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

If I address mail like:
.
John Cook
123 Ort Rd, New York,NY,USA
~zip code~
.
Will it still be delivered to my house from an outside country or does the zip code go back up by the street and city name or does it not matter?

Asked by ghords over 11 years ago

The mail will still likely make it to your address in the USA, but the proper addressing format would be to have the bottom line read the country of destination. The ZIP should go on the same line as City and State. The Street (or PO Box) should go on the line above City, State, and ZIP code.

651 Votes

I have an interview Thursday to be a city carrier, is it possible for me to carrier four days and go to school the other two?

Asked by N ADAMS almost 11 years ago

I don't know this answer since I don't work in the hiring area and don't know what the conversations are like. My guess from what I've seen is that it's not likely that a 4-day schedule will be allowed and then 2 days at school. The CCAs in our office have to sometimes work on Sunday delivering Amazon.com packages. I think that CCAs are supposed to be available on a very dynamic schedule so I don't know if you could get an agreement from the USPS to guarantee no work on the days you'd like to go to school. It doesn't hurt to ask and just because I haven't seen it done doesn't mean it's not possible. Good luck.

651 Votes

An X roommate put a vaction hold on my address. They do not even live here. ..What can I do? And can I press any charges.

Asked by moriah almost 12 years ago

Moriah, that is pretty rotten that an ex-roommate would put a hold on all of the mail to your address. I believe you may have to call the USPS help line or visit your local post office to say that your mail shouldn't be held. They shouldn't give you a hard time if you prove that is your address. As far as pressing any charges, I don't have any legal background on what the crime would be and if any charges would stick. The USPS CS # is 800 275 8777.

651 Votes

How does a new CCA in Mass have to do to memorize his route on the beginning? And how hard is it? In a non familiar area. Thank you!

Asked by Lazarevicmass over 11 years ago

A CCA shouldn't have to memorize a delivery route as far as I know. I believe as long as you can read a map or use a smart phone GPS, you should be okay. Hopefully the postal management or a fellow letter carrier can give you written instructions and/or a map to help you. I know that if I give away part of my route for a CCA to deliver, I am expected to write down the delivery instructions including park points, vacant houses, certified mail, and Managed Service Points (which need to be scanned). I will admit that not every office or carrier is that well organized so there may be a level of "baptism by fire". The key for me is organization and reading a map if you are unfamiliar with an area.

650 Votes

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Postal Carrier delivered over 150 postcards to ONE hotel that I paid to deliver to every home and business. What are my rights for damage caused to my 15 businesses I represent that depend on revenue from it?

Asked by Phil almost 11 years ago

Phil, it sounds like you were using our EDDM Retail service which allows mailers to target an area of the town with a simplified (unaddressed) mailing which would go to each address on a route or group of routes. EDDM stands for Every Door Direct Mail. It has been very popular since it was introduced by the USPS several years ago. It is very bad that a postal carrier would deliver it to just one address though I have heard this complaint before. I don't know what your rights are re: a refund of the mailing costs. I'd contact your local postmaster or escalate to our consumer affairs department (which I think we have) to try and make sure it doesn't happen again. I don't believe you are eligible for any damage beyond the cost of the postage, but I could be wrong about this. Hearing a complaint like this doesn't surprise me as I get the impression that these mailings (EDDM) aren't treated as well as addressed mail but absolutely should be. We are paid to deliver the mail accordingly. I'm sorry that you had this bad experience with the USPS and hope you would give us another chance.

650 Votes

How long does it take to get back to the sender when USPS tracking states : Moved, Left no address:

Asked by Nikki over 10 years ago

I don't know how long that would take. I didn't know that we are able to scan a package or item as "moved, left no address". If the system is working properly and we give that item the same attention that an originating (vs. a returned item) gets then it should just take a few days to get back to the sender. In our office which is shorthanded on clerks, I'm not so sure how quickly the item would be returned. There is a lot as a letter carrier or employee we aren't told or know how long something should take so we just learn a lot by experience. Thanks for your question.

650 Votes

Hi again i got everything figured out with my postcard and am going to be sending out 10,000 at once. Would i be able to get a bulk discount for this? or would it be wiser to pay for first class postage? and will they be delivered the same either way

Asked by Andrew over 10 years ago

I didn't realize you'd be doing such a large mailing. I believe that amt of postcards would qualify for a discount but sometimes it depends on the quantity of pieces for a certain area, how the mailing is prepared, and where you enter it into the system (some large mailings are cheaper to drop off at a mail plant vs. a local PO). The name for a bulk mailing discount is usually called presort standard and presort first class Mail. The standard doesn't get handled as quickly as first class mail which is why it's cheaper. I am sure the answer is quite a bit more complex than what I've told you. Some resources that I'd look for are the Direct Marketing Association or search for "USPS bulk mailing discounts" or "basics of bulk mailing USPS". If stamps or meters are not affixed to your postcards you can't just drop them in a mailbox. The mailing would need to be processed through the BMEU (business mail entry unit). You may also need to get a bulk mailing permit to use an indicia and get a discount. I don't know these details at all. You ask good questions but my area of knowledge has more to do with the job of a city letter carrier. That is why I'm not being any more specific. Anything I've typed here is what I've learned over the years by asking my associates similar questions that you have asked. None of this knowledge is necessary to be a letter carrier.

650 Votes

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