Ask a Mailman (City Letter Carrier) anything

1237 Questions

Last Answer on February 18, 2022

she lives in charleston south carolina btw

Asked by kyle over 11 years ago

Kyle, I think the normal amount of time for a First-class letter to get from Lancaster, PA to Charleston, SC, would be 2 days. From what you wrote it has already been 4 delivery days and the letter hasn't arrived. I don't know that it's rare, but it exceeds our service goal as far as I know. Are you sure you addressed the letter correctly and completely? Letters still get lost in the mail, missorted, misdelivered, destroyed by our automated sorting machines, etc. but that is all a very low percentage of the amt of mail processed.

940 Votes

How late could I expect to possibly have my package arrive tonight?

Asked by Brian over 11 years ago

I don't know if you will receive the package tonight. This time of year I'd say that most packages are delivered by 6PM, but each office probably has varying times due to mail volume and staffing levels. During the holiday season, we deliver some packages on Sunday as well. If you have a tracking number you can track the shipment at www.usps.com but I'm not sure how well it works with items that originated from another country.

939 Votes

In your experience, when a CCA or a Letter Carrier gets into an accident while on the job and it is his or her fault, would they still be kept on the job or terminated?

Asked by Larry almost 11 years ago

In my experience it isn't too common for anyone to get terminated for anything. I mean people are given a letter of removal but the union often will appeal that and the carrier is reinstated. If it isn't the first time something happened that was the carrier's fault it may be more difficult to appeal successfully. If you are a CCA it is probably easier to fire you if you get in an at-fault accident. I don't recall any letter carriers at my office ever being terminated for an at-fault MVA. I can't speak for any of the other thousands of offices nationwide. Drive carefully, defensively and don't be distracted.

938 Votes

I was keeping a piece of mail in the mailbox that had been delivered to my address for our old roommate to pick up. After about 2 days, the letter was gone but the roommate had not picked it up. Would USPS take the letter back and return to sender?

Asked by ST over 11 years ago

ST, I'm not sure what happened in your situation. Some USPS carriers may be trained or take it upon themselves to do things differently than others. If the letter carrier saw the one letter in your mailbox but the rest of the mail taken in (by you), they might think it's mail for a person no longer living there and return it to the sender "Attempted, Not Known" or "Unable to Forward" or something else. It seems likely that this is what happened and the letter wasn't stolen though I can't says for sure.

937 Votes

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How often do you encounter 'suspicious' letters? or letters that you think may contain illegal substances?

Asked by Boe over 11 years ago

I can't remember a time that I came across any suspicious letters or packages, or at least not as of late. Not long after 9/11 I think there was anthrax sent through mail or something like that to Washington DC. It made me nervous and I think I had some type of reaction that I may have contracted it and had trouble breathing. It turned out to be all in my head and nothing ever came of it. There probably is drugs sent through the mail or maybe other illegal substances but I have no experience with it fortunately.

937 Votes

Thank you for taking the time to answer my question about driver certification training.Perhaps the difficult economy allows for a more Darwinian approach. Warned not to hit a cone.You must pass several scenarios.
Enumerated in USPS manual.

Asked by Chris about 12 years ago

Chris, the pleasure is mine to help out where I am able to. I am not sure what your comments mean regarding the Darwinian approach, except possibly that I was just stating the obvious to drive carefully. I am not familiar with what the USPS Manual says, but does that state several simulated scenarios to be passed? Good luck to you if you are trying to get hired as a letter carrier with the USPS.

936 Votes

I was just wondering. If the mail carrier delivers a package to your door, is there a reason why he chooses to leave the rest of the mail in the mailbox? I have a long driveway atop a hill, so why not bring it all up?

Asked by CJB over 12 years ago

I am not sure why they would leave the mail in the mailbox at the bottom of the hill. One reason is that if there is nowhere to securely put the mail at the top of the hill outside of the elements the carrier wouldn't want to leave the mail outside.

936 Votes

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Mailman (City Letter Carrier)

Ask me anything!

What do YOU do?

she lives in charleston south carolina btw

How late could I expect to possibly have my package arrive tonight?

In your experience, when a CCA or a Letter Carrier gets into an accident while on the job and it is his or her fault, would they still be kept on the job or terminated?

I was keeping a piece of mail in the mailbox that had been delivered to my address for our old roommate to pick up. After about 2 days, the letter was gone but the roommate had not picked it up. Would USPS take the letter back and return to sender?

Also on Jobstr...

How often do you encounter 'suspicious' letters? or letters that you think may contain illegal substances?

Thank you for taking the time to answer my question about driver certification training.Perhaps the difficult economy allows for a more Darwinian approach. Warned not to hit a cone.You must pass several scenarios.
Enumerated in USPS manual.

I was just wondering. If the mail carrier delivers a package to your door, is there a reason why he chooses to leave the rest of the mail in the mailbox? I have a long driveway atop a hill, so why not bring it all up?

Mailman (City Letter Carrier)

Ask me anything!

What do YOU do?

she lives in charleston south carolina btw

How late could I expect to possibly have my package arrive tonight?

In your experience, when a CCA or a Letter Carrier gets into an accident while on the job and it is his or her fault, would they still be kept on the job or terminated?

I was keeping a piece of mail in the mailbox that had been delivered to my address for our old roommate to pick up. After about 2 days, the letter was gone but the roommate had not picked it up. Would USPS take the letter back and return to sender?

Also on Jobstr...

How often do you encounter 'suspicious' letters? or letters that you think may contain illegal substances?

Thank you for taking the time to answer my question about driver certification training.Perhaps the difficult economy allows for a more Darwinian approach. Warned not to hit a cone.You must pass several scenarios.Enumerated in USPS manual.

I was just wondering. If the mail carrier delivers a package to your door, is there a reason why he chooses to leave the rest of the mail in the mailbox? I have a long driveway atop a hill, so why not bring it all up?

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Thank you for taking the time to answer my question about driver certification training.Perhaps the difficult economy allows for a more Darwinian approach. Warned not to hit a cone.You must pass several scenarios.
Enumerated in USPS manual.