Mailman (City Letter Carrier)

Mailman (City Letter Carrier)

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.

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Last Answer on February 18, 2022

Best Rated

I heard you guys are supposed to back into parking spaces is that true. Is it also true that if you hit something that could be it for your job

Asked by Mr C almost 6 years ago

These are 2 good questions which, as always, don’t have definitive answers.

1) On the subject of backing into parking spaces it has been so many years since I was trained on driving a postal vehicle but I do think that is what I was taught. I do this almost always when driving a postal vehicle or personal vehicle. While it is definitely refrained on by management to back up the vehicle, it is recommended to park this way so when we leave the parking space, it’s much easier to see the situation. When we back in we often will know the current situation so can back in more safely to a space. Most of our vehicles don’t have backup cameras so there are some more difficult areas to see when the vehicle is in reverse. I think it’s a great idea to back in as often as possible as long as you aren’t delaying traffic behind you. I often use my hazard flashers when I want a car to pass me so I can put the vehicle in reverse.

2) in general, if you strike an object or get into an accident, you won’t lose your job. I’ve never seen a letter carrier fired for this reason unless they were in their first 90 days (the probationary period). Most of the time, you are prohibited from driving a USPS vehicle until you get some remedial training or watch some safety videos. I suppose if you had multiple motor vehicle accidents or were find to be willfully negligent with the operation of the vehicle, you could be terminated. We are represented by a union so most terminations would be challenged via grievance procedure. If one were found to be under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs while driving a postal vehicle, that may also lead to termination.

202 Votes

I'm a new resident in a high rise apt bldg. My mail carrier scolded me harshly today saying "I snuck up behind her" while I was checking my mail. Not a good first impression to make with your mail carrier. How do I smooth it over?

Asked by ccriscitello over 5 years ago

It doesn’t sound like a good first impression, but it doesn’t sound like you did anything malicious on purpose. I don’t know that I would ever harshly scold anyone about most things but I have a high amount of patience which maybe your carrier, doesn’t have. I suppose the next time you see her you could explain (or apologize) that you didn’t mean anything by it. I also guess you could wait until the letter carrier is completely done sorting the mall before checking on your mail, but I don’t think that is always necessary either. I’m sorry to be so vague, but it almost seems like a short temper on behalf of the letter carrier. This is based on what you’ve described not truly knowing either of your personalities. I just hope your next interaction with your letter carrier is calm and cordial. Thanks for writing.

201 Votes

What happens to mail that is sent to an address that doesn't exist or when the address is right but the person who it is sent to has never been at that address

Asked by Hector almost 6 years ago

If an address doesn’t exist, a postal worker will write on the item “No such number” or “No Such Street” and the letter will either be discarded or returned to the sender. This depends on the class of mail. In the case of a valid address, but the item being addressed to a person who has never been at that address, the item would be marked “Attempted, Not Known” and, as in your first question, discarded or returned to the sender. In many cases, a letter carrier doesn’t know who lives at an address and they will just deliver the mail to the valid address. In that case, the current resident may or may not leave the letter in the mailbox and write on it “doesn’t live here” or something similar. Again, if that happens, the item would then either be discarded at the PO or returned to the sender.

201 Votes

In response to the last question. If its a bussiness cant you walk in and give it to someone who works there if theres no mailbox

Asked by James Crowley almost 6 years ago

I didn’t think about that with regards to your last question about an address having no mailbox. You are correct. Many businesses don’t have mailboxes. We would just walk in and leave it with an employee at the business, at a reception area or other designated area. If the business happens to be closed when we get there, it’s normal procedure to just attempt the mail on the next delivery day. This is very common in office buildings when many businesses are closed on Saturday. We would bring all accumulated mail for delivery on the next delivery day (usually a Monday).

201 Votes

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Could I mail a letter without a postage?

Asked by angiezhang7248 Gmail girl about 5 years ago

I recommend you do not do that. The postage is the main source of revenue that allows the USPS to exist to deliver that letter. I know that doesn’t answer your question. If you mail a letter without postage it may get through and be delivered. It’s also possible that there is another outcome. The letter may be returned to you marked “returned for postage” on the envelope. The other possibility is that the letter will reach its destination but the recipient would have to pay the postage that you didn’t put on the envelope. This is known as “postage due”. Please affix proper postage before mailing any item. The current rate (as of Feb 2020) for a first-class one oz. letter is .55

200 Votes

It’s not of USPS btw but the other delivery guy evidently does not anwser questions anymore

Asked by Good sir about 5 years ago

Thanks for the info and sharing videos in a previous question/posting.

200 Votes

Would a mailman get fired if he or she delivered mail to the wrong house and someones identy was stolen?

Asked by Jimmy over 5 years ago

I have never heard of that happening, though one resident on my postal route was concerned about the possibility of stolen identity. She was receiving misdelivered mail and was worried that maybe her mail was also being misdelivered and that the errant recipient could steal her identity. Mail is constantly delivered to the wrong house. While I like to think I make few errors, I’m not infallible. Furthermore, some coworkers care so little about delivery accuracy that they deliver wrong mail often. They are just careless and don’t verify the address on each piece of mail. It is rare in my office that we even get told about delivering the mail accurately. A customer would probably have to escalate an issue so frequently for the letter carrier to even get spoken to about it. I’ve never heard of anyone being disciplined for errant mail delivery. I’m not saying that they can’t be, but I haven’t seen it in the PO where I work Thank you for your question.

196 Votes

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