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.
From what I understand, most city carriers that need a vehicle to deliver the mail will use a USPS vehicle. We do have CCAs that use their own car to deliver the mail on walking routes when there aren't any USPS vehicles available for them to use. They can get reimbursed for some of their expenses when doing this. In some offices rural letter carriers have no choice but to use their own vehicles to deliver their rural routes. For ease of maintenance and not having to wear down my own vehicle, I definitely prefer using a USPS vehicle at work. I don't have a choice in the matter. Gasoline is paid for using a fleet credit card and maintenance is handled by a contracted mechanic. Thank you for your question.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Can%20letter%20carriers%20deliver%20mail%20in%20their%20own%20vehicles&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/13551)
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.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=I%20was%20supposed%20to%20be%20getting%20mail%20from%20somewhere%20but%20I%20see%20that%20they%20have%20the%20wrong%20apartment%20number%20for%20me...is%20this%20a%20problem%20if%20my%20name%20is%20on%20the%20mail%20and%20obviously%20my%20mailbox%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/13584)
I would think that it is fine to put outgoing mail in your mailbox with the flag up even though those who share the mailbox with you haven't picked up their mail. The suggestion I would have would be to push their uncollected mail towards the back and your outgoing mail clearly visible towards the front of the box so the letter carrier can easily tell the difference. Hopefully that will work out acceptably for everyone.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Can%20I%20put%20outgoing%20mail%20in%20my%20mailbox%20with%20the%20flag%20up%20if%20there%20is%20still%20mail%20in%20it%20that%20hasn%27t%20been%20picked%20up%3F%20%20The%20people%20I%20share%20a%20mailbox%20with%20are%20slow%20to%20collect%20their%20mail%20but%20I%20feel%20it%20might%20be%20rude%20to%20remove%20it%20just%20so%20I%20can%20mail%20something%21&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/13090)
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.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=If%20I%20sent%20a%20letter%20to%20the%20wrong%20address%2C%20or%20address%20that%20doesn%27t%20exist%2C%20how%20long%20would%20it%20take%2C%20approximately%2C%20for%20me%20to%20receive%20it%20back%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/12473)
Magician
How do you feel about magicians on TV who reveal how tricks are done?
Border Patrol Agent
When you catch an illegal alien crossing the border, is he deported immediately?
Waitress
Are you instructed to "push" certain menu items that are at risk of going bad?
You bad bad person Aila! Seeing that you were just 6 years old and you returned it all, there are worse crimes you could have committed. I am glad you know by now not to touch any mail or mailboxes that aren't yours. It is horrible to think of mail being taken out of mailboxes illegally. I consider it sacred, even if, in all honesty, it's not so important to a lot of people today and has been replaced a lot by technology. With regard to how it works for mailmen, I'm not sure what you mean. I have never been involved with a mail theft incident during my career. If I did I would likely tell my supervisor about it and follow their directives. Thanks for writing And stay away from those mailboxes ;-)
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=I%20recall%20going%20around%20my%20neighborhood%20when%20I%20was%206%20with%20some%20friends%20pilfering%20Mailboxes%20with%20really%20no%20idea%20of%20what%20we%20were%20doing.%20How%20does%20it%20work%20for%20the%20mailman%20afterward%3F%20%28We%20ended%20up%20returning%20it%20all%20but%20I%27m%20curious%29&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/12807)
Albert, your message posted 2x so I will answer it once and then copy and paste it. I currently work 7 hours a day as I am on a limited schedule for personal reasons. A regular city letter carrier can expect to work 8 hours per day (plus 30 min. unpaid lunch), 5 days per week. The 5 days may not be consecutive since mail is delivered 6 days per week. As a new hire, you will likely be a CCA (city carrier assistant) who has a very varied schedule and I'm not sure they are guaranteed any hours. I believe starting pay is about $16/hour for a CCA, with very few benefits, if any. Once you are promoted to a regular city carrier, the salary increasea to about $23/hour and tops out at about $28.50/hr after a certain amt. of years. These salaries are set in accordance with a labor agreement between the USPS and the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC), which is our union. You also get benefits once you become a regular city letter carrier as opposed to a CCA. If you visit the website www.nalc.org they have pay charts listed or you can probably just do a google search or look on www.glassdoor.com. Good luck in what is a pretty good career in my opinion.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=I%20want%20to%20be%20a%20mail%20carrier%20%28am%2019%20yrs%29%20%0AHow%20many%20hours%20do%20you%20work%20a%20day.%20%0AHow%20much%20is%20starting%20pay%20for%20an%20hour%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/12862)
Sorry to say that we can't guarantee arrival of a birthday card on a specific date when mailed via regular class mail. We do, however, have a decent record of getting most letters delivered the next day when mailed from the same city, and 2-3 days when mailed from further away. To play it safe I'd mail the card 2 days in advance and, if you prefer, you can write "Do Not Open Until Your Birthday" on the outside of it. You are a thoughtful friend. Good Luck!
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Hey%20is%20it%20the%20same%20as%20australian%20post%20office.%20i%20want%20to%20send%20my%20friend%20a%20bday%20card..%20She%20lives%20in%20the%20same%20state%20same%20city%20haha%20and%20i%20want%20to%20know%20how%20long%20it%20would%20take%20to%20deliver%20so%20that%20i%20can%20post%20it%20like%202%20days%20before%20and%20then%20arrives%20on%20her%20bday&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/10408)
-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
