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.
Fortunately, no. I’ve had some close calls where they’ve nipped at my heels or pants but I can’t say I’ve ever had a real bite where I made a report or needed any medical attention. I am no dog lover so I try and steer clear of them as much as possible. We are mandated to carry dog spray/repellent with us in case we think we are about to be bitten or if we are attacked. I’d say most dog owners in the areas where I deliver are quite responsible in containing and controlling their pets.
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This question is being asked during the 2020 Covid19 pandemic. I think you are asking if we will close due to this and not just close in general. Also, this question was asked 2x so I deleted one of them. As I write this, the USPS is operating as best as we can under the circumstances we are faced with. We are considered and essential service so no state order can close us. Another reason that a state order can’t close us is that we are tied to the federal government and I believe only the Postmaster General (and possibly the President) could close the USPS.
In a practical sense, our mail workload will likely decrease during a time when many businesses across the country are temporarily shuttered. We have seen an increase in online package deliveries but hasn’t been a huge amt for my office to handle. Amazon is mostly delivered by a private contract courier in the area I work.
I know I haven’t answered your question yet, but here is my thought. We would probably be closed if a large number of our workforce were infected by Covid19. It’s possible a local facility could suffer staffing shortages and be unable to operate as normal. I don’t foresee a nationwide USPS shutdown, but with the situation changing daily, I feel that anything is possible. Stay safe and help Flatten the curve by doing your part.
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It doesn’t sound like a good first impression, but it doesn’t sound like you did anything malicious on purpose. I don’t know that I would ever harshly scold anyone about most things but I have a high amount of patience which maybe your carrier, doesn’t have. I suppose the next time you see her you could explain (or apologize) that you didn’t mean anything by it. I also guess you could wait until the letter carrier is completely done sorting the mall before checking on your mail, but I don’t think that is always necessary either. I’m sorry to be so vague, but it almost seems like a short temper on behalf of the letter carrier. This is based on what you’ve described not truly knowing either of your personalities. I just hope your next interaction with your letter carrier is calm and cordial. Thanks for writing.
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I can’t say what the worst weather was, but extreme cold for NY Metro area (around 0F) is pretty difficult to work in. If we get a significant snowfall, our LLV (long life vehicles) perform poorly on unplowed streets and even worse on inclines. As long as you dress properly and cover your extremities well, most inclement weather is manageable. A deluge of rain is difficult to work in because you are trying to stay dry as well as to keep the mail dry. I realize this doesn’t fully answer your question, but I can’t pinpoint any “worst weather” day I’ve experienced.
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On the postal route, not particularly. I’m pretty easy going. I don’t really care when people just talk to you because you aren’t just a body. I mean they aren’t conversant and just want to talk about their accomplishments around the house, etc. Truthfully, it’s a waste of my time so I can tolerate it in small doses. If they get too long winded, I walk away and don’t give an excuse. I realize that wasn’t your question Rarely do I ever get complaints about my delivery or the time I arrive. The latter is out of my control. Mail is quite unimportant these days so many people don’t care when, or even, if they get a delivery. I can’t think of any stupid complaints. Every now and then there is a complaint or comment about mail being wet due to sweat on my arm. I don’t find that an unreasonable complaint, so for that customer, I try to keep her mail dry.
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There aren’t too many that I can think of where we wouldn’t go out on our routes. I believe if there was extreme cold and wind chill conditions or a snowfall that made the roads impasssable, the mgmt may decide to suspend delivery of mail for the day. I don’t keep track, but, in my career, mail delivery has only been canceled on a few occasions. The LLV that many of us use for delivery don’t handle well when snow has accumulated more than a few inches on a road. It is even worse on an incline or decline.
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Dan, I watched the video and it was pretty well done.i don’t know if it’s your video or you are just referencing it. It keeps referring to the postal inspecting service but it is the postal inspection service. They are somewhat thinly staffed so I don’t know how much they will investigate this particular case but I know what you talk about and it is definitely an issue. The same thing sometimes happens in my office where if some Amazon parcels happen to not get delivered there is a scan that is put on such as “no access” or business closed” that will “stop the clock”. It definitely is a false event scan if we just happened to forget the package at our office or forget to deliver it and it would be too far to go back and deliver it. I have no idea what the financial agreement is between the United States Postal Service and Amazon but we try to make sure each package that we get every day from Amazon is delivered that same day. The quality and quantity of the employees at each office varies greatly. I take a lot of pride in my work so I try to make sure each package is delivered each day for my postal route. There is definitely a falsification of scans where it says delivery has been “attempted” and it really hasn’t. I don’t know the solution to it except more public outcry and exposure. I will not be a whistleblower, however, because I would be concerned any retaliation for this. I don’t believe I’ve ever falsified and Amazon delivery scan.
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