Ask a Mailman (City Letter Carrier) anything

1237 Questions

Last Answer on February 18, 2022

While driving the vehicle to make a delivery, another motorist points towards the back of your vehicle as if something is wrong. What do you do?

Asked by tareq over 9 years ago

If I were in motion, I'd safely pull over, put on my four-way flashers, and then get out to investigate. It's possible that my gas cap is hanging out the side of the LLV, the back gate isn't secure, or maybe I'm dragging something. It could also be something that I haven't thought of. If the motorist is still around I'd ask them what they are pointing out. If it seemed to be some type of phony diversion tactic, I'd try to get far away from the motorist pointing and then investigate safely.

434 Votes

I use the surge rival gloves for delivering mail but was wondering if there is a really good made glove that is good for hot summers as well ?

Asked by MailmanChris about 9 years ago

Chris, I'll be honest that I don't know anything about gloves to wear for delivering mail in the hot summer. I use my bare hands probably 99% of the time. I don't concern myself with the cleanliness of the mail whatsoever and it's never been an issue for me. I have noticed in very cold weather that I need to cover my extremities well so I just wear as warm gloves as I can but don't know any brand. Some coworkers use sealskin gloves. it is difficult for me to finger the mail with a gloved hand so I hold the mail in a gloved hand and keep the hand that I use to finger the mail in my pocket as much as possible with no glove. I don't do too well in the extreme cold. Thank you for your question.

433 Votes

what iare the percentages of mail delivered to the wrong address by the regular mail person versus a substitute carrier?

Asked by Marilyn almost 9 years ago

I don't have the answer because it differs from person to person. If the substitute carrier is conscientious and verifies the address on the mail the mailbox that he's leaving the mail in then it would probably be a low difference between the two. Some regular carriers make plenty of mistakes because they are in a hurry or maybe don't care. I am very conscientious but still make mistakes. When a substitute delivers my route, the results vary. Some days you think "great job" and other days it's "why don't they read the address and be more careful". Misdeliveries are a big pet peeve of mine. One reason is that you don't know if the errant recipient will put the mailpiece back for correct delivery or may just ignore or discard it. I don't feel enough education is put to our employees how important proper mail delivery is. I am fortunate now to have the same substitute carrier each week if I'm off and not asked to work overtime. He is very conscientious and reads all of the carrier alert cards I give him. Other substitute carriers have been good and bad.

433 Votes

Why is my mail all of the sudden being delivered to my home in Montpelier Vermont by a red mini van with Massachusetts license plates - BTW the plates are civilian style plane on mass plates

Asked by Craig over 9 years ago

I don't know that it matters where the plates are from if someone is delivering your mail, but I'm by no means criticizing your question. Do you know if you live on a Rural Delivery route? If so, those carriers sometimes use a POV (privately owned vehicle) to deliver the mail. In the office where I work, the rural carriers used to use POVs but now they use the USPS-owned Long-Life vehicles, aka LLVs. The USPS sometimes leases vehicles if there is a shortage of company vehicles available. If you live on a rural route, it may be delivered by a Rural Carrier Associate (RCA) who may have their own vehicle for delivery. There are several variables as to why your mail is being delivered by a MA-plated Red Minivan but I can't say for sure.

433 Votes

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If i put a mail such as a letter in the mailbox will the mail carrier get it make sure it sent to the person . We they even get the letter out the mailbox . Do i have to write return to sender even though its a letter that i wrote for someone .

Asked by temorrow over 9 years ago

As long as you addressed the letter properly and affixed the correct postage the letter should make it to its destination correctly. When letter carriers pick up outgoing mail we generally just put it in a basket with all of the other outgoing mail and a processing facility sorts the mail based on where it is going to. It's recommended that you put a return address in the upper left hand corner of the letter just in case it doesn't reach the intended recipient. This way the letter would be returned to you, the sender. A return address isn't mandatory.

433 Votes

If a package was inadvertently RTS on a Saturday. Can it be picked up that same day once the mail carrier brings it back at the end of his shift?

Asked by Victoria over 9 years ago

I am not sure how to answer this correctly. If you can find the letter carrier who inadvertently RTS the package and positively ID that the package belongs to you, I don't see why not. I just don't have a lot of faith in some of my co-workers how helpful they would be if asked to find a package that they hadn't been in possession of. Actually it would be more of a supervisor issue to try and find the package. Either way I hope it worked out for you or whomever you wrote this for. We probably shouldn't have made the mistake in the first place unless the package was addressed improperly.

432 Votes

A certified letter was sent out to me on Jan 13 and it's the 21st. Still have not received it and when I try to track it all it says it's in transit. Desnt say where it is. I called local post office and all they say is its on the truck. What do I d

Asked by Ann over 9 years ago

It's odd for someone to say "it's on the truck" when the tracking seems very non-specific and sounds like it hasn't been updated. 8 days is too long for a certified letter to reach you unless the item was missorted en route and was either misdelivered or is sitting at a PO and nothing is being done with it. I don't know what to tell you to do except to wait a few more days. After that, you could contact the sender and say you never received the letter though they would have the same information as the online tracking.

432 Votes

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Mailman (City Letter Carrier)

Ask me anything!

What do YOU do?

While driving the vehicle to make a delivery, another motorist points towards the back of your vehicle as if something is wrong. What do you do?

I use the surge rival gloves for delivering mail but was wondering if there is a really good made glove that is good for hot summers as well ?

what iare the percentages of mail delivered to the wrong address by the regular mail person versus a substitute carrier?

Why is my mail all of the sudden being delivered to my home in Montpelier Vermont by a red mini van with Massachusetts license plates - BTW the plates are civilian style plane on mass plates

Also on Jobstr...

If i put a mail such as a letter in the mailbox will the mail carrier get it make sure it sent to the person . We they even get the letter out the mailbox . Do i have to write return to sender even though its a letter that i wrote for someone .

If a package was inadvertently RTS on a Saturday. Can it be picked up that same day once the mail carrier brings it back at the end of his shift?

A certified letter was sent out to me on Jan 13 and it's the 21st. Still have not received it and when I try to track it all it says it's in transit. Desnt say where it is. I called local post office and all they say is its on the truck. What do I d

Mailman (City Letter Carrier)

Ask me anything!

What do YOU do?

While driving the vehicle to make a delivery, another motorist points towards the back of your vehicle as if something is wrong. What do you do?

I use the surge rival gloves for delivering mail but was wondering if there is a really good made glove that is good for hot summers as well ?

what iare the percentages of mail delivered to the wrong address by the regular mail person versus a substitute carrier?

Why is my mail all of the sudden being delivered to my home in Montpelier Vermont by a red mini van with Massachusetts license plates - BTW the plates are civilian style plane on mass plates

Also on Jobstr...

If i put a mail such as a letter in the mailbox will the mail carrier get it make sure it sent to the person . We they even get the letter out the mailbox . Do i have to write return to sender even though its a letter that i wrote for someone .

If a package was inadvertently RTS on a Saturday. Can it be picked up that same day once the mail carrier brings it back at the end of his shift?

A certified letter was sent out to me on Jan 13 and it's the 21st. Still have not received it and when I try to track it all it says it's in transit. Desnt say where it is. I called local post office and all they say is its on the truck. What do I d

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