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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1237 Questions

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Last Answer on February 18, 2022

Best Rated

Can a mail carrier close a mailbox in an office setting and return items to sender because the mailbox is full?

Asked by P-Fever over 12 years ago

I'm not sure what you mean by close a mailbox, whether if the door/lid is ajar or you mean permanently close it and return mail to the sender. I do know if a mailbox is full and the mail isn't claimed after awhile (not sure of the time frame), the letter carrier does have the option to return "overflow" mail to the senders with the endorsement on it saying "box full". Another option is that the mail can be put into a "hold" area in the post office with a note on top saying "box full" and waiting to see if the mailbox is emptied and then would deliver the mail being held at the post office. I don't know if one procedure is correct and the other isn't.  I haven't experienced it much (if at all) during my career.

975 Votes

Part 2 is what kind of supplies do you normally carry with you on your route? A few pens for yourself, maybe some stamps as a convenience to customers. Also are new CCAs allowed to use GPS on an unfamiliar route? Thanks for your time!

Asked by Sparky66 almost 12 years ago

Sparky, again you're welcome regarding this forum. It can get a bit exhausting trying to keep up on the many questions asked, but I rarely get more than a couple per day. Furthermore, I volunteered to do this so I have nothing to complain about. On the route each day I carry a couple of pens, some scrap paper if I need to make some notes, water, my lunch, and sunglasses. I happen to have some stamps in my wallet and will give them to customers on occasion, but that's rare. Most of the time they have the envelopes ready to be mailed with the proper postage. I also don't want them to get in the habit of them thinking it's part of my job to have stamps with me, because it isn't. Fewer and fewer people are mailing letters these days and are paying their bills electronically. I don't see anything wrong with a CCA using a GPS on their smartphone to navigate to/from routes. The USPS should really be giving you a map with directions if you are unfamiliar with a route, but I am pretty sure our CCAs use their own GPS to get around the town. Since I do the same assignment each day and know it automatically I can listen to an ipod while delivering the route. I don't know if this is actually allowed but I think it should be. I only have one earbud in at any time. I think I'd get bored pretty quickly if I didn't listen to something (music/podcasts) while delivering the mail. The postal vehicle I drive doesn't have a working cigarette lighter outlet to charge up my PED so I am careful about not draining the battery during the day or I can carry a portable battery supply(but have never actually had to use it).

974 Votes

Can a minor (17) pick up & sign for a package at the post office if it's addressed to them? Or is there a way to get the mailman to just leave the package without a signature? I'm tired of begging my parents to come sign & pick up for me. Thanks!

Asked by Ashley G over 12 years ago

I don't know the legal answer to this question at the post office. I think they may ask for identification but I'm not sure the you are required to be 18 years or older. As a letter carrier, I would deliver a package without a signature if the sender didn't request or pay for a signature and the item can be safely delivered to the addressee, which is simple for the route I deliver to because it it is all single family suburban residences.

974 Votes

Can I give my mailman the key to a new lock mailbox I just bought? I live in a 3 family house and someone is stealing my mail.

Asked by LA about 12 years ago

LA, it is awful that mail is being stolen. I don't know what good it will do, but I would recommend reporting that to your local post office or the Postal Inspectors. To answer your question, I don't know that a mailman would get involved with being responsible for a key to a private mailbox. If everyone on their route did that, how would they keep track of all of those keys? Furthermore, if that mailman was off/sick/vacation, how could you be sure that the replacement mailman would get the key? I just don't think it will be feasible or practical or possibly even allowed. Another option (though less convenient) would be to rent a PO Box which would definitely be secure.

973 Votes

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I recently mailed my passport for renewal via priority mail and the postal clerk entered the wrong zip code and now it has been stuck at the processing center for a week now, so what happens next?

Asked by pruqui over 12 years ago

I am not sure what happens next. Eventually, the Priority Mail envelope (which contains your passport) should either have its ZIP code manually corrected and sent to the proper Passport Renewal Office, or be returned to you "Undeliverable As Addressed". I don't know the time frame that this will all take, but with Priority Mail, the item shouldn't be sitting in a processing center for a week. You can call 1-800-ASK-USPS for possible assistance.

972 Votes

I think you misunderstood my question. I meant when the person walks up next to his box when you drive by, do you give him the mail, or do you put it in the box anyway? My carrier won't deliver my mail unless I am well away from my box when he comes.

Asked by bryce over 12 years ago

I deliver the mail via foot and don't drive up to a mailbox as you describe. The town in which I deliver mail does have sections where the letter carriers do drive up to a mailbox and put the mail in. I did this when I was a substitute letter carrier and will do it on occasion if that carrier is out or needs assistance. If the situation you described occurred while I was delivering, I would hand them the mail. I don't know if there is a policy against handing the mail directly to a customer in the environment you described. Some carriers may not want to hand the mail directly to a customer from their postal vehicle for safety reasons.

971 Votes

What is the best way to insure that your mail is delivered the fastest? Directly handing it to your mailman or taking it to the post office?

Asked by Iris over 12 years ago

It is probably a toss up as to which is the quickest. To make sure that it gets dispatched with the mail the day you leave it at the PO, I'd recommend bringing it directly to the PO. The reason why I call it a toss up is that the final dispatch of mail from a post office to the processing facility doesnt happen until all of the letter carriers have returned from their assignments and back to the local PO.

971 Votes

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