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 can't say for sure why the drastic difference in the time your mail is delivered. If it's the same letter carrier who is coming at different times I can see a couple of hours difference but your description is up to 5.5 hrs difference. Normally the mail is sorted before we start delivering. Any mail which we pick up during the day as outgoing mail doesn't need to be separated. We just bring it back and give it to a dispatch clerk. At times we are shorthanded at the USPS so that results in us doing additional assignments possibly before delivering our own routes. This could be up to a couple of hours but that doesn't seem to be the norm where I work. Please remember that I can't speak for what happens at other postal facilities. One further comment is that we are supposed to deliver the mail in a specific route order. If your letter carrier doesn't do that it could result in different delivery times. The holiday season for cards isn't as busy as it used to be. We now deliver a significant quantity of parcels which could also take up time.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=My%20mail%20lady%20never%20comes%20at%20the%20same%20time.%20It%20ranges%20from%201%20pm%20to%20like%206%3A30pm%20last%20night.%20%20I%20know%20it%20is%20the%20Holiday%20season%20but%20why%20is%20she%20so%20late.%20Is%20she%20required%20to%20separate%20her%20own%20mail%20on%20her%20truck%3F%20%20My%20husband%20and%20I%20are%20just%20trying%20to%20figure%20out&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/16075)
It should come to your residential address. There are probably millions of people who run businesses from their home address and it's no issue as far as I know to receive mail at a residential address for a business. If you were concerned about this, you could put a visible note inside or on your mailbox with the name of your company or saying "accepting mail for (insert name of company) so that there is no confusion to your letter carrier. There really shouldn't be any confusion. I just deliver the mail by address and if the recipient or company name is incorrect they could leave the mail out for me to have it returned to the sender.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Will%20mail%20with%20my%20company%20name%20on%20it%20still%20come%20to%20my%20residential%20address&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/15693)
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)
I am not sure how to answer this correctly. If you can find the letter carrier who inadvertently RTS the package and positively ID that the package belongs to you, I don't see why not. I just don't have a lot of faith in some of my co-workers how helpful they would be if asked to find a package that they hadn't been in possession of. Actually it would be more of a supervisor issue to try and find the package. Either way I hope it worked out for you or whomever you wrote this for. We probably shouldn't have made the mistake in the first place unless the package was addressed improperly.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=If%20a%20package%20was%20inadvertently%20RTS%20on%20a%20Saturday.%20Can%20it%20be%20picked%20up%20that%20same%20day%20once%20the%20mail%20carrier%20brings%20it%20back%20at%20the%20end%20of%20his%20shift%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/15672)
Lifeguard
Did you ever have to perform CPR or mouth-to-mouth on a swimmer?
Call Center Employee (Retail)
When do your policies allow you to hang up on a rude caller?
Call Center Representative
What is the meanest thing a caller has ever said to you?
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)
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)
Congratulations on being hired as a CCA. I wear black shoes that have the SR/USA tag required by the USPS. These can be purchased using your uniform allowance which you may not receive for several months after being hired and passing probation. The brands I use are New Balance and Rocky. I've never had a problem with their comfort, just that I usually have to replace them every 6 months or so due to the amount of walking I do daily. If you don't have a uniform allowance I'd say to wear whatever is comfortable to you like an athletic shoe. Don't wear anything fancy because it will inevitably get dirty in no time.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=i%20just%20got%20a%20job%20as%20a%20cca%20in%20the%20ny%20triboro%20area%20and%20want%20to%20know%20what%20the%20most%20comfortable%20sneaker%20is%20to%20wear&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/16010)
-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
