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.
I see on a map you are referring to towns in MN that are about 55 miles apart. That's the mileage from Chaska, MN to Zimmerman, MN. I'd say it's approximately 2 days to get from the origin to the destination. For example, if the letter was mailed on a Tuesday before the collection deadline it should be delivered by Thursday. I hope this answers your question. It's also not a good idea to send actual cash through the mail if you can avoid it.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=If%20someone%20sends%20you%20mail%20today%20from%20Chaska%20and%20Elk%20River%20what%20day%20will%20it%20show%20up%20in%20Zimmerman%3F%20Let%27s%20say%20if%20someone%20needs%20money%20for%20a%20form%20thing%20and%20they%20send%20it%20that%20day%20how%20long%20will%20it%20take%20to%20show%20up%20at%20that%20place%20they%20sent%20it%20at%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/16498)
I don't like to quote too many rules here on jobstr with regards to what a letter carrier can and can't do. One of the main reasons is that many rules are barely told to us, if at all, and the enforcement of any rules seem so inconsistent even within a particular office. In our office we are told not to have both ears plugged with earphones while delivering mail (driving or walking). I use earphones but only have one ear plugged in. I wouldn't be surprised if some of my co-workers have them both plugged in, because "rules" are for other people, not them. I also think we are allowed to play a radio in our vehicles, but it shouldn't be that loud where you can't hear what's going on around you. That is rude and a safety concern as far as I see it. I'm glad that no threats were made and nobody was touched. I won't stick up for my fellow employees who have any type of bad attitude or poor work ethic or don't follow some basic courtesy rules.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=thank%20you.%20%20that%27s%20what%20i%20hoped.%20%20i%20said%20some%20things%20after%20i%20walked%20away%28about%2020%20feet%29.%20%20no%20threats%20were%20made%20and%20nobody%20was%20touched.%20%20are%20you%20allowed%20to%20have%20phone%20plugs%20in%20your%20ears%20and%20the%20radio%20going%20in%20your%20truck%20where%20you%20can%27t%20hear%20people%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/15736)
I actually have no idea regarding the blue collection boxes being replaced with ones that have thinner slots. Possibly it is harder to steal out of it with a thinner slot buy I'm purely speculating. I don't know that theft from these boxes is much of an issue in most areas. Your question is the first I'm hearing about different size slot collection boxes. If anything I just hear of there being less collection boxes in general due to the decline in First-Class Mail being sent.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=It%20seems%20that%20all%20the%20big%20blue%20mailboxes%20%20on%20the%20street%20that%20we%20put%20our%20mail%20into%20have%20been%20replaced%20with%20new%20ones.%20%20They%20look%20just%20like%20the%20old%20ones%20but%20there%20is%20less%20space%20for%20the%20envelopes%20to%20go%20through%20into%20the%20box.%20%20Why%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/15592)
We will be operating as normal on 12/26/15 Saturday. Have a Merry Christmas!
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=When%20do%20the%20mailman%20comes%20back%20to%20work%20since%20next%20Friday%20is%20Christmas&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/16138)
Chick-fil-A General Manager
What's the back-story behind the cow mascot and eat-mor-chikin campaign?
Flight Attendant
What kinds of passengers annoy you the most?
Car Salesman
Are women more likely to get taken advantage of when buying a car?
If a neighborhood has cluster boxes, it's usually a group of 6-30 addresses per cluster box. I actually made up that number. Where I deliver to cluster boxes, they range from 4-16 addresses per cluster box. As the letter carrier, I have a key which opens up the cluster box fully and then i can sort all of the mail for those addresses at one time. The boxes are usually well labeled inside (with the cluster panel open) to know where to put the mail. It's important for the letter carrier to know whether to put the mail either above or below the address if the slots are stacked vertically. I have seen my fellow letter carriers, and I'm sure myself make errors in deliveries to cluster boxes. I also live in an apartment building where mail is delivered into cluster boxes near the elevators. It can get more tedious than walking from door to door delivering mail but it is more efficient to deliver mail to cluster box units.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=On%20mail%20box%20cluster%20Iw%20do%20know%20which%20solt%20each%20person%27s%20mail%20goes%20in&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/16971)
I believe it would be rare for someone to receive mail at your address when they didn't put on a forwarding order and then to actually know about it. Certainly mail could be mis-delivered to your house, but how would that person know unless you contacted them somehow? I deliver mail only as addressed with a couple of exceptions. If I can see that the sender addressed it wrong (usually a wrong house #, but the correct street), I would likely deliver it to the address where the person lives. Even if someone moved in the same town but didn't put in a forwarding order, we aren't allowed to just "hand off" the mail to their new address. I did recently notice that a woman (her parents live on the route I deliver) had a piece of mail with her name on it but the address to be delivered to was in Maryland. I know the woman is now receiving mail at her parents home and likely has a forwarding order from Maryland to her parents house in NY. The letter may have been automatically re-routed to NY with the new addresses bar code put on the envelope and the letter then arrived in the computer-sorted mail for the NY address. I just delivered it knowing that the surnames matched. I hope this answers your question and thanks for writing.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Claims%20he%20received%20mail%20at%20our%20house%20that%20was%20addressed%20to%20his%20previous%20address%20%28same%20town%29.%20I%20don%27t%20believe%20him%2C%20%26%20I%27m%20curious%2C%20could%2Fwould%20a%20postman%2Fwoman%20deliver%20post%20to%20a%20different%20address%20than%20what%20is%20marked.%20%28Did%20not%20sign%20up%20for%20forwarding%29&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/14419)
As a general rule, I think a letter carrier should be delivering mail to a mailbox unless they know or trust the person asking for the mail. If you are asking if they can bypass a house and not deliver mail at all, the main reason for refusing to deliver mail would be that the carrier feels their personal safety is in jeopardy due to a dog or other unsafe condition. They can also refuse to deliver the mail if safe access or access in general (door to an apt. Building is locked for an example) to the mailbox can't be assured. I don't know if the situation occurred to you which brought up this question. It is rare that I ever don't deliver mail to an address. Even if it's an unsafe construction area, I may give the mail to one of the workers who will put the mail in the mailbox.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Could%20any%20mailman%20refuse%20to%20give%20you%20your%20mail%20for%20any%20reason&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/15531)
-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
