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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Last Answer on February 18, 2022

Best Rated

I was just wondering. If the mail carrier delivers a package to your door, is there a reason why he chooses to leave the rest of the mail in the mailbox? I have a long driveway atop a hill, so why not bring it all up?

Asked by CJB over 11 years ago

I am not sure why they would leave the mail in the mailbox at the bottom of the hill. One reason is that if there is nowhere to securely put the mail at the top of the hill outside of the elements the carrier wouldn't want to leave the mail outside.

807 Votes

Today I mailed a 1st class package from Texas destined for Australia. Just checked the tracking, and it says "available for pickup" ---any idea what's goin on? Thanks

Asked by Sandy over 11 years ago

I have no idea why it would say "available for pickup" when you check the status of the package that you just mailed today to Australia. I can only speculate that somehow the package was mis-scanned by a USPS employee that caused that status to appear at usps.com tracking. 

806 Votes

How often do you encounter 'suspicious' letters? or letters that you think may contain illegal substances?

Asked by Boe almost 11 years ago

I can't remember a time that I came across any suspicious letters or packages, or at least not as of late.  Not long after 9/11 I think there was anthrax sent through mail or something like that to Washington DC. It made me nervous and I think I had some type of reaction that I may have contracted it and had trouble breathing. It turned out to be all in my head and nothing ever came of it. There probably is drugs sent through the mail or maybe other illegal substances but I have no experience with it fortunately. 

806 Votes

In your experience, when a CCA or a Letter Carrier gets into an accident while on the job and it is his or her fault, would they still be kept on the job or terminated?

Asked by Larry over 10 years ago

In my experience it isn't too common for anyone to get terminated for anything. I mean people are given a letter of removal but the union often will appeal that and the carrier is reinstated. If it isn't the first time something happened that was the carrier's fault it may be more difficult to appeal successfully. If you are a CCA it is probably easier to fire you if you get in an at-fault accident. I don't recall any letter carriers at my office ever being terminated for an at-fault MVA. I can't speak for any of the other thousands of offices nationwide. Drive carefully, defensively and don't be distracted.

806 Votes

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If I sent a letter, and only put my first name and the returning address on it, is that somewhat common to see on letters? or is it not right?

Asked by Adrian almost 11 years ago

When mailing a letter it is always best to put a full return address on it if you want to get it back in the event the item is undeliverable for any reason. It is not wrong, however, to just put your first name and return address on the letter.  I can't tell you how common I see it since I don't often pay attention to the thoroughness of the return address. Most mail that is sent actually gets delivered as long as it has a proper destination address, including unit/apt. # (if any).  Thank you for the question. 

806 Votes

If I want to mail used clothing to someone in the U.S. as a donation do I have to pay full postage?

Asked by Arlene about 11 years ago

Arlene, as far as I know full postage must be paid when mailing used clothing domestically. You can mail the item via USPS Parcel Post which is less expensive than Priority Mail. You can often donate used clothing to local organizations like Goodwill or The Salvation Army. I would recommend doing a web search in your area to see if it's possible to donate the clothing without having to use the USPS and pay postage.

805 Votes

Is it usual for mail carriers to run late on routes? My mail is usually here early in the AM but has not yet got here yet.

Asked by Hello almost 12 years ago

Sure it's common to run late. It's possible the carrier had another assignment to do before starting their regular route. Also, if staffing is short, a route may be broken up into several sections and a carrier will do that section for overtime which could vary the delivery time greatly. Thanks for the question. 

805 Votes

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