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.

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1237 Questions

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Last Answer on February 18, 2022

Best Rated

What's the best shoes you say would be best for a CC also I wear size 15

Asked by Mr. OKC over 10 years ago

Getting that large size shoe may require a custom order. I was just at the website for US Uniform Company. One of the items I looked up only went as high as size 14. I only looked at one type of shoe. I buy Rocky or New Balance Black leather low top athletic shoes for walking. They will have the mandated SR/USA tag if purchased through an authorized uniform vendor. I can't say any one shoe is better than the other since I don't recall every being uncomfortable in any of them. I don't remember the brand but some definitely wore out faster than others resulting in an expensive (usually more than $100/pair) replacement order. I probably go through at least 2 pair of shoes per year and walk about 5 miles per day on my route, 351 residential deliveries to their door.

628 Votes

Does a mailman deliver mail everyday? Like to the same address? What if you live in an apartment and lost your key, could you ask a mailman to open it for you or even deliver it to your suite?

Asked by Kailey about 10 years ago

As long as there is mail to bring to any address we deliver 6 days per week (Mon-Sat). It's not always the same letter carrier who goes to the same address each day but it often is. If you live in an apartment and lost your mailbox key, I don't know that the letter carrier would open the mailbox for you or make any special delivery arrangements to deliver it to your suite or apartment unless they knew who you were and were willing to help until a replacement key could be acquired. I'm not even sure who would get you a replacement key, but I think it is the building management or the landlord.

627 Votes

I lost my mailbox key (cluster). I called USPS and they said that if I leave a note for the carrier, he could replace the lock. Is it true or do I have to find a locksmith?

Asked by Nicole about 10 years ago

I don't think you need to hire a locksmith to replace the lock to a cluster mailbox, but to be honest I don't really know the procedure as to who maintains the boxes. It may be the USPS or it could be the complex/apt/condo management. I believe the lock may have to be changed because I don't even know if spare keys are held anywhere. If it is true that a letter carrier can get the lock changed I don't know the length of time that this takes though I imagine it is common for mailbox keys to be lost.

626 Votes

When do I get a new mailman I'm having issues with mine do you guys ever change routes

Asked by Gadgetsystem over 10 years ago

That is a good question which I can basically break down into a simple answer: there is no set time for switching routes for letter carriers. The system for assigning routes comes down to seniority. If a letter carrier likes the route that they have they can stay on it indefinitely for the most part. If the office goes through some route restructuring (like the territory that makes up a route changes) then you may get a new mailman. When carriers retire or leave the PO for any reason, their route goes up for bidding and the most senior letter carrier who would like that route assignment can choose it. At this point your mailman could move to another route if they want to and they have enough seniority. Some letter carriers could stay on their routes for 25+ years if they choose to. If you are having serious issues with your letter carrier, you could mention it to to them if you ever see them or you could call the delivery supervisor at your local PO. I'm sorry you are having issues with your letter carrier. There are many among us who don't do a great job or just have a bad attitude.

623 Votes

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If a certified is thrown in the outgoing mail by human error will it come to the post office the next business day in the dps or in some form back to the post office.

Asked by jvitto about 11 years ago

I think the letter that was accidentally thrown in the outgoing mail, even if it was a certified letter, would come back the next business day or the day after either via the DPS or the registry clerk. It would rarely be the case that the letter would just disappear. At least that's what I hope would happen.

620 Votes

Just a question. I send out postcards every other week on Friday do most postcard going to differents states typically arive on Monday? And does using a 9 digit zip code speed up the process?

Asked by Andrew about 11 years ago

If you mail out the postcards on Friday, they will generally arrive Monday or Tuesday depending on how far away the destination is from you. The USPS has been talking about a change in what is called their EXFC standards so First Class Mail that used to take 1-3 days may now take 2-4 days. I'm not sure if this is in effect or not. With regards to using the 9-digit ZIP code I don't believe it speeds up the process. If your postcards have printed addresses on them, our OCR (Optical Character Reader) probably would have no problem reading the address, spraying a bar code on the envelope and sending it on its way expeditiously. Most addressing software programs now produce an address with a 9-digit ZIP and standardized address. If you look at a lot of the mail you receive, it likely has the 9-digit ZIP code on it. We call it ZIP + 4, but it's the same thing. This codes the destination address down to a pretty small group of addresses within a ZIP code. I believe in some cases PO Boxes each have their own specific ZIP + 4. Thank you for your question.

620 Votes

Our post office in Virginia allows workers to wear their own clothes, why is this? One wore shorts so high I couldn't believe. The other wears street gang type clothes. Including a doo rag and his hat turned backwards! How can this be allowed?

Asked by BunniesQuestion about 11 years ago

If an employee is a newly hired CCA (city carrier assistant) they may not have yet received a unfiorm allowance and therefore not bought any USPS clothing. I think once probation is passed (90 days) they can purchase uniforms. Rural Letter carriers never need to wear a uniform. That being said, those not yet wearing a uniform shouldn't dress inappropriately or wear gang-type clothing (in my opinion). It would be up to the PO management to enforce this, but I've seen them be lax about it too frequently. Once an employee can purchase their uniforms, they should only be wearing USPS-approved clothing and not wearing any hats backwards. I personally hate gang-type thug looking street clothes, but it is up to the management to enforce this. Most carriers where I work dress in uniform daily and keep them moderately clean (I'm looking in the mirror when it comes to the subject of uniform cleanliness as they get dirty so easily). Thanks for this question.

620 Votes

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