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 am not sure what will happen to the UPS Package. The USPS may forward it if they have the correct forwarding address on file for the the previous owner, but they may not be obligated to. The USPS may also forward the package but have the recipient pay for the item being forwarded. The item may also be returned to UPS or to the sender. I'm sorry I can't be any more specific re: the package you are inquiring about.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Hello%2C%20I%20just%20moved%20into%20a%20new%20house%20and%20put%20%22please%20forward%22%20on%20a%20UPS%20package%20for%20the%20previous%20owner%20and%20dropped%20it%20in%20my%20mail%20box.%20I%20realized%20my%20mistake%20when%20the%20owner%20called%20for%20the%20package.%20What%20will%20happen%20to%20the%20package%3F%0AThanks%21&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/10170)
I have an route that is entirely walking and the DPS is not allowed to be cased in the office. We take it out to the street and hold it in our hands and "finger" through it as we approach a house and then merge it together with the flats that have been cased and then sometimes a "3rd bundle" which is usually an advertisment that each delivery address receives. It is important though to be careful of the terrain on which you are walking while merging the DPS and flats together, especially when crossing lawns or going up and down steps. The first time I see the DPS letters is just before I get to a house to deliver it. They have been sequenced by a machine to save me the time of having to sort it earlier in the day. For the most part, they are accurately sorted with an error rate which I would say is less than 2% (just a guess). Good luck with your position change and I hope it will lead you to a full time regular city carrier position.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=I%20am%20an%20RCA%20about%20to%20change%20to%20a%20CCA.%20%20When%20casing%20your%20mail%2C%20do%20most%20city%20carriers%20case%20their%20DPS%20for%20the%20walking%20portions%20of%20their%20route%3F%20%20If%20not%2C%20what%20is%20the%20best%20way%20to%20merge%20the%20DPS%20with%20flats%20while%20walking%20the%20route%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/12047)
Bradan, I feel your pain. It is a horrible feeling to be out in the elements, being cold and uncomfortable with hours to go in your deliveries. I haven't by any means mastered this problem. The uniform vendors that sell for the USPS offer fingerless gloves (the upper 1/3 or 1/2 of your fingers are exposed) but they aren't terribly useful. Some gloves offered have raised dots that can help you finger the mail. I use them sometimes. Try and keep the rest of your body as warm as possible with layering including thermal underwear. Definitely wear a hat, two if necessary. Even if your fingertips are exposed, you may want to invest in a box of single-use handwarmers (sometimes called hot hands) which are little packets that you shake to activate and then can put inside your gloves or in your pants pockets or glove pockets which you will keep you warm. My girlfriend just bought a box of 40 hand warmers for $12.99 at Costco.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=I%27m%20a%20month%20old%20CCA%20now%20and%20I%20live%20in%20Ohio.%20It%27s%20getting%20cold%20so%20I%20need%20a%20good%20pair%20of%20gloves%20to%20keep%20my%20hands%20dry%2Fwarm%20and%20still%20be%20able%20to%20finger%20the%20mail.%20What%20would%20you%20recommend%3F%20Also%20what%20do%20you%20recommend%20for%20the%20winter%20months%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/13618)
I don't think you should be doomed if you were unable to complete such a large route. Usually the management would request that you call the post office if you require any extra time or assistance in completing a route that you are unfamiliar with. I would hope there would be no discipline in the situation that you just described.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Mailman%20Dave%0A%0AI%20am%20a%20cca%204%20month%20now%2C%20called%20in%20on%20my%20day%20off%20which%20i%20often%20am%20and%20am%20fine%20with%20that%20but%20was%20sent%20on%20a%20nightmare%20route%20that%20i%20was%20un%20familiar%20with%20and%20was%20unable%20to%20complete%2C%20am%20i%20doomed%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/10038)
Bar Mitzvah DJ
Why are DJ's so unwilling to accommodate song requests?
Parcel Delivery Mailman
Does labeling a package "fragile" actually lead to you handling it with more care?
SWAT Team Commander (Retired)
How much protection do those bomb disposal suits really provide?
I am not really sure about the policy of delivering to a multi-suite building, but here is the way I see it: If your mail is specifically addressed to your suite and you are a different business than the suite/tenant on the first floor, it should be delivered directly to you. The suite on the first floor shouldn't be getting your mail. I would consider your suite a separate delivery. Again, I don't know the rules but I would treat it like an apartment building where you wouldn't be delivering your mail to a neighbor or vice versa. We are given time to sort the mail in a multi-unit building if a suite has a separate address so I don't necessarily buy the excuse of not having time to sort the world's mail. With regards to the parking, that doesn't seem to appropriate either. I have parked in No Parking Fire Zones in front of buildings if I'll just be 5 minutes or less delivering the mail. I don't think I would park in a handicapped spot. Since the supervisor doesn't care, you could speak with the Postmaster or whoever is next up on the chain of command to see if they can assist at all. As I've posted in other comments, we have a real mixed bag of employees at the USPS so your responses could vary.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Mailman%20says%20he%20doesn%27t%20have%20time%20to%20sort%20the%20world%27s%20mail%2C%20so%20he%20delivers%20ours%20to%20another%20suite%20everyday%20so%20he%20doesn%27t%20have%20to%20come%20to%20second%20floor.%20He%20parks%20in%20handicapped%20everyday.%20Supervisor%20doesn%27t%20care.%20What%20can%20we%20do%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/14207)
I don't know of any mandatory waiting period after you take the postal exam which you must wait to take it a second or third time. Good luck to you in taking the exam. There may be a mandaory waiting time, but I just am not familiar with it.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=If%20I%20don%27t%20pass%20the%20exam%20the%20first%20time%2C%20is%20there%20a%20mandatory%20wait%20before%20I%20can%20try%20again%3F%20%20Also%2C%20please%20excuse%20my%20spelling%20on%20the%20previous%20question...thanks.&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/10202)
I have no idea if the hand sorting of odd shaped packages would cause it to not receive the normal scans to update tracking. I would suspsect that as long as the package had a valid bar code which could be scanned along the way that it would be treated just as as other packages. I'm sorry I have no more specific information on the scans of odd shaped items.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Does%20a%20package%20sent%20in%20the%20mail%20sorted%20by%20hand%20i.e.%20an%20odd%20shaped%20package%20not%20able%20to%20be%20sorted%20by%20the%20sorting%20machine%20not%20recieve%20regular%20scans%20to%20update%20tracking%3F%20Also%20would%20this%20cause%20webtracking%20delivery%20estimate%20to%20display%20a%20later%20delivery%20date%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/10145)
-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
