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

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Hi, Dave. I just accept a CCA position in Manhattan district in New York City. Do I need to drive the 2 ton postal van? Even though I have my driver's license for more than 10 years. I've never driven a car this size. Especially in a city like NY

Asked by David almost 9 years ago

Congratulations on being offered and accepting the CCA position. I don't know what you'd be required to drive in Manhattan. In our office all carriers are trained on the LLV and on the 2-ton postal truck, but I haven't driven the latter in years and would be reluctant to if asked due to my lack of familiarity with it and I, too, don't like the size of it. In Manhattan I don't like to drive at all. It is so congested and some streets are pretty narrow. Besides the 2-ton I don't see too many other postal vehicles driven in Manhattan. Many CCAs work on Sunday's delivering Amazon parcels which requires driving. You may ask at orientation about this or if you felt comfortable you could ask a letter carrier that you might see delivering in Manhattan the same question which you posted here. Always wear your seatbelt and good luck David!

What brand of winter boots do you wear?

Asked by Hobbz about 8 years ago

I generally don't wear winter boots but I wear rubber overshoes if there is snow on the ground. These are the same thing I'd wear if it were raining outside. The brand I use is Tingley and they come in at least 3 dfferent height overshoes. They aren't really warm so I wear thermal socks in the winter so my feet and toes don't freeze.

I will be receiving 30-50 textbook size packages a day in the mail for a small business I am starting. I will pick them up daily but I was wondering if that will annoy the post office workers? Should I take my business to a private mailbox service?

Asked by John almost 9 years ago

That is very considerate of you to wonder if we will be annoyed by you receiving so many parcels. Have you worked out with the local USPS if you can pick them up daily? At the office where I work I don't think that would be allowed unless you are a PO Box renter or have made an arrangement that I wouldn't know about. . If packages are addressed to your residence or office they would be delivered since that is our service. I know that I'd never be annoyed if someone received many packages on a regular basis. That's our business. I can't say that other coworkers would be so positive as I am but I wouldn't be concerned. If you use a private mailbox service it is possible that the USPS is still delivering the items to the private mail company known as a CMRA and you'd be picking up your packages there.

Can I hide a po box from a mailman I know whose route is not in my zip code or neighborhood? Can any mailman look up the address or po box of any person in the city he delivers mail? Are knowing things like this not restricted to people in his route?

Asked by Angie almost 9 years ago

I don't know about this. I have never been interested or been asked to find out if a particular person owns a PO Box. I would say that we can't look up in a database to see if a person owns a PO Box.I do have access to the actual PO Boxes where I work and can see from the labels at the clerk side of the PO Box who the current renter of the PO Box is, but don't know of any internal database that I'd have access to. Anybody can go online (general Google search) to search for the address where a person lives and that may yield a result, but it wouldn't likely result in any PO Box info.

I had a question about EDDM. I recently had 3000 EDDM postcards delivered by 2 local post offices. It's been about about 2 weeks and I haven't heard anything as far as new clients go. Is there a way to verify they were delivered?

Asked by Rd77 almost 9 years ago

I am not sure there is a way to verify they were actually delivered by the PO. In general, an EDDM should only sit for a few days at most from what I've seen at the PO where I work. I don't know if there is a specific time frame that they must be delivered after being received by the delivery PO. If you called the destination POs, I don't think there is much hope that whoever you speak to could verify if they were delivered or not. There is a good chance they wouldn't even remember it. Basically all I can say is that they should've been delivered, but can't recommend a way to verify that your EDDM postcards were delivered. EDDM stands for Every Door Direct Mail.

this isn't a trivia question but kind of sounds like one do you know what island in the US it would take up to three weeks to receive mail from in oregon

Asked by Megan almost 9 years ago

I don't know the answer to this though not much surprises me regarding the USPS. While most mail is delivered domestically within about 4 days, I suppose there a reason some exceptions where it takes much longer. You can post this question again with the answer (if you know it) or email me privately daveabbey at aol dot com.

Is there anyway to get a letter carrier removed from my neighborhood. She's afraid of dogs and why she took the job in the first place is beyond me. My screen is secure. Have had 3 dogs over the years and not once did they ever get out.

Asked by Doug about 8 years ago

To be honest with you, I don't know that there is any way to get the letter carrier removed from your neighborhood for the reason given. Has this affected the delivery of mail to your house? If so, I would recommend talking to a delivery supervisor or manager at your local post office. As long as your dogs are secure and the screen won't break and your mailbox isn't too close to the door, the letter carrier should deliver your mail as they would anyone else. I am not sure who has the ultimate authority whether or not it's "safe enough" to make the delivery. The USPS management does take a very proactive stance to stop letter carrier from being bitten by dogs, but we should be delivering the mail unless it is unsafe to do so. I should clarify that the decision might be up to the individual letter carrier whether or not they feel it is safe or not. I am quite afraid of dogs myself but have never not delivered mail due to a dog on the property. They have always been behind a screen or storm door or on a leash where they can't get to me. I know my answer to you is a bit vague, but carrier safety is the number one priority. Having said that there is sometimes a varying opinion on what is safe and what isn't and I'm not sure who gets to make the ultimate decision.