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.
Marhsall, thanks for writing to this Q and A message board. In an apt. building, it is possible the mailman doesn't see the mail left in the mailbox to return because they may assume it is just tenant mail from a previous day not yet picked up by the resident. If you are putting back in the mailbox to be returned to sender, it should be marked accordingly (like "refused" or "person doesn't live here"). Is it possible for you to leave it outside the cluster of mailboxes to be returned? This way they will see it as a piece of mail that was incorrectly delivered or being refused. It is common for residents not to collect their mail each day which is why a mailman my not look at any mail that is remaining in a mailbox when they come to deliver a subsuquent days mail.
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I would guess about 2 weeks if you were to get it back at all. Theoretically if you sent it to the wrong address and it was delivered there, it is conceivable that the recipient may not return the letter to the mail carrier even though they should. If you sent the letter to an address that doesn't exist, the item should be returned with the endorsement "No Such Street" or "No Such Number". I am just not sure of the actual time frame it would take for it to get back to you. It may depend on the workload of the nixie (not deliverable mail) at the destination PO. Thanks for your inquiry.
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JD, good job for sticking with it for 7 years so far. There are many people who couldn't handle even one NE winter. I have trouble myself with the very cold weather, plus snow, and ice. The LLVs are horrible with snow in handling especially on any inclines. I have felt the way you have several times, and I have also felt the opposite as well (meaning I love the career). I admit it is difficult at times when you aren't feeling satisfied to stick with this career. Here is my advice, but keep in mind I don't know your personal living/financial situation. Being a city carrier and making apprx $50K+ a year seems to be a decent salary with benefits and union protections. I know it's a physically hard job, but you could apply to transfer to a less harsh area climate wise. My parents have been a big influence on me when I was on the verge of resigning on a few occasions. They said that it won't be easy to find a similar paying job without any special skills. I've also had to seek professional help in the past couple of years which has been worthwhile. This is probably more information then you want to know but as of now I am glad that I didn't go through with the rash decision of quitting the USPS. Have you thought about switching to the clerk craft? Would you rather maybe work inside as a Sales and Service Associate? There are pros and cons to that as well. I do feel bad for anybody who is unhappy with their position, but am hopeful they can stick with it and maybe their feelings will change for the better. I would have a very hard time working too long if I weren't satisfied at the position. Please try to keep your head up and dress appropriately for the weather. Thanks for writing.
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It probably depends on where you live and if there is package delivery on Sunday. I think you are asking me what time the package deliveries start and finish on a Sunday. It has been many years since I've done any type of delivery on Sunday, but in the office where I work on Long Island (NY), 2-3 City Carrier Assistants (CCAs) work from apprx 9AM-3PM delivering packages that arrive from Amazon.com. Again, these are just estimates since I don't have experience with this. Thank you for writing.
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Subway Store Manager
The 6" sub is too small and the 12" is too big. Why no 9-inch sub?
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Youre welcome. I try to give put proper information and not make up something if I don't know the answer (which I have learned on this website is actually many things.) The TV preachers don't get free postage at all, nor does any non-profit organization. These charities or organized religions register with the IRS as non-profits and then can mail with the USPS at a reduced rate. These mailings have to be prepared in a certain way and be in a certain quantity. Also, these mailings aren't given any preferential treatment as a first-class letter or magazine would be given. It is true that many non-profits (including the TV preachers you speak of) are known to make plent if money, have high cost structures and pay plenty of money to those at the top. The USPS doesn't judge that when issuing a non-profit mailing permit. They just look for the proper paperwork to be a non-profit and also make sure the mailings are prepared accordingly. Thank you for that thought-provoking question.
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Candy, I'm not sure whether or not you will get the mail you are looking for. It depends on how well the letter carrier knows the names that are in the apt. building, the size of the apt. buidling (if it's a very large building, they may not be able to see all of the names on any directory), if they can clearly see who belongs in each apt, and if the regular carrier is working that day. Some carriers will treat a wrong apt. # the same as if the letter was mailed to a wrong address and either deliver it as addressed (to the wrong apt. # in your case) or return it to the sender. There is no clear cut answer as to what will happen to your mail. There are so many inconsistencies at this job that I can't predict what someone else may do. Also, if it's not the regular letter carrier working on the day your mail arrives and they aren't familiar with the apt. #'s/names, they may just deliver the mail to the apt. # written on the piece of mail. In that case, maybe the tenant who receives it will get the piece of mail to you.
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Emily, I'm not sure what combination lock you are referring to. Is it one of those old fashioned ones on a PO Box? Whether it is that one or one on a mailbox at your residence won't change my answer. I was just curious. I haven't heard that it is technically illegal to hand someone mail but I'm not versed in the legalities of this subject. I can see that the USPS may be hesitant in handing mail to someone without confirming their identity or being personally known to the employee. If you have a physical disability which prevents you from getting your mail, it would make sense to have some alternate method provided but I don't know how far the USPS is required to go in accommodating you. If you are unsatisfied with the response from your local PO, I would recommend going up the chain at your PO such as talking to the Postmaster or their boss. I don't know what their response will be given the varied nature of our personnel.
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