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.
As long as you addressed the letter properly and affixed the correct postage the letter should make it to its destination correctly. When letter carriers pick up outgoing mail we generally just put it in a basket with all of the other outgoing mail and a processing facility sorts the mail based on where it is going to. It's recommended that you put a return address in the upper left hand corner of the letter just in case it doesn't reach the intended recipient. This way the letter would be returned to you, the sender. A return address isn't mandatory.
If I were in motion, I'd safely pull over, put on my four-way flashers, and then get out to investigate. It's possible that my gas cap is hanging out the side of the LLV, the back gate isn't secure, or maybe I'm dragging something. It could also be something that I haven't thought of. If the motorist is still around I'd ask them what they are pointing out. If it seemed to be some type of phony diversion tactic, I'd try to get far away from the motorist pointing and then investigate safely.
I am not sure what you mean by this question because you first say that 100 & 102 are together in one mailbox yet you then reference a box that says 102. If you truly have two separate mailboxes for two separate addresses and is clearly labeled I'm not sure why the letter carrier doesn't separate the mail between the two addresses. You could leave a note on the shared mailbox that there is a separate mailbox for 102 and ask them to put the mail there. If this isn't resolved with a note, you could always contact the PO and speak with a delivery supervisor or a manager to register your request.
Yes, we deliver on 12/24/15 Thursday. At the office where I work, we will try to be done by 1600. After that, we will next deliver mail on Saturday 12/26/15. Christmas Eve is a regular work day except that our retail window may close earlier than usual.
Call Center Employee (Retail)
Sommelier
Basketball Referee
I don't know the answer to this question as to what the procedure is. I can only speculate but could be completely wrong. Someone could wait by the mailbox for a letter carrier to come by and empty the mailbox and ask to retrieve the letter, but it may need to be easily found, identifiable, and the collector would have to be willing to give it back. They may not be allowed to or unwilling to help. The letter carrier doesn't necessarily come at the time posted. The time means they won't come before the posted time. Theoretically it could be hours later. Another option is to go to the PO that services the collection box to ask for assistance. Again, I have no idea about their willingness to help. If it were me, I'd probably assist you if the letter was easily found and the return address and name matched that of the person asking for the letter back through identification or personally known to me. I've never been asked to do this so I can't base it on past experience.
I'll tell you what I do in this situation (which is common) but I can't say what each carrier will do and I'm sure it also varies by location. We deliver many parcels that won't fit into a mailbox. I bring the item to the front door of the house and leave it on the side of the door. I rarely ring a door bell since I don't need to see anybody to give the mail to. I also work in a neighborhood where mail/package theft is close to non-existent. If you live an apartment building or an area where mail can't just be left near a front door then the letter carrier might leave a PS 3849 Delivery Notice/Reminder/Receipt to notify the recipient that we have mail for you to retrieve from the PO or allow you to authorize delivery and leave mail at a specified location.
I don't know that it matters where the plates are from if someone is delivering your mail, but I'm by no means criticizing your question. Do you know if you live on a Rural Delivery route? If so, those carriers sometimes use a POV (privately owned vehicle) to deliver the mail. In the office where I work, the rural carriers used to use POVs but now they use the USPS-owned Long-Life vehicles, aka LLVs. The USPS sometimes leases vehicles if there is a shortage of company vehicles available. If you live on a rural route, it may be delivered by a Rural Carrier Associate (RCA) who may have their own vehicle for delivery. There are several variables as to why your mail is being delivered by a MA-plated Red Minivan but I can't say for sure.
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