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

Our mailbox has no names on it, the other day on one of our letters was written "do they live here"

Does that mean the mailman has not been delivering that persons mail? Would the missing mail be held at the post office or sent back to sender?

Asked by Meg over 12 years ago

The Missing mail would likely be returnEd to the sender and not kept at the PO. if I were the carrier and I saw mail with a name I wasn't familiar with, I think I would deliver it and if each time the letter was not returned to me with a notice saying "not here", I would assume it was a valid delivery. Unless you live on a rural route, there is no obligation that I'm aware of to notify what names are valid at a specific address. I generally deliver it until told otherwise. 

Ok I receive ssi but the apt I have my cheek going to is vacant now so will my check go back to the post office?

Asked by meicy over 11 years ago

As long as the letter carrier knows that the unit is vacant and doesn't deliver it there, the SSI ck will eventually find its why back to the issuing govt agency where it will probably stay until they get a valid address from you as to where to send the SSI cks in the future.

Hey Dave, I was just hired at a PO in Long Island as a CCA. Zip code starting 118. My office is a fairly large office. What are the pros/cons on being at a large office? Also if I am asked to deliver with my own vehicle, can I refuse?

Asked by Rob over 12 years ago

Rob, congratulations on being hired as a CCA. I am guessing it is either Hcksville or Plainview. The PROs may be that you will have many people to meet, many opportunities for filling vacancies, and large neighborhoods to get to know. A con may be that if they are short-staffed, the mgmt can ask you to fill in and do parts of several routes in one day which may be exhausting. The positive part to that is that you are paid for all of your time work including Overtime pay. I believe you can refuse to use your own vehicle to deliver mail, however, they may not then be obligated to give you a govt vehicle to deliver the mail. If that is the case, you may have a reduced opportunity to earn a paycheck. Try to be as polite as possible when given assignments and if it turns out to be too much, speak up and advise the supervisor how much extra time you may need. Always make sure to work safely as well. Try not to get too involved with any office gossip or politics. Good luck and continue asking if you have more qs.

We're a small company. A package sent USPS to a correct address was returned to us with the label: return to sends, vacant. I called the recipient who said the house next to her is vacant. Is there a way to get reimbursement from USPS for mistakes?

Asked by Kathryn over 11 years ago

Kathryn, I'm sorry for the mistake that seems to have been made by the USPS in not delivering your package to your customer and then incorrectly returning it to you. As far as I know there is no way to get a reimbursment for that error, but I don't work in the customer service/retail part of the USPS operation so I can't say for sure. Did you verify that the exact address is correct? It sounds to me like you did verify it. Good luck and thanks for writing.

I'm CCA struggling to meet my sup's 3pm deadline in my 1st wk. I was given a RT 85% residntl. The sup complained I take 7.5hrs to do a 3hr job. They said take a day off but u noted CCA can't be disciplined for too slow but no wrk is like discipline.

Asked by GS from Calif. over 12 years ago

I can't comment on your particular situation, but maybe I misspoke about no discipline as long as you are doing your job. I agree that taking a day off does sound like discipline. Did you call the SUpv to say you couldn't make the 3PM deadline? They shouldn't be so hard on you in the first week, though going over by 4.5 hrs is quite a bit. Any chance of somebody training you better to be more efficient as you deliver? These are just some suggestions. 

Hi. Our mailman returned a very important immigration letter to USICS TWICE despite the fact he knows my husband lives here (+ delivered his other mail). This has cost us immeasurable heartache, $$$$$ and a YEAR delay in our process. What can we do?

Asked by michelle over 12 years ago

I don't know what can be done regarding this very important letter which was returned in error by your letter carrier. You can mention it to him or call the PO and speak with a delivery supervisor or Postmaster so that it doesn't happen again. I am sorry for the inconvenience and expense caused by this mistake.

are mailmen suppose to come to the door with a registered letter or just leave a card for you to go to the post office to get it?

Asked by Cindy over 12 years ago

As far as I know if a letter requires a signature to be delivered (i.e. registered or certified), the letter carrier should make an attempt to get a signature at the intended address and not just leave a PS3849 Notice of Attempted Delivery. You may call the Post Office to have the item redelivered and you may leave the signed notice for the carrier to pick up and leave the registered item if all parties feel comfortable doing that.