Ask a Mailman (City Letter Carrier) anything

1237 Questions

Last Answer on February 18, 2022

If there is delivered mail in a mailbox when an official change of address/forwarding request is filed, does the mailman retrieve the previously delivered mail and forward it to the new address?

Asked by Caroline over 10 years ago

It depends on the letter carrier if that happens or not. If I were delivering mail to an address and the mail was just sitting there not being retrieved by anyone and then I received a change of address/forwarding order I would go back and retrieve any forwardable mail and submit it through our forwarding system. I don't know if other letter carriers would be as diligent but I hope they would be. For this reason it's best to put in a forwarding request ahead of the date you want it to be effective because it could take a week or so before the mail begins to be forwarded to the new address.

554 Votes

Question #2:
Once converted to a regular letter carrier, how much will my pay increase? will it increase? the reason i ask is because i'm looking to make 50-60G per year. So a better question i guess would be, how long until I earn that salary?

Asked by Dee over 9 years ago

It takes about 12.4 years of being a regular carrier to reach the top pay which (as of 12/2016) is apprx $60K per annum. Your pay should go up a little when you are a regular carrier. Please do a web search for "NALC paychart" or "USPS city letter carrier pay chart". I am currently at the top salary for a level 1 city carrier which, as I said before, is just shy of $60K per annum. When you get converted to a regular carrier, the CC 2/Step A salary is apprx $38K per annum. This is about $18.06 per hour. It seems that you may work a lot of OT so your earnings may wind up being much higher. The time you are working as a CCA doesn't count towards service for calculating salary Step increases.

554 Votes

I thought of 1 more ?, sorry. If a carrier jumps onto my porch where there are no stairs and gets injured doing that, am I liable? To get to the stairs, one must cross my small yard & enter at far end, based on the direction he travels on his route.

Asked by Cathy almost 9 years ago

I do understand what you mean. Your question is "If a carrier takes the 'shortcut' to your mailbox vs taking the stairs at the far end based on his direction of travel are you liable for any injury. I don't know the answer to this for sure but I'd hope not. We are covered by workers' compensation insurance through our employer (the USPS) and I don't know that the USPS or the letter carrier (individually) could file a successful liability claim against you as the homeowner. I can see if you were very negligent as a homeowner and maybe caused some type of tripping hazard to be left unattended perhaps there could be some liability, but I have really no insight on this.

552 Votes

Can you wear your own shoes during work

Asked by David humphries about 9 years ago

You're not supposed to wear your own shoes while you're a letter carrier. As part of your yearly uniform allowance you may order USPS-approved SR/USA shoes. They are almost always black in color and are slip-resistant. I'm not sure how strictly it is enforced but I always wear the approved shoes. If you were to fall while delivering mail one of the first things that will be looked at is whether or not you were wearing the proper footwear. I don't take very good care of my footwear and I deliver mail on a walking route so my shoes tend to wear out quickly. I pay apprx $110/pair for the USPS-approved work shoes. On a yearly basis we are allotted apprx $450 for our uniform purchases.

552 Votes

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Can the mailman decide whether or not you live at an address he is stop delivering mail to both me and my mother but still delivers to our roommate. as far as to write a note with side the mailbox with the roommates last name and " only "next to it.

Asked by Michelle over 9 years ago

I'm not sure why the letter carrier would do that without some type of notification that you and your mother don't live there anymore. I don't think the letter carrier should have done that. I guess you could write a note next to the other note with you and your mother's name as well. If that doesn't work, you could also contact the postmaster or delivery supervisor and explain that you still live there. I hope that helps because we shouldn't be deciding whether or not someone lives at a certain address or not. In truth, somebody doesn't have to live at an address there just to have mail accepted there.

552 Votes

Some of your customers are used to getting their mail at the same time everyday. Today there was a lot more mail to sort and deliver, so you are later than usual in making deliveries. One customer is angry because he has been waiting for a cheque. How would you address this situation?

Asked by kirk over 9 years ago

I've never had this situation happen. It's rare for someone to get angry about their mail on the route where I deliver. If I can easily accommodate them and give them their check I would. Where I deliver the mail so few people receive checks on any regular basis. If the situation occurred, I would just remain calm and explain that I can't give them their mail now and when I get to their house or address, I'll gladly give them their mail. The key is to never escalate a situation. Thanks for your question.

552 Votes

Hi, I recently failed the LLV test for RCA and I asked if I can retake the test again but their answer is their are not sure. I was told I was ineligible for that position. I interviewed for CCA will I be able to retake it since it's diff location.

Asked by Martha Klufio over 9 years ago

Martha, I have no knowledge in the field of hiring and retests for when one fails an LLV test. Since you are applying for a different position at a different location, it's possible they let you retake the exam, but I'm just guessing.

I have no idea about the internal communications of USPS HR and if one dept or location would even know about the other. I'm guessing with the internal HR technology that they might share information about your past applications to the USPS but have no idea what impact that would have for your future hiring prospects. It is very important to learn how to drive the LLV safely and responsibly. I hope you get to take the exam again because I found that once you learn how to operate an LLV safely it becomes second nature even though the steering wheel is on the right side of the vehicle.

551 Votes

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Mailman (City Letter Carrier)

Ask me anything!

What do YOU do?

If there is delivered mail in a mailbox when an official change of address/forwarding request is filed, does the mailman retrieve the previously delivered mail and forward it to the new address?

Question #2:
Once converted to a regular letter carrier, how much will my pay increase? will it increase? the reason i ask is because i'm looking to make 50-60G per year. So a better question i guess would be, how long until I earn that salary?

I thought of 1 more ?, sorry. If a carrier jumps onto my porch where there are no stairs and gets injured doing that, am I liable? To get to the stairs, one must cross my small yard & enter at far end, based on the direction he travels on his route.

Can you wear your own shoes during work

Also on Jobstr...

Can the mailman decide whether or not you live at an address he is stop delivering mail to both me and my mother but still delivers to our roommate. as far as to write a note with side the mailbox with the roommates last name and " only "next to it.

Some of your customers are used to getting their mail at the same time everyday. Today there was a lot more mail to sort and deliver, so you are later than usual in making deliveries. One customer is angry because he has been waiting for a cheque. How would you address this situation?

Hi, I recently failed the LLV test for RCA and I asked if I can retake the test again but their answer is their are not sure. I was told I was ineligible for that position. I interviewed for CCA will I be able to retake it since it's diff location.

Mailman (City Letter Carrier)

Ask me anything!

What do YOU do?

If there is delivered mail in a mailbox when an official change of address/forwarding request is filed, does the mailman retrieve the previously delivered mail and forward it to the new address?

Question #2: Once converted to a regular letter carrier, how much will my pay increase? will it increase? the reason i ask is because i'm looking to make 50-60G per year. So a better question i guess would be, how long until I earn that salary?

I thought of 1 more ?, sorry. If a carrier jumps onto my porch where there are no stairs and gets injured doing that, am I liable? To get to the stairs, one must cross my small yard & enter at far end, based on the direction he travels on his route.

Can you wear your own shoes during work

Also on Jobstr...

Can the mailman decide whether or not you live at an address he is stop delivering mail to both me and my mother but still delivers to our roommate. as far as to write a note with side the mailbox with the roommates last name and " only "next to it.

Some of your customers are used to getting their mail at the same time everyday. Today there was a lot more mail to sort and deliver, so you are later than usual in making deliveries. One customer is angry because he has been waiting for a cheque. How would you address this situation?

Hi, I recently failed the LLV test for RCA and I asked if I can retake the test again but their answer is their are not sure. I was told I was ineligible for that position. I interviewed for CCA will I be able to retake it since it's diff location.

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Question #2:
Once converted to a regular letter carrier, how much will my pay increase? will it increase? the reason i ask is because i'm looking to make 50-60G per year. So a better question i guess would be, how long until I earn that salary?