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

Best Rated

What do you do when you need someone to sign something but they are not home? Or not answering their door?

Asked by Samual about 6 years ago

If an item needs a signature (usually it’s a certified letter or registered mail), I knock on the door to obtain the signature of the resident if they want to accept the item. If they aren’t home or don’t want to come to the door, I leave a PS Form 3849 (Notice Of Attempted Delivery) which advises the customer that we had an item that may have needed a signature and the form gives them options to either pick up the item at a specific PO or they can request a redelivery. During the Covid19 pandemic, the procedure has changed slightly. As long as the customer is home and acknowledges that they want to “sign” for the item, we can print their name on the electronic scanner that they usually sign. This eliminates them from having to get too close to you or to touch the scanner. It seems to have worked well so far. Stay safe and thank you for your question.

Accessed my opm file on lite blue, what does lost hours mean and how do that affect any retirement issues, Also, a forwarding order expires after 12 months, not 18 months. A temporary forward can restart every 6 months, please advise. Thanks

Asked by jvitto48 over 4 years ago

I don’t know how lost hours affects any retirement issues, except if you have too much LWOP, then you may not be eligible for retirement as soon as you think, or it may affect annual leave accumulation. Forwarding orders expire in 18 months. For the first 12 months, most forwardable mail goes to the recipient’s new address. After 12 months until 18 months, the mail would be returned to the sender advising them of the recipients new address. I don’t know about limits on temp forwards and how often they can be restarted. It wouldn’t be uncommon for someone who is a snowbird to have mail forwarded for more than 6 months when they are at their second home.

On that forwarding issue,after 12 months been killing the mail, been doing that for 17 years! After 12 months forward expires and l UTF it, oh well

Asked by jvitto48 over 4 years ago

Any forwardable mail should be submitted through the folding system until 18 months from the original date of the forwarding order.I don’t think it’s the end of the world that you have sent it back UTS after 12 months but that is still not the correct procedure. By that time most people have updated their address with any important organization they interact with. I know this is a subject that our management never even talks about. In fact they talk about very little that actually pertains to mail delivery and quality of work. They just want us to show up and don’t get hurt. Thanks for writing in with your question.

What do you consider the most difficult food to eat?

Asked by Henrietta-Lynn Gumpplanter Callaghan over 4 years ago

Irrelevant question to this subject of this feed of being a city letter carrier.

What would happen if a law enforcement officer pulled over a mail vehicle ???? and ticketed the postal worker for not having a plate on the vehicle ?????

Asked by Mike about 5 years ago

Mike, I’m not saying it hasn’t happened, but I’ve never heard of a USPS vehicle being pulled over by a police officer for missing a license plate. Each vehicle has an ID number and I think that suffices as a license plate. I imagine if I rcvd a ticket for that I would give it to my supervisor and let them deal with it. That being said, I wouldn’t mind if we got held to the same driving standards as everyone else and were pulled over for moving violations. I don’t even hear of that happening too often. I drive the USPS just as I do with my own vehicle. That means obeying all traffic rules, driving defensively, and courteously. Fortunately, I’ve never been involved in an MVA while at work, but it doesn’t mean it can’t happen. Nobody is above the law or above making an error.

So the letter carrier should keep forwarding the mail for up to 18 months , not 12 months. Eg. fwd starts 02/08/2022 expires 08/08/2023. I kill the mail 02/09/2023, is what yours truly been doing for 17 years, end of 12 months, sorry folks on my rt

Asked by jvitto48 over 4 years ago

Any forwardable mail should be submitted through the folding system until 18 months from the original date of the forwarding order.I don’t think it’s the end of the world that you have sent it back UTF after 12 months but that is still not the correct procedure. By that time most people have updated their address with any important organization they interact with. I know this is a subject that our management never even talks about. In fact they talk about very little that actually pertains to mail delivery and quality of work. They just want us to show up and don’t get hurt. Thanks for your question and comment.

Will the letter still be delivered if there are no spaces between, city, state and zip code?

Asked by Seen Robinson over 4 years ago

It should be fine. The ZIP code is the most important part of the the bottom line of the address. Once a letter reaches the office of destination, a clerk in the office should be able to direct the letter to the proper route to be delivered by a letter carrier. If there ever was an issue, the letter would be returned to the sender as long as they have provided a valid return address.