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

My husband and I have different last names. Within the last 2 months, his was removed from our box without our permission. His mail did not get delivered between that time. What can I do? His new Driver license was part of that mail...

Asked by Brittany over 11 years ago

Brittany, I am not sure why the mail addressed to your husband would have been removed from the mailbox and then not have any future mail for him delivered. Unless I know a certain name no longer lives at an address and/or has a change of address on file, I would deliver the mail. I don't know what can be done to retrieve any non-delivered mail, but I do have a suggestion for now. If it is still a problem, I'd tape a note inside your mailbox that says "Accepting mail for (Insert both of your names here)." Another suggestion would be to call or visit your local PO and speak to a delivery supervisor to clarify the valid names at your address. Thanks for writing.

I am moving into a house that has been vacant for several years. Someone sent me something there before I moved in and it got returned to them. How will the mailman know to start to deliver my mail?

Asked by Rachel almost 12 years ago

Rachel, I am not sure how the mailman will know when to start delivering your mail since just by having a letter or parcel mailed to that address with your name apparently wasn't enough. If it were on my route and a house was vacant I would pay attention if I saw a new name for that address and I'd attempt to deliver it by leaving it in the mailbox (or at the door if it was a parcel to big for the mailbox.) Another way I'd know to start to deliver is if I saw visible clues that a house was being prepped for occupation or I saw somebody moving in to that address. I think I sure way to advise the PO that they should start delivering mail to your new house would be to call the PO that will be servicing your new house or USPS Customer Service
Call 1-800-ASK-USPS® (1-800-275-8777) and tell them that you are moving in. Hopefully, one of these suggetions will work out fine.  Congratulations on your new residence.

how does the mailman deliver live fish to me

Asked by sam over 12 years ago

I am not sure, but if it is properly packaged and labeled, I think it would be fine to leave in a mailbox if it fits and no signature was required. I am imagining that it comes in a styrofoam box and inside there are some bags with the fish in them, but I really don't know.

Do I have to empty my mailbox every day? It is a mailbox that is a cluster box for a group of 12 houses.

Asked by Cindi over 12 years ago

I am not familiar with any rules that say you must empty your mailbox daily. I would let mail pile up in a mailbox until it may become full so no future mail can fit in a mailbox. It is not a common occurrrence where I deliver mail, but I am sure it does happen some places. If a mailbox came completely full, I may return any additional mail with the endorsement "box full". 

How can one get driver training for the LLV TO CONFIDENTLY PASS THE DRIVER CERTIFICATON requirement. are there retired rural carriers in New york state who may be hired to provided lessons and preparation?

Asked by Chris over 12 years ago

You are asking a good question which I don't know how to answer. When we were hired, co-workers who were certified as Driver-trainers would teach us how to drive the LLV and also sign us off as being trained. I don't know anything about "off the clock" or "off the job" rural carriers who offer training lessons or preparation on LLV training. I can only speak from personal experience that it wasn't terribly difficult to learn how to drive the LLV even though the steering wheel is on the opposite side that we are used to in the United States. Overall, the LLV drives similar to other automatic drive vehicles in the US. The important things to keep in mind is blind spots and handling in inclement weather. Those are times or conditions to be extra cautious and always wear your seat belt. Good Luck to you!!

Hi Dave,
Just completed the phase 2 process for a CCA position in NY. I want to know are we given choices of which station to work at or is it randomly assigned to us? Can we choose if we want to deliver mail on foot or by postal vehicle?

Asked by CCA over 12 years ago

I don't know how assignments are made for CCA. In NY City, most deliveries are made on foot, but not exclusively. It is common to see carriers using a cart with several mail satchels attached and then using relay boxes to pick up future deliveries on route. I would suggest that most routes delivered by postal vehicle are by more senior employees, but it's not always a hard and fast rule. Good luck in your employment!

I have a package that was suppose to be here yesterday. It said, Notice Left (No Authorized Recipient Available) February 6 2014 4:12 pm FORT RILEY KS 66442

But, I was home the whole time... Will the mail man come to my door if theres snow?

Asked by Darelle over 12 years ago

Darelle, I don't know why the status would say No Authorized Recipient Available. It seems that nobody even tried knocking/ringing your door if you were home all day but you don't remember anybody. If there is too much snow, they may not attempt delivery. You may sign the note/leave in mailbox or visit www.usps.com to ask for a re-delivery attempt or pick up the item yourself at the post office mentioned on the PS3849-Delivery Attempt Notice Left. It seems that you probably didn't even get a notice yesterday, only an online notice which may not have been true.