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 mailed a check to the wrong address and placed it in my building's mailbox for pickup by the mailman, once the mailman comes for pick up will he be able to allow me to retrieve my mail?

Asked by Kimberlee about 11 years ago

I am not sure if the mailman will allow this since many of us act differently than others and we are rarely told of any rules (if any exist) regarding this situation. If I were your letter carrier and I knew you (or you could positively ID who you were) and the mail was easy to find in the outgoing mailbox I'd have no problem allowing you to retrieve that mail. I don't know how full your building mailbox gets. Some buildings just have a few pieces of mail left for pickup. Others are overflowing with outgoing mail. As I answer with many questions on this question board, "It depends". The consistency within the USPS is quite inconsistent.

Will ?the mail be delivered today

Asked by trina over 11 years ago

Yes Trina, mail is delivered Monday-Saturday every week of the year except for 10 Federal Holidays observed by the USPS. Black Friday is not (yet) a Federal Holiday. ????

I am waiting for my package outside my apartment's mail box am I allowed to ask for my package before he or she puts it in my mailbox

Asked by Jaime about 11 years ago

It depends on who your letter carrier is. Some will give it to you ahead of time and others will want to place it in the mailbox so they know you have legitimate access to your mailbox. As long as I knew the individual resided at the address associated with the package or they could prove it with identification, I would hand them the package. In my career I've never had a problem. Please remember that not every letter carrier behaves the same way. Thank you for the question.

I was wondering about the scan app on the new standard postage stamp you buy at the machines inside the post office,which are different from normal stamps. And what info comes up when you scan them with your Iphone? So far it hasn't yet worked for me

Asked by DavidB over 11 years ago

If you are referring to the forever stamps which are bought in a SSK (sales and service kiosk) which come in sheets of 10 for 4.90 and then are printed out on what looks like stickers there is no information on that scan that I'm aware of. I realize it has a code that looks like it is scannable. If you purchase postage to mail a package the label that is printed out to put on the package does have a scannable USPS tracking # which can be used with the Track function on the iphone USPS app. Thanks for the question and I do buy stamps from the SSK myself. It is so easy to use.

Why would my carrier report my package delivered and it's not in my box no notice left I live in apartment complex?

Asked by Tina almost 11 years ago

Tina, when I get a question like this it disturbs me because I have to think it wasn't an innocent error that the item was scanned as "delivered" but no notice was left nor was the item. As an aside, if a notice was left, the package would have been scanned as "attempted". It could've been an error, but I will explain why I think it may not have been. When the packages arrive at our PO in the AM, they are all scanned as "arrival at unit". Then, at the end of the work day, our supervisors are supposed to make sure that each item has an additional scan such as "attempted" or "delivered" or "business closed", etc. I know at our office that if they can't find the parcel as accidentally left behind in the office they may assume the parcel was delivered and enter it as such. Amazon specifically wants their items delivered the day they arrive at the destination PO. In a way this is falsifying and undermining the integrity of our scanning system. I won't say this happens to many items nor do I know if it's widespread. Hopefully what I described above is what happened with your package and it should be delivered on the following delivery day.

What steps should I take if a postal carrier overlooked my mail

Asked by shakita over 11 years ago

Shakita, I'm not sure what you mean by the postal carrier overlooked the mail. Do you mean that they looked inside it when they shouldn't have? If you know this for sure, I'd call or visit your nearby PO and speak with a delivery supervisor. It would seem hard to prove though I don't know the details in your case. If you meant that the postal carrier overlooked an outgoing piece of mail and forgot to take it, I'd recommend making it very visible to them next time and if it becomes a problem, please leave a note saying "please take outgoing mail. Thank you". I hope I have answered your question whichever way you intended it.

How long does it take a package to clear from international sorting centers

Asked by Christina almost 11 years ago

I don't know the answer to this. My guess is as long as it isn't being held in customs for further inspection, then it should clear in a couple of days. When I see items from overseas that is postmarked it seems that it took 7-10 days total from when it was mailed. I'm just going on observation here and don't have any inside knowledge on what the goal is to clear international packages for delivery.