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

Can a mailman place a stamp on a letter and mark a big "x" across the stamp and deliver the letter himself or have a Co - worker deliver the letter without it going through the USPS mail system?

Asked by Just asking almost 11 years ago

I am sure this is done sometimes and possibly even without a stamp (which I think is very wrong to do). I sometimes see a card or letter being mailed from one customer on the route to another. I guess I could just cancel the stamp with a pen and deliver the letter directly, but I put the mail into the regular outgoing mail dispatch and have it run through the system. Delivery time is usually 2 days later. I have never heard either way if there is a proper procedure to be followed. If a co-worker gave me a letter to be delivered, I'd likely deliver it without it going through the mail processing system. It rarely comes up though.

1109 Votes

What are the nationwide regulations for resIdential mailboxes?

Asked by chertz over 12 years ago

I don't know what the regulations are for attaching a mailbox to your house. Does your letter carrier walk to your door to deliver the mail? If that is the case, the mailbox must be accessible in a safe area for the carrier to reach the mailbox. If you live in an area where the delivery is made to a curbside mailbox there are regulations for how tall the mailbox must be from the ground plus there must be clearance on either side of the box so that the postal vehicle can get in and out of the area without having to put the vehicle in reverse too much. 

1108 Votes

I was just hired as a CCA and training starts in a few weeks. Are there any tips you can give me, i hear there are high turnover rates and im a bit nervous that i will not be able to complete the tasks.

Asked by Peanut almost 13 years ago

I have heard the same thing you have regarding high turnover rate among CCAs. My recommendation is don't pay any attention to anyone who is very down on the job or says "what a mistake you've made coming here". When being trained pay attention to your on the job trainer and ask questions if you have any. When delivering mail, try to be conscientious about delivering it to the proper address as opposed to doing it quickly. Be polite and respectful to your co-workers and postal customers. Have a good attitude and if anyone in management says you aren't working quickly enough say "I'm doing the best I can". Also, when driving a postal vehicle, be very careful, always turn off the engine when leaving your seat, and lock the truck if it will be out of your sight. 

1108 Votes

My son works at convienence store standing and walking 12 hours a day can you please tell me what kind of shoes you wear. thankyou donna

Asked by donna over 12 years ago

I wear uniform issue letter carrier shoes. The brand I usually wear is New Balance and have a special non-slip surface. The USPS provides us with a yearly allowance to put towards uniforms and footwear.

1107 Votes

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Do I need to go to the post office to mail a letter to Guatemala, or can I just put a couple extra stamps on the letter?

Asked by Bri over 12 years ago

I think if you put a total of 3 Forever Stamps on an envelope that would be sufficient to cover a letter to Guatemala. The minimum rate for a letter there is apprx. $1.10 so 3 stamps would be good to be on the safe side. A trip to the PO wouldn't be necessary unless the item weighed more than 13 oz. I think.

1106 Votes

Recently started a business on eBay. One of the orders was marked as DELIVERED on the same day it was shipped, but the final destination is my own city. It's been seven days. What does this status mean? Will the shipment still reach its destination?

Asked by Freddy G almost 13 years ago

I don't know why there would be a "delivered" scan on a package that was shipped the same day as the status you are referencing. That status usually means that the package was delivered. If the destination city is the same as the sending city, 7 Days seems like way too Long. Inside a city is usually the next day or 2. I don't know if your package will arrive at its destination but hope it will. You may call 1 800 ASK USPS with the tracking # to see if there is any more info/suggestions. 

1104 Votes

What dose it mean when a postman comes to your door to ask if this person lives at this address but wont let you know who is asking ?

Asked by teresa beecham over 11 years ago

Teresa, I am not sure what that means. I do have two theories on what it might be. First, sometimes I have a piece of mail addressed to a house and I'm not familiar with that name receiving mail there and I want to make sure that I'm delivering the mail properly. In that case I will either knock on the door and ask if that name should receive mail there or (actually more often) I will just put a "?" next to the name that I'm inquiring about and deliver the letter. In that case whoever receives the letter can leave it out for me the next day if the name in question is not correct. The second theory, which may be the one in your case, is that a law firm, collection agency, or IRS, etc., or someone else wants to know if a certain name resides at your address. They will mail the PO a special form requesting that information and then we will fill out the form confirming that the name in question receives mail at that address or not. I've never actually went to someone's door to ask because I know if the name in question is valid or not. I don't know that we aren't allowed to divulge who is asking because I've never been in that situation. Anyhow, I would guess that it's optional whether or not you want to divulge that information to the postman or not. We can't force you to do that. Please be advised that these are just speculations on my part as to what it means when the mailman came to your door to ask if a person lives at your address. Thanks for writing.

1103 Votes

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