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.
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/
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Definitely. Most of the time we deliver the mail that you are supposed to receive, but it's possible that the mail for you has been missorted and will show up later on the delivery route and the letter carrier doesn't backtrack the same day to bring it to you. You should get the mail the next delivery day. If the mail was misdelivered to another address it could be days (if at all) for you to receive the mail you are supposed to. The reason is because if mail is misdelivered its up to the errant recipient to put the mail back in a mailbox to be correctly delivered. They may do it right away, in a few days, or not at all.
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Are you referring to having a pen for a signature of accountable mail like a certified or registered item? I would say we are supposed to carry a pen because we sometimes have to leave a notice that we attempted a delivery but were not able to leave the item for whatever reason. With the current mail data collection device items can be signed for directly on an electronic screen with a stylus or fingernail. No pen is required unless the sender has requested a return receipt to be signed. Basically it is good practice to carry a pen at all times while delivering the mail.
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Yes, I've heard of nothing to the contrary and I know that many of the younger letter carriers have tattoos and piercings.
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Tattoo Artist
Have you ever messed up while giving someone a tattoo?
Forensic Scientist
When did you know you wanted to work with the dead?
Veterinarian
How do you break the news to a kid when his pet dies?
I wouldn't recommend getting them any alcohol if they are hungover often. How about some aspirin? We get a yearly allowance for uniform clothing so I can't think of any clothing to get them. Actually, maybe a light rain jacket or slicker wouldn't be such a bad idea, but we do get allowances for good performing raingear. As far as walking in the sun, we also can purchase wise-brimmed sunhats or pith helmets. We also have rubber overboots that can keep our feet dry in the rain. I receive gift cards and cash mostly as holiday gifts from customers to whom I deliver mail. One of my co-workers gives me some lottery scratch-offs which is very nice. I realize that this doesn't necessarily answer your question since none of these gifts are practical in dealing with rain or sun. It's also nice of you to just consider a gift so he should appreciate whatever you give them. I don't exchange gifts with most of friends or family. Having time with them is a present enough. I realize that's a bit corny but that's how I feel.
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They really shouldn't be taking your mail into their unit or house or apt if you don't shared the same living space with them and they aren't responsible about giving it to you. It may not be easy but you could politely ask the landlord and girlfriend and son to maybe leave your mail in the box or slip it under your door if that's accessible or appropriate. I agree it's not good for you to need to be concerned if someone is taking your mail and giving it to you at their convenience. I know it's not the answer you'd like to hear, but a PO Box rental would solve this issue. The drawback is that it costs money and is probably less convenient than getting mail at your residence. The USPS would probably not get involved in separating out your mail and putting in to a different mail receptacle unless the unit was officially designated an apt for mail receiving purposes. I don't know how one would go about doing this or the complexity of it. We have a database of authorized addresses that we go by to deliver the mail and if there aren't multiple units designated in the same dwelling, all of the mail would normally be put together.
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Liz, I am no expert in giving advice on how to get more work as an RCA. I believe if you work, you get one-day of pay. There are no partial days. The nature of being a Rural Carrier Asssociate is that there are no guarantees of hours that I'm aware of per week. You are utilized to cover days off for career rural carriers if they call in sick, have annual leave, or have a day off each week or every other week. It can be frustrating not getting much work. My advice is to have a great attitude, be prompt in your attendance for work and do as accurate a job as possible when delivering the mail. Each office is different in how much work the employees get, especially when it's a non-career position like RCA or CCA (City Carrier Assistant). If there are CCA positions available nearby, you may want to consider it. They may work more frequently and can be paid for part of a workday if there are only a few hours of work available. From what I observe and read on FB groups, most CCAs are overworked, not underworked (which is your situation). Another option is to see if any RCA work is available in nearby Post Offices. We have one RCA who works in at least 2 Post Offices. Please mention to the manager or Postmaster that you are eager to have any available work as an RCA. Good luck and please be patient. You are brand new to the USPS.
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