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'd recommend taking it to the Post Office to make sure you are paying the right amt. You should just be able to put it in a letter size envelope (if it fits) and seal the envelope well. A proper address should also be written on the envelope where the bottom line is the Country of Destination (in your case either UK or Scotland). My quick search says that a 2 oz. letter to Scotland would be $2.21. If you are interested, you can go to www.usps.com and search for calculate a price and after answering several questions you can get a rate. 2 stamps would be equal to .98 so that would be insufficient to mail to Scotland. The minimum price for international mailing is $1.20 I think. Thanks for writing and I always say it's better to put too much postage on instead of too little. This way you lessen the risk of an item being returned for insufficient postage.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Hey%20I%20was%20wondering%2C%20I%20live%20in%20Texas%20and%20want%20to%20ship%20a%20letter%20to%20Scotland.%20It%20doesn%27t%20weigh%20much%2C%20it%20just%20has%20a%20Pokemon%20card.%20But%20I%20was%20wondering%20if%20I%20had%20to%20put%202%20stamps%20on%20it%20or%20take%20it%20to%20the%20post%20office%20to%20be%20shipped%20a%20Certain%20way%3F%20thanks%21&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/15158)
I am not sure if you can. An option is to contact the sender by phone or another means and request to not be sent any mail. If the mail is First class you can write "refused" on the envelope and it will be returned to the sender. Generally any mail that is sent as Presorted Standard (bulk mail) will just get discarded at the local PO if you write "refused" on the mail. The sender would never know you didn't want that mail. I'd just recommend that you discard/recycle any mail you don't want. For the most part customers I deliver mail to don't refuse many letters and probably just throw away anything they don't want. If they give it back to me I handle it as above (either discard the PO where I work or return it to the sender).
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Can%20I%20stop%20receiving%20letters%20from%20a%20particular%20sender%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/16293)
I don't know the policy on this as I've never thought to put someone's mail on hold without their authorization. I suppose this could come about if their mailbox was full and the carrier couldn't deliver any more mail to that address. In that case maybe a letter carrier would hold any future mail at the PO for a certain amount of time and then possibly return that mail to the sender with the endorsements "mailbox full". A letter carrier can also hold the mail at the PO if your mailbox is inaccessible due to snow. They will usually deliver all of the accumulated mail within a couple of days of the mailbox becoming accessible. We had that situation occur at our PO this past winter when snow prevented some of the driving (mounted) route carriers from being able to drive up to a mailbox without getting out of their LLV.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=when%20can%20a%20mail%20carrier%20place%20your%20mail%20on%20hold%20without%20giving%20you%20notice&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/14769)
I've never heard of your pay getting docked for not delivering mail on time. I think only Express Mail (aka Priority Mail Express) does have a delivery time guarantee and the sender can request a refund if that commitment isn't met. We can get disciplined at our office (letter of warning/suspension/termination) if we fail to deliver a time guarantee mail item, but I've rarely ever heard of anyone getting anything beyond a warning for this. This type of mail is a premium service so we must give it our utmost attention and care. Good luck in orientation. Here is just a life lesson in general: Don't believe everything you hear. I'm a big skeptic in so much I hear at work unless a reliable source. I actually might annoy people because I believe so little at times.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=I%20am%20in%20carrier%20orientation.%20I%20was%20told%20if%20I%20don%27t%20deliver%20mail%20on%20time%20that%20has%20a%20time%20guarantee%20my%20pay%20will%20be%20docked.%20Is%20this%20true%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/16346)
Private Detective
What do you think is the most corrupt industry, city, and State in the country?
TV Meteorologist
What were your worst on-screen bloopers?
Help Desk Technician
Are people appreciative when you help them or do they just treat you like a support monkey?
Are you referring to having a pen for a signature of accountable mail like a certified or registered item? I would say we are supposed to carry a pen because we sometimes have to leave a notice that we attempted a delivery but were not able to leave the item for whatever reason. With the current mail data collection device items can be signed for directly on an electronic screen with a stylus or fingernail. No pen is required unless the sender has requested a return receipt to be signed. Basically it is good practice to carry a pen at all times while delivering the mail.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Are%20you%20supposed%20to%20carry%20an%20ink%20pen%20so%20letters%20that%20require%20one%20can%20be%2C%20and%20you%20can%20carry%20on%20with%20your%20day%2C%20or%20is%20it%20the%20recipients%20responsibility%20to%20have%20an%20ink%20pen%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/16363)
The answer depends on the individual letter carrier and their initiative to do this. I don't know of any rule that says what we should do if mail isn't being taken in at an address. I'm not sure why mail is left between the screen and front door instead of a door slot unless the door slot is too small or difficult to use. I have rarely taken mail back to the PO if residents are away. I just follow their directions and if they didn't inform me to hold the mail, I don't.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Sometimes%20our%20mail%20is%20left%20between%20our%20screen%20and%20front%20doors%20if%20not%20in%20the%20door%20slot.%20Would%20the%20mailman%20take%20our%20mail%20back%20to%20the%20post%20office%20if%20the%20residents%20are%20away%20and%20not%20taking%20in%20the%20mail%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/15396)
Liz, I am no expert in giving advice on how to get more work as an RCA. I believe if you work, you get one-day of pay. There are no partial days. The nature of being a Rural Carrier Asssociate is that there are no guarantees of hours that I'm aware of per week. You are utilized to cover days off for career rural carriers if they call in sick, have annual leave, or have a day off each week or every other week. It can be frustrating not getting much work. My advice is to have a great attitude, be prompt in your attendance for work and do as accurate a job as possible when delivering the mail. Each office is different in how much work the employees get, especially when it's a non-career position like RCA or CCA (City Carrier Assistant). If there are CCA positions available nearby, you may want to consider it. They may work more frequently and can be paid for part of a workday if there are only a few hours of work available. From what I observe and read on FB groups, most CCAs are overworked, not underworked (which is your situation). Another option is to see if any RCA work is available in nearby Post Offices. We have one RCA who works in at least 2 Post Offices. Please mention to the manager or Postmaster that you are eager to have any available work as an RCA. Good luck and please be patient. You are brand new to the USPS.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=i%27m%20RCA%20in%20my%20city.%20I%27l%20be%20in%20the%20job%20for%202%20month.%20But%20now%20they%20only%20with%20me%202%20days%20on%20the%20week.%20I%27m%20very%20frustrated%20%2C%20i%20really%20need%20to%20work.%20They%20tell%20me%20they%20are%20well%20pleased%20with%20my%20development.%20But%20i%20need%20to%20work..Please%20what%20i%20have%20to%20do%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/15400)
-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
