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 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.

Mister mailman. I am only 8 yes old and am curious if a mailman delivers mail then who delivers his mail and Is it possible for mailman to actually pick up their own mail?

Asked by annonomous over 11 years ago

Hello, I'm glad you have an interesting question at such a young age. Usually another mailman delivers the mail to a mailman's house unless they happen to live on the same postal route that they deliver mail to. This does happen but I haven't seen it in the PO where I work. As for the question is it possible to pick up their own mail, I would say probably not. I deliver mail to a letter carrier's house who happens to work in the same office as me. I don't give him his mail any differently than I would any other customer on my postal route. I stay professional and no special favors are done for anybody. As an aside this particular letter carrier has never even asked me for anything special or to pick up his mail. I hope this answers all of your questions and send anymore if you think of them.

If you notice a broken mailbox what do you do with the mail and how do I get it as soon as possible

Asked by Heem over 10 years ago

I usually will continue to deliver the mail as long as the mail can be sheltered from the rain and other elements and hope that the customer will fix the mailbox in a reasonable amount of time. Some letter carriers will not deliver the mail to a mailbox that has fallen to the ground or is broken in some way. I suppose that is their option. If the mail isn't being delivered, it is likely being held at the PO for a certain amt of time (I don't know how long). You can probably go and pick it up there as long as you present identification that matches your address and if the clerk can find the mail that is being held.

If a package is marked delivered on your account. And said it was in a parcel locker and I didn't get it who do I talk to?

Asked by JF over 10 years ago

Was there a key to the parcel locker in your mailbox? That would indicate as to where you should go to retrieve your parcel. If there is no key in your mailbox to access the parcel locker, then I'm not sure where your parcel would be. I'd speak with the letter carrier who serves your route or a delivery supervisor at the PO where the mail is delivered from. I don't have a lot of faith in tracking down parcels that are misdelivered or said that they are somewhere and they aren't. Sometimes it may show up in a day or two, but I don't know why it would show as delivered to a parcel locker and now you can't find it. I hope your package shows up.

We have a neighbor who we don't get along with.they have recieved some of our mail and instead of returning it to USPS to send back they held onto it for 1 mo. &placed it on our recycletrash bin with a rock on top. Is there any rule they can do that?

Asked by Brownie almost 11 years ago

I don't know of any rules of what the recipient of errantly delivered mail is required to do. Ethically it would be correct to put it in the outgoing mail to be (hopefully) delivered correctly the next time. Since it seems you probably don't speak with your neighbor, my suggestion would be to call the delivery supervisor at your PO and explain the problem. I don't know that there is much that can be done about except for an alert to be given to your letter carrier to be more careful with mail for your address. We shouldn't be misdelivering mail with any great frequency, but I know it is a problem in some areas or with some personnel.

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 about 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.

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.