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 don't believe they can ask you what is actually in the large letter, but I know if it's over a certain weight or size, they can ask something to the effect of "is the item you are mailing liquid, fragile, perishable, or potentially hazardous?" and you self-certify the answer with a yes or no. Certain batteries have to go by surface only and can't fly on airplanes. So I would take exception of they actually ask you what is being mailed if it's first class or Priority Mail. If you are mailing something via Medial Mail they can verify or even open a package to inspect that it is media (books, CDs, cassettes, video, DVD). I hope this answers your question.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Are%20the%20people%20at%20the%20counter%20in%20the%20post%20office%20obliged%20to%20ask%20me%20what%20I%20am%20sending%20in%20a%20Large%20Letter%20%3F%3F%20thank%20you&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/15288)
I don't think the letter carrier (postman) should be commenting at all to anyone who gets mail in your box. Not that it matters, but it seems quite normal to have a bill sent to another address. Maybe you pay his XFinity bill for him. Either way that doesn't matter with regards to your question. If this comes up again, I would politely tell the manager that it's not his business who receives mail at your address. If you happen to see the letter carrier, you could mention that he shouldn't be giving out that information and as long as you, the tenant, are accepting mail for your son (or whomever) then it should be delivered accordingly by the USPS employee. I am not familiar with any circumstances that allows us to verbally confirm who gets mail at an address.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Hello.%20I%20live%20in%20a%20apartment%20community%20and%20have%20recently%20been%20asked%20by%20my%20manager%20%22why%20does%20my%20son%20get%20his%20xfinity%20bill%20at%20your%20address%20and%20why%20don%27t%20he%20have%20his%20mail%20go%20to%20his%20own%20address%3F%22%20Basically%2C%20can%20postman%20tell%20mgr.%20who%20gets%20mail%20at%20your%20box%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/15634)
This definitely happens all the time. I would hope that we try to deliver every package but if we haven't organized our deliveries well enough, we may forget to deliveran online purchase. The parcel would then be brought back to the Post Office and probably be delivered the next delivery day.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=What%20happens%20if%20the%20mailman%20forgets%20to%20put%20an%20online%20purchase%20in%20your%20mailbox%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/15407)
I don't think being a letter carrier is dangerous with respect to personal safety. I think most people respect the letter carrier enough not to assault or harass them. I can be accused of looking at this situation through rose-colored glasses because I am a male and deliver mail in an affluent area where very little violent crime occurs. You need to be vigilant for loose dogs and to drive carefully. The only protection we have for an emergency is for a dog attack. In that case we have dog repellent spray plus a mail satchel which could be used as sort of a shield between you and the dog. Most workplace injuries are falls which results in cuts, sprains, bruises and broken bones. In case of a real emergency we would call 911 and alert the Post Office.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Is%20being%20a%20mail%20carrier%20dangerous%3F%20Are%20you%20given%20any%20sort%20of%20protection%20in%20case%20of%20an%20emergency%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/15456)
CBP Officer
What are the telltale signs you look to indicate someone's lying?
REALTOR®
What's the best way to know if housing prices are going to rise or fall?
Flight Attendant
How do you handle belligerent passengers?
I actually have no idea regarding the blue collection boxes being replaced with ones that have thinner slots. Possibly it is harder to steal out of it with a thinner slot buy I'm purely speculating. I don't know that theft from these boxes is much of an issue in most areas. Your question is the first I'm hearing about different size slot collection boxes. If anything I just hear of there being less collection boxes in general due to the decline in First-Class Mail being sent.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=It%20seems%20that%20all%20the%20big%20blue%20mailboxes%20%20on%20the%20street%20that%20we%20put%20our%20mail%20into%20have%20been%20replaced%20with%20new%20ones.%20%20They%20look%20just%20like%20the%20old%20ones%20but%20there%20is%20less%20space%20for%20the%20envelopes%20to%20go%20through%20into%20the%20box.%20%20Why%3F&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/15592)
I'd recommend taking it to the Post Office to make sure you are paying the right amt. You should just be able to put it in a letter size envelope (if it fits) and seal the envelope well. A proper address should also be written on the envelope where the bottom line is the Country of Destination (in your case either UK or Scotland). My quick search says that a 2 oz. letter to Scotland would be $2.21. If you are interested, you can go to www.usps.com and search for calculate a price and after answering several questions you can get a rate. 2 stamps would be equal to .98 so that would be insufficient to mail to Scotland. The minimum price for international mailing is $1.20 I think. Thanks for writing and I always say it's better to put too much postage on instead of too little. This way you lessen the risk of an item being returned for insufficient postage.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=Hey%20I%20was%20wondering%2C%20I%20live%20in%20Texas%20and%20want%20to%20ship%20a%20letter%20to%20Scotland.%20It%20doesn%27t%20weigh%20much%2C%20it%20just%20has%20a%20Pokemon%20card.%20But%20I%20was%20wondering%20if%20I%20had%20to%20put%202%20stamps%20on%20it%20or%20take%20it%20to%20the%20post%20office%20to%20be%20shipped%20a%20Certain%20way%3F%20thanks%21&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/15158)
Teri, generally the mailman will be running behind because the day after any holiday there is often a heavier quantity of mail to deliver. I can't speak for all offices, but most of my co-workers were probably 1:00-1:30 behind their regular schedule when they started deliveries today. There was a huge quantity of parcels to have sorted by the clerks (took awhile) and also delivering these takes longer . One other factor is that the sun sets earlier this time of year so delivering the mail in the dark takes even longer.
Share Answer: &caption=Jobstr.com&description=is%20the%20mailman%20going%20to%20be%20running%20behind%20on%20the%20day%20after%20Thanksgiving%20with%20his%20mail%20delivery&redirect_uri=http://jobstr.com/threads/show/4154-mailman-city-letter-carrier-/question/13970)
-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
