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 you enter an open garage to deliver a package

Asked by Debbie almost 9 years ago

I don't know the rule about this Debbie. I would guess that for the safety of the letter carrier it is recommended not to enter an open garage or backyard. I almost always will leave any packages at the front door. If the garage is open and the package can be left there I may consider doing that as well. We have never been told not to deliver a package through and open garage.

504 Votes

Is becoming a cca a safe career choice with the post offices current financial situation?

Asked by Jerz over 9 years ago

It depends on what other job/career options you may have and how they compare with the USPS. I have somewhat of a bias because I enjoy working here and it has been a great career. I do realize, however, that being a CCA isn't easy and it's a non-career position and only pays moderately to begin (currently $16.06/hr). Regarding the USPS financial situation, I don't think that should impact your choice. The USPS isn't going away anytime soon. While I'm sure it's losing plenty of $$ often there is still as much work as I can remember. There will likely be changes that happen years from now but I don't know what they'd look like. I've never seen a layoff or RIF since I've been employed by the USPS. Good luck to you Jerz whichever job/career path you choose.

504 Votes

I have been a CCA for 60 days now. I love the job. What do you recommend for me to keep myself hydrated during the summer when it's hot. I've been drinking Powerade but I've read drinking too many of those aren't good for you.

Asked by Toni almost 9 years ago

Congratulations and good luck to you in your postal career. I'm glad you love it so far. Despite some personal hurdles I've had along the way, I absolutely love it most days and feel very fortunate to have this career. I don't know Powerade but I'm assuming it's an energy drink. I see Gatorade is the main competitor. The main criticism of those types of drinks is the high sugar content. My advice (with no scientific background) is to just drink 1-2 day at most and then hydrate with water. I mostly d non-sugar naturally flavored sparkling water beverages. I drink it quite a bit on hot days and it seems to help so much. I've avoided the Powerade type drinks mainly because I don't want to ingest so much sugar that could hurt my teeth and body. Moderation is my advice. Thanks for writing.

504 Votes

gift for particular mailman instead of temp

Asked by Rose over 9 years ago

Rose, I'm not sure exactly what you mean by this question. If you would like to give a gift to a particular letter carrier, I'm sure it'd be appreciated. During this time of year (December holiday season), many people who I deliver mail to will give me a cash gratuity or gift of sweets or wine for example. It is never expected by me to receive a gratuity or gift but I follow up with a thank you card to the customer. If you're not sure when your particular letter carrier is working you may just have to wait until you see them to present them with the gift or leave it in your mailbox and hope they will get it. Please ask a follow up question of me if I haven't explained my answer clearly.

503 Votes

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How do you get the USPS OIG to investigate? A carrier tech never delivers catalogs. I have tested and confirmed they did not deliver at least 12 over 2 years. All other carriers have passed my tests 100%. This one fails 100%. USPS OIG does nothing.

Asked by USPS Abused over 9 years ago

I don't know anything about getting OIG to investigate anything for the USPS. I think they may have a tip hotline that can be called but I don't know if they will place your tip on any high priority. I would call that carrier a sleazeball for not delivering anything that should be. It is illegal plus the only reason our job exists is because items are being paid for that we should deliver. I have the impression that so many employees (including management) don't care at all about proper delivery of mail and what gets discarded or has the proper postage. There is so little oversight as to what we do on a daily basis unless we do something egregious or work unsafely. I'm sorry to be so negative. It's important to me that every piece of mail that is properly addressed is delivered, no matter if it's a catalog, weekly supermarket flier, or birthday card. It's all mail and should be handled accordingly.

502 Votes

What is the premise to scan flats and letters, it’s ridiculous in my opinion, and what if a house is vacant or on hold, my guess is on the scanner to hit “not on the route “when it prompts, any thoughts

Asked by jvitto48 over 8 years ago

From what I understand, we scan the flats and letters to verify how long it takes mailpieces to get from somewhere to the delivery point. I haven’t heard this for sure. I agree it seems pointless and annoying. I make sure to take the time to do it properly though I don’t trust most of my coworkers to do it. Regarding what to do when it asks i feel the address is on the route, i usually put “yes” if it’s vacant or hold but I have to say I’m probably not consistent with that i do. I’d hit “yes”, then “end scanning” and then “no more to scan” if I had zero mailpieces with me. I’m not sure how it is in Massapequa but the communication as to what we’re supposed to do in any situation is quite half-assed and different supv may give different answers. I have so little faith in the supervisors to give the right information that I often don’t even bother asking. We had a service talk today about how to scan parcels that are on “hold”. The directions were completely the opposite of what we were told in the past. Besides that, I doubt they will repeat the service talk for the carriers who were off today or on vacation. I’m just venting but I think you can relate to my comments. Thanks again for writing and hope you liked my tangent.

502 Votes

i m a letter carrier in new york and submit a reassign to puerto rico .i was considerd .6 month later got a letter saying not ACCEPTED DUE TO SAFETY RECORD & ATTENDENCE.i haven't been a accident nor attendence (no more the 5 days in 3 years. why ?

Asked by roman about 10 years ago

I am not familiar with the eReassign process and what to do if you feel you were unfairly denied a transfer to PR. That is wrong for the USPS to give you a letter which is inaccurate. Missing 5 days in 3 years seems like pretty good attendance. I don't know that the NALC or your local management or anyone in PR can assist you. I think our organization like many others has bureaucratic issues that are sometimes difficult to figure out. You could try to contact someone in Human Resources, but I don't know how to go about doing that either. Good luck to you and I hope you get your transfer.

502 Votes

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