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.

SubscribeGet emails when new questions are answered. Ask Me Anything!Show Bio +

Share:

Ask me anything!

Submit Your Question

1237 Questions

Share:

Last Answer on February 18, 2022

Best Rated

The mail lady at my apartment building has been bringing a friend with her when delivering mail, just hanging out. He also has a bully breed dog. Is this normal? Are civilians allowed in USPS vehicles?

Asked by COperson over 10 years ago

I don't believe that is normal or allowed in a USPS vehicle. I wouldn't risk taking a civilian (non-USPS employee) in the USPS vehicle. I can't quote any rules on this but I can't imagine the USPS would take any responsibility should the non-employee get hurt while in that vehicle. It sounds even more suspicious that this friend is bringing a bully breed dog along. I once had my nephews and parents walk with me along the postal route for approximately 45 minutes to show them what my job is like. I didn't receive approval from my supervisor to do this and, after the fact, I realize it may not have been proper to have them accompany me while delivering mail. My nephews were very young at the the time and I carefully watched as they put the mail in the mailbox on several occasions. It's up to you whether or not you want to report this to your local post office that the letter carrier works out of. I don't know if the supervisor would care or do anything but I can't imagine that this is allowed or condoned. If the friend just came along and didn't go into the USPS vehicle, it may not be as clear whether or not that is allowed, but it certainly seems inappropriate. In my work environment, I just stick to the rules as much as I can without drawing attention to myself and stay out of trouble. Thanks for the interesting question.

is the mailman going to be running behind on the day after Thanksgiving with his mail delivery

Asked by Teri over 11 years ago

Teri, generally the mailman will be running behind because the day after any holiday there is often a heavier quantity of mail to deliver. I can't speak for all offices, but most of my co-workers were probably 1:00-1:30 behind their regular schedule when they started deliveries today. There was a huge quantity of parcels to have sorted by the clerks (took awhile) and also delivering these takes longer . One other factor is that the sun sets earlier this time of year so delivering the mail in the dark takes even longer.

If the adress on the envelope of the letter I'm trying to send dosent match my address will the mail man still take it?

Asked by Emely almost 11 years ago

They should take it. I've never heard of that being an issue. As long as there is sufficient postage it should be accepted. I think most letter carriers don't even look at the to/from address on an envelope when they collect mail from a person or collection box. Furthermore, I know of no requirement to even have a return address on anything that is mailed. Thanks for your question.

How can I get a letter to a specific mail carrier. Not necessarily the one on my route.

Asked by Jane over 10 years ago

If you know their name and what PO they work at you could mail it with their name, c/o the PO where they work and hopefully they will get it. You could mark it Personal if you want to. I have lost a lot of faith lately in things getting delivered to where they should but you could try it. I would think if our supervisor or PM saw a letter addresses to an employee they'd give it to them as long as it wasn't habitual. iVe never been in that situation so I can't say for sure. Thanks for your question.

I am a unit owner in a 114 unit condo. An owner operates a rental business in her unit. She has erected a "hotel" sign and has all 114 owners mail delivered to her, and then delivers the mail to each unit. Is this illegal?

Asked by jmasick@hotmail.com over 11 years ago

I am not familiar with any rules that would or wouldn't allow this. On the surface it seems odd that you wouldn't be able to receive your mail directly from the USPS, but this may be the way the condo is set up. When you say an owner operates a rental business in her unit, do you mean she arranges for people to rent other condo units short-term, kind of like a rental agent? Either way, I'm not sure how this affects mail delivery. An alternative to having your mail delivered to this single unit would be to rent a PO Box. Sure it is more costly than just getting your mail delivered to the condo complex, but there is reliability and privacy/security with a PO Box.

how late does the mail carrier run pls hlp thnx

Asked by deedee almost 11 years ago

I don't know where you live but delivery is usually done by 5:30 or 6PM based on my experience. I suppose if an office is short-handed or the mail volume is too high then delivery may be much later. The route which I deliver in Long Island, NY generally is done by 3:30 PM if the mail volume (including parcels to deliver) is average. So you can see there is quite a range as to how late a letter carrier route can be and there are variables that make it hard to pinpoint when delivery will be on any given day. Thanks for your question.

I'm in SF,CA Is there a law that says the mail carrier can only walk 6 feet to deliver the mail? I recently moved my mail slot down the driveway into a door as some of our mail is missing.

Asked by Donna E. over 10 years ago

I'm a little confused by your question. Did you move the mail slot down the driveway into a door because some mail is missing or do you think mail is missing because you've moved the mail slot down the driveway and now the mail carrier won't deliver it? I don't know why your mail would be missing. The main reason is usually misdelivery by a USPS letter carrier and less common is mail theft. To answer your main question, I don't know anything about laws regarding how far a letter carrier can walk to deliver mail. If the carrier delivers on foot then it's very common to have to go to a door or mailbox near a door to deliver the mail. From what you described it shouldn't be an issue to have moved the mail slot into a door.