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.
Chris, to answer your second question first,we are definitely supposed to walk through yards and across lawns unless a resident or property owner specifically tells us not to. It is the most efficient way to get from house to house without having to walk to the street unless there are fences between houses in their front yards. As far as dog poop situation, I don't know what is legal and not with regards to refusing mail delivery. I would speculate that if there is a chance the letter carrier may walk through it then maybe the note is warranted. On the other hand if the dog feces is on the lawn and you request the carrier not to walk on your lawn as he may step in it that should be a fair compromise. The carrier could also write a carrier alert card for your address which is sorted in your mail daily so when a letter carrier comes upon your house they could be alert for any possible dog poop. The alert card isn't delivered to your house. Instead the letter carrier takes it back to the PO to be used on the next delivery day as a warning card again for your address.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Hello%2C%0AMy%20mailman%20left%20a%20note%20on%20my%20mail%20telling%20me%20that%20he%20wouldn%27t%20deliver%20my%20mail%20unless%20I%20cleaned%20up%20a%20bit%20of%20dog%20poop%20in%20my%20front%20yard.%20Is%20this%20legal%3F%20I%20didn%27t%20even%20think%20a%20mail%20carrier%20was%20supposed%20to%20walk%20through%20yards.&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/18814)
It depends on what other job/career options you may have and how they compare with the USPS. I have somewhat of a bias because I enjoy working here and it has been a great career. I do realize, however, that being a CCA isn't easy and it's a non-career position and only pays moderately to begin (currently $16.06/hr). Regarding the USPS financial situation, I don't think that should impact your choice. The USPS isn't going away anytime soon. While I'm sure it's losing plenty of $$ often there is still as much work as I can remember. There will likely be changes that happen years from now but I don't know what they'd look like. I've never seen a layoff or RIF since I've been employed by the USPS. Good luck to you Jerz whichever job/career path you choose.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Is%20becoming%20a%20cca%20a%20safe%20career%20choice%20with%20the%20post%20offices%20current%20financial%20situation%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/17600)
Interesting Q. I don’t see why not. The coconuts mailed from Hawaii are popular I think and they aren’t packaged. You’d probably need the first class parcel rate. The best answer would be from your local post office. I can’t say I see non-packages items mailed often but I don’t know a rule that it has to be boxed in anyway. The important things are sufficient postage and a legible address and not a prohibited item.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Can%20you%20send%20a%20wooden%20%20spoon%20with%20the%20address%20burn%20into%20it%20and%20the%20message%20on%20the%20back%20without%20having%20to%20mess%20with%20package.%20With%20a%20spot%20left%20for%20the%20stamp%20or%20stamps%3F%20It%20would%20be%20USA%20to%20USA.%0AAsking%20from%20AL.&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/19356)
I've never worked in an urban environment to deliver mail so I can't speak from experience. While it's true you may not have the advertising circulars that you deliver so much of in the suburbs you could have a larger route even though the mail volume per house is lower. Some cities have routes where you use a pushcart and don't have a vehicle to seek shelter in when the weather gets very bad. Is it possible the streets are crowded so it's not always easy to find parking for your postal vehicle if you even have one? Please also consider that you will likely lose your bidding seniority if you switch offices. This may not be important to you of haven't been at the USPS very long. Living closer to work may be a valid convenience for transferring. I'm quite happy working in the suberbs. The neighborhood where my route is can be pretty quiet at times which is what I enjoy. There are probably pros and cons to each work environment and if I was originally hired to work in a more urban environment I may have been fine with that. The decision you make is personal. I hope you feel you make the right move whichever action you choose to (or not to) make.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Is%20it%20better%20being%20a%20mailman%20in%20the%20city%20or%20in%20the%20suburbs.%20Currently%20I%20work%20in%20the%20suburbs%20and%20I%27m%20thinking%20about%20transferring%20to%20the%20city%20since%20they%20dont%20get%20advertisements%20and%20it%20is%20closer%20to%20me&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/18850)
Programmer
What lessons can you share about past and present start-ups you've worked with?
Flight Attendant
What's the scariest flight you've ever been on?
EMT
Does your crew ever fake an emergency to slice through traffic?
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)
Congratulations and good luck to you in your postal career. I'm glad you love it so far. Despite some personal hurdles I've had along the way, I absolutely love it most days and feel very fortunate to have this career. I don't know Powerade but I'm assuming it's an energy drink. I see Gatorade is the main competitor. The main criticism of those types of drinks is the high sugar content. My advice (with no scientific background) is to just drink 1-2 day at most and then hydrate with water. I mostly d non-sugar naturally flavored sparkling water beverages. I drink it quite a bit on hot days and it seems to help so much. I've avoided the Powerade type drinks mainly because I don't want to ingest so much sugar that could hurt my teeth and body. Moderation is my advice. Thanks for writing.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=I%20have%20been%20a%20CCA%20for%2060%20days%20now.%20I%20love%20the%20job.%20What%20do%20you%20recommend%20for%20me%20to%20keep%20myself%20hydrated%20during%20the%20summer%20when%20it%27s%20hot.%20I%27ve%20been%20drinking%20Powerade%20but%20I%27ve%20read%20drinking%20too%20many%20of%20those%20aren%27t%20good%20for%20you.&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/18889)
I don't know the answer to this. Most of the time we deliver all of the mail each day that is in our building unless we get backed up with volume or are short on staffing. This may not be the case in the office that delivers your mail. If there is a merchant that you want to go to with a coupon but it arrived late, you could ask the merchant to honor the offer or the business could contact the post office to inquire why their mailing was delivered late. I'm just speculating, but I would think any 3rd Class Mail (the new official term for this will be USPS Marketing Mail) should be delivered within a few days of it being received at the Post Office. Having answered many questions on jobstr, I can see that service consistency varies greatly from office to office and even among the letter carriers in that office.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=My%20wife%20and%20I%20have%20recently%20had%20a%20new%20mail%20carrier%20who%20does%20not%20deliver%20our%203rd%20class%20mail%20on%20time%2C%20so%20we%20are%20losing%20out%20on%20some%20coupons%20we%20consider%20valuable.%20%20Is%20there%20anything%20we%20can%20do%20besides%20filing%20a%20complaint%20with%20our%20postmaster%20%3F%20%20Please%20help&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/17915)
-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
