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.
To be honest Henry, I don't know what happens when you drop a UPS package off in a USPS collection box by mistake. The logical thing would be for us to hand it off to UPS somehow. UPS drop boxes and drivers are pretty easy to find in NYC. You say there is no UPS tracking information that's been updated. Like you said, I doubt it will be turning up anywhere but I don't know what would happen to it unless it's sitting on some pile of errantly mailed items at a mail sorting facility. Nothing surprises me at the USPS when it comes to missing items. I hate to be a pessimist but I hear enough stories of us errantly delivering mail or packages and then who knows what the recipient does with it, if anything. I try to be very accurate and diligent with my deliveries as do most of my co-workers but it just takes a few screw-ups to ruin the journey of a package or letter which was properly mailed. I know I got off on a tangent here. Maybe you could wait another week before considering it lost or call the USPS customer service phone number. I'm not sure how much help they can be in this situation.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Hi%20Dave%2C%20%0A%0AI%20have%20accidentally%20dropped%20off%20a%20UPS%20package%20in%20a%20USPS%20mailbox%20within%20NYC.%20I%20have%20waited%202%20weeks%20for%20it%20to%20be%20handed%20over%20to%20UPS%2C%20but%20it%20has%20not%20turned%20up%20in%20my%20tracking.%20Should%20I%20assume%20that%20I%20will%20not%20get%20this%20back%3F%20It%20has%20my%20passport&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/15583)
It's odd for someone to say "it's on the truck" when the tracking seems very non-specific and sounds like it hasn't been updated. 8 days is too long for a certified letter to reach you unless the item was missorted en route and was either misdelivered or is sitting at a PO and nothing is being done with it. I don't know what to tell you to do except to wait a few more days. After that, you could contact the sender and say you never received the letter though they would have the same information as the online tracking.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=A%20certified%20letter%20was%20sent%20out%20to%20me%20on%20Jan%2013%20and%20it%27s%20the%2021st.%20Still%20have%20not%20received%20it%20and%20when%20I%20try%20to%20track%20it%20all%20it%20says%20it%27s%20in%20transit.%20Desnt%20say%20where%20it%20is.%20I%20called%20local%20post%20office%20and%20all%20they%20say%20is%20its%20on%20the%20truck.%20%20What%20do%20I%20d&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/16328)
Congratulations on sticking with the job as the CCAs really get the brunt of a lot of the work and have unpredictable schedules at times. With regard to making your shoes last longer, I don't know if I have a good answer. My shoes get wet in the rain as well and I didn't realize that the water sometimes accelerates the breakdown of the shoe, but I do notice it as of late. My main suggestion for making the shoes last with regard to not getting them wet is to wear rubber overshoes which can be purchased with the uniform allowance. Tingley is a well known brand for these products. They keep your shoes dry but when it's not wet out you wouldn't want to wear them as the rubber may wear out easier walking on dry ground. When wearing these be careful to get them on with a tight fit with regards to your toes and heel because you may trip easier with loose fitting rubber overshoes.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=I%20have%20well%20surpassed%20my%201%20year%20mark%20as%20a%20CCA%20back%20in%20September%21%20Because%20of%20all%20the%20walking%20I%20do%20my%20shoes%20only%20last%20me%20maybe%20a%20few%20months%20at%20best.%20If%20they%20are%20water%20proof%20it%20doesn%27t%20last%20long.%20How%20do%20you%20keep%20the%20water%20out%20and%20make%20the%20shoe%20last%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/16213)
It's possible that either things happened. It may depend on where you live, but actually having things from mailboxes where I work is quite rare. As far as a letter carrier taking it out of the mailbox, I can't really say. Some letter carriers are strict and say nothing can be in the mailbox except US Mail. If they take it out I'm not sure what they'd be doing with it. I am not really sure how you'd find out. I doubt the PO would be of much help. As much as I don't like things left in mailboxes that aren't US mail, if I can clearly see it's not outgoing mail, I'll usually just leave it and put the mail in the box. I have to stress that I can predict the actions of other letter carriers. I've seen too many who don't care and can be vindictive toward customer which I don't understand.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=So%20a%20friend%20put%20something%20in%20my%20mailbox%20thinking%20I%20would%20get%20it%2C%20%28she%20puts%20like%20books%20and%20things%29%2C%20is%20it%20possible%20that%20if%20she%20put%20a%20bag%20in%20there%20that%20the%20mailman%20would%20have%20taken%20it%20out%3F%20Just%20curious%20and%20hoping%20it%20wasn%27t%20a%20thief...%20Thanks%21&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/16057)
Nightclub Promoter
How do you decide who gets into your club?
Basketball Referee
Ever get into a physical altercation with a crazed parent?
Flight Attendant
What kinds of passengers annoy you the most?
That's a great question Cindy that I don't know the answer to but I'm embarrassed for the USPS that they would tolerate such lying. I believe if a letter carrier actually attempts to deliver a package or piece of accountable mail they should ring a bell or knock on the door and wait a minute or so before leaving a PS 3849. I know that Amazon.com wants all of their Prime parcels delivered by a specifc date and if they aren't at least attempted, maybe someone in the USPS supervision is held accountable. I'm not really sure. I have seen in our office that parcels that weren't delivered (either missorted or the carrier missed the house and didn't have time to go back) would get an "attempted" scan which is false. I've never done this nor have I ever been asked to do it. I'd refuse because it is dishonest. It also confuses customers when the package may say "attempted" when tracked and the customer knows full well that an attempt wasn't made.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Y%20is%20the%20po%20lying%20about%20if%20we%20are%20home%20or%20not%20when%20delivering%20%0AThey%20just%20put%20pink%20slips%20don%27t%20even%20ring%20the%20bell&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/16045)
Do you possibly know me? I've recently had a similar situation on the route that I deliver and it is the first time that I encountered this. The previous owner only put in an individual forward, but the PARS (which is an automated forwarding system that intercepts forwardable mail before it reaches the letter carrier) was forwarding the new resident's mail as well because they had the same last name. I asked my forwarding clerk how to resolve this. She said that the family that left should just put in individual forwards for each family member. The mail also should be excluded from PARS so your letter carrier can look at each piece of mail before forwarding it (if appropriate). This seems to have worked okay as the new resident has been quite patient and I've heard nothing beyond the original, and valid I might add, complaint. I'd recommend speaking to someone at your PO explaining the situation, give them a list of all the valid names at your address and ask that the mail be excluded from PARS so the carrier can look at the mail and decide whether it should be forwarded or not. PARS stands for Postal Automated Redirection System. I hope this works out for you as you shouldn't be inconvenienced just because you moved into a residence where the previous people had the same last name.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=We%20have%20an%20issue%20with%20our%20mail%20being%20incorrectly%20forwarded.%20We%20know%20why%20%28previous%20people%20had%20the%20same%20last%20name%20%26%20it%20is%20a%20family%20forward%29%20%26%20that%20it%20is%20happening%20before%20the%20mail%20gets%20to%20our%20carrier.%20Can%20you%20tell%20me%20the%20system%20in%20place%20for%20forwards%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/15541)
I am not familiar with this situation on what the mailman is allowed to do or not with respect to spraying an area for bees and killing flowers and demanding weeds can be cut. I can tell you that the mailman does need to have unobstructed access to your mailbox with low/no risk of being stung by a bee that could affect his health. I'd say that he could suspend delivery to your house until the situation is fixed to his satisfaction. I just hope both parties will be reasonable and you won't worry about him being vindictive if you call the PO to discuss this issue with a delivery supervisor/manager/postmaster. I'm not sure what you mean by "he can spray". If you are asking, "can be spray?" I don't know this answer.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=We%20live%20in%20the%20country%20and%20my%20husband%20planted%20lilies%20around%20our%20mailbox.%20%20The%20mailman%20is%20alergic%20to%20bees%20so%20he%20sprayed%20the%20flowers%20and%20killed%20them.%20%20Now%20there%20are%20weeds%20he%20wants%20us%20to%20cut.%20%20Can%20he%20stop%20delivering%20our%20mail%20if%20we%20don%27t%3F%20%20He%20can%20spray.&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/15432)
-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
