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.
Bradan, Congratulations on surviving the winter! That can't have been fun at all. I'm just glad it's over also. As much as the heat isn't fun, I prefer it over the cold. I know there are others who feel quite differently about that. As far as tips go, my main tips are: 1) Drink plenty of water or some other liquids. I've heard different schools of thought whether or not Gatorade is good. My joke is that on the internet you can find anybody to support your opinion. I would guess that it works but there is a very high sugar content. The key is to stay hydrated.
2) Wear a hat to block the sun off your head and face. I wear a cowboy-type hat which works well. I fold the edges up by the ear so it doesn't look so funny but there is a tradeoff in that I'm exposing more of my face to the sun. I'm not sure what the official name of the hat is. You could also wear a white mesh pith helmet. Baseball caps will help as well but not cover too much of your face or neck for sun exposure. I also wear sunglasses most of the time.
3) Wear as light clothes as possible. I usually wear shorts in the warm weather and a short-sleeve uniform shirt with a t-shirt underneath.
Those are the basic tips that I can think of. Make sure to ask or take a cue from your fellow carriers, as I'm far from being an expert on this. On the very hot and humid days I consume water without even thinking about it, usually bringing about 2 liters with me plus some orange juice to drink with lunch.
Good luck to you. During July and August there is so much extra work to do because of our fellow workers going on vacation. We never seem to have enough help. I'm sure that story is repeated in many Post Offices nationwide.
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I think it should be approximately 3 days for First Class Mail from Wisconsin to California. 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.
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I can't say for sure if we come later on Fridays or not. It usually depends on the staffing and mail volume as to what time we deliver the mail. At the PO where I work, Friday is usually like most other weekdays for mail delivery time. On Saturday, the mail may come earlier because postal routes may have closed busineses so they can start the residential delivery sooner.
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I don't know where you mailed the letter from, but I think mail is still processed on a holiday even if there is no delivery. I would suggest that it will arrive on Tues or Wednesday. Also, I've heard through unofficial sources that the service standards for first class mail has been delayed by a day, at least with local mail. Mail that used to take one day has started to take two days as of last week, but I haven't heard any official word or complaints about it. I don't work in an environment where I'd head too many complaints from customers nor would management tell us of too much with regards to service changes unless they absolutely had to.
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I don't see why it wouldn't be legal. The important parts are that the destination address, return address, and postage are in the correct places and clearly readable. Besides that I believe you may write a message on the outside of an envelope.
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I don't know the answer to this and have never heard of it being an issue. I would likely pick the mail up but maybe each carrier has the discretion because it's possible they are allergic to such smells from perfume or lipstick. Lipstick could possibly get on other mail which isn't right in my opinion. Did the letter carrier ever mention to you why they wouldn't pick up the outgoing mail. I haven't done any online research regarding "mailing requirements" so I can't say if lipstick marks or perfume is permitted. I don't recall ever seeing it myself except in Valentine's Day advertising that may say "SWAK" (sealed with a kiss).
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Another good question that I'll fail miserably at. It's hard to find good gloves that will keep your ha ss warm and dry plus allow you to easily finger the mail. While I walk I wear a pretty regular glove on the hand where I hold the mail and then may leave the hand I use to finger the mail exposed but put it in my pocket between houses to keep it somewhat warm. You may also purchase single use hand warmers which you can keep in your pocket and they should last you the whole work day. Some carriers wear sealskin type gloves. I've never tried some so I can't comment on how good they are. Basically I own many pairs of gloves and just do a lot of experimenting to get it right. If it's raining try and bring multiple pair so you can exchange out wet gloves for dry gloves.
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