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

Is it okay to finish a route and take the half hour lunch at the end then drive back to office

Asked by JVitto over 10 years ago

I used to do this but was then told that I really should take the 30 minute lunch within 6 hours of my BT (begin tour) time. I now take lunch from approximately 1300-1330. The new scanners that we have tells the mgmt where we are so they can see if we are sitting for 30 minutes at the end of the day instead of our approved lunch period. If the management doesn't give you a hard time about it, I don't see why not but the union and managers technically should be enforcing the 6-hour rule for taking a lunch break. I've become used to it so it's no big deal to take lunch when I'm supposed to and not at the end of the delivery route.

701 Votes

I was also wondering...The flag on my mailbox is broken. Is there another way to let the mailman know that there is outgoing mail? Or should I either buy another flag or put a note saying there's out going mail?

Asked by Izzy about 11 years ago

I don't know the answer to this, but if you bought a replacement flag that is able to go up and down, it would certainly help. As long as I'm stopping at a house to deliver mail and there is outgoing mail which is easily visible I will know to take it with me whether or not a flag is raised. The possible confusion comes on a day where there is no mail to be delivered to your address. In that case a letter carrier may not stop if there is no flag to notify of outgoing mail. Where I deliver mail (Long Island, NY) most addresses receive some type of mail daily (a local flyer or gov't mailing, advertising, etc) so this is rarely a problem. In your part of TX, this may not be the case so I can't really comment on the significance of having an operational flag.

701 Votes

Thanks for the answer, but doesn't each carrier have a route number, like C001-19046, the last part being the zip code that they deliver to? So if I addressed it to Letter Carrier Route C001-19046 he /she would get the letter?

Asked by Jane almost 11 years ago

You are the right track with your question. C001, for example, would be City Route 1. I don't think there is a special ZIP code for the route #. What you could I address the item to "Letter Carrer C0001" and then the PO name and address and 5-digit ZIP code. I think the addl 4 digits for the ZIP code would be -9998 for mail going to the PO and not to a customer. Don't quote me on that last part. I've reread your question now. If you put C001-19046 on the top line of the address they might get the letter. I've never seen this done before but it does make sense. I would recommend addressing the envelope to "Letter Carrier C001", but it's your choice.

701 Votes

I get two letters from the same company a month. They arrive together on the same day, why would the usps of postman put a question mark on the second envelope? Everything is exactly the same as far as the printing of address for example.

Asked by Mmxv about 11 years ago

It doesn't make sense why a USPS letter carrier would put a question mark on one of the envelopes that is identical to the first one. It's common for people to get multiple letters from the same company. I would only put a question mark on the envelope if I wasn't sure if the name on the envelope was correct for the address it is to be delivered to. In your example, I don't think I'd put a question mark on either piece of mail. Also, if other mail to your address has your name on it, I don't see any reason for the question mark. If it only happens once or twice I wouldn't think about it. If it happens each month and it concerns you, you could cal the local PO and talk to the delivery supervisor to see if they have any insight.

701 Votes

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What time do mailmen deliver mail in the summer ?

Asked by Jessie almost 11 years ago

It depends on each Post Office and how soon their mail is sorted and the letter carriers can load their delivery vehicles and start delivery. At the PO where I work mail is delivered as early as 9:15 AM and as late as 6:30 PM. The evening time can be even later if we are short-staffed. I've heard stories about letter carriers at other offices delivering later than that due to staffing shortages. If I were to work a regular schedule and everything went according to plan, I'd be delivering between 09:40 AM and 3:30 PM.

701 Votes

Can a mail man bid on a route that's not in his district?

Asked by Jim almost 11 years ago

When a route goes up for bid due to a vacancy, it is usually first offered in the office or city (if there are multiple stations combined into one bidding unit). If nobody bids that assignment and there are no unassigned regular letter carriers in the bidding unit, the assignment might be posted as available through the eReassign system. This is the way that letter carriers can move between districts.

700 Votes

i had "not nice words" with a substitute driver the other day and she threatened to stop my mail. Can she really stop it because we had words.

Asked by tn mom over 10 years ago

I don't know the answer to that. I can't imagine that there are too many situations to get into conflict with a customer. I would usually walk away from most situations that could get out of hand. Anyhow, they shouldn't threaten to stop the mail because of the "words" unless there was a physical threat made by you, which it doesn't sound like. If, by chance, you notice mail not being delivered, you could contact a delivery supervisor or Postmaster or manager to tell them what happened and ask why you didn't receive mail when you were supposed to. I hope that cooler heads prevail. I have a few jerky customers that I deliver mail too, but I don't let it bother me. They continue to get the exact same quality service as everybody else I deliver mail to. I hope that cooler heads prevail in your situation and that the mail service isn't interrupted. Thanks for writing with your q.

700 Votes

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