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.
Krissy, thanks for the question. The letter would likely take 2 days to be delivered to the person you are mailing it to even in the same ZIP code. It used to be delivered the next day but mail processing standards for first class mail has been changed from 1 day to 2 days a few years ago. When a letter carrier picks up outgoing mail from a customer, they generally aren't looking at the destination ZIP code. Upon return to the post office, outgoing mail is usually just put in a large hamper and sent to a regional mail processing center. From there it is sorted using automated equipment and takes about 2 days for mail in the same ZIP to be delivered.
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That is unfortunate that you need to move because of nosey neighbors. Your mailman should not be giving any information whatsoever to the nosey neighbors as to where you moved to. I don't have access to the new address when someone moves. I mean there is probably a way for a clerk or supervisor to access the computerized forwarding system and find out someone's new address but in general the letter carrier isn't given this information. In our office the letter carrier just gets notification via a white sticker given to us by a clerk that a certain person or family has moved as of such date and to begin submitting their mail for forwarding. I can't say for sure there is anyway to prevent your very sweet and friendly mailman from trying to internally find out that information but they shouldn't be doing that and it is a violation of our rules to be giving out that confidential information.
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From what I understand, we scan the flats and letters to verify how long it takes mailpieces to get from somewhere to the delivery point. I haven’t heard this for sure. I agree it seems pointless and annoying. I make sure to take the time to do it properly though I don’t trust most of my coworkers to do it. Regarding what to do when it asks i feel the address is on the route, i usually put “yes” if it’s vacant or hold but I have to say I’m probably not consistent with that i do. I’d hit “yes”, then “end scanning” and then “no more to scan” if I had zero mailpieces with me. I’m not sure how it is in Massapequa but the communication as to what we’re supposed to do in any situation is quite half-assed and different supv may give different answers. I have so little faith in the supervisors to give the right information that I often don’t even bother asking. We had a service talk today about how to scan parcels that are on “hold”. The directions were completely the opposite of what we were told in the past. Besides that, I doubt they will repeat the service talk for the carriers who were off today or on vacation. I’m just venting but I think you can relate to my comments. Thanks again for writing and hope you liked my tangent.
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Jillian, we are assigned to work at a Post Office in a particular city when we are hired. That city may have just one PO or may have several stations which we can work from. To answer your question, we choose the routes that we want to take based on seniority, which I find to be the fairest way of doing most things. It eliminates any favoritism that could occur and everything is out in the open with regards to seniority. Some carriers choose routes that have more business deliveries while others may prefer to deliver to residences or a combination. Some routes require more walking than others. Some routes are entirely driving and mail is delivered from the postal vehicle directly into a curbside mailbox. In a major urban areas some buildings could be so large that a carriers route is just one building. I have stayed with the first route that I was every able to bid on successfully. My seniority (18 years) would allow me to move onto what are considered more desirable routes when vacancies occur. I'm comfortable in what I do and I know it well and I think it's a fair days work. Some carriers are a lot more picky than others. As you can see it really depends on personalities and what one perceives as desirable. I hope this helps answer your question.
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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.
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I am not sure anything can be done about it. I don't know why the neighbors would sign for the item without knowing who it was for, unless they thought they were doing the intended recipient (you, in this case) a favor. I also don't why your neighbors would open a package that clearly didn't belong to them. You could call or email the sender them that you received the package (which I think you eventually did unless your letter carrier was the one telling you the story) and that the item is damaged. I don't know if the problem can be remediated or not. If the item was sent with insurance, maybe a claim can be filed. Apartment number is sometimes as vital as the street address itself.
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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.
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