Ask a Mailman (City Letter Carrier) anything

1237 Questions

Last Answer on February 18, 2022

Hello-
Recently I mailed a letter but right after discovered I forgot to put the address label on,but did have my own as return address. That was last week,mailed from another zip code,30 miles away. So how long should it take to mail it back to me?

Asked by David W Beale over 10 years ago

Regarding the letter which you mailed without a destination address but had your return address, I don't know how long it should take to be returned to you. If handled properly my guess would be about one week. I've seen these in the mail before. It would have a rubber stamp marking which says "returned for better address" or "insufficient address" and then delivered to your return address. Unfortunately, non-deliverable mail is sometimes put on the back burner if staffing levels are low and mail needs to be handled specially. That's why I'm hesitant to say how long it will be before your letter is returned.

626 Votes

Are we require to give our full name to security guards when we have to enter into a place to deliver mail?

Asked by Tellado over 10 years ago

I don't know the answer to this question as I don't deliver mail to any buildings with security guards who require any identification or signing in actions. As much as I'd prefer not to give my full name and think it's a bit overdone, I'm pretty sure I would give me full name and show my ID badge if requested to so I may enter a building to deliver the mail. I think just because we are working for a quasi-governmental organization that doesn't give us carte blanche to enter any facility at will and avoid their normal security procedures.

626 Votes

A Hostel I was staying at said the postman automatically returns to sender (without delivering it) anything not addressed to the Hostel directly. Is this possible? or would the Hostel have to manually return it themselves?

Asked by Feeling Lied to over 10 years ago

It is possible you've been lied to as your name suggests which I find to be very bad. Unfortunately I can't confirm if this is the case or not. I don't know of any rules either way as to why the postman would automatically return any mail that doesn't have the hostels name included in the address. It is pretty common for people to receive mail or packages at a hotel or some type of short-term stay facility. A woman who I work next to has a Comfort Inn that is part of her delivery route. I'm pretty sure she delivers any mail with the hotel's street address on it. It's then up to the hotel to notify the recipient that mail has arrived and then return any mail which may be for someone who is no longer there. I think that the letter carrier will accept any returned mail from the hotel and mark it "refused" or "attempted, not known" and it should go back to the sender. You ask "is this possible?" It certainly is possible as nothing surprises me about what happens at the USPS because the consistency of service among the employees and offices is not good in my opinion. I think we should deliver the mail as addressed (especially to a hotel, hostel, Airbnb, etc) and not worry about the names on the mail and let the receiving office decide whether to keep it, return it, or discard. Individual mail cannot be forwarded from a hotel or any business. In the future, if you want something mailed to a hostel, I'd recommend putting both your name and the name of the property you are staying at.

625 Votes

Has the mail already been delivered on Stonesboro Rd Ft Washington Maryland today 4/8/2016

Asked by Sophia Woodland over 10 years ago

As I'm writing this reply on April 12, I'm pretty sure that the mail has been delivered on stonesboro rd in ft Washington, MD by now for April 8. ???? This q and a isn't for USPS customer service or any real-time questions. I mostly answer questions about being a letter carrier and possibly make suggestions if someone has a customer service problem that doesn't need immediate attention. With regards to your question, I think that only your local PO would know when and if mail was delivered to your street.

625 Votes

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do you always have the same route? are vacant houses common?

Asked by adri about 10 years ago

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.

624 Votes

I was just hired as a CCA. Are the horror stories about literally never getting a day off true?

Asked by Thekraken over 10 years ago

Congratulations on being hired as a CCA for the USPS. I can't say for sure that it's true that you won't get a day off. From what I've seen, the CCAs where I work often work 7 days a week but it seems after a couple of weeks they are given a day off. I don't know if there are any rules that you must be given a day off after working a certain amount of consecutive days. It may depend on the staffing level of your facility. I hope that you have chosen to join the NALC. Whether you have or not, a shop steward may have a better answer than I've given you on whether or not you are required to work unlimited days in a row. I'm also on a Facebook group for postal workers. One is NALC and the other is Postal Maniacs. If you join them, you could post this same question and get answers from actual CCAs. Good luck to you. Please work safely and deliver the mail accurately. Sunday delivery usually consists of Amazon.com package delivery, not regular mail.

623 Votes

Are letters opened by the Postal Inspection Service -- and determined to be harmless -- then forwarded to the intended recipient? Is it hard to obtain a warrant to seize and examine First Class mail? Or is it easily obtained?

Asked by Teddy about 10 years ago

I don't know anything about who opens first class letters deemed suspicious by the USPSIS and the difficulty in obtaining a search warrant to do so. I'm guessing it's not something my local PO gets too involved in. I would think if the item is deemed harmless that it would continue on to be delivered to the recipient. I've never had any dealings with the USPSIS with regards to intercepting or seizing any mail that I deliver. We don't seem them too often at the postal facility where I work.

623 Votes

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Mailman (City Letter Carrier)

Ask me anything!

What do YOU do?

Hello-
Recently I mailed a letter but right after discovered I forgot to put the address label on,but did have my own as return address. That was last week,mailed from another zip code,30 miles away. So how long should it take to mail it back to me?

Are we require to give our full name to security guards when we have to enter into a place to deliver mail?

A Hostel I was staying at said the postman automatically returns to sender (without delivering it) anything not addressed to the Hostel directly. Is this possible? or would the Hostel have to manually return it themselves?

Has the mail already been delivered on Stonesboro Rd Ft Washington Maryland today 4/8/2016

Also on Jobstr...

do you always have the same route? are vacant houses common?

I was just hired as a CCA. Are the horror stories about literally never getting a day off true?

Are letters opened by the Postal Inspection Service -- and determined to be harmless -- then forwarded to the intended recipient? Is it hard to obtain a warrant to seize and examine First Class mail? Or is it easily obtained?

Mailman (City Letter Carrier)

Ask me anything!

What do YOU do?

Hello-Recently I mailed a letter but right after discovered I forgot to put the address label on,but did have my own as return address. That was last week,mailed from another zip code,30 miles away. So how long should it take to mail it back to me?

Are we require to give our full name to security guards when we have to enter into a place to deliver mail?

A Hostel I was staying at said the postman automatically returns to sender (without delivering it) anything not addressed to the Hostel directly. Is this possible? or would the Hostel have to manually return it themselves?

Has the mail already been delivered on Stonesboro Rd Ft Washington Maryland today 4/8/2016

Also on Jobstr...

do you always have the same route? are vacant houses common?

I was just hired as a CCA. Are the horror stories about literally never getting a day off true?

Are letters opened by the Postal Inspection Service -- and determined to be harmless -- then forwarded to the intended recipient? Is it hard to obtain a warrant to seize and examine First Class mail? Or is it easily obtained?

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Hello-
Recently I mailed a letter but right after discovered I forgot to put the address label on,but did have my own as return address. That was last week,mailed from another zip code,30 miles away. So how long should it take to mail it back to me?