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.
When you mail a letter it goes through a fairly extensive sorting process until it reaches the destination post office that does the actual delivery of the letter to the addressee. That is the way it works in the US and I imagine it is similar in other countries. Once the letter reaches the final post office, it is then sorted to the route which covers the address. The letter carrier for that route usually will have a map with them or a GPS or smartphone to help them find the address if they aren't familiar with the area. In the post office where I work, many of the streets are delivered by the same letter carriers each day so we know where the mail goes to. It is also helpful and important if the street signs are clear as well as the house/apt #'s are labeled well.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=If%20my%20address%20is%20on%20the%20mail%20that%20I%27m%20sending%20to%20another%20person%20shall%20we%20say%20in%20another%20country%20%2C%20how%20does%20a%20mailman%20find%20that%20address%20on%20that%20particular%20letter%3F%20Do%20they%20have%20some%20kind%20of%20map%20or%20device%20to%20help%20to%20them%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/13066)
David, you are correct about parcel delivery becoming ubiquitous. When I started at the USPS in 1998, there was so much actual mail to be sorted and delivered with only a few parcels. The pendulum is definitely swinging the other way and I truly can envision a time where mail becomes very insignificant compared to parcel delivery. Right now, we seem to have a fair amount of both. In developments that have cluster delivery boxes (usually apartment buildings or condominium complexes) or in a PO lobby we do use parcel lockers. I don't know how it would work with having boxes on the street similar to the USPS collection boxes used today. Currently the parcel lockers work this way---If a customer has a package to large to fit in their regular delivery receptacle, the carrier will put the package in the parcel locker, lock it with a key they have and put a separate specific parcel locker key in the regular receptacle of the parcel recipient. When the postal customer goes to retrieve their mail, they will see the parcel locker key and use that key in a specified parcel locker. Once they insert the key and turn it, that key stays in the lock, the locker opens and the customer retrieves their parcel. It is a very efficient system as opposed to going to the door of a customer (in a centralized delivery environment) to just use the parcel lockers.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=With%20parcel%20deliveries%20becoming%20so%20ubiquitous%20thanks%20to%20internet%20shopping%2C%20I%20have%20often%20thought%20that%20a%20mailbox%20similar%20to%20the%20USPS%20blue%20mailboxes%20might%20be%20a%20good%20and%20secure%20way%20to%20delivering%20parcels.%20Do%20you%20know%20how%20these%20actually%20work%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/12580)
I am not sure how you would get the full name of your postman. I read that he won't give you his last name. I have no idea whether or not he has any obligation to do so. I gladly would give it out, if asked. It is also on my ID badge that I wear. I feel that it should be available to the public, but I am sure you will find great disagreement among my colleagues. If you were to call the PO and ask them, I have a feeling they wouldn't give it to you either. Some people get very private about certain matters, yet they will join Facebook and broadcast a lot about their personal lives. That's about all of the insight I have on this subject. Thanks for writing.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=How%20do%20I%20get%20the%20full%20name%20of%20my%20postman.%20He%20won%27t%20give%20me%20his%20last%20name.&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/12850)
Regarding your question Joseph, I don't known what the official rule is on this. If I were the letter carrier who was collecting the mail from the blue collection box and you approached me with appropriate ID and the letter was easy to find, I'd return it to you. I can imagine some other carriers not being as accommodating to your request either because they don't want to help you or because we may not technically be allowed to. It's also not always so easy to find the person collecting the mail unless you are watching the mailbox for awhile because letter carrier doesn't always come at the time printed on the collection box schedule label. The time printed on the label is the earliest time of the collection but it could be hours before the mail is actually collected.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=If%20i%20was%20to%20put%20my%20mail%20in%20the%20collectors%20box%20and%20lets%20just%20say%20i%20needed%20it%20back%20cause%20whatever%20reason.%20And%20the%20envolope%20has%20my%20name%20on%20it%2C%20could%20i%20have%20it%20returned%20if%20i%20go%20to%20the%20mailmen%20when%20he%20is%20collecting%20the%20mail%20and%20show%20valid%20U.S.%20form%20of%20i.d&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/14409)
Freelance Writer
How do you go about getting your first clients?
Professor
How do you prevent cheating and plagiarism these days?
Correctional Officer
Why does gang formation and racial segregation happen so much in prisons?
There is a good chance that the letter may actually continue to its destination without being returned. I find the USPS very poor in catching items mailed with insufficient postage. I try to capture it because that is our source of revenue and how we stay in business. I hate the "I don't care attitude" that I perceive in some co-workers. I'm sure this is common in many professions. But, to answer your question, a Forever stamp is currently valued at .49 . The minimum rate for an international letter is $1.15 but it varies by country of destination. If you don't receive the letter back within a week or so, I'd suspect that it will make it to the destination. Please always remember to include a return address, though I suspect you did. Thank you for writing.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=If%20I%20put%20a%20forever%20stamp%20to%20an%20international%20letter%2C%20will%20USPS%20return%20to%20my%20the%20letter%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/12574)
I'm sorry but it's unlikely that you would be able to get your paycheck before regular mail delivery on Monday. It is likely that your post office closed and may not have anybody there until early on Monday AM. Even on Monday AM, it's not likely that your mail will be available (or that you'd find anybody willing or allowed to help). I don't know where your post office is so I can't speak to the specifics of your situation. I am just speaking in generalities of what I think would be the situation at most post offices. My question to you is: How do you know your pay check is at the post office? Most post offices deliver whatever mail has arrived on the same day that it arrives. What I mean is that mail that is processed overnight at a regional sorting facility arrives at our local post office by apprx 730AM and then is all sent out for delivery the same day it arrives. Do you have a PO Box where the paycheck would be and your local post office has restricted hours for access (i.e. not a 24 hour lobby).
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=I%20know%20my%20paycheck%20is%20at%20post%20office%2C%20I%20need%20for%20an%20emergency%2C%20%20it%27s%20Saturday%20night%20at%206%3A10%20pm.%20Is%20there%20any%20possible%20way%20to%20get%20it%20before%20monday%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/11830)
I have to tell you that I don't know what recourse you have in this situation since the woman who says she doesn't have it probably can't be held accountable for actually having it. How does the super know it went to the wrong address? I'm just curious since I'm not sure how this whole chain of events can be verified. I'm sorry that I can't help you further and it is very difficult to get an item back that is misdelivered if the actual recipient doesn't admit to having it. Even if you called a local post office to file some type of complaint about this, I don't know what help they would be.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=What%20recourse%20do%20I%20have%3A%0AI%20had%20dvd%20delivered%20to%20a%20friend.%20He%20didn%27t%20get%20it%20although%20tracking%20said%20it%20was%20delivered.%20Called%20located%20po.%20Super%20said%20mail%20carrier%20said%20gave%20it%20to%20woman.%20It%20went%20to%20wrong%20address.%20Woman%20says%20she%20doesn%27t%20have%20it.&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/12207)
-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
