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.

SubscribeGet emails when new questions are answered. Ask Me Anything!Show Bio +

Share:

Ask me anything!

Submit Your Question

1237 Questions

Share:

Last Answer on February 18, 2022

Best Rated

I enjoy officework and paperwork, and in particular "tracking things down" (detective work). The dead letter department for instance, might be really interesting. How does one find a PO office job, especially such as the above?

Asked by KaneKat almost 12 years ago

I don't know how one would get the job in the dead letter office tracking things down. That would likely be a clerk position which may become internally available after working for awhile at another position.

Today my mail did not arrive at its usual time and i was expecting a package. I checked the tracking website and it said my mail was at the post office does this mean the mailman went to get it? or is he late? or will he not arrive at all?

Asked by BRANDONIO over 12 years ago

You should be getting delivery mail every regular delivery day if there are items addressed to you. The tracking website which indicated your specific item was still at the PO doesn't mean you will get iat the same day, especially if the package arrived later in the day at the PO. It is possible that your mailman was just late. 

Many of the questions submitted to you seem to be customer service related that anybody could and should just call 1-800-ASK-USPS directly. Does this bother you? Also, what was it like when your first applied for the job? It's all on-line now.

Asked by FF over 12 years ago

When I first applied to the USPS, it was paper applications (1998). I rcvd notices where to appear for the exams and interview and physical exam. Regarding the qs I rcv here, you make a great point. I am no expert in most of the nuances of shipping, tracking, and regulations. They can call the 800# and hopefully get a satisfactory answer. It doesnt bother me to rcv those q's but as you can tell, I don't always know the answer. 

Does the USPS do random drug testing?

Asked by Molly almost 12 years ago

Yes, before one is hired they are often given a drug test. I have not been tested since but imagine it is is possible that  I could be given one at anytime. 

What do the six colors for case blocks mean?
Red, Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange, White.

Thanks.

Asked by musicnmustangs over 11 years ago

I think you mean in our carrier cases when we sort the mail in the post office, we use different color plastic tabs or colored bars to put in the case to indicate the status of certain addresses. Some carriers are better at using these than others and I don't think it's mandatory, but I think it is a great tool to help the carrier remember any changes on the route and to communicate that information for any substitute letter carrier.

The following is my understanding of the colors:

Red=I don't know

Green=Hold Mail

Yellow=Certain name at that address has/had a forwarding order on file (In our colored tabs, you can actually put a small tab of paper in there with the name of the family/individual/business that has a forwarding order on file)

Orange=Vacant Address-Do not deliver anymail here

White=Unknown

I ordered something online and they accidentally put my delivery street address but the billing city and zip code as my shipping address. So I have the right street address but wrong city and zip code. What can I do??

Asked by Andrew over 11 years ago

Andrew, it is likely that the item will be returned to the shipper saying "invalid address" or "no such street or number".  I'd recommend emailing or calling the company you ordered the item from (customer service department) and advising them of your error. Maybe they could put a note on your order that if the item is returned to the shipper that it should be reshipped to your correct city and ZIP code which you will have advised them of. Thanks for writing.

How long does it usually take to mail a letter, dropped off in a blue collection box, across the states?

Asked by BWras about 12 years ago

If the letter is dropped in the blue collection box before the pickup time, then it is 1-3 days for a letter to be delivered across the states. Maybe AK and HI would be longer, but that is for the 48 contiguous states.