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 don't know about the legality of keeping the package when it has already been scanned "delivered", but it certainly is bad as far as data integrity goes. The letter carrier may have scanned many of their parcels "delivered" earlier on in the day which is completely wrong (I can't say illegal) so they don't forget later on. Your example is a great reason why we aren't supposed to scan an item as "delivered" until we actually deliver it. Now if you approached him/her and asked about it, they should then give you the package. If this happened to you more than once I would speak to a delivery supervisor about this because it is very much against our rules to scan a package "delivered" when it wasn't. It is also misrepresenting the shipping status to our customers on both the sending and receiving end. It is also strange that the package has a 9:25 PM delivery time. I can't say it's impossible but I've rarely heard of the USPS out on a Saturday night delivering parcels.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Is%20it%20legal%20for%20the%20mailman%20to%20keep%20my%20package%20on%20his%20truck%20even%20after%20it%20is%20logged%20in%20as%20having%20been%20delivered%20to%20me%3F%20%20For%20example%2C%20I%20received%20a%20notification%20that%20a%20tracked%20package%20was%20delivered%20to%20my%20home%20at%209%3A25%20PM%20on%20Saturday%20but%20I%20do%20not%20have%20it&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/13773)
When you mail a letter it goes through a fairly extensive sorting process until it reaches the destination post office that does the actual delivery of the letter to the addressee. That is the way it works in the US and I imagine it is similar in other countries. Once the letter reaches the final post office, it is then sorted to the route which covers the address. The letter carrier for that route usually will have a map with them or a GPS or smartphone to help them find the address if they aren't familiar with the area. In the post office where I work, many of the streets are delivered by the same letter carriers each day so we know where the mail goes to. It is also helpful and important if the street signs are clear as well as the house/apt #'s are labeled well.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=If%20my%20address%20is%20on%20the%20mail%20that%20I%27m%20sending%20to%20another%20person%20shall%20we%20say%20in%20another%20country%20%2C%20how%20does%20a%20mailman%20find%20that%20address%20on%20that%20particular%20letter%3F%20Do%20they%20have%20some%20kind%20of%20map%20or%20device%20to%20help%20to%20them%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/13066)
Deedee, I don't know the minimum requirements for taking the USPS carrier exam, but I do think you will need one to actually get hired. I would look on the USPS employment website to see if there is any information on it as to when you need to have a driver license. All city carriers where I work drive postal vehicles and therefore need a driver license. Good luck and thanks for writing.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Will%20I%20be%20disqualified%20for%20employment%20if%20I%20don%27t%20have%20a%20valid%20drivers%20license%20when%20I%20take%20the%20exam&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/14125)
Thanks for participating in the q and forum at jobstr. When I first started answering the questions, I had no idea it would be this popular. Some q's I receive are about doing the job and others are customer service issues that I can't specifically solve. I enjoy doing this but will admit if the quantity of questions got to be really high, I probably couldn't keep up with it. The amount of q's I receive now, I can easily handle. I try not to stay up late at all answering questions, but I like to give a thorough answer to each one and like to have minimal backlog. As far as my wife goes, I don't have one so its a non-issue. I have a girlfriend and she is very understanding and supportive and what I do. For her profession she is my own jobstr answer woman. Believe me that I ask her about her job all of the time to the point where she says "let's talk about something else", and I oblige.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=How%20late%20do%20you%20stay%20up%20at%20night%20answering%20our%20questions%3F%20Lol.%20Wow%2C%20when%20I%20posted%20mine%2C%20I%20had%20no%20idea%20I%20would%20ever%20get%20an%20answer%2C%20much%20less%20within%20minutes%21%20What%20does%20you%20wife%20think%20about%20all%20those%21%20%20Lol.&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/13410)
Swim Instructor
Do parents ever get angry at you personally if their kid isn't learning fast enough?
Audiologist
How come people with hearing aids still can't seem to hear?
Day Trader
In trading, does an educated person have an advantage over an uneducated one?
Great question and you are correct about having to use the bathroom during the course of the delivery day. We don't have a bathroom in the postal vehicle, though that would be a nice touch. When I need to use a bathroom, I usually drive to an office building, gas station, or library near the route where I deliver. I also deliver mail to a dentist's office so I can use their toilet when the office is open. The next method some will find gross, but I wouldn't necessarily agree. Some males carry around bottles with them and will discreetly urinate in them and then dump out the contents when they get a chance. It's pretty easy to do in the environment I work as there aren't many people around and one can go inside the back of the postal vehicle for privacy. It's also a good idea to carry hand sanitizer or handi-wipes for use after urinating. As far as what woman do, I'm pretty sure it's not that simple and they must usually find a facility to use.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Is%20there%20a%20bathroom%20on%20your%20mail%20truck%3F%20I%20mean%20with%20a%20full%20day%20of%20work%20don%27t%20you%20have%20to%20go%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/14901)
It is hard to say for sure what will happen if it is one number off like in your example. If the mailman recognizes your name and knows what the correct address should be, they will often deliver it to what should be the correct address. If they don't look at the name and strictly deliver by address and the address that was written on the item actually exists then it is possible the item will wind up there and not where it was intended. It's not likely for the item to be held at the PO for pickup. It could be returned to the sender with the endorsement "Attempted, Not Known" for the address that was written on the envelope. I hope this helps you.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=If%20someone%20sends%20ne%20something%20but%20one%20number%20in%20the%20address%20is%20wrong%20for%20instance%20186%20instead%20of%20180%2C%20will%20the%20mailman%20return%20it%20to%20sender%20or%20will%20they%20hold%20it%20at%20the%20post%20office%3F%20If%20at%20the%20post%20office%20where%20i%20am%20could%20i%20go%20pick%20it%20up%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/12124)
Mcmjuly, much thanks for your positive feedback. This is how I try to be in life as well. I want to be accurate, and not sensationalize any part of my job. I also try to answer promptly because I prefer not to have too much pending email. Maybe touches of OCD.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=This%20is%20just%20a%20comment%2C%20not%20a%20question.%20Thank%20you%20so%20much%20for%20taking%20the%20time%20to%20answer%20our%20questions%20so%20promptly%2C%20accurately%20and%20friendly.%20I%2C%20for%20one%2C%20really%20do%20appreciate%20your%20effort%21%20Cheers%21&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/14262)
-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
