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.
Hello David, it is unfortunate that your mailbox was broken by your mailman. I don't know the claims process for reimbursment for broken mailboxes. There must be a claim process in general for property damage caused by a USPS employee. I'd recommend contacting your local post office and speaking with a delivery supervisor and/or Postmaster to file a complaint. Hopefully they can point you in the right direction in the process of making such a claim. If not I would try and go up the chain of administration at the USPS which would be the district or area office which oversees your local post office. Good luck to you. Had you told the mailman in the past not to open the mailbox forefully or to not let it slam down. I come across broken mailboxes often. Most customers leave them damaged, but some will buy new ones or have them fixed. I've not heard of a mailman breaking one except running a curbside delivery box over with ther LLV (Long Life Vehicle). Thanks for writing and good luck in your claim. I hope it can be resolved to your satisfaction.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Our%20mailman%20broke%20our%20mailbox%20recently%20by%20constantly%20opening%20it%20forcefully%20and%20letting%20it%20slam%20down%20when%20delivering%20the%20mail.%20%20This%20was%20a%20very%20expensive%20mailbox%20made%20of%20high%20grade%20steel.%20%20How%20do%20I%20lodge%20a%20formal%20complaint%20about%20this.%20%20I%20took%20photos.&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/12590)
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)
You're welcome David. It's my pleasure to try and assist where I can. It's just that I have so little confidence in the operation at times and how the management can resolve situations satisfactorily. I know it's not a good attitude, but if I worked for a company that focused on the customer and quality of work and one that treated its workers with greater respect, I'd give you a more optimistice answer. It's not that we are a horrible place by any means, but being a quasi-governmental orgnaization, I feel that it's just kind of "eh" at times. Some of us work hard and try our best, while others, it seems, work against the operation it seems. Fortunately it's more the former than the latter overall. Thanks again for writing and feel free to post your results on this Q and A site.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Thanks%20for%20your%20reply.%20I%20was%20a%20carrier%20with%20the%20USPS%20back%20in%20the%20day.%20This%20is%20a%20relatively%20new%20mailbox%2C%20and%20the%20carrier%20definitely%20broke%20it%20as%20a%20result%20of%20how%20he%20opened%20it%20each%20day%20over%20the%20last%20few%20years.%20We%27ll%20see%20what%20the%20USPS%20does%20for%20me.%20Thanks.&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/12594)
I Dont know why they would ask for an email address. Is there any type of customs declaration form that is filled out when you mail papers to Canada? That form usually includes what is being sent. I don't know that it's obligatory to provide this information. Sometimes USPS will send out surveys or possibly email them to find out about your retail customer experience. If you call the USPS customer service phone number, maybe they could provide more insight. The phone number is 800-275-8777.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Why%20would%20USPS%20ask%20for%20my%20email%20address%3F%20%20I%20ship%20paper%20pretty%20regularly%20to%20my%20friend%20in%20Canada%20and%20lately%20the%20lady%20at%20the%20post%20office%20has%20been%20asking%20all%20kinds%20of%20questions%20about%20what%20I%20am%20sending.%20%20This%20week%20she%20asked%20for%20my%20email%20address.%20%20Why%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/14963)
Emergency Room Manager
What is the most bizarre thing you've seen in your ER?
Antiques Dealer
Do you think today's "stuff" will one day be collected as valuable antiques?
Bodybuilder
How prevalent is steroid use in pro bodybuilding?
Yes, it should be fine to pay for postage on a holiday and bring it to a Post Office the next day. If you need to hand it to a window retail clerk, they would hopefully just accept it. At the worst, they might postmark the package to show which day the package was actually entered in to the mail stream. I think that is the same if you happened to pay for the postage on a Sunday but wouldn't actually mail the package until Monday. Thank you for using the USPS for mailing the package.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=I%20accidentally%20paid%20for%20postage%20on%20a%20holiday%20online%20and%20the%20post%20office%20isn%27t%20open.%20Will%20the%20package%20still%20be%20mailed%20if%20I%20bring%20it%20the%20day%20after%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/13785)
Debbie, I m sorry to hear that the ring you ordered on eBay was misdelivered. I'm pretty sure there is nothing we can do regarding reimbursing customers for misdelivered unless there is some insurance purchased by the sender. Your story doesn't surprise me, however, since misdeliveries are made all the time. It's also unfortunate that whoever received the misdelivered package didn't return it to the PO since it didn't belong to them. That would have been the right thing to do. I am also guessing that in the situation you described, the sender won't reimburse your $$ because their records show that the ring was delivered.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=I%20got%20a%20ring%20on%20ebay%20the%20mail%20carrier%20delivered%20it%20to%20the%20wrong%20address%20i%20call%20my%20post%20office%20and%20thay%20will%20not%20do%20any%20%20thing%20about%20it.%20i%20cant%20get%20my%20money%20back.%20so%20i%20am%20out%20the%20ring%20and%20172.00&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/12795)
I remember your question about having tickets delivered to your neighbors and asking if you could ask the mailman to deliver them your house or some type of favor. I am rarely asked for any type of favor like that and I think if I heard a request like yours that may sound a bit fishy I would decline to get involved. It's not worth risking any type of job discipline to help a customer. I don't know that if you approached a mailman they would be offended. I just hope they would have enough common sense to decline to assist you. Also, we don't deliver the route each day so even if one carrier agreed to assist you there is no way of knowing that when they are off from work the replacement carrier would smart to not get involved with any favors. If what you are doing is unethical or shady I would not get the USPS involved.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=I%20asked%20the%20question%204%20days%20ago%20about%20having%20tickets%20delivered%20to%20my%20neighbors.%20If%20I%20approached%20my%20mailman%20about%20helping%20me%20would%20he%20be%20offended%3F%20How%20often%20are%20you%20approached%20by%20people%20asking%20you%20for%20favors%2C%20etc%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/13784)
-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
