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.
I'm not sure why the letter carrier would stuff the fliers of the vacant apartments into your box and then a note saying he won't deliver any of your mail until the box is emptied. It sounds inappropriate. You could just take the fliers for the vacant apartments (delivered to your mailbox) and discard or recycle them, but you really shouldn't be getting them to begin with. I think that either way you choose to deal with it would be appropriate. Either way, please just be polite and hopefully whomever you are speaking with will reciprocate.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=I%20live%20in%20a%203%20family%20house%20with%203-door%20locked%20box%2C%20and%20two%20empty%20apartments.%20Mailman%20stuffs%20all%20of%20their%20flyers%20into%20my%20box%2C%20filling%20it%2C%20then%20leaves%20a%20note%20saying%20mail%20will%20be%20returned%20until%20emptied.%20Advice%20on%20dealing%20with%20him%3F%20Call%20PO%20or%20confront%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/11367)
You're welcome Linda A. I try to respond quickly so I have very few questions pending. I hate to have a backup of email in general. You did a good job by asking the mailman where the bills might be. I can't imagine ever answering "it's coming". There is no doubt that an electric bill is First Class so a mailman generally would have it, deliver it, and that's all. We have no idea what's in the pipeline with regards to First Class mail like Bills, Mortgage Statements, greeting cards, etc. I'm not trying to discourage you from using the USPS, but does your utility offer you electronic delivery of the electric bill. My utility is Con Edison (NY City) and it has probably been 4-5 years at least since I received an electric bill in the US Mail. I get the bill online and have it deducted each month from my checking out. No worries whatsoever. I know that e-payments and finance is not for everybody, but just wanted to throw the idea out there and this doesn't make up for the fact that you didn't get a paper electric bill that you are supposed to. I hope your complaint helps somewhat. If nothing else, it will advise your mailman that you aren't satisfied with his delivery effort and aren't going to sit idly by if he isn't delivering what he's legally supposed to in a timely manner. Thank you so much for writing.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Thanks%20for%20answering%20so%20fast.%20I%20asked%20our%20mailman%20today%20why%20we%20only%20got%201%20electric%20bill%20when%20we%20normally%20get%205%20%28we%20own%205%20properties%29.%20He%20said%20he%20was%20off%20yesterday.%20I%20said%20it%20was%20from%20last%20week%20-%20then%20he%20said%20%27it%27s%20coming%27%21%20I%20will%20put%20in%20a%20complaint.&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/12595)
It isn't very difficult to drive our delivery vehicles with the steering wheel and pedals on the "wrong" side. The delivery vehicle which is commonly used it sometimes referred to as an LLV (Long Life Vehicle). The controls are the same as if you were driving from the normal side of a car (the left side if you are facing forward). If you are in an urban environment, there could be some safety issues each time you have to pull away from a curb and make sure nobody is coming on your side. There are mirrors which provide you with a field of view for safety. In a suburban/rural environment where the LLVs are used more frequently, safety is still a major concern so you must be very careful each time you move your LLV from one delivery spot to the next. Backing up is something that you should try to avoid as much as you can due to the limited visibility behind an LLV. I found it pretty easy to drive once I got used to it. The vehicles just don't handle too well in ice and snow. In dry weather and rain they are fine.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=HOW%20DO%20YOU%20DRIVE%20YOUR%20CAR%20ON%20THE%20WRONG%20SIDE%3F%20DOES%20IT%20HAVE%20SPECIAL%20PEDALS%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/11561)
Gracie, you certainly can ask a letter carrier to do what you have mentioned. I don't know if they all would oblige and I don't know the rules concerning this. I have never had this requested of me, but if I did, I probably would do it because it is such a rare occurrence and wouldn't have any measurable impact on my day with regards to taking longer to deliver the route than normal. During my mail delivery I sometimes look at the outgoing mail and see that there are letters/cards going to addresses which are also on my route. This happens more commonly during the holiday season. I don't, however, segregate that mail out for any special handling. I let it all go to our mail processing plant which will usually run the mail through an automated system which will then put the mail in delivery order for the next day's delivery. This is called DPS (Delivery Point Sequencing) Mail and is fairly accurate in my opinion. Humans make plenty of mistakes and machines make mistakes so I wouldn't disparage the use of DPS machines because they really save on a lot of labor costs in sorting mail. To me it is am amazingly efficient technology when it comes to sorting letter-size mail and flats (magazines and catalogs). Thank you for your inquiry.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Can%20you%20ask%20mail%20carrier%20to%20deliver%20a%20letter%2Fenvelope%20with%20affixed%20postage%20to%20an%20address%20that%27s%20on%20her%20route%20right%20down%20the%20road%20that%20same%20day%3F%20Or%20does%20it%20have%20to%20go%20all%20the%20way%20to%20the%20post%20office%20100%20miles%20away%20to%20get%20sorted%3F%20Thanks%21&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/12681)
Track and Field Coach
Do you let your athletes play another sport in the off-season?
Private Detective
What's the best Sherlock-Holmes-worthy detective work you've ever done?
HR Executive
How do you feel about employees working remotely?
Victor, I am not sure what to tell you about what happened to your HS transcript being mailed to CUNY. Either it has been lost somewhere or the CUNY bureaucracy is slow in updating their site, but I would hope that isn't the case when it comes to something as important as college admissions application. Mail does go missing and is misdeliveered sometimes but we are generally a good delivery service, just not perfect.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=HI%20MailmanDave%2Cits%20me%20again.The%20letter%20was%20to%20cuny%20for%20college%20admissions.I%20have%20recently%20checked%20my%20status%20in%20cunysite%20and%20it%20still%20says%20i%20didnt%20mail%20in%20my%20highschool%20transcript%20yet....&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/13416)
I am not sure how the mail got delivered to your new address unless it was maybe in the same town and somehow the letter carriers coordinated internally to deliver it to the new address, though this is unlikely. Usually, you would need to fill out a change of address card (by mail or online) to have mail from a previous address sent to a new address.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=We%20went%20bankrupt%20and%20lost%20our%20house%2C%20only%20my%20family%20knew%20where%20we%20moved%20yet%20we%20got%20mail%20with%20our%20old%20address%20at%20our%20new%20place%2C%20how%20did%20the%20mailman%20know%20where%20to%20take%20it%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/11718)
No, you don't have to start at the bottom. Many mail carriers start out in that position. Nowadays, you are likely to be starting as a CCA (City Carrier Assistant). I think that the position is one you are just paid per hour worked and I don't know that there is any health insurance or other benefits or guarantee of hours either. As full-time positions become available in an office, a CCA is often promoted to the position of Full Time Regular Letter Carrier which has many benefits as well as a guarantee of 40 hours per week. If you visit www.nalc.org and look at the left hand side of the page there is a section that says "Welcome, New Hires!" which should answer any CCA questions in greater detail.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=I%20am%20considering%20getting%20into%20the%20postal%20service%20as%20a%20mail%20carrier%2C%20but%20I%20want%20to%20start%20out%20in%20this%20position%20rather%20then%20work%20my%20way%20up.%20Is%20this%20possible%20or%20do%20I%20have%20to%20start%20at%20the%20bottom%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/11575)
-OR-
Login with Facebook (max 20 characters - letters, numbers, and underscores only. Note that your username is private, and you have the option to choose an alias when asking questions or hosting a Q&A.)
(A valid e-mail address is required. Your e-mail will not be shared with anyone.)
(min 5 characters)
By checking this box, you acknowledge that you have read and agree to Jobstr.com’s Terms and Privacy Policy.
-OR-
Register with Facebook(Don't worry: you'll be able to choose an alias when asking questions or hosting a Q&A.)
Browse Jobs
Host a Q&A
Search
Submit Your Question
Host a Q&A
Last 7
