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.

SubscribeGet emails when new questions are answered. Ask Me Anything!Show Bio +

Share:

Ask me anything!

Submit Your Question

1237 Questions

Share:

Last Answer on February 18, 2022

Best Rated

what happens if I have a P.O. Box and I leave town for a while and my box expires before I return?

Asked by Seejay about 11 years ago

I don't know the answer to this question. Maybe you can renew the PO Box via check or credit card. The USPS main customer service phone # is 800-275-8777. If you can manage to get a human on the phone, maybe they can help you further or send a msg. to the PO where your PO Box is located to say you are out of town and will renew it upon return. There is probably a small grace period, but I can't say for sure. If you don't get in contact with the PO and don't renew the PO Box rent, any accumulated mail will likely be returned to the sender with a label stating "Box Closed, No Forwarding Order".

Dave..when you are called to help on a new to you route, do they train you on that route? I hopefully will be a rural carrier soon but are not familiar will all the roads in other towns.

Asked by Jimk almost 12 years ago

When I am asked to fill in for other neighborhoods or parts of of other routes we aren't usually trained on that route. We are often just given a map and sometimes some notes about the route, such as park points, or which parts of the route we can deliver right from our postal vehicle (rural routes are almost always delivered from a vehicle and not walking routes with a mail satchel.) When I was first hired, I went out for a few days with a carrier who showed me how to deliver the mail, but we were on their route and that didn't train us for the specifics of doing another postal route. Do you have a smart phone with a GPS application or an atlas/map you could use? That would be my advice, but the mgmt, or another carrier should at least give you some basic notes about what you are being asked to deliver, especially if there are some mailboxes/streets which aren't so easy to find. You do learn a lot on this job by actually doing it, but that doesn't make it any easier at the beginning. I wish you well JimK.

When do you deliver packages to 2011 pembrooke drive on Wednesdays

Asked by Juliana over 11 years ago

Juliana, This question is too specific for this message board. I don't think there is a way to find out when packages are delivered to a certain address on a certain day. Carriers have prescribed mail routes but the time of day that items get delivered varies. Some days a route is delivered by several different people due to staffing issues so it's hard to say when they will be at a certain address. Our post office has an end of day deadline where they would prefer that all letter carriers are back at the post office by 5PM unless there are extenuating circumstances like high volume, short staffing, mechanical breakdown, etc. As a coincidence, I grew up near a Pembrook Dr in Stony Brook, NY, but it's not the same one you are referring to based on the street spelling and the house number. Thanks for your inquiry.

How do I get the full name of my postman. He won't give me his last name.

Asked by dhflannagan over 11 years ago

I am not sure how you would get the full name of your postman. I read that he won't give you his last name. I have no idea whether or not he has any obligation to do so. I gladly would give it out, if asked. It is also on my ID badge that I wear. I feel that it should be available to the public, but I am sure you will find great disagreement among my colleagues. If you were to call the PO and ask them, I have a feeling they wouldn't give it to you either. Some people get very private about certain matters, yet they will join Facebook and broadcast a lot about their personal lives. That's about all of the insight I have on this subject. Thanks for writing.

Hi good day, I had bought an item on eBay however it was delivered to the wrong zip code. Made a report at usps, will I actually get the package or I will have to deem it as lost?

Asked by Jessey about 11 years ago

You may want to give it some time if it is a recent occurrence. If the sender put the correct ZIP code on the package, but the USPS delivered it incorrectly, it may wind up being delivered to you. If there was an incorrecr ZIP code on the package and the USPS can't find the proper address, the package could be returned to the sender. It is hard to say what will actually happen to your package that was ordered or what the USPS response will be, if any. 

SENT A REGISTER LETTER IT SAID LAST WEEK LEFT NOTICE. TODAY IT SAYS DELIVERED DOES THAT MEAN THEY PICKED IT UP

Asked by MISSY over 11 years ago

Missy, I believe that the information you are getting online is correct with regards to the question about the letter being picked up. It means either the addressee went to the PO to pick up the letter you sent them or they signed the PS 3849 (notice of attempted delivery) and the letter carrier then re-delivered the letter on the next delivery day. Either way, it means that the intended recipient received the letter you sent.

I would come home to an empty mailbox after work. How could I find out if mail was delivered to my house to my house the day before since I work dawn to dusk? I suspect high school kids stealing my mail when I am not home.

Asked by samantha about 11 years ago

Samantha, I don't know how you would find out whether or not mail was delivered to your house on a particular day. There are days when people receive zero mail. Is there any mail that you are expecting but don't get? Have you heard of anybody else with the same issue? It is illegal to take mail from mailbox that doesn't belong to you so I would hope the HS kids wouldn't take that chance, but I realize it does happen sometimes. Another option would be to rent a PO Box where your mail is secure. It is, however, an added expense and may not be overly convenient. While I can't comment on your personal situation, I don't think theft of mail is terribly common. I have been accused in the past of living in a fantasy world.