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

Can a mail man bid on a route that's not in his district?

Asked by Jim almost 11 years ago

When a route goes up for bid due to a vacancy, it is usually first offered in the office or city (if there are multiple stations combined into one bidding unit). If nobody bids that assignment and there are no unassigned regular letter carriers in the bidding unit, the assignment might be posted as available through the eReassign system. This is the way that letter carriers can move between districts.

what days do mailman come to turn in or take mail from apartments?
can I ask my mail lady to sell me stamps if i'm in a tight situation?

Asked by jessie almost 11 years ago

In most apartments, just like houses, mail is delivered 6 days week (every day except Sundays and Holidays). If there is outgoing mail, it should be taken at that same time. Many apartment cluster boxes have a slot for outgoing mail. If not, the mail should be deposited in a blue collection box which are at the Post Office or in the street in various locations. With regards to asking a mail lady to sell you stamps, you can ask but we aren't required to carry stamps as city letter carriers. I carry a few with that I purchase with my own money and will put them on envelopes if someone has short-paid the postage or if they need a stamp. Sometimes I'll ask them for the money, sometimes I won't. The whole scenario doesn't happen too often. I am a stickler for the proper postage being affixed to mail so I sometimes I won't accept a letter with insufficient postage and leave a note or write on the envelope that add'l postage is required.

Why would my carrier report my package delivered and it's not in my box no notice left I live in apartment complex?

Asked by Tina almost 11 years ago

Tina, when I get a question like this it disturbs me because I have to think it wasn't an innocent error that the item was scanned as "delivered" but no notice was left nor was the item. As an aside, if a notice was left, the package would have been scanned as "attempted". It could've been an error, but I will explain why I think it may not have been. When the packages arrive at our PO in the AM, they are all scanned as "arrival at unit". Then, at the end of the work day, our supervisors are supposed to make sure that each item has an additional scan such as "attempted" or "delivered" or "business closed", etc. I know at our office that if they can't find the parcel as accidentally left behind in the office they may assume the parcel was delivered and enter it as such. Amazon specifically wants their items delivered the day they arrive at the destination PO. In a way this is falsifying and undermining the integrity of our scanning system. I won't say this happens to many items nor do I know if it's widespread. Hopefully what I described above is what happened with your package and it should be delivered on the following delivery day.

Can a mail carrier write my house number on the outside of my mailbox with a sharpie?

Asked by Steven about 11 years ago

I don't know if they can do that, but I would do it if it weren't clearly posted on the house or on the mailbox. This is important so that the letter carrier can deliver the mail properly. I am very big on communication so that anybody can fill in on any route and deliver the mail properly. As far as marking the house number on the outside of the mailbox, I don't know that it is necessary. A sticker on the inside lid or inside the box that clearly states a house number should be fine.

I lost my mailbox key and soon after that was evicted from my apartment (losing the key wasn't the reason). My bank statements still go to the apartment address. Will submitting a forwarding address get my mail redelivered? If not, how do I get it?

Asked by Bri over 10 years ago

I don't know that submitting a forwarding order will result in your mail getting rede liveried from your former apt to your current address. You can submit a forwarding request for any future mail to be delivered to where you now reside or receive mail. As far as how you get the mail that has already been delivered, I don't know. You could contact the landlord or apartment management company to see if they have access to the mailbox and could send you your mail, but it's possible they don't have access to the mailbox or don't really care to assist you much now that you are no longer there. I'd recommend changing your address with your bank ASAP, and consider electronic banking so you can receive statements via email or online access. Banks are usually quick about updating addresses once they can verify the person requesting it is allowed to do so.

to continue on the signature confirmations, its a hassle to have to deliver the package after the customer signs the 3849, sign in person or not sign in person is the question, now we have key in the 3849 on certifieds

Asked by jrv about 11 years ago

You should be able to scan the 3849 if you choose the attempted function. At least this is how it works on the older scanners. If the "delivered" function is chosen then the 3849 (reverse) is scanned. The only change I noticed recently was having to put the 3849 bar coded # in the scanner on the "attempted" function. This allows the recipient to just type in the 3849 # when requesting re delivery. It is an extra step but if you are a city carrier, time=money.

How long will it take for mail to get to California from Arizona

Asked by Heem over 10 years ago

I think it should be 2-3 days for First Class Mail from California to Arizona. Our mail transportation is pretty reliable when it comes to meeting our delivery service goals as long as the mail isn't missorted or misdelivered.