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.
During the winter I wear whatever brand clothing makes the USPS uniforms that I purchased. We have only a few choices about the brand of clothing we buy from authorized uniform vendors. I wear whatever will keep me warm and dry from head to toe. I've found that it's best to dress in layers and bring more warm clothes than you may need so you're not caught outside freezing or wet.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=What%20brand%20winter.%20It%27s%20do%20you%20wear%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/17598)
Generally, if we had a postal route where we drive a USPS vehicle (as opposed to urban routes where carriers may just walk out from the local post office and pick up mail from relay boxes along the way), we should have no problem handling multiple packages in one day even if they are different sizes. It's common for a recipient to get large and small items in the same day. I generally put them all together and leave them on the ground near the front door or mailbox. I would treat this situation just like I would getting lots of packages domestically. The items may have a tracking bar code that I'd scan as delivered once I delivered the items. I hope your experience is just as I've described.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Hi%2C%20I%20ordered%20a%20bunch%20of%20stuff%20online%20on%20the%20same%20day%20from%20various%20online%20shops%20from%20the%20same%20country%20overseas.%20There%20will%20be%20many%20packages%20of%20different%20sizes.%20Can%20you%20tell%20me%20how%20a%20mailman%20may%20handle%20the%20packages%20if%20they%20all%20arrived%20on%20the%20same%20day%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/17301)
I don't know officially how long you have to learn a new route before you're expected to be efficient. I would estimate up to about 3 weeks before you get to know it real well. Some people excel and catch on at a quicker pace then others. As far as I know there is no official amount of time before you are expected to learn a route. On the route I currently deliver I was the floater for that route before I got to do it full-time. What that means is that I filled in for the regular carrier on their day off or when they were on vacation or sick. In my case I knew the route quite well when I was awarded it full time upon the retirement of the previous letter carrier on that assignment.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=How%20long%20do%20you%20get%20to%20learn%20a%20new%20route%2C%20before%20you%27re%20expected%20to%20be%20%22effeciant%20%22%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/16436)
The letter carrier shouldn't be putting your former neighbors mail in your mailbox just because they moved out without putting in a forwarding request. After all, it's not your mail and you have nothing to do with it. After awhile, the letter carrier should empty the mailbox, discard any standard mail (advertising mail of a certain class) and return any first and second class mail as "unable to forward" to the sender. At the PO, that address or unit should be marked as "vacant" so no mail is left there unless a new tenant or homeowner moves in. We shouldn't be delivering mail to addresses known to be vacant. You may leave a note note mailbox saying something to the effect "please don't leave any mail for (insert your neighbors name and/or address) in my mailbox. Thank you." If that doesn't work, you may contact your post office and mention this to a manager or delivery supervisor. From what you've described , the letter carrier(s) serving your area is quite unprofessional and doesn't care to address the issue of the mailbox overflowing.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=My%20neighbor%27s%20moved%20and%20did%20not%20forward%20their%20mail.%20%20%20Now%20that%20their%20mailbox%20is%20full%20the%20postman%20delivers%20it%20to%20my%20mailbox.%20Is%20this%20wrong%3F%20The%20mail%20is%20piling%20up%20and%20spilling%20out%20all%20over%20the%20street.%20The%20mailbox%20won%27t%20even%20close%20anymore.&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/17312)
Day Trader
What can a good day trader earn in a year?
Programmer
Is Mark Zuckerberg really a genius programmer? Or was he just lucky?
Obstetrician Gynecologist
If a baby has health complications resulting from a difficult delivery, do you ever feel guilty?
Generally that would be correct. If the PO is closed due to poor weather conditions it would usually mean our whole retail and delivery operations have been suspended. I don't know if there are still processing operations going on at the mail plants. It isn't too common for us to suspend delivery for an entire day, but in blizzards or states of emergency, it could be necessary for us to do so.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=If%20the%20post%20office%20is%20close%2C%20does%20that%20mean%20the%20mailman%20stops%20running%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/16334)
Dee, hello again! This is a question that I can't answer directly, but can suggest some websites to look at. The one I looked at is opm.gov and click on the tab "retirement" and "FERS Information" once you are converted to a career letter carrier you'll be employed under the Federal Employees Retirement System. Your age and years of service determine when you are eligible to retire and how much of an annuity you will receive. Trust me when I say it's not a terribly generous system when it comes to receiving a monthly payment. You would, however, qualify to receive Social Security and 401(k) type funds at certain ages. The key is to put as much of your income as you can into the Thrift Savings Plan, which is similar to a private employers 401(k) . Some people can retire with just 20 years of service at a certain age but the FERS annuity may be quite paltry.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=How%20does%20one%20qualify%20for%20retirement%3F%20Do%20you%20need%2020%20years%20or%2030%20years%3F%20Or%20its%20dependent%20on%20age%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/17393)
As long as you've passed the 90-day probationary period, you'd be eligible to become a career employee once a position becomes available. They usually convert CCA to Regular "career" employees in the order which the CCAs were hired. Depending on how quickly older workers retire or other workers transfer or leave the USPS will often decide how long it takes to be converted. Where I work, it has been usually less than 18 months to be converted but your mileage may vary greatly. It is very good to become a career employee because you have guaranteed number of hours you'll work each week, plus you get health insurance coverage.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=When%20being%20converted%20to%20a%20%22Career%22%20employee%2C%20what%20are%20the%20requirements%3F%20Is%20there%20going%20to%20be%20another%20probationary%20period%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/17394)
-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
