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

I accidentally paid for postage on a holiday online and the post office isn't open. Will the package still be mailed if I bring it the day after?

Asked by Nixie over 11 years ago

Yes, it should be fine to pay for postage on a holiday and bring it to a Post Office the next day. If you need to hand it to a window retail clerk, they would hopefully just accept it. At the worst, they might postmark the package to show which day the package was actually entered in to the mail stream. I think that is the same if you happened to pay for the postage on a Sunday but wouldn't actually mail the package until Monday. Thank you for using the USPS for mailing the package.

i frogot to put my returning address on the mail i sent out today, what will happen?

Asked by Emily over 11 years ago

It is fine not to put a return address on anything you mail. The issue that could come about is if the item you sent is "undeliverable as addressed" meaning that you didn't put on the correct destination address. In this case, the letter would likely be sent to the "nixie" or "dead letter" office. I don't know what it is called nowadays and I don't know what would happen to the letter, but you wouldn't get it back unless somebody opened it and your address was found on the inside. I don't even know if that is legal to do or if it is even done. Again, as long as you put the proper destination address on the letter, don't worry at all about not putting on the return address. Thanks for your inquiry.

My ex put a hold on my mail, is there anything I can do? (he no longer lives at home and had his mail forwarded to his new address

Asked by Melinda almost 12 years ago

The forwarding of the mail in your ex's name is understandable. As far as putting a hold on the mail, you may go to the Post Office or contact them by telephone and ask them to remove the hold on your mail and resume delivery of mail to your address in your name. I would think that they would honor that request.

Recently our mailman has been on our case saying that our cars are parked too close to the mailbox. We have given the same amount of space since 1988. Is there a set amount of space left-to-right that must be present for the postman to deliver?

Asked by Austin over 11 years ago

This is a bit of a tricky situation and I don't know the right answer. On one hand you have a street that you are allowed to park and some neighborhoods don't have enough available space to leave sufficient room for the postal vehicle to get to the mailbox without the letter carrier having to get out of his vehicle to affect delivery. On the other hand, if the letter carrier feels that the approach/departure to the curbside mailbox is unsafe or too small they don't have to get out to deliver the mail as far as I know. I don't know if there is a set amount of space to be left before and after a mailbox that needs to be left for the postman to deliver. Also, I always wondered what's to stop someone else for parking "too close" to your mailbox on a public street causing you to not get mail delivery. If you live in a public community (as opposed to a gated/private community for example), you have no more right to parking in front of your house than I do. That would be a situation beyond your control. I'm sorry that I don't have a better answer for you. Thanks for writing.

If I leave an outgoing 1st class letter/envelope in my mailbox is the carrier obligated to take it? My old mail carrier always took it but my new carrier is saying I should schedule it. You can't schedule 1st class mail as best I can tell.

Asked by Cathy over 11 years ago

As far as I know, if a first class envelope is left out for mailing and has sufficient postage on it, it should be taken when the carrier is doing their regular delivery. I am not sure what they mean by scheduling it. That is definitely done for parcels so the USPS knows whether or not to bring a postal vehicle (in case the carrier only delivers via foot.) I hope your new carrier is not just being lazy. I'm sure you have already done this, but please make sure that the outgoing letter(s) are obviously visible to the letter carrier to take. Thanks for writing.

I live in Midtown West, in an apartment building with 10 units. When I first moved in, I received mail, but about one month later, my mail delivery stopped. When I've called to PO, mail delivery resumes for a few weeks but then stops. Help!

Asked by Rob F. over 11 years ago

Rob F., the main customer service rep phone # for the USPS is 800-275-8777. Please advise them that you are having a delivery issue at your apt. building. They will likely just forward the comment/complaint to your delivery PO and I'm not sure what will happen from there. I'd hope that you would either see the mail service resume or get an explanation as to why the mail delivery has stopped to your unit when you are residing there. Is there any construction going on at your building that would restrict access to the mailboxes which I presume are located in the entry vestibule area of the apt. building. You could also leave a note in your mailbox explaining that you reside in the building in a specific apt. and you should be receiving mail. I don't know why mail delivery would be suspended form your building or just you with no clear explanation.

Hey mailman, thank you for this blog! I am going for my interview for CCA. What comes after the interview and how long is the process? I am in NY as well. Thanks

Asked by I cant wait! about 11 years ago

I'm glad you like this blog. It's my pleasure to help where I can and I have a great appreciation for those who do podcasts or other websites just for fun. Their time commitments are impressive given the work it takes to maintain a blog or a website. Since I have no experience with the CCA hiring process, I can't give you any hard facts about how long the process takes. Congratulations on getting an interview. There will likely be a drug test and medical exam if you haven't gone through that process already. I imagine it would only be 1-2 months after that to be notified if you will be hired. There are about 6 CCAs in the office where I work but there is a solid turnover among them. It's not the job for everyone. It's physically demanding, pay for CCAs isn't great ($16.50/hr Apprx) and you aren't always treated that well. I still recommend it if you get hired because long-term it has proven to be a great career for me. I wish you well and have a positive attitude.