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.
Jonas, I am no legal expert to cite which laws may or may not have been broken. I am pretty sure that this isn’t an appropriate action on behalf of your husband’s friend. In fact, I’m very disturbed to hear this story. You are completely correct that our job is to deliver the mail, NOT ask any q’s or comment about the mail destination or be a private detective. You need not answer him at all or you could take it a step further and say “Do not ask me anything about my mail”. I’m not so sure I’d threaten to report the letter carrier for his actions but you’d be within your rights to do so if the problem continued. I hope this issue doesn’t continue for you.
On a related note, I definitely do pay attention to where mail is going to or coming from. I would never comment on it to a customer or talk about it with someone else. We should be trusted employees and have an obligation to keep all information confidential.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=My%20husband%20friend%2Cmail%20man%2Casked%20me%20why%20I%20have%20mail%20going%20to%20another%20mans%20house.That%20man%20is%20my%20payee%20rep%20and%20accountant.Your%20job%20is%20to%20deliver%20the%20mail%2C%20you%20are%20a%20mail%20man%2Cnot%20a%20private%20detective.Did%20he%20break%20any%20laws%2Cthis%20is%20not%20the%201st%20time%20w%20nosey&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/19521)
Van, I'm sorry that I don't have any secret tips about casing quickly. By shadow day I guess that means you watch someone while they do their job. I admit when you first see a carrier case with so many addresses and then you have some so much mail to put in the case it is overwhelming. My advice is to not get distracted by outside music or your cellphone. Try to remember where a particular street is on the case. I've found that when you are put in front of a new carrier case it is intimidating, but the more you do it the easier it should become. Do not give up easily as you are just starting your job now at the USPS. I've found it to be a worthwhile career.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=2morrow%20is%20my%202nd%20shadow%20day%20as%20a%20rural%20carrier%20%26%20the%20next%20day%20I%27ll%20be%20on%20my%20own.%20How%20on%20earth%20will%20I%20ever%20be%20able%202%20case%20all%20the%20mail%20in%20a%20timely%20manner%3F%20600%2B%20boxes%20on%20the%20route%20and%20I%20am%20overwhelmed%20already.%20Do%20you%20have%20any%20tips%20on%20casing%20quickly%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/17848)
Jessica, it depends who you ask or are dealing with regards to who is emptying the locked box. If I personally knew you or you could show me some ID if I didn't know you, I'd gladly return the letter if I could easily find it. Sometimes there are hundreds of letters in the blue collection boxes and the carrier who is collecting the mail from that box may or may not have the time, patience, or personality to return your letter to you. It may be worthwhile to just send another envelope with a check in it if you can't retrieve the letter you accidentally put into the collection box without the check. I've never been told that I'm not allowed to return a letter once it is placed in a collection box, but, then again, our training and procedural enforcement is quite poor so that's why the lack of uniformity across the USPS. Thank you for writing.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=After%20I%20put%20my%20mail%20in%20a%20lock%20box%20and%20I%20decide%20I%20want%20my%20mail%20back%20%28forgot%20to%20put%20a%20check%20in%20a%20letter%29%2C%20can%20the%20mail%20carrier%20give%20it%20back%20to%20me%20or%20not%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/18010)
I'm not sure what you can do about this because I can't speak for what another letter carrier will do in this situation. It is admirable that you are taking initiative for your barking, aggressive dog. If your dog is out but contained in a yard and behind a fence or gate, I'm not sure why your letter carrier wouldn't come on the street. I see some aggressive, big loud dogs while delivering mail but they aren't loose so I don't worry about them. I am not someone who is good with dogs but know many people love their pets. I think you may need to contact the post office and have a conversation with the delivery supervisor and explain (if true) that your dog isn't near the mailbox, is contained in a safe area and isn't a threat to the letter carrier. I don't know what the resolution will be, but it has to start with a conversation. Most rational letter carriers can figure out if a dog is a threat or not. A loud aggressive bark shouldn't be the sole determination.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=what%20do%20I%20do%20to%20show%20that%20I%27m%20taking%20initiative%20for%20my%20barking%2C%20aggressive%20dog%3F%20He%20was%20recently%20reported%20and%20my%20neighbor%20was%20told%20that%20he%20will%20not%20be%20entering%20the%20street%20if%20he%20sees%20him%20out%20which%20is%20completely%20fair.%20Can%20I%20redeem%20myself%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/18549)
Hotel Front Desk Agent
Have you ever had a suicide occur in one of your rooms?
Aircraft Mechanic
Did you ever catch something critical right before a plane was about to take off?
Movie Theater Employee
Why is movie theater food so overpriced?
I don't know for sure how it works in your town, but I hope it's similar to where I work. If somebody has a doorslot and would like me to mail a letter, they can leave the letter noticeably hanging out of the door slot and I would take it to be mailed. I admit it is a bit precarious as the letter could fall out before being picked up for delivery. Another option is to put a clothespin or other type of clip near the mail slot in your door and attach the outgoing letter so it will be very visible for the letter carrier to take as outgoing mail. You can't go wrong by finding a blue collection box or going to a Post Office, but I think you can be confident using the above mentioned methods. Thanks for your question.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=I%20just%20moved%20into%20a%20new%20house%20in%20town.%20The%20mail%20is%20delivered%20through%20a%20slot%20in%20The%20front%20door.%20Is%20there%20a%20%22proper%22%20way%20for%20me%20to%20mail%20a%20letter%20with%20my%20local%20carrier%20from%20my%20house%20or%20do%20I%20have%20to%20take%20it%20to%20the%20post%20office%20or%20a%20mail%20box%3F%20Thank%20you&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/18613)
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.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Question%20%232%3A%20%0AOnce%20converted%20to%20a%20regular%20letter%20carrier%2C%20how%20much%20will%20my%20pay%20increase%3F%20will%20it%20increase%3F%20the%20reason%20i%20ask%20is%20because%20i%27m%20looking%20to%20make%2050-60G%20per%20year.%20So%20a%20better%20question%20i%20guess%20would%20be%2C%20how%20long%20until%20I%20earn%20that%20salary%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/17884)
Barring any unforeseen delivery issues or delays, most First Class mail is delivered nationwide in 2-3 days. You would hopefully have it by Friday. A card is considered First Class mail and the current rate is .49 for up to 1 oz. Brittany, In my experience a very high percentage of mail arrives "on time" so I do hope this is the ask with the card sent to you. Thank you for your question.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=My%20boyfriend%20sent%20me%20a%20card%20in%20the%20mail%20on%20Tuesday%20when%20will%20I%20receive%20it%3F%20%20Is%20this%20considered%20first%20class%20mail&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/18453)
-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
