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.
Marhsall, thanks for writing to this Q and A message board. In an apt. building, it is possible the mailman doesn't see the mail left in the mailbox to return because they may assume it is just tenant mail from a previous day not yet picked up by the resident. If you are putting back in the mailbox to be returned to sender, it should be marked accordingly (like "refused" or "person doesn't live here"). Is it possible for you to leave it outside the cluster of mailboxes to be returned? This way they will see it as a piece of mail that was incorrectly delivered or being refused. It is common for residents not to collect their mail each day which is why a mailman my not look at any mail that is remaining in a mailbox when they come to deliver a subsuquent days mail.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=I%20live%20%20in%20a%20complex%20building%20made%20up%20of%20many%20apartments%20is%20the%20mailman%20supposed%20to%20return%20%20mail%20that%20I%20put%20back%20in%20the%20mailbox&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/12674)
I think you will likely receive the item but there may be a delay of several days. The letter will first likely go to the PO that the ZIP corresponds to. The clerks at that office would then need to send the letter back to a central mail facility where it might be manually corrected (the proper ZIP being researched and put on the envelope) and then continue to the intended destination. I'm not sure I have the procedure correct. It's also possible the letter could be returned to the sender with the endorsement of "No Such Street in this ZIP code" but I've never seen that before.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=If%20someone%20mailed%20me%20something%20with%20the%20correct%20address%2C%20city%2C%20and%20state%2C%20but%20wrong%20zip%20code.%20What%20will%20most%20likely%20happen%3F%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/15285)
If you live on a college campus, they probably already have established a standard method of delivery to the dormitories. They probably don't deliver it to your room. It is likely that the dormitory has central delivery boxes in the lobby area or in a mailroom. Other campuses might have all the student mail come to a central mailroom or student center which has individual mailboxes for each student. You can contact the student life office or office of residential life for more information. Thank you for writing.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=WIll%20you%20deliver%20to%20my%20school%20room%20door%20if%20i%20leave%20on%20campus%20or%20you%20would%20leave%20it%20in%20front%20of%20my%20dorm&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/12247)
From what I understand, most city carriers that need a vehicle to deliver the mail will use a USPS vehicle. We do have CCAs that use their own car to deliver the mail on walking routes when there aren't any USPS vehicles available for them to use. They can get reimbursed for some of their expenses when doing this. In some offices rural letter carriers have no choice but to use their own vehicles to deliver their rural routes. For ease of maintenance and not having to wear down my own vehicle, I definitely prefer using a USPS vehicle at work. I don't have a choice in the matter. Gasoline is paid for using a fleet credit card and maintenance is handled by a contracted mechanic. Thank you for your question.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Can%20letter%20carriers%20deliver%20mail%20in%20their%20own%20vehicles&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/13551)
Employment Lawyer
Can a man sue if he's denied a job at Hooters?
Chef
Is it true that the "specials" are usually the stuff that's been sitting around awhile?
Claims Adjuster
Will you get disciplined if you approve too many claims?
Albert, your message posted 2x so I will answer it once and then copy and paste it. I currently work 7 hours a day as I am on a limited schedule for personal reasons. A regular city letter carrier can expect to work 8 hours per day (plus 30 min. unpaid lunch), 5 days per week. The 5 days may not be consecutive since mail is delivered 6 days per week. As a new hire, you will likely be a CCA (city carrier assistant) who has a very varied schedule and I'm not sure they are guaranteed any hours. I believe starting pay is about $16/hour for a CCA, with very few benefits, if any. Once you are promoted to a regular city carrier, the salary increasea to about $23/hour and tops out at about $28.50/hr after a certain amt. of years. These salaries are set in accordance with a labor agreement between the USPS and the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC), which is our union. You also get benefits once you become a regular city letter carrier as opposed to a CCA. If you visit the website www.nalc.org they have pay charts listed or you can probably just do a google search or look on www.glassdoor.com. Good luck in what is a pretty good career in my opinion.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=how%20many%20hours%20a%20day%20do%20you%20work%3F%20How%20much%20is%20starting%20pay%20for%201%20hour%3F%20%0A%0AThank%20you.%20I%20want%20to%20be%20a%20mailman%20and%20I%20am%2018.&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/12861)
Albert, your message posted 2x so I will answer it once and then copy and paste it. I currently work 7 hours a day as I am on a limited schedule for personal reasons. A regular city letter carrier can expect to work 8 hours per day (plus 30 min. unpaid lunch), 5 days per week. The 5 days may not be consecutive since mail is delivered 6 days per week. As a new hire, you will likely be a CCA (city carrier assistant) who has a very varied schedule and I'm not sure they are guaranteed any hours. I believe starting pay is about $16/hour for a CCA, with very few benefits, if any. Once you are promoted to a regular city carrier, the salary increasea to about $23/hour and tops out at about $28.50/hr after a certain amt. of years. These salaries are set in accordance with a labor agreement between the USPS and the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC), which is our union. You also get benefits once you become a regular city letter carrier as opposed to a CCA. If you visit the website www.nalc.org they have pay charts listed or you can probably just do a google search or look on www.glassdoor.com. Good luck in what is a pretty good career in my opinion.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=I%20want%20to%20be%20a%20mail%20carrier%20%28am%2019%20yrs%29%20%0AHow%20many%20hours%20do%20you%20work%20a%20day.%20%0AHow%20much%20is%20starting%20pay%20for%20an%20hour%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/12862)
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.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=i%20mailed%20a%20letter%20on%20tuesday%20morning%20in%20the%20box%20in%20front%20of%20my%20apartment%20complex%20%20%28i%20live%20in%20lancaster%20pa%29%202%20head%20to%20south%20carolina.%20it%20is%20now%20saturday%20night%20and%20she%20has%20no%20received%20the%20letter.%20i%20am%20wondering%20if%20this%20is%20rare%20or%20if%20something%20is%20wrong%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/13261)
-OR-
Login with Facebook (max 20 characters - letters, numbers, and underscores only. Note that your username is private, and you have the option to choose an alias when asking questions or hosting a Q&A.)
(A valid e-mail address is required. Your e-mail will not be shared with anyone.)
(min 5 characters)
By checking this box, you acknowledge that you have read and agree to Jobstr.com’s Terms and Privacy Policy.
-OR-
Register with Facebook(Don't worry: you'll be able to choose an alias when asking questions or hosting a Q&A.)
Browse Jobs
Host a Q&A
Search
Submit Your Question
Host a Q&A
Last 7
