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.
Chris, I'll be honest that I don't know anything about gloves to wear for delivering mail in the hot summer. I use my bare hands probably 99% of the time. I don't concern myself with the cleanliness of the mail whatsoever and it's never been an issue for me. I have noticed in very cold weather that I need to cover my extremities well so I just wear as warm gloves as I can but don't know any brand. Some coworkers use sealskin gloves. it is difficult for me to finger the mail with a gloved hand so I hold the mail in a gloved hand and keep the hand that I use to finger the mail in my pocket as much as possible with no glove. I don't do too well in the extreme cold. Thank you for your question.
As long as you addressed the letter properly and affixed the correct postage the letter should make it to its destination correctly. When letter carriers pick up outgoing mail we generally just put it in a basket with all of the other outgoing mail and a processing facility sorts the mail based on where it is going to. It's recommended that you put a return address in the upper left hand corner of the letter just in case it doesn't reach the intended recipient. This way the letter would be returned to you, the sender. A return address isn't mandatory.
I am not sure what you mean by this question because you first say that 100 & 102 are together in one mailbox yet you then reference a box that says 102. If you truly have two separate mailboxes for two separate addresses and is clearly labeled I'm not sure why the letter carrier doesn't separate the mail between the two addresses. You could leave a note on the shared mailbox that there is a separate mailbox for 102 and ask them to put the mail there. If this isn't resolved with a note, you could always contact the PO and speak with a delivery supervisor or a manager to register your request.
I don't know the answer to this question as to what the procedure is. I can only speculate but could be completely wrong. Someone could wait by the mailbox for a letter carrier to come by and empty the mailbox and ask to retrieve the letter, but it may need to be easily found, identifiable, and the collector would have to be willing to give it back. They may not be allowed to or unwilling to help. The letter carrier doesn't necessarily come at the time posted. The time means they won't come before the posted time. Theoretically it could be hours later. Another option is to go to the PO that services the collection box to ask for assistance. Again, I have no idea about their willingness to help. If it were me, I'd probably assist you if the letter was easily found and the return address and name matched that of the person asking for the letter back through identification or personally known to me. I've never been asked to do this so I can't base it on past experience.
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I'll tell you what I do in this situation (which is common) but I can't say what each carrier will do and I'm sure it also varies by location. We deliver many parcels that won't fit into a mailbox. I bring the item to the front door of the house and leave it on the side of the door. I rarely ring a door bell since I don't need to see anybody to give the mail to. I also work in a neighborhood where mail/package theft is close to non-existent. If you live an apartment building or an area where mail can't just be left near a front door then the letter carrier might leave a PS 3849 Delivery Notice/Reminder/Receipt to notify the recipient that we have mail for you to retrieve from the PO or allow you to authorize delivery and leave mail at a specified location.
Yes, we deliver on 12/24/15 Thursday. At the office where I work, we will try to be done by 1600. After that, we will next deliver mail on Saturday 12/26/15. Christmas Eve is a regular work day except that our retail window may close earlier than usual.
Yes, stamps are required. I believe what is printed in the upper right hand corner of the postcard is known as an indicia. That is to indicate to the USPS has been paid for the postage but only after being brought to. Business Mail Entry Unit (a BMEU). In that case no additional postage is required. To answer your question you aren't using EDDM so after you affix the address label, you would need to put a .49 Forever stamp on each card since I believe the card exceeds the dimensions for a .35 postcard. I believe I'm correct about all of this but it wouldn't hurt to physically go into a Post Office and see if any of the retail clerks or supervisors can give you a more definitive answer. Good luck with the mailing and your business.
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