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.

SubscribeGet emails when new questions are answered. Ask Me Anything!Show Bio +

Share:

Ask me anything!

Submit Your Question

1237 Questions

Share:

Last Answer on February 18, 2022

Best Rated

If you moved and didn't do a forwarding address and your neighbor tells them you moved...which by the way it was because my paycheck was already in the pipeline, so was coming back everyday looking for it....can they hold your mail??

Asked by kbear almost 12 years ago

Kbear, from what I gather in your question, you moved and didn't do a forwarding order on purpose because your paycheck was already in the mail? If this happens, the letter carrier might hold the mail at the PO for a certain amt. of days, but that doesn't seem likely. The letter carrier might complete an Employee-Generated Change of Address form and check a box "Moved Left No Address". In that case any mail addressed to you would be returned to the sender with "Moved, Left No Address" on the envelope.   You could check with your local post office from where you moved and see what they have been doing with your mail. I don't know that you will get any resolution to your question, but it is worth a try. Good luck and thank you for writing.

957 Votes

I am an RCA about to change to a CCA. When casing your mail, do most city carriers case their DPS for the walking portions of their route? If not, what is the best way to merge the DPS with flats while walking the route?

Asked by Jon almost 12 years ago

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.

956 Votes

What does it mean when my postman says he is going to report me to USPS. What does this mean, and what will happen?

Asked by Slayerrocks over 11 years ago

I am not sure what that means when the postman says that he wil report you to the USPS. Did you have some type of conflict with him? Do you have a dog that bit him or is loose when the letter carrier comes to make his delivery? Depending on what he is reporting you for, you may get a letter or phone call from a supervisor or postmaster to discuss or rectify a situation (though you didn't mention what the situation is or you may not even know). It could also result in suspension of mail delivery for a period of time. 

956 Votes

So, I am expecting a package thats delivered by USPS. 5 days ago, it was at Jamaica(NY). It took the following route - JAMAICA(NY) -> TETERBORO(NJ -> KEARNY(NJ) - > TETERBORO(NJ -> KEARNY(NJ) - > JAMAICA(NY). No update ever since. Whats happening?

Asked by AS almost 12 years ago

I don't know why the routing would keep going back and forth unless it was considered "undeliverable as addressed". I know that those are likely all sorting facilities for packages near or at airports. I'm sorry that I'd have no further information on the package. Possibly the ZIP code on the package isn't correct so the item keeps getting routed between facilities. I would recommend contacting the shipper and telling them what info you are able to get from the USPS website and see if they have maybe received it back marked invalid address. I'm not sure the shipper will have any information. Since the item originated in Jamaica, NY and is now back in Jamaica, NY, it has possibly been returned to the sender for some reason. Thanks for the inquiry.

956 Votes

Also on Jobstr...

Help Desk Technician

Help Desk TechnicianWhat's the closest you've come to "losing it" on someone you were helping?

Stand-Up Comedian

Stand-Up ComedianHow do you fend off hecklers?

Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon

Oral and Maxillofacial SurgeonDo you ever operate on guys who get their jaws busted in a fight?

Someone who lived here several years ago (before the previous owners) has Secretary of State mail being delivered. I wrote return to sender as I have no idea where they live. It was returned and says unable to forward. What do I do?

Asked by BG over 11 years ago

BG, I'm not sure why you got that mail back when you wrote on it "return to sender". I have 2 suggestions for you: 1) maybe write "person doesn't live here, return to sender" instead of just "return to sender" on mail.

 

2) Discard/recycle any mail you get for them. You did your part by trying to return the letter to the sender (which is very nice and appropriate IMO), and you don't have to try again to return it. It wouldn't be a bad idea to try again, but I just don't want you to have to play the "revolving door" game with that letter when you shouldn't have to.

 

Thanks for the question.

956 Votes

For the Q above, if it's already been 6 days, do i still have a chance of retrieving it from them tomorrow? Or would they have thrown it away or returned it by now?

Asked by Sally over 12 years ago

I am not sure if they would still have it after 6 days. Generally, they wouldn't have thrown it out if the item was mailed a certain class and a return endorsement like "return service requested" but there is no way to know how it was mailed. Hopefully it will be returned to sender and if there is a way to contact the sender they could tell you when they received it back. It wouldn't hurt to go to the PO to see if it's there. Has there been any update to the tracking information besides "arrived at your local USPS facility"?

956 Votes

Hi I just got hired as a cca. I've been reading post on the Internet and have seeing that cca's are hired for 1yr then fired and rehired. Is this what I should expect or is this just hear say?

Asked by Kevin over 12 years ago

I don't know that to be the case where they hire and fire CCA after a year. I have never seen anybody hired for 1 yr then fired and rehired. As long as you are doing a respectable job, it's not likely you would be fired for an invalid reason.

956 Votes

Home Browse Jobs Host a Q&A Search Blog FAQ Terms Contact

Copyright Jobstr 2014