Ask a Mailman (City Letter Carrier) anything

1237 Questions

Last Answer on February 18, 2022

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 over 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).

288 Votes

Is USPS better then private shipping companies?

Asked by Jimmy almost 6 years ago

Not really. If you are referring to FedEx or UPS, they have a very good reputation for quality work and they are profit driven so their management is under pressure to get things correct. I also think that they have better technology. The flipside to that is that they are sometimes more expensive and do not go to every address in the USA. I think USPS does a very good job in delivery but we employ too much “dead weight” and people not caring about quality work. Of course, those other companies may have the same issues, but I think their employees are on a shorter leash if they make too many errors. I am proud to work for USPS and what I do, but don’t think we are better than the major alternatives.

286 Votes

THE TV METROLOGIST HAS GONE AWAY WITH OUT WARRING WHERE HAS HE GONE AND WHY?!

Asked by Red alert ???? almost 6 years ago

I doubt the q is relevant to this website subject.

284 Votes

Could I mail a letter without a postage?

Asked by angiezhang7248 Gmail girl over 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

280 Votes

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Do you have CB radios

Asked by Gentlemen over 5 years ago

The tractor trailers may have some type of radio communications, but as a letter carrier, I do not. We just have our personal cell phones and our intelligent mail device (handheld scanner) which can be used to communicate with the office. We rarely use that option. Mostly it’s phone calls or regular text messaging to communicate with each other (either carrier to carrier or carrier to mgmt).

280 Votes

Have you eved had to call 911 while on the job

Asked by Mat over 6 years ago

Fortunately, no. I believe if I were involved in a motor vehicle accident, I’d first call my supervisor, and then call 911 (unless there were apparent injuries or fire where we would call 911 first).

280 Votes

Do you think COVID-19 (Chinese virus) can spread through mail? Do you ever worry about getting sick or getting someone else sick?

Asked by 892374 over 5 years ago

Thank you for your question. Paraphrasing the USPS website: As per the CDC and the Surgeon General, there is currently no evidence that COVID-19 is being spread through the mail. I don’t particularly think the term Chinese Virus is appropriate.

I do worry often about getting sick or getting someone else sick. In my personal life I have distanced myself from my family for fear that I could be an asymptomatic carrier of the virus At my particular USPS facility we practice safe social distancing. While delivering mail, I don’t need to interact face-to-face with most customers so I feel that is low risk for transmitting or catching Covid-19. If I need to interact with a postal customer I can do so at a safe distance. If an item requires a signature we may sign on behalf of the recipient as long as they give us a verbal agreement that they would like the item. Starting today I’ve decided to wear a mask while inside the USPS facility. I went shopping today at BJ’s Wholesale after work and was impressed by the amount of shoppers who had their nose and mouth covered. Along with social distancing this is an effective way to help you from unknowingly transmit the virus to somebody else. I am thankful that so far I’ve shown no symptoms of the virus as I’m worried about getting it. While the majority of those who succumb to complications of the virus are usually older or have underlying medical conditions, there is. I guarantee that a younger, healthy, person will survive this virus that spreads so rapidly.

279 Votes