Ask a Mailman (City Letter Carrier) anything

put my company's mail in the Priority Express blue box instead of the regular one. Will these important documents be sorted correctly and reach their destination> Also will they be delayed severely because of this or arrive in a reasonable time? TNX

Asked by Lisa is going to be in trouble! almost 10 years ago

I don't think you will be in trouble. Lisa, in my experience your mail should be processed normally so you need not worry. I don't often collect mail from the blue boxes as part of my assignment but if I saw regular mail in the Express Priority Blue Box I'd just put it with other outgoing mail in my postal vehicle and it'd be treated normally. I've never heard of outgoing mail being delayed by this. Thank you for your question.

579 Votes

I do not p/u my mail but about 3 times a week. I live in a condo. The past couple of weeks have been hit or miss as I have had 3 eye surgeries and had a very hard time using the steps to get my mail. MM won't leave mail.

Asked by Grandma Ellen about 10 years ago

I am not exactly sure what your question is but it seems that the letter carrier isn't delivering your mail because you don't pick it up frequently enough or that you are requesting it be brought to your door due to your medical condition (eye surgery). I'm not aware of any special accommodations made for anyone who can't get to their mailbox. Any delivery issues can be discussed with the delivery supervise me or postmaster of the PO where your carrier works from. I'm not sure how helpful they will be but you could try anyway. With condo boxes, it is common for people to not pick up their mail daily and I would be delivering the mail until the box got full which could take awhile depending on the size of the mailbox and how much mail you receive. If you have any friends or acquaintances (that you trust) in the condo, maybe you could ask them to bring you the mail if you'd give them your mailbox key.

578 Votes

do you think i will like it, ive had an engineering job for years on a desk, i'm bord and thought i would try this, i have passed the test and getting close to starting as a carrier , i hope its fun.

Asked by paul over 10 years ago

I'm not sure if you will like the job as a letter carrier because each person is different. There are few important things about it to know when you start out as a CCA (city carrier assistant). They include being very flexible in your schedule, being assigned different routes daily depending on staffing needs, and possibly working on Sundays and Holidays. It can be a physically demanding job and you want to be prepared for all different weather extremes depending on where you live. I enjoy the job because I'm not in an office and I can be very organized and am providing quality service to whomever I deliver mail. I recommend doing a little research on websites like postalmag.com or postalnews.com to learn of the latest issues. The USPS plans to hire tens of thousands of people in 2016, but part of the reason is that the attrition rate is high. In a recent article I read, 54.4% of CCAs didn't stay on the job for more than one year. I find the job fun, but it's been many years since I've been in a position of a different assignment each day or every few days. I do see the job as a challenge for new hires. I wish you well if you decide to become a letter carrier. Work accurately and safely, and try not to let any office negativity get to you.

578 Votes

I will be receiving 30-50 textbook size packages a day in the mail for a small business I am starting. I will pick them up daily but I was wondering if that will annoy the post office workers? Should I take my business to a private mailbox service?

Asked by John over 10 years ago

That is very considerate of you to wonder if we will be annoyed by you receiving so many parcels. Have you worked out with the local USPS if you can pick them up daily? At the office where I work I don't think that would be allowed unless you are a PO Box renter or have made an arrangement that I wouldn't know about. . If packages are addressed to your residence or office they would be delivered since that is our service. I know that I'd never be annoyed if someone received many packages on a regular basis. That's our business. I can't say that other coworkers would be so positive as I am but I wouldn't be concerned. If you use a private mailbox service it is possible that the USPS is still delivering the items to the private mail company known as a CMRA and you'd be picking up your packages there.

578 Votes

Are letters opened by the Postal Inspection Service -- and determined to be harmless -- then forwarded to the intended recipient? Is it hard to obtain a warrant to seize and examine First Class mail? Or is it easily obtained?

Asked by Teddy almost 10 years ago

I don't know anything about who opens first class letters deemed suspicious by the USPSIS and the difficulty in obtaining a search warrant to do so. I'm guessing it's not something my local PO gets too involved in. I would think if the item is deemed harmless that it would continue on to be delivered to the recipient. I've never had any dealings with the USPSIS with regards to intercepting or seizing any mail that I deliver. We don't seem them too often at the postal facility where I work.

574 Votes

Two questions!
1. What is the office like on the inside? Who gets an office? How/where do you pick up the mail YOU have to deliver?
2. When delivering packages that need signature, what would happen if the person is not home?
(Thank you! )

Asked by Joseph over 10 years ago

1) The PO that I work in has a lot of space inside. There are high ceilings and the main areas in the back are the carrier section, mail distribution, and parcel distribution. I work in the carrier section mostly. This area has sorting cases where we prepare any mail that has to be manually sorted into delivery order. The cases have individual dividers that hold the mail for one or two addresses. We stand up to work at these cases although a stool is provided should we need it. The mail clerks sort mail into cases based on the address on the mailpiece. The clerks are scheme-trained which means they know which route delivers the mail for that address. The parcels are sorted the same way but it's a large area because we receive so many parcels to deliver. The letter carriers take a hamper on wheels and "sweep" the mail from the clerk distribution case and then bring the mail to our own assigned carrier sorting case and sort the mail there. We mainly organize the parcels as we load our delivery vehicle. The bulk mailing/dispatch clerk has his own office and the postmaster has an office. The registry clerk has an office also because that is where the registered and accountable mail is secured. Besides that everyone else mainly works on an open floor of sorting equipment and desks. The sorting equipment is all manual. Any mail automation is done at a more central processing facility and trucked to our PO.

2) I don't deliver to many packages that need signatures. When I do attempt delivery of such a package and the person isn't home to receive it, I complete.PS Form 3849 and leave it in the customer's mailbox. This notifies them that we have attempted delivery of an item requiring a signature and they may pick it up at the PO or we can redeliver it on a future date. If the form is signed by the recipient, we can generally leave the package without the person being home. I work in a very safe community so it's unlikely a package would go missing due to theft. I think it's more common for us to misdeliver a package than for one to actually get stolen.

I hope this answers both of your questions.

573 Votes

do you come across a lot of vacant houses?

Asked by carlos almost 10 years ago

Not often. I deliver the same route each day, so I pretty much know when residents move in or out. I deliver mail in an upper middle class community and there aren't many rentals and most houses are occupied. If mail begins to accumulate for awhile and I don't see any activity at the house and the grounds start to look more unkempt I may suspect a house is vacant. When most people move, they submit a change of address/forwarding order. This also gives me an indication that if I don't see a new residents name that the house could be vacant. At present, about 1% of the houses on my route are considered vacant and don't receive mail delivery. I'm sure in many other communities that aren't as well off economically there could be more vacant homes.

571 Votes

Mailman (City Letter Carrier)

Ask me anything!

What do YOU do?

put my company's mail in the Priority Express blue box instead of the regular one. Will these important documents be sorted correctly and reach their destination> Also will they be delayed severely because of this or arrive in a reasonable time? TNX

I do not p/u my mail but about 3 times a week. I live in a condo. The past couple of weeks have been hit or miss as I have had 3 eye surgeries and had a very hard time using the steps to get my mail. MM won't leave mail.

do you think i will like it, ive had an engineering job for years on a desk, i'm bord and thought i would try this, i have passed the test and getting close to starting as a carrier , i hope its fun.

I will be receiving 30-50 textbook size packages a day in the mail for a small business I am starting. I will pick them up daily but I was wondering if that will annoy the post office workers? Should I take my business to a private mailbox service?

Also on Jobstr...

Are letters opened by the Postal Inspection Service -- and determined to be harmless -- then forwarded to the intended recipient? Is it hard to obtain a warrant to seize and examine First Class mail? Or is it easily obtained?

Two questions!
1. What is the office like on the inside? Who gets an office? How/where do you pick up the mail YOU have to deliver?
2. When delivering packages that need signature, what would happen if the person is not home?
(Thank you! )

do you come across a lot of vacant houses?

Mailman (City Letter Carrier)

Ask me anything!

What do YOU do?

put my company's mail in the Priority Express blue box instead of the regular one. Will these important documents be sorted correctly and reach their destination> Also will they be delayed severely because of this or arrive in a reasonable time? TNX

I do not p/u my mail but about 3 times a week. I live in a condo. The past couple of weeks have been hit or miss as I have had 3 eye surgeries and had a very hard time using the steps to get my mail. MM won't leave mail.

do you think i will like it, ive had an engineering job for years on a desk, i'm bord and thought i would try this, i have passed the test and getting close to starting as a carrier , i hope its fun.

I will be receiving 30-50 textbook size packages a day in the mail for a small business I am starting. I will pick them up daily but I was wondering if that will annoy the post office workers? Should I take my business to a private mailbox service?

Also on Jobstr...

Are letters opened by the Postal Inspection Service -- and determined to be harmless -- then forwarded to the intended recipient? Is it hard to obtain a warrant to seize and examine First Class mail? Or is it easily obtained?

Two questions! 1. What is the office like on the inside? Who gets an office? How/where do you pick up the mail YOU have to deliver?2. When delivering packages that need signature, what would happen if the person is not home?(Thank you! )

do you come across a lot of vacant houses?

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Two questions!
1. What is the office like on the inside? Who gets an office? How/where do you pick up the mail YOU have to deliver?
2. When delivering packages that need signature, what would happen if the person is not home?
(Thank you! )