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.
You can certainly do as you feel is correct. The unpaid bill collector would probably appreciate that. It's hard to know who is connected to who espcially if fake/similar names and different addresses are used. One thing I can suggest is for your Mom and Dad to keep an eye on their own credit report to make sure any debt or credit card accts on there are correct. Most people probably wouldn't get too involved in someone else's business, but I commend you for trying to help someone root out possible fraud.
You virtually answered your own question with the "but do you". Every morning we are given 5 minutes before our break to inspect our postal delivery vehicles. Most of us at least turn on the engine to make sure it will start. We are supposed to do a walk around and look for any body damage, flat/low tires, leaks, and more. I mostly just turn the engine on and look at the fuel gauge to see if I need to stop at a gas station on the way to the route. At the end of the day, I empty out all of the contents of the vehicle and park and lock it. I don't do any further inspection at the end of the day. I know I don't do the full inspection walk around that we are supposed to, but so far it hasn't come back to hurt me. I use the same vehicle almost every day. If I were to use a different vehicle I may do a more thorough check to see if all of the signals and lights work.
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.
A letter mailed on a Monday from CA to GA should be received in about 3 days. If there is severe weather or other transportation issues that keep the mail from moving, its possible it could take longer. I wouldn't be too concerned that the Easter Card hasn't arrived. I hope it will arrive in a couple of more days.
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How easy is it to forge a rare piece, and are fakes a big problem in the antiquing world?
Help Desk Technician
You're welcome Isaac. I'm sorry you didn't have a good experience with your local PO. I would recommend trying again as it's possible that the call was accidentally disconnected. Some offices are quite shorthanded but that doesn't excuse them for not just taking down some info, talking to your letter carrier when they have a chance and then getting back to you. You have a right to get your mail at a secure location in the centralized mailbox unit and I'm not sure what the reason for this foul up is since I don't have all of the facts.
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.
I don't know what the remedy is for this. Is there some plastic cover that could be put on top of the cluster box or does the rain leak in from the side? It sounds quite negligent of the landlord not to keep the cluster box in satisfactory condition so the mail doesn't get wet and ruined. If you bring this up to the USPS, I wondering if they would just refer you to the landlord and a cycle of frustration would continue. We have a note that we give to individual residences that says "your mailbox needs attention" when there is an issue, but if I don't know if that would pertain to a cluster box and the landlord may not even see the note if he isn't there. If all of the residents who receive mail in that cluster box would sign a joint letter and mail it to the landlord requesting the box be repaired or replaced, maybe that would carry some weight.
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