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.
From CA to FL it should take 4 days maximum for a letter to be received as long as it was addressed properly and had sufficient postage. I don't know what can be done since first class letters aren't trackable. It's possible for letters to get lost, misdelivered, or damaged in our machinery but that is all a pretty low percentage of mail. I would say be patient and hope it arrives soon at the FL destination.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=How%20long%20does%20it%20take%20to%20send%20a%20letter%20from%20Cali%20to%20Florida%20b%2Fc%20I%20already%20sent%20a%20letter%20from%20my%20place%28which%20is%20Cali%29to%20my%20friend%20in%20FL%20a%20week%20ago%20and%20up%20till%20now%20has%20been%208-9%20days%20and%20yet%20she%20still%20hasn%27t%20received%20any%20letter%20from%20me.What%20should%20I%20do%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/16286)
That is very considerate of you to wonder if we will be annoyed by you receiving so many parcels. Have you worked out with the local USPS if you can pick them up daily? At the office where I work I don't think that would be allowed unless you are a PO Box renter or have made an arrangement that I wouldn't know about. . If packages are addressed to your residence or office they would be delivered since that is our service. I know that I'd never be annoyed if someone received many packages on a regular basis. That's our business. I can't say that other coworkers would be so positive as I am but I wouldn't be concerned. If you use a private mailbox service it is possible that the USPS is still delivering the items to the private mail company known as a CMRA and you'd be picking up your packages there.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=I%20will%20be%20receiving%2030-50%20textbook%20size%20packages%20a%20day%20in%20the%20mail%20for%20a%20small%20business%20I%20am%20starting.%20I%20will%20pick%20them%20up%20daily%20but%20I%20was%20wondering%20if%20that%20will%20annoy%20the%20post%20office%20workers%3F%20Should%20I%20take%20my%20business%20to%20a%20private%20mailbox%20service%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/16295)
Sure, I don't think there are any restrictions on this whatsoever. I have a friend of the family who met his future wife while delivering mail to her. I think it's important to keep it professional while delivering the mail and don't do any special favors or inappropriate while in uniform. I mean having lunch with them would seem fine to me, but don't have them follow you around if you are delivering mail on foot. Romance can bloom anywhere. Two of my former coworkers met while working at the PO and later became married and have a child and work in separate locations.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Are%20you%20allowed%20to%20date%20someone%20who%20is%20on%20your%20route%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/16107)
I don't think you will be in trouble. Lisa, in my experience your mail should be processed normally so you need not worry. I don't often collect mail from the blue boxes as part of my assignment but if I saw regular mail in the Express Priority Blue Box I'd just put it with other outgoing mail in my postal vehicle and it'd be treated normally. I've never heard of outgoing mail being delayed by this. Thank you for your question.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=put%20my%20company%27s%20mail%20in%20the%20Priority%20Express%20blue%20box%20instead%20of%20the%20regular%20one.%20Will%20these%20important%20documents%20be%20sorted%20correctly%20and%20reach%20their%20destination%3E%20Also%20will%20they%20be%20delayed%20severely%20because%20of%20this%20or%20arrive%20in%20a%20reasonable%20time%3F%20TNX&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/17138)
Investment Banker
Did you experience the notorious 100-hour work weeks?
Professional Gamer
Is the stereotype of gamers as overweight dudes living in parents' basements accurate?
Couples Therapist
Does a therapist aim to "fix" the client, or just treat the client indefinitely?
1) The PO that I work in has a lot of space inside. There are high ceilings and the main areas in the back are the carrier section, mail distribution, and parcel distribution. I work in the carrier section mostly. This area has sorting cases where we prepare any mail that has to be manually sorted into delivery order. The cases have individual dividers that hold the mail for one or two addresses. We stand up to work at these cases although a stool is provided should we need it. The mail clerks sort mail into cases based on the address on the mailpiece. The clerks are scheme-trained which means they know which route delivers the mail for that address. The parcels are sorted the same way but it's a large area because we receive so many parcels to deliver. The letter carriers take a hamper on wheels and "sweep" the mail from the clerk distribution case and then bring the mail to our own assigned carrier sorting case and sort the mail there. We mainly organize the parcels as we load our delivery vehicle. The bulk mailing/dispatch clerk has his own office and the postmaster has an office. The registry clerk has an office also because that is where the registered and accountable mail is secured. Besides that everyone else mainly works on an open floor of sorting equipment and desks. The sorting equipment is all manual. Any mail automation is done at a more central processing facility and trucked to our PO.
2) I don't deliver to many packages that need signatures. When I do attempt delivery of such a package and the person isn't home to receive it, I complete.PS Form 3849 and leave it in the customer's mailbox. This notifies them that we have attempted delivery of an item requiring a signature and they may pick it up at the PO or we can redeliver it on a future date. If the form is signed by the recipient, we can generally leave the package without the person being home. I work in a very safe community so it's unlikely a package would go missing due to theft. I think it's more common for us to misdeliver a package than for one to actually get stolen.
I hope this answers both of your questions.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Two%20questions%21%20%0A1.%20What%20is%20the%20office%20like%20on%20the%20inside%3F%20Who%20gets%20an%20office%3F%20How%2Fwhere%20do%20you%20pick%20up%20the%20mail%20YOU%20have%20to%20deliver%3F%0A2.%20When%20delivering%20packages%20that%20need%20signature%2C%20what%20would%20happen%20if%20the%20person%20is%20not%20home%3F%0A%28Thank%20you%21%20%29&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/16375)
Not often. I deliver the same route each day, so I pretty much know when residents move in or out. I deliver mail in an upper middle class community and there aren't many rentals and most houses are occupied. If mail begins to accumulate for awhile and I don't see any activity at the house and the grounds start to look more unkempt I may suspect a house is vacant. When most people move, they submit a change of address/forwarding order. This also gives me an indication that if I don't see a new residents name that the house could be vacant. At present, about 1% of the houses on my route are considered vacant and don't receive mail delivery. I'm sure in many other communities that aren't as well off economically there could be more vacant homes.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=do%20you%20come%20across%20a%20lot%20of%20vacant%20houses%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/17161)
Not often. I deliver the same route each day, so I pretty much know when residents move in or out. I deliver mail in an upper middle class community and there aren't many rentals and most houses are occupied. If mail begins to accumulate for awhile and I don't see any activity at the house and the grounds start to look more unkempt I may suspect a house is vacant. When most people move, they submit a change of address/forwarding order. This also gives me an indication that if I don't see a new residents name that the house could be vacant. At present, about 1% of the houses on my route are considered vacant and don't receive mail delivery. I'm sure in many other communities that aren't as well off economically there could be more vacant homes.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=do%20you%20always%20have%20the%20same%20route%3F%20are%20vacant%20houses%20common%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/17162)
-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
