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

WIll you deliver to my school room door if i leave on campus or you would leave it in front of my dorm

Asked by Joy almost 12 years ago

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.

Our new mailman does not deliver all of our mail to our house. The Postmaster General says he can't do anything about it. Can something be done? What is happening to our mail, magazines, checks, etc? Thanks!

Asked by Linda A. almost 12 years ago

Linda, thanks for writing and I'm sorry that you are going through an unfortunate situation. I don't know why your new mailman wouldn't be delivering all of the mail to your house. If he's not delivering it to your house, I wonder where it is going. It is not legal to be doing anything else with the mail except deliver it to the proper addressee. You spoke with the Postmaster, not the Postmaster General. The PMG is the top administrator of the USPS in Washington, DC. Have you asked your mailman what may be happening to your mail? I doubt that you will get any type of satisfactory answers. The next step if you don't get any satisfaction from your local post office is to try to contact the region or area office that oversees your post office. Another option is the Postal Inspectors who would investigate any criminal activity like mail fraud or theft of mail. I don't have a lot of conifdence in these offices really doing too much in your situation but if you feel it is serious enough I wouldn't think twice about reporting it. Thanks for writing.

I have a photograph of mailboxes in a remote part of South Dakota. There is a large barrel next to the mailboxes. Is it used for packages?

Asked by Joy almost 12 years ago

Hello Joy. The area where you took the photo is probably serviced by a rural carrier or HCR (highway contract routr). These positions are different than the one I am employed as even though we all serve the same function. It makes sense to me that the barrel would be used for packages because I don't think carriers are required to deliver mail to a house that is more than a certain amt of feet from the road. The barrel is a convenient way for the customer to receive packages without having to drive to a post office which is many mlies away and has limited hours. It would also protect the package from damage in inclement weather. I can't confirm this is what the barrel is for.

Hi! Do you know if I am obligated to retrieve my mail -- (which consists entirely of trash for me to dispose of) -- from my mailbox? What if I just leave it, and never attempt to retrieve it?

Asked by hexadecimal almost 12 years ago

I don't believe you have any obligation ever to retrieve your mail. After awhile the mailbox will fill up and then the letter carrier will probably do the following: stop delivering any future mail and return any first class or periodical mail or mail sent by a mailer requesting return if undeliverable with the endorsement "Box Full". I have never encountered this situation but I understand people not caring about their mail deliveries these days especially when so much of it is advertising. Please be advised, however, that if your mailbox is full that you may not receive even one piece of mail that could be important. If you are so sure you don't want anything delivered by US Mail, then feel free to let your mailbox fill up or you could even take it down if you aren't a cluster box. I am sure this is a growing sentiment since most business and communication can be done electronically. Thanks for writing. 

Hey is it the same as australian post office. i want to send my friend a bday card.. She lives in the same state same city haha and i want to know how long it would take to deliver so that i can post it like 2 days before and then arrives on her bday

Asked by Jono over 12 years ago

Sorry to say that we can't guarantee arrival of a birthday card on a specific date when mailed via regular class mail. We do, however, have a decent record of getting most letters delivered the next day when mailed from the same city, and 2-3 days when mailed from further away. To play it safe I'd mail the card 2 days in advance and, if you prefer, you can write "Do Not Open Until Your Birthday" on the outside of it. You are a thoughtful friend. Good Luck!

i accidentally remailed a piece of mail that was already sent to me. It did not have a new stamp on int..just the original that was canceled. It was not opened..will it get back to me?

Asked by spartan girl over 11 years ago

The letter will possibly just go through the mail processing system again and be sent back to you. I don't think anybody would notice that it was sent a second time and your letter carrier would hopefully just deliver it again to you. It would likely go back to the sender if somewhere on the envelope was written "person doesn't live here" or "return to sender" but that isn't the case here. Hopefully you will get the letter back in a couple of days.

Do you have any tips for a new CCA?

Asked by Bradan almost 12 years ago

I would say congratulations if you've been hired as a CCA with the USPS. It may seem a bit thankless at times as a CCA given that you are paid less than the regular career carriers and the benefits are also lighter. My tips would be to try to have a great work attitude, be on time for work, be flexible since your hours may be quite variable, work safely, and be respectful of your co-workers. This doesn't mean let yourself be stopped on taken advantage of by management or your co-workers. You will likely be filling in for carriers who are out temporarily or doing "pieces" on a route when the mail volume is too high. If you think you are being given too much work in too short of a time window, do your best but then call the supervisors if you won't be able to make it. They may not be happy about it, but as long as you are safe and not making many delivery mistakes, it should be okay. I also recommending to join the NALC who will advocate for your rights as a city letter carrier. Please write more if you have additional questions or you need me to be more specific. Good luck to you!