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

Dear Mailman Dave,
I went to mail a letter in a first class standard envelope to my granddaughter. I accidently placed my envelope in a USPS Priority Express blue box on the street. This was done on a Sunday around 12:00 PM. Will my mistake delay my granddaughter from getting the letter on Monday? We both live in the same state being ten minutes away from each other, and we share the same main post office. I also forgot to add a return address, but I know for certain I wrote the forward address correctly and used a first class stamp. Any help given would be greatly appreciated.

Asked by GrannyBlu72 about 11 years ago

Hello GrannyBlu72! It was fine to drop the letter to your granddaughter in the Priority Express Blue Box on the street. That probably happens all of the time and the letter carrier who collects it would just put that envelope into the regular mail processing stream. As long as you used proper postage for what you mailed and put the correct address on the envelope, the letter will get to your granddaughter. When she receives it, however, is a different story. The letter would likely be collected from that blue collection box on Monday and if sent to the regional mail processing facility (which most mail is sent to even if addressed to the same town that it is mailed in), the turnaround time is usually 2 days. It is likely your granddaughter will receive the letter Wednesday. Until recently, mail within a certain processing area would take just 1-day to reach it's destination.

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.

If I leave money and a note for a book of stamps in my mailbox will my mailman deliver me stamp

Asked by katy about 11 years ago

They might. If you are on a rural delivery route, I believe it is part of the carrier's job to mail items for the customers (at the customer's expense, of course) and deliver them stamps if they request them and pay for it. If you live on a city delivery route, it's probably up to the individual carrier if they will fulfill your request or not. I believe you can purchase stamps online and they'll be sent to you or there is an option for stamps by mail. In the latter option, you fill out a form and enclose a check and the USPS will deliver your stamps in a couple of days. I don't see any of those options used too often where I deliver mail but I can't speak for other post offices. 

Try this URL:

https://store.usps.com/store/

is it legal to write a message on the outside of the envelope of a letter im mailing ?

Asked by chaser over 11 years ago

I don't see why it wouldn't be legal. The important parts are that the destination address, return address, and postage are in the correct places and clearly readable. Besides that I believe you may write a message on the outside of an envelope.

On parcels/spurs that have the insured blue label and/or signature confirmations, does the customer have to sign in person at post office, same true for domestic registered? Some carriers check item at P.O. cust signs 3849, what is policy on that

Asked by jrv over 11 years ago

I think I understand your question. You are asking if an item that is insured or signature confirmation can be signed for on a 3849 and left out by the customer for the item to be delivered without the customer present or do they have to sign for it at a PO. In the area where I deliver mail, it is sufficient for a signed 3849 to be an authorization to leave an item at the address even if nobody is present. For domestic registered mail, I'd advise against this because the items may contain very valuable items so I might be uncomfortable just leaving them without a recipient available. I rarely get domestic registered (red label) mail to deliver so I can't say for sure what I do in each situation. To me, domestic registered mail is the most secure service we offer and needs to be treated accordingly.

Do you guys deliver mail on christmas eve?

Asked by Mike over 10 years ago

Yes, we deliver on 12/24/15 Thursday. At the office where I work, we will try to be done by 1600. After that, we will next deliver mail on Saturday 12/26/15. Christmas Eve is a regular work day except that our retail window may close earlier than usual.

are mail carriers required to deliver to separate boxes at a 2-family house, assuming the boxes specify 'apt. 1' and 'apt. 2' (particularly if the boxes are on different levels separated by stairs)?

Asked by Joe over 10 years ago

I don't know the procedures for determining whether a not a building is "officially" considered multi-unit for mail deliver purposes. I once had a person who was leasing part of a house of I could put his mail into a separate mailbox on the side of a house and I said no. The house is considered one address and all of the mail goes in a single box. The landlord can separate the mail. I would think if it's a 2-family house and the boxes are clearly marked as "apt 1" and "apt 2" or something similarly distinctive and the mail is addressed accordingly it may be okay. I truly don't know what constitutes multi-unit or not as far as mail delivery goes. I also don't know if the stairs have any effect to the answer. It's not uncommon to walk up stairs to deliver mail so I can't outright say no due to the stairs separating the mailboxes of the 2 units.