Ask a Mailman (City Letter Carrier) anything

1237 Questions

Last Answer on February 18, 2022

I was reading articles about mailmen and one person said he lifted 75 pound trays to take mail from (for sorting into bins or trays) before he goes out on his route. Do you do that? or is your mail already sorted for you?

Asked by MarthaJ over 12 years ago

Most of the mail that we take out is sorted ahead of time into trays, but there is always some "residual mail" that has to be hand sorted and sometimes collated in with the mail that has already been sorted. It is rare that these trays would be more than 20 lbs. in my estimation. Some offices have more automation than others meaning some offices still have to do a lot of manual sorting. While there are sometimes heavy packages to lift, I think the max. Is 70 lbs. and i don't see a parcel that heavy too often. The mail that I mentioned earlier comes sorted into trays is done by automated sorting machines located at a larger processing facility.

943 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 about 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.

943 Votes

I ordered 2 items and stupidly but the wrong house number on the delivery information.I just checked my tracking and it says being returned to sender,I have another package being sorted at the moment probably out for delivery Mon.How do I stop same?

Asked by Ger over 11 years ago

If the package is supposed to be delivered Monday, I would see if you could somehow contact (via phone or email) your local PO early Monday AM and see if they could "intercept" the package before returning it to the sender. I know some POs would be very helpful and others not at all. This is a sad aspect of the company that I work for. We are sometimes overwhelmed and feel we don't have the time to go the extra step to help out in a situation like yours. Somebody would need to go look at the parcels for the route which covers your house and try to find the parcel and correct the address. If you don't know how to contact your local PO, please call 1-888-ASK-USPS to see if they have any suggestions. I wish you well.

942 Votes

The man at the Orange, MA post office says he's been opening up my packages. I noticed no customers go there anymore. Another woman told me he also did it to her. Can he keep doing this to customers?

Asked by FeelViolated over 12 years ago

That sounds absolutely wrong what is done. The only time that a worker can open a package that i know of is if it is Media Mail. That class of mail is subject to inspection if a worker wants to verify that the contents qualify for the Media Mail rate. Does the worker say why he opens then packages? I haven't heard of your situation before.

941 Votes

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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.

941 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.

939 Votes

We are a small office but we have outgoing mail every day. Our mailman comes every morning before our office is open, even after asking him to please try and come after 9am. Is there any other way to remedy this, or should we just run to the mailbox?

Asked by SPS Oceanside almost 12 years ago

I must admit that does sound a bit early that the mailman arrives before 9AM daily. The more common comment is that mail deliver is later in the day that people would like. We generally have no control over the order that we deliver our mail routes. The routes are set up in a certain order of delivery and mailman are usually under a time pressure to deliver their routes and be finished in a prescribed amount of time. I believe your best remedy is to go to a mailbox (formally known as collection boxes) before the pickup time printed on the label inside the lid to ensure your outgoing mail will be processed that day. Thanks for writing.

939 Votes

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Mailman (City Letter Carrier)

Ask me anything!

What do YOU do?

I was reading articles about mailmen and one person said he lifted 75 pound trays to take mail from (for sorting into bins or trays) before he goes out on his route. Do you do that? or is your mail already sorted for you?

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 ordered 2 items and stupidly but the wrong house number on the delivery information.I just checked my tracking and it says being returned to sender,I have another package being sorted at the moment probably out for delivery Mon.How do I stop same?

The man at the Orange, MA post office says he's been opening up my packages. I noticed no customers go there anymore. Another woman told me he also did it to her. Can he keep doing this to customers?

Also on Jobstr...

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

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.

We are a small office but we have outgoing mail every day. Our mailman comes every morning before our office is open, even after asking him to please try and come after 9am. Is there any other way to remedy this, or should we just run to the mailbox?

Mailman (City Letter Carrier)

Ask me anything!

What do YOU do?

I was reading articles about mailmen and one person said he lifted 75 pound trays to take mail from (for sorting into bins or trays) before he goes out on his route. Do you do that? or is your mail already sorted for you?

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 ordered 2 items and stupidly but the wrong house number on the delivery information.I just checked my tracking and it says being returned to sender,I have another package being sorted at the moment probably out for delivery Mon.How do I stop same?

The man at the Orange, MA post office says he's been opening up my packages. I noticed no customers go there anymore. Another woman told me he also did it to her. Can he keep doing this to customers?

Also on Jobstr...

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

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.

We are a small office but we have outgoing mail every day. Our mailman comes every morning before our office is open, even after asking him to please try and come after 9am. Is there any other way to remedy this, or should we just run to the mailbox?

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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.