Mailman (City Letter Carrier)

Mailman (City Letter Carrier)

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.

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Last Answer on February 18, 2022

Best Rated

I live in fountain valley California Orange County, can you tell me when exactly will the mailman come and reliever my mail?

Asked by Meli about 9 years ago

I am not able to tell you when your mailman (letter carrier) will deliver your mail since I don't know about the setup and staffing of your particular office. In fact the only office I know much about specifically is the one where I'm employed in NY on Long Island. Speaking only by personal experience I'd guess that your mail is delivered 0930-1800 Mon-Sat (excluding federal holidays.)

364 Votes

our mailman gives all tenants mail to lady at office to sort and put in boxes and even meets her down the road if she in big hurry is that proper?

Asked by mary over 8 years ago

I guess that's okay if the lady in the apt. office has access to the mailboxes. Some buildings and apt. complexes have different procedures about who delivers the mail. I don't know how that is determined. Where I deliver mail, any multi-unit building or complex has the mail delivered to each unit by a USPS employee. The building or apt. complex staff has no access to the cluster boxes. I can see how this differs because we generally don't deliver mail on university campuses to each students mailbox. The same would go for an extended stay hotel or long-term care facility. I just hope you haven't had delivery issues with receiving your mail from the lady who puts it into your box. This would be unfortunate because if you complained to the USPS about this, they may say ask the lady in the apt. office who may or may not be easy to deal with. Thank you for your question.

363 Votes

if my supervisor ask me to drive a vehicle, can I tell him that I prefer to do some work that doesn't require me to drive?

Asked by David about 9 years ago

David, you certainly may say you prefer a non-driving delivery assignment, but I don't know if that will be honored. Quite honestly driving a postal vehicle is sometimes a fundamental part of the job, I know you were hired in Manhattan so that driving a postal vehicle may not be as vital. If you don't want to drive a vehicle, you are of more limited use to the organization which relies on the flexibility of the CCA workforce. I don't want to get your hopes up that it will be fine to avoid driving s postal vehicle all of the time. The truth is I don't know how it works in Manhattan, but most communities around the US would likely need you to drive.

363 Votes

Is there turth in the fact that a mailman needs to deliver the man no matter what (bad weather, disaster, difficult mailboxes, etc.). If so why do mailman sometimes refuse to deliver mail? Why do they request for you to pick it up, if delivery is job

Asked by Curious mail questioner almost 9 years ago

It's not true that we deliver in all conditions no matter what. If a letter carrier thinks it is too dangerous to deliver mail to an address they can refuse to do so no just need to tell the supervisor when they return to the post office. It's rare that I'd not deliver mail, but some of my co-workers may not try as hard to deliver the mail. It's usually better to try and get the mail delivered. This way we don't have to bring it back another day with even more mail. I'm not sure why they request mail to be picked up. If there is road construction it is sometimes difficult to get to houses, or roads could be flooded, or snowed out. We are supposed to attempt delivery each day to each address. Our unofficial motto has to do with delivering mail in all comditions, but that is a bit more folklore than reality.

363 Votes

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MailmanDave,
What would you say is the biggest pain you deal with in your job?

Asked by Jack almost 9 years ago

HI Jack, that is an interesting question you pose. Since I'm pretty easy going and can filter out a lot of the garbage spewed out by some co-workers and their disruptive personalities and the sometimes incompetent management, the biggest pain to me is winter weather. As warm as I can dress for the severe cold, there are occasions where my extremities just get too cold too handle it and I haven't found, or don't use, the best gloves or shoes to insulate me properly. I think if that were figured out, there isn't too much of a pain in this job. Believe me, many other letter carriers would disagree with me and can be very petty and complain about things that I feel are insignificant. Apprx 75% of the day I'm out of the office delivering mail, listening to podcasts and getting exercise by walking. I'm getting paid a fair salary with good benefits and a high level of job security. Regarding my weather comment, there are usually just a few days per year that the weather is unbearably cold. I'm not sure how I would do in much colder climates than in NY (on Long Island). All things considered, I could be doing a lot worse for a job. Thanks for your question.

362 Votes

Thanks for the reply! And as far as anything illegal,I have been getting there mail every now and then,with a name similar to my dad's?? This person was living in neighborhood, but background indicates another current address,also very close by??

Asked by DwB44 almost 9 years ago

That certainly sounds fishy, especially with mail of a similar name to your Dad, and also nearby addresses. I suppose you could alert local law enforcement or USPS Postal Inspection Service but have no idea what their response would be. If mail arrives at your address with dad's name a little bit "off", he could open it and if it's anything like an unpaid bill he could either do nothing about or call the creditor and say that it's not him.

362 Votes

Is there a way i could gwt my mail early from the post office before courier leaves for route? If so what woyld be the best way to do so.

Asked by wayne about 9 years ago

I don't know if there is a way to do this for sure. We generally frown upon this at the PO as it takes time for the letter carrier to gather up the mail for someone before leaving for delivery. The reason is that in many offices the mail is automated so the carrier doesn't have your mail easily accessible. It may be in trays that the carrier doesn't access until they leave for delivery. The only way to do this is to go to the retail counter and ask the sales and service associate if you could get your mail. They may flat out say that they don't do this. I have rarely been asked to get a person's mail while still at the PO so I think we don't even allow it at our office, Basically, what I'm saying is that it can't hurt to try but don't be surprised if the answer is no.

362 Votes

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