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.
Thanks for the compliment PK. I've been delivering mail for more than 16 years now. I've had a lot of personal ups and downs, mostly off the job, but glad to have continued to work and have the job security of the USPS. If you mean delivering mail for 7 hours, I think that would be hard for most people. But if you mean 7 hours street time that is a bit different because then you'd factor in loading time,lunch and breaks and travel time to/from your route. The route I deliver is approximately 6:40 total but only 5:20 Apprx is actually delivering mail. It's not too exhausting except if the mail load is heavy. My hints are to try to be as organized as you can, don't engage in too much small talk with the customers, and get a good nights rest and have a healthy breakfast. That all works for me. Everybody is different plus the difficulty of the route may vary between cities. I deliver on a flat terrain besides walking up steps to the mailboxes. If you have to walk a lot of hills that could make you more tired. Good luck to you and what might be a 7-hour route could take you longer or shorter based on the above factors.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=With%20you%20having%20longevity%20as%20a%20carrier%20your%20service%20is%20appreciated%21%20With%20your%20expertise%20do%20you%20think%20it%20would%20be%20hard%20to%20carry%20a%207hr%20route%20for%20a%20rookie%20carrier%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/15911)
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)
I don't think we should refuse delivery for that but I can't say for sure what we are allowed to do. As long as I felt that the door was secure enough and the dog wouldn't get out I would make the delivery. When you say you've never received a notice, do you mean you have never been told that the dog is an issue? I'm not sure what kind of notice you mean. Maybe the letter carrier refused mail delivery and never said the dog was an issue. I have a few places where I deliver to very loud barking dogs but I have never really had to refuse delivery due to this. It is often stressed by postal management to be very careful near dogs so I can understand if a letter carrier is apprehensive about it, but I can't say what they should do in the situation you described.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Can%20you%20refuse%20delivery%20due%20to%20a%20dog%20barking%3F%20Dog%20is%20inside%20behind%20a%20metal%20security%20door%20and%20the%20box%20is%20next%20to%20the%20door.%20He%E2%80%99s%20not%20loose%20and%20there%E2%80%99s%20no%20way%20he%20can%20get%20out.%20The%20main%20door%20is%20usually%20shut%2C%20but%20not%20always.%20I%E2%80%99ve%20never%20received%20a%20notice.&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/15697)
I am going to have to pass on answering this question with any authority because I don't know the union contract when it comes to this subject. It's also possible that a local agreement governs what is done. It makes sense to me that an unassigned regular can hold down a vacant route until it is put up for bid. They also shouldn't be bumped off that route unless it's the non-scheduled day for that route. In that situation the comp person would usually do the route on the day they are supposed to. If there is no available routes to do on a comp persons group of 5 routes there is usually another route for them to cover. The above is just based on what I've seen done at the PO where I work. I can't even say that my info is accurate. We usually treat hold downs to mean that the carrier holding it down has many of the rights as the regular carrier on the route, but not necessarily all. This is where it gets confusing to me about bumping rights.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Can%20a%20unassigned%20regular%20with%20a%20hold%20down%20bump%20a%20comp%20person%20off%20his%20tour%20on%20a%20route%20that%20is%20vacant%20until%20it%20goes%20up%20for%20bid..%20Not%20fair%20and%20where%20does%20the%20comp%20person%20go%20if%20no%20open%20route%20on%20comp%20tour&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/16006)
Starbucks Barista
If a homeless person wants to use your bathroom, are you supposed to stop him?
Social Worker
What do you think that New York does better or worse than other States?
Pharmacist
Have you ever given someone the wrong prescription?
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 generally don't wear winter boots but I wear rubber overshoes if there is snow on the ground. These are the same thing I'd wear if it were raining outside. The brand I use is Tingley and they come in at least 3 dfferent height overshoes. They aren't really warm so I wear thermal socks in the winter so my feet and toes don't freeze.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=What%20brand%20of%20winter%20boots%20do%20you%20wear%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/17599)
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)
-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
