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.
Jvitto48, thanks for your question but I’m sorry that I can’t give you any assistance in this matter. I don’t know if your local shop steward or area representative can help with this. I’ve never been too involved with any rte inspections, or if I have, it was so many years ago and I don’t remember. NALC has a 2012 “guide to route inspections” available online as a PDF but it’s 188 pages long and may not even address your question about base parcel amount. I don’t know how the base parcel amount is arrived at. I also don’t know if it includes every scannable parcel. My generic advice is to take all authorized lunches and breaks, as well as one or two bathroom breaks if needed. I know route inspections can make people anxious but my attitude has always been that whatever time it takes is valid as long as you aren’t obviously extending your street time. I’ve received between 1-5 sampling requests daily and I know that is a valid use of time while scanning the flats and letters. Good luck on the inspection. I know that’s easy for me to say not being involved. Thanks for writing.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=What%20is%20the%20amount%20of%20time%20a%20carrier%20for%20parcels%20over%20the%20base%20amount.%20%20Or%20what%20is%20my%20base%20parcel%20amount%20for%20a%20route.%20Had%20100%20%E2%80%9Cscanner%20hits%E2%80%9D%20went%20over%2040%20minutes%20street%2C%20took%20lunch%20and%2010%20minute%20break%2C%20doing%20route%20inspections%20next%20month%20in%20Massapequa&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/19551)
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.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=What%20is%20the%20premise%20to%20scan%20flats%20and%20letters%2C%20it%E2%80%99s%20ridiculous%20in%20my%20opinion%2C%20and%20what%20if%20a%20house%20is%20vacant%20or%20on%20hold%2C%20my%20guess%20is%20on%20the%20scanner%20to%20hit%20%E2%80%9Cnot%20on%20the%20route%20%E2%80%9Cwhen%20it%20prompts%2C%20any%20thoughts&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/19553)
Rose, I'm not sure exactly what you mean by this question. If you would like to give a gift to a particular letter carrier, I'm sure it'd be appreciated. During this time of year (December holiday season), many people who I deliver mail to will give me a cash gratuity or gift of sweets or wine for example. It is never expected by me to receive a gratuity or gift but I follow up with a thank you card to the customer. If you're not sure when your particular letter carrier is working you may just have to wait until you see them to present them with the gift or leave it in your mailbox and hope they will get it. Please ask a follow up question of me if I haven't explained my answer clearly.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=gift%20for%20particular%20mailman%20instead%20of%20temp&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/17874)
I don't know that they can become a full fledged supervisor as a CCA (city carrier assistant) because that would mean being hired into a career position. A CCA is a non-career position. I've seen at least 2-3 times at the office where I work where a CCA has become a 204(b) which is an acting supervisor. It surprised me at first when this happened but I didn't have an issue with it as I had no desire to be a supervisor/manager. Some coworkers feel it's a bit absurd. The truth is that our staffing levels are so low across the board that nothing surprises me as to who goes where and does what. In our office we currently have one CCA (pregnant) who is doing the work of a 204(b). I don't know her plans once the baby is born and she comes back to work.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Can%20a%20CCA%20become%20a%20supervisor%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/18955)
Obstetrician Gynecologist
Do you find it creepy when men want to go into gynecology?
Radio program/music director
Just how good of a radio host do you think Howard Stern is?
Geek Squad Agent/Supervisor
What's the biggest scene a customer's ever made in the store?
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)
I don't know anything about getting OIG to investigate anything for the USPS. I think they may have a tip hotline that can be called but I don't know if they will place your tip on any high priority. I would call that carrier a sleazeball for not delivering anything that should be. It is illegal plus the only reason our job exists is because items are being paid for that we should deliver. I have the impression that so many employees (including management) don't care at all about proper delivery of mail and what gets discarded or has the proper postage. There is so little oversight as to what we do on a daily basis unless we do something egregious or work unsafely. I'm sorry to be so negative. It's important to me that every piece of mail that is properly addressed is delivered, no matter if it's a catalog, weekly supermarket flier, or birthday card. It's all mail and should be handled accordingly.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=How%20do%20you%20get%20the%20USPS%20OIG%20to%20investigate%3F%20A%20carrier%20tech%20never%20delivers%20catalogs.%20I%20have%20tested%20and%20confirmed%20they%20did%20not%20deliver%20at%20least%2012%20over%202%20years.%20All%20other%20carriers%20have%20passed%20my%20tests%20100%25.%20This%20one%20fails%20100%25.%20USPS%20OIG%20does%20nothing.&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/18212)
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)
-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
