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.
Asking me and other letter carriers will likely get you 2 different answers. I think it's great to get the smartpost and surePost parcels to deliver alongside our regular mail. I view it as more business for the USPS, my employer. If my employer can get more business that would hopefully translate as better for the workers. I don't find it an annoyance whatsoever and know it's part of my job. If the volume of parcels gets too high I would possibly take longer to complete my route which translates into overtime pay which would be beneficial. The volume of parcels that I deliver is not overwhelming except around the holiday season. Amazon uses the USPS as well as other delivery companies to complete their delivery fulfillment. There are some coworkers who don't want to do any extra work and complain about everything so the extra parcels would annoy them. I feel they are close-minded and lazy. In so many cases I don't see the importance of US Mail nowadays with regards to financial statements and bills. That has been able to be done electronically for so many years now. Parcels are what our business should be happy to be delivering. Don't ever feel bad about ordering too much online. I know I wouldn't.
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Lara, today I had a similar situation today with one of the customers I deliver to. They showed me their USPS Infromed Delivery email and an item shown wasn't in their actual mail. It was a specific letter they were waiting for. I don't know what to do if the letter doesn't show up. Your question seems to also ask about not getting any delivery whatsoever on Saturday. That shouldn't happen. We deliver on Mon-Sat excluding national holidays. I know some offices are having a staff shortage, but that's not a great explanation. I have little faith In the quality of work done by some coworkers and supervisors. Many have an "I don't care" attitude. This is nothing new but seemingly more prevalent lately.
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You are the first person to ever say the term "dark net markets" to me. I don't most of my fellow letter carriers know anything about this unless they are involved in that dealing which I would hope they aren't. We are trained very little at work about drugs in the mail. I've never come across anything suspicious re: drugs or I am just oblivious.
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First I'd like to say that it's unfortunate that you letter carrier accidentally stepped into the concrete you just had poured for a new driveway. I have done this myself but only with a recently resealed driveway and the result was just I tracked some sealant around the bottom of my shoes for a short while. I can't answer your question as to whether or not the USPS would be responsible for the cost to fix the driveway that was damaged by the letter carrier. I'd recommend calling or even visiting your local PO and speak with a delivery supervisor or the postmaster and tell them what happened. Bring a photo that you may have taken of the damage or have it on your mobile device. I wouldn't hold out much hope that the claims process is easy or that the person you speak with even knows about it. I'm guessing you may have to be a bit persistent or go up a chain of command to get someone who is knowledgeable about the USPS liability, if any. We are required to cut across lawns to deliver the mail when it's feasible to do so. For this reason I can see how a letter carrier may not realize that a new driveway has been poured as we often have our head down getting the mail ready for delivery at the next house. I just don't know if the USPS has any responsibility to fix your driveway. I can't imagine it's too inexpensive to have the concrete cut out and repoured.
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Inner City English Teacher
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I don't know the answer to this question but I would generally think we can't do profiling based on what we see and then refer that to the USPSIS. There may be a branch of the USPS that does legally do such observation and data collecting but I know nothing about it nor have ever been approached about being involved in such activity. What you're asking about seems somewhat discriminatory so I would likely never want to be involved in any type of racial profiling.
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Hello CP2015, I'm not sure what POCs are but I'll guess and say those are the amt of possible deliveries you have each day which sounds like a lot to me. It isn't easy to work outside in the summer when the sun is pounding down on you. While I prefer the heat vs the extreme cold, the summer can be taxing on your body. I'd recommend wearing a wide-brimmed hat to keep the sun off your eyes, face, and neck. I also recommend drinking as much water as you can even before you get thirsty. It sweats off of you pretty quickly so the more you stay hydrated the better you should feel. In terms of actually burning, I suppose you could apply sunscreen liberally with an SPF of 40+. Stay safe and thanks for writing.
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I don't think I've ever had as detailed a question as yours Isabella. Unfortunately I don't have an answer for you and am not going to research your question as interesting as it is. I don't know postal delivery regulations and I find that when they exist they are adhered to arbitrarily. I understand your concern about leaving outgoing mail (including valuable checks) in an unsecured mailbox outside your office. For the most part we go in to businesses to deliver their mail and take any outgoing mail. There are some offices that have curbside boxes or multi-unit cluster boxes. I don't know that your office qualifies for indoor delivery (though I don't now what those requirements would be). You could call USPS consumer affairs but I don't know how much they can help. It'd be nice if you could at least find out the regulations and know if you are being fed misinformation or you truly don't "qualify" for delivery into your building.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=The%20mail%20at%20the%20company%20where%20I%20work%20is%20delivered%20to%20a%20curbside%20mailbox.%20%20It%20is%20a%20free-standing%20building%3B%20not%20a%20complex%20or%20high-rise%2C%20nor%20do%20we%20share%20the%20building%20with%20anyone%20else.%20%20I%20requested%20that%20our%20mail%20be%20picked%20up%20and%20delivered%20inside%20the%20business%2C%20but%20was%20told%20that%20can%20only%20happen%20if%20I%20have%20a%20physical%20disability%20that%20prevents%20me%20from%20retrieving%20mail%20from%20the%20mailbox.%20%20In%20my%2030%2B%20years%20of%20working%2C%20I%20have%20never%20known%20this%20to%20happen.%20%20It%20has%20always%20been%20delivered%20inside%20the%20building.%20%20We%20had%20a%20temporary%20carrier%20%28while%20our%20usual%20carrier%20was%20out%20sick%29%20that%20DID%20bring%20the%20mail%20inside.%20%20She%20stated%20that%20she%20documented%20our%20request%20at%20the%20post%20office%20and%20that%20our%20regular%20carrier%20would%20continue%20to%20deliver%20inside%20the%20business%20when%20he%20returned.%20%20This%20did%20not%20happen%2C%20and%20after%20speaking%20with%20him%2C%20he%20is%20unwilling%20to%20deliver%20the%20mail%20inside%2C%20citing%20the%20disability%20reason.%20%20We%20send%20and%20receive%20millions%20of%20dollars%20in%20checks%20each%20month.%20%20The%20mail%20is%20delivered%20to%20a%20locked%20portion%20of%20the%20mailbox%2C%20but%20the%20outgoing%20mail%20portion%20does%20not%20lock.%20%20Leaving%20the%20checks%20in%20the%20mailbox%20for%20pickup%20makes%20us%20very%20uncomfortable%20and%20yet%20at%20the%20moment%2C%20our%20only%20alternative%20seems%20to%20be%20to%20drive%20to%20the%20post%20office%20every%20day.%20%20What%20are%20the%20actual%20USPS%20regulations%20about%20delivering%20mail%20to%20businesses%2C%20and%20if%20it%20CAN%20be%20delivered%20inside%2C%20who%20do%20I%20contact%20since%20I%E2%80%99ve%20had%20no%20luck%20with%20the%20local%20post%20office%20or%20our%20mail%20carrier%3F%20%20Thank%20you%21&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/16964)
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