the mail until the next delivery day that they are open. On some occasions the facility will have a door slot or mailbox. In that case we can deliver the mail anytime since there is no need for the facility/office to be open to receive mail delivery. Thanks for your inquiry.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=So%20I%20do%20a%20lot%20of%20business%20postcards%20for%20my%20online%20business.%20And%20I%20send%20them%20to%20churches%2C%20schools%20etc.%20what%20happens%20if%20it%27s%20a%20Saturday%20and%20the%20school%20or%20church%20or%20insurance%20office%20is%20closed.%20How%20do%20you%20deliver%20that%20Mail%20to%20them%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/14205)
I only wish I had the problem of being asked out on dates! Just kidding, and I don't mean to make light of your question. You shouldn't have to feel uncomfortable when the letter carrier comes into your office. They shouldn't be flirting with you or asking you out on dates unless it somehow seems that the feeling would be mutual. It's not a bad idea to make it clear that you aren't interested in going out with him. I know that is easier said than done. You could call the delivery supervisor or postmaster to report this but I have a feeling that might make things worse. His behavior seems quite unprofessional. I don't think it's forbidden to ask a customer to go out socially, but they shouldn't push the issue or make the customer feel awkward if they aren't interested. To answer your question about locating your home address, we don't have access to any better resources than one would have doing an Internet search. If he ever showed up at your house unexpectedly, I think I'd alert law enforcement that you may have a stalker and to let them know where he knows you from. Maybe they could tell this letter carrier to knock off that inappropriate behavior. Furthermore, we shouldn't be using information we see on mail to get information for our personal use. That is also unethical and may violate some privacy regulations. I wish you well and that the creepiness will cease.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=I%20work%20front%20desk%20%26%20the%20mailman%20is%20very%20creepy.%20He%20constantly%20asks%20me%20out%20%28mentioning%20his%20wife%20is%20out%20of%20town%29%21%20He%20knows%20my%20first%20and%20last%20name%20from%20work%20mail%20--%20does%20he%20have%20the%20ability%20to%20locate%20my%20home%20address%20%28its%20in%20a%20different%20town%29%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/15808)
If you mean that you live in an apartment complex or community where it is served by a cluster box which contains many addresses then I can tell you it isn't illegal at all to walk up to a letter carrier. It actually never is unless you plan to threaten or harm the individual and that could result in you doing something illegal. If we are putting mail into a cluster box (aka NDBCU) it could be annoying to us if we have a lot of mail to sort plus we may not give you your mail directly. I hope this answers your question.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=This%20might%20be%20just%20my%20mother%20telling%20this%20to%20us%20as%20kids%20but%20if%20you%20have%20a%20community%20mailbox%20%20like%20in%20a%20neighborhood%2C%20is%20it%20illegal%20to%20walk%20up%20to%20him%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/16191)
I would forward any mail you receive from this point forward since you now have a valid COA for that former employee who is now deceased. Any mail that was previously put through with the MLNA may not come back at all and was returned to the sender. If the mail happens to come back to your office I would then forward it. This is all just my opinion. I'd ask the clerk who handles forwards in your office or a supervisor, but they may also just give an opinion without knowing if there is a correct procedure.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Daughter%20of%20a%20deceased%20employee%20submitted%20an%20employee%20generated%20mlna%20with%20letter%20attached%20indicating%20father%20had%20past.%20I%20did%20mlna%20on%20the%20mail%2C%20then%202%20days%20a%20fwd%20was%20put%20thru.%20Do%20l%20now%20fwd%20or%20mlna%20and%20will%20that%20mlna%20come%20back%20in%20dps%20or%20to%20office.&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/15503)
Couples Therapist
Does a therapist aim to "fix" the client, or just treat the client indefinitely?
TV Meteorologist
Is having a weatherman really better than just throwing to a 5-day forecast screen?
Help Desk Technician
What's the closest you've come to "losing it" on someone you were helping?
You don't need to explain to any USPS employee why you are returning the mail. It is none of our business. As long as it is an unopened, first-class letter, you should be able to just write "refused" on it and have it returned. Personally I would just discard any unwanted mail. I've received debt collection letters in the past and have just ignored them and not returned them. There are certain classes of mail where we won't return to the sender because the sender has paid a pre-sorted standard rate (which is lower than the first-class rate). In that case, we just recycle any unwanted mail.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=They%20give%20my%20returned%20letters%20back%20asking%20me%20why%20i%20am%20returning%20it.%20%20Isnt%20that%20a%20breach%20of%20privacy%20rightt%3B%20flagging%20my%20mai%3F%20%20Do%20i%20have%20to%20explain%20harrassement%20to%20themnand%20why%20i%20am%20returning%20it%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/15256)
Jessica, I don't know what is legal or not about returning mail to the sender if not addressed properly but it seems that your letter carrier is taking this a bit too far by returning letters that don't match exactly the name on the mailbox. As long as the apartment # is correct and the name matches somewhat the mail should be delivered. I don't know if you want to leave a note saying "please deliver all mail that is addressed to my apartment # even if the name doesn't match exactly." As far as I know names don't need to match at all as long as there is an apt # and the recipient isn't rejecting the mail as "no longer lives here or person doesn't live here". Many carriers, especially substitute or CCA (city carrier assistants), just deliver the mail as addressed which is fine. I am a very detail-oriented letter carrier and always want to make the proper deliveries but would never return something for a spelling error. I would return something sometimes if it is consistently mailed to an incorrect address. Again, the address is the most important piece of information on a piece of mail, not necessarily the name.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Postman%20at%20our%20apartment%20keeps%20returning%20our%20mail%20to%20sender.%20He%20states%20it%20is%20because%20it%20does%20not%20match%20the%20names%20on%20our%20box.%20Can%20he%20legally%20do%20this.%20If%20the%20name%20is%20misspelled%20or%20off%20by%20one%20letter%20he%20will%20return%20to%20sender%20every%20time.%20Can%20he%20do%20this%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/13912)
I think it is inappropriate to solicit your own business while delivering a route for the USPS. I haven't heard of anyone being disciplined for doing this, but I would think that it is technically not allowed. I know of a couple of co-workers who do home improvements, landscaping, or sprinkler work as side jobs but don't know if they actually try to get business while delivering mail. If they want to do a postcard mailing to try and get business I suppose that would be fine as long as proper postage was paid for the mailing and they didn't just put their own postcards in mailboxes while delivering the mail and not affixing postage to it.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=if%20you%20are%20a%20us%20postal%20service%20worker%20can%20you%20solicit%20your%20own%20business%20while%20delivering%20your%20route%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/16018)
-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
