I left a comment in another sub informing people that leaving anything in anybody’s mailbox is technically a federal offense unless you’re employed as a letter carrier by the USPS and it seemed to draw quite a bit of interest. I’m nobody special, just a simple mailman, but if any of you have any questions regarding postal services hopefully I’ll be able to answer them!
Thank you so much for all the questions, I hope I was able to answer them all as best I could but it’s my bedtime now, I gotta be at the post office by 8:00 sharp. If you have any other questions feel free to DM me and I’ll answer them whenever I can!
Comments
Was mail carrying your first USPS job?
How many miles do you walk every day?
What’s the best way to deal with porch pirates? If they’re on my property can I use my 2nd amendment right?
Do you work in the rain?
Has there been anything you delivered that struck you as being illegal without actually knowing the contents of the package?
Do you like your job?
Do you ever get high on the job? Delivering mail sounds like a great job to do while stoned
Still waiting on a postcard from 1996… What happened?
How often can you tell when someone is getting drugs sent to them? Like illegal drugs? Have you ever been part of a sting? Does the post office really care about people shipping drugs or receiving them in the mail?
Have you ever been propositioned by a woman, if yes tell us the story
Does undeliverable mail ever make it to you? What do you do with it?
What are the most common injuries that happen to postal workers?
That whole “nor rain, nor sleet, nor snow, nor dark of night”….where does wildfire fit into the whole set of things that make you unstoppable? What happens to mail after a disruptive disaster?
Finally….any thoughts on the Kevin Costner film, The Postman?
Thank you for your service!
Do you like when I leave a cooler out for you? What are the preferred snacks of the USPS
During the holidays is it weird to leave my mailman a Christmas card with a tip? I feel like an old lady when I do it but it just feels like the neighborly thing to do
How important are holiday gifts to you…at the end of the year (I didn’t leave one last year :-/)
Is it obvious when you’re delivering a dildo? Is the packaging legitimately discreet?
How do I get a job like yours and is it worth it?
Do you always knock twice?
How did you get hired or did you just apply and get lucky? I’ve always wanted to join the post office but unfortunately got shot down each time I applied. My neighbor was a retired mailman and he flat out told me to get in you had to know someone. At least in our area.
How are your routes determined? Are you trained to park the truck at a strategic location where you’ll arrive back to it after your walking deliveries?
Any… sexual encounters?
Have you read post office by Charles Bukowski?
A few places I’ve lived, we’ve had periods when mail was only delivered a couple times per week (for say a month) and crazy delays on some things. It eventually returned to normal. The story I’ve got is that if your regular mailman is out (injured, long vacation, etc) the substitutes get juggles and don’t know what they’re doing.
At times, we lived in a temp place so
Things were being forwarded to us.
And I’ve been told that yes, the system is so manual that your regular guy “knew” your name and address, but the substitute got screwed up, especially if there was a different sub on different days.
Does this match your experience?
Are you worried about the future of the USPS?
I was a kid in the 60s and 70s and we loved following around our mailman. Are there still neighborhoods anywhere where all the kids play outside?
Quick question I forgot to ask earlier- what are your thoughts on government meddling with the postal service and how certain politicians are actively trying to interfere with mail in ballots and results during election season?
I personally vehemently despise the federal government especially with you know who in power- how would you suggest the public combat their constant corruption and fraud?
I hope you and your team are safe during these turbulent times…
Do you talk on the phone or listen to music/podcasts while walking?
Does it get lonely?
I’m a mailman too! In my town people often will leave a carton of eggs in their customers mailbox’s. One time I saw an older gentleman dropping off some eggs and leaving them in the mailbox and I jokingly asked if that carton had stamps . We had a quick laugh about it, then I said he was stealing from the federal govt and it’s a fineable offense. And then I took my spur that would’ve fit in the mailbox if there wasn’t a carton of eggs in there and walked it 150ft uphill to the front door.
I’m a shuttle driver for a car dealership multiple customers tell me to put the car keys in the mailbox
We have USPS Informed Delivery and often get notifications packages were left in our mailbox, only for them to actually show up 1-2 days later. This is bothersome when it’s medications we need and we’re afraid they were delivered to the wrong address. Why do you suppose this happens?
What do you think about Kevin Costner?
After the last contract negotiation are you a USPS employee that realizes how shitty your union is? Do you think you’ll have the opportunity to retire from the post office if you stick with it or do you realize that most of what you deliver on a daily basis is junk mail and the USPS will be gone in the near future?
Are you stealing Labubus?
Why do I continue to get mail for a lady who has never lived here and whom I don’t know. I tracked her down and she’s a pediatrician and doesn’t know why I get some of her mail either. My postman just keeps delivering no matter how many times I write Return, not at this address, and speaking to him about it too.
How do we stop the junk mail?
How do you feel about delivery/handling of live animals in the mail?
Do you ever know its drugs and just deliver it anyway?
On a scale of a wall to a box of rocks, how dumb is your supervisor/OIC/PM?
Do women sometimes get flirty with you?
Is there concerns amongst postal workers of the privatization of our beloved usps?
Do all mailmen not know how to read numbers or just mine?
What are the best shoes for walking every day?
Why am I still getting someone else’s mail after 12 years? I have written on the mail “not at this address” many many times, taken the mail to the post office to let them know, submitted an online complaint and still get several pieces of their mail
Why did you choose to be a mailman?
I check my mail maybe once a month, when I do the box is usually full does that make you guys hate me? I live in a suburban neighborhood with a mailbox on a post outside my house. I get sooo much junk mail and hate going through it. Other than that I respect the job, yall do great things. Keep up the good work.
Do dogs get used to you? One mailman a no said they don’t but a mailwoman I know said they do.
Do you wear sunscreen daily?
Ok, so let’s talk dogs.
How much danger are you in? Any scary stories? Do you ever just not deliver?
Earlier today the lady at the PO told me they couldn’t print labels because the machines don’t work when it’s “too warm out.” On a scale of 1-10, how full of shit was she?
Why does tracking sometimes do not work until the day it’s delivered, then the website suddenly updates with several tracking points?
My mail gets misdelivered a lot. Whenever I get non-junk mail for others, I drive it over to them myself in the hopes that they’ll do the same. My mailbox is one of about 20 in a larger metal box. Aside from printing out my name and address and taping it to the inside of my box, is there anything else I can do to improve the likelihood of getting my mail?
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Do you have a certain schedule and route you have to adhere to? If so, you can thank my dad.
My dad was a letter carrier in the 1960s. He and his buddies (also letter carriers) would deliver their mail and then when they were done, around noon, they would go to the bar and drink beer and have cheesesteaks. My dad would go to his second job at two in the afternoon . Then at some point one guy would go back and clock everybody out.
We also had hundreds of samples in the closet by the bathroom all the time. I kind of think they were supposed to be delivered and not to my house. Lol.
Anyway, if you have oppressive work time rules, you can thank my dad and his buddies.
What’s your feeling about dogs 😂
Why have the distribution centers failed so epically?
This has caused so much trouble for my business. Packages just disappear or get sent off in the wrong direction just to be sent back. I’ve seen packages come and go from the same distribution center multiple times.
Do you have any babes on your route that you crush on or they crush on you?
Any thoughts on other delivery services (UPS, Amazon)? Do you say hello to their drivers? What do their logistics look like versus yours? Thanks for the ama
Is USPS required to wear the blue mailman uniform? My mailman always wears his casual clothes so I’m wondering if he’s breaking the rules or it’s not required.
What do you mean by leaving anything inside anyone’s mailbox? Assume you have no access to “open” a mailbox other then your own via a key, I don’t quite get your opening statement.
I have a side hustle business that’s taken off, but it’s rentals. Dozens of packages a week come back to me. The scene on the doorbell cam today was hilarious for me, but not the delivery guy.
How much do they hate me and what can I do to make it better for them?
do u think you ever delivered drugs to someone’s house?
Do you take a moment to read postcards?
All my bills are on autopay so I rarely check the mail. Have you noticed any decline in people checking their mail / mailboxes filling up?
I’ve always thought the mailman would make a great secret agent. Can you confirm or deny this?
Does the repetition get to you? Like, having the same route and subconsciously knowing how much more you have left?
Do you guys care if people ship weed?
I have a huge crush on my mailman. How should I approach this? He’s been my mailman for like 5 years I think. Everytime I see him, he’s talking on the phone
Do you think MHA’s are high on the job? Because they keep sending my DPS to other offices.
When AI takes my job (recruiting) would I be able to transition to your line of work?
Why are postage stamps important?
have you ever delivered your personal mail meat into a bored housewives mail slot?
What happens when the mail gets damaged? Whether it happened on the ride or not. If that’s not ur responsibility, I understand
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What are your experiences with mail thieves especially those with keys and what is your plan to combat the rising threat of them?
I know you can’t really answer this but I want to ask anyway: why doesn’t USPS switch to every-other-day delivery for residential addresses? You could probably fix the fiscal issues and the mail is already so slow, I can’t imagine it would make any difference at all to residential customers. It took three weeks to get a check in the mail once, and it was from a neighboring state, which got me thinking about how USPS could become more fiscally sound and better at delivering the mail. It seems like just doing residential delivery every other day could actually reduce the time it takes in some cases to receive mail.
I was interested in applying and asked my carrier how he likes it(he’s always happy) and he said it’s fine but say goodbye to your life. Do you work crazy hours? That’s what he was getting at.
I moved into a new home. Put up a small garden flag saying welcome in the grass strip next to my mailbox. Mailman immediately left a note telling us not to obstruct the mailbox. I thought it was funny because the flag didn’t appear to interfere with the box at all, and cars park all up and down both sides of the street blocking access to mailboxes— but pulled that flag up and stuck it in the back yard upon reading that note, because I respect the USPS. Just wanted ti share that story, as I haven’t come across any other mailed themed conversation since that event. Haha. Keep up the good work, mailman.
Thank you in advance…
Have you ever been surprised to deliver to someone you know but didn’t realise they live at that address, or like an old colleague or friend you lost touch with.
And have you delivered to anyone in the public eye you recognised? Politician, TV/Film etc.
Ok so I know there’s a chance you have no idea but honestly my neighbors and I are getting frustrated so it’s worth the ask.
The past 2ish months my (an multiple neighbors) mail has gone missing. We live in an apartment complex so the boxes are locked, so I know they aren’t stolen. I have informed delivery so I know what’s supposed to come in, but it seems like my most important mail and small packages (never ones that won’t fit in the mailbox) are going missing. My car’s registration, a written prescription, checks, my Pixel Buds shipment. It’s getting super frustrating. I’ve reached out to my local post offices and they just told me to have the person who sent it reissue it or for package report them as not delivered 1 business day after it was delivered.
Do you have any insight as to what might be happening? I don’t have the same mail carrier every day so I don’t think anyone is stealing them but how do things just keep going missing?
Again, I know you won’t know exactly, but maybe you’ve heard of a similar situation.
A number of years ago, I had an apartment. I was missing some important mail, including some checks mailed to me.
I went into the post office to complain. The post master wasn’t there, as I don’t think he or she was ever there.
A supervisor asked me, “Are you missing mail on Fridays?” I had to think about it, but then it seemed that the supervisor’s hypothesis was correct. I told her that I thought she was right since I never received mail on Friday. She said that my regular carrier didn’t work on Friday and there was a known issue with the substitute carrier.
I finally fixed the issue months later by moving out. The post office was unable to correct the case of my missing mail. I filed an official complaint at the USPS website and got a response from someone who didn’t speak American English and then never heard back.
What would be the best way to get mail when a carrier doesn’t deliver it?
About the same time, I was driving down the street at lunch from work and a mail carrier driving a USPS mail truck that was in a hotel parking lot waiting to turn onto the road gave me the middle finger and then cut in front of me. I think he was expecting me to stop in the street to let him out. It was totally random, and unexpected in a mail carrier.
A few days later I had an incident with a regular car going down the same street, he turned into my work parking lot to the main entrance. I then watched as he delivered mail to the front desk in a box labeled “USPS.”
Is it common for unhinged people to be mail carriers and do you avoid them at work?
By the way, UPS, Amazon and Federal Express drivers, I have never had an issue with any of you — carry on.
I can only imagine the amount of sex toys you had to seen and delivered, that were easily identifiable or not even boxed in a discrete manner, wouldnt even elicit an eyebrow raise now. Any hilariously NSFW deliveries like this that stand out above the others?
PS: Retired federal service last year, thank you for doing what you do while the government is trying to ruin the lives of the federal workforce this last 6 months. You sure as hell haven’t stayed working for the pay throughout all the recent shenanigans.