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.
I think it is inappropriate to solicit your own business while delivering a route for the USPS. I haven't heard of anyone being disciplined for doing this, but I would think that it is technically not allowed. I know of a couple of co-workers who do home improvements, landscaping, or sprinkler work as side jobs but don't know if they actually try to get business while delivering mail. If they want to do a postcard mailing to try and get business I suppose that would be fine as long as proper postage was paid for the mailing and they didn't just put their own postcards in mailboxes while delivering the mail and not affixing postage to it.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=if%20you%20are%20a%20us%20postal%20service%20worker%20can%20you%20solicit%20your%20own%20business%20while%20delivering%20your%20route%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/16018)
My pleasure to answer yours and others questions, Dee! It's easy to respond quickly as I don't get an overwhelming number of questions. I also don't like to have a backlog of emails either. Anyhow, to answer your question the correct thing to do is to not deliver the mail and have it returned to the sender with the endorsement "No Mail Receptacle". I don't come across this situation very often. I sometimes fill in on another route and there is one house with no mailbox. I just rubber band the mail and leave it on their bench by a front door. I think if it was on my postal route I'd request the customer install a mailbox to have mail delivery service.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Thank%20you%20so%20much%20for%20a%20speedy%20answer.%20Thank%20you%20for%20answering%20all%20these%20questions%21%20One%20other%20question%20I%20would%20have%20is%2C%20what%20do%20you%20do%20when%20a%20house%20does%20not%20have%20a%20mailbox%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/17363)
Dee, that just happened to me today. I was given part of another route to deliver, but along with the mail on the other route which I was suposed to deliver was additional mail that wasn't part of my extra assignment. Not knowing if I was approved to deliver that additional mail, I called the delivery supervisor at the Post Office and asked for further guidance. She said to go ahead and deliver it and that wouldn't be an issue with me taking longer than I was supposed to. Basically, just call the post office and ask for the delivery supervisor. When they send you out to deliver mail, your supervisor should give you the office phone number to call if there are any questions. It's pretty common for me to call the PO and vice versa if we have questions. I would hope your supervisors are just as receptive as it is part of their job to assist you with anything you may not be sure of. I also have the cell #'s of some of my co-workers who I'll call/text if I have a question they might know the answer to.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=What%20should%20I%20do%20if%20I%20am%20out%20on%20a%20route%20and%20have%20a%20question%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/17405)
If I were in motion, I'd safely pull over, put on my four-way flashers, and then get out to investigate. It's possible that my gas cap is hanging out the side of the LLV, the back gate isn't secure, or maybe I'm dragging something. It could also be something that I haven't thought of. If the motorist is still around I'd ask them what they are pointing out. If it seemed to be some type of phony diversion tactic, I'd try to get far away from the motorist pointing and then investigate safely.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=While%20driving%20the%20vehicle%20to%20make%20a%20delivery%2C%20another%20motorist%20points%20towards%20the%20back%20of%20your%20vehicle%20as%20if%20something%20is%20wrong.%20What%20do%20you%20do%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/16040)
Programmer
Why are most developers socially withdrawn?
Sommelier
What's your favorite bottle of wine for under $20?
School Teacher
Are teachers underpaid?
As long as you addressed the letter properly and affixed the correct postage the letter should make it to its destination correctly. When letter carriers pick up outgoing mail we generally just put it in a basket with all of the other outgoing mail and a processing facility sorts the mail based on where it is going to. It's recommended that you put a return address in the upper left hand corner of the letter just in case it doesn't reach the intended recipient. This way the letter would be returned to you, the sender. A return address isn't mandatory.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=If%20i%20put%20a%20mail%20such%20as%20a%20letter%20in%20the%20mailbox%20will%20the%20mail%20carrier%20get%20it%20make%20sure%20it%20sent%20to%20the%20person%20.%20We%20they%20even%20get%20the%20letter%20out%20the%20mailbox%20.%20Do%20i%20have%20to%20write%20return%20to%20sender%20even%20though%20its%20a%20letter%20that%20i%20wrote%20for%20someone%20.&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/15566)
If you have received incorrect mail in your PO Box, you can do a few things. You can write on the envelope, "addressee unknown" and push it back through the PO Box so it lands on the floor or leave it in an outgoing mail collection box. Either way, the PO Box clerk should see that it doesn't belong to you after you have written on it and either forward it or return it to the sender. You could probably also keep the mail but that may not be ethical especially if it was important mail. I'm sure many PO Boxes get closed and the renter doesn't leave forwarding instructions.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=what%20do%20i%20do%20with%20mail%20that%20was%20delivered%20to%20the%20po%20box%20irent%20but%20isnt%20addressed%20to%20me%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/15694)
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.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Do%20you%20guys%20deliver%20mail%20on%20christmas%20eve%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/16167)
-OR-
Login with Facebook (max 20 characters - letters, numbers, and underscores only. Note that your username is private, and you have the option to choose an alias when asking questions or hosting a Q&A.)
(A valid e-mail address is required. Your e-mail will not be shared with anyone.)
(min 5 characters)
By checking this box, you acknowledge that you have read and agree to Jobstr.com’s Terms and Privacy Policy.
-OR-
Register with Facebook(Don't worry: you'll be able to choose an alias when asking questions or hosting a Q&A.)
Browse Jobs
Host a Q&A
Search
Submit Your Question
Host a Q&A
Last 7
