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New RCA question

Hello everyone! I started my job as an RCA in January and I suck at getting back to the office at a decent time, I’m usually the last one back in and even brought back mail a few times.This week would be my 6 shift on my own and I’m stressed but determined to do better. I already heard talks of them wanting to can another RCA and I’m a bit nervous. Any tips on loading up my llv quicker? Or delivering mail quicker?

I’d appreciate any help or tips at this point.
 
You are Normal!

We ALL sucked when we started, everyone does. It takes a good while to develop you own system, so keep your eyes peeled for ways to make it work for you. First, is get out of the office quickly as you can. We'll all want to know a few basics:
Do you drive your own vehicle (POV)?
Does you office have lots of Amazon?
Is the route's regular involved in helping you succeed?

Try to get your Regular to order an extra set of casing stickers. If you can snag a huge box, fashion a mock-up case at home with those spare labels and stare at names, addresses. Get a Line of Travel, 4003 form and follow it on Google maps.

If you route is long and rural consider taking the DPS (letters) with you and working them on the road. Maybe transfer to short trays.
Case flats in a way that works for you, possibly larger things first, then smaller.
Do you pull down the flats into tubs or trays? Criss-crossing by address will sometimes help.

Buy cheap colored cardstock paper at a hobby store and cut into 3-4 inch strips to use for package markers. Use one color for big boxes, another for smaller things that will fit into box. Some people use 3 or more colors that mean something to them.

Learn how to check Package Lookahead on the scanner. Escape-P. It is not always perfect, but can give you an idea. Sometimes addresses show up that have no package, though.

Get your spurs (small things) into delivery order, keep within eyesight if possible, and glance over regularly. You'll still need markers in the beginning, but may someday be able to phase those out.

You'll get lots of help. Its like drinking from fire hose at first. Only those that seek to educate and learn succeed. You're already at that step.
 
You are Normal!

We ALL sucked when we started, everyone does. It takes a good while to develop you own system, so keep your eyes peeled for ways to make it work for you. First, is get out of the office quickly as you can. We'll all want to know a few basics:
Do you drive your own vehicle (POV)?
Does you office have lots of Amazon?
Is the route's regular involved in helping you succeed?

Try to get your Regular to order an extra set of casing stickers. If you can snag a huge box, fashion a mock-up case at home with those spare labels and stare at names, addresses. Get a Line of Travel, 4003 form and follow it on Google maps.

If you route is long and rural consider taking the DPS (letters) with you and working them on the road. Maybe transfer to short trays.
Case flats in a way that works for you, possibly larger things first, then smaller.
Do you pull down the flats into tubs or trays? Criss-crossing by address will sometimes help.

Buy cheap colored cardstock paper at a hobby store and cut into 3-4 inch strips to use for package markers. Use one color for big boxes, another for smaller things that will fit into box. Some people use 3 or more colors that mean something to them.

Learn how to check Package Lookahead on the scanner. Escape-P. It is not always perfect, but can give you an idea. Sometimes addresses show up that have no package, though.

Get your spurs (small things) into delivery order, keep within eyesight if possible, and glance over regularly. You'll still need markers in the beginning, but may someday be able to phase those out.

You'll get lots of help. Its like drinking from fire hose at first. Only those that seek to educate and learn succeed. You're already at that step.
Thank you for your response!

I drive a LLV or Metris, I was told that it’s extremely rare we’d use our own vehicles for delivery.

I’d say yes for the Amazon packages.

I trained on 2 different routes. Both were extremely different in how they explained things. While training, I used parcel markers which were helpful as I had an extra set of hands reading out the packages while I cased ( and I only started with 1/3 of a routed and then 1/2). Now on my own with a full route, going through an overflowing pumpkin to mark is time consuming. I just recently learned about the load truck and package look ahead feature which has been helpful even though I’m still slow lol. For my first shift off training my PM shipped me off an hour and a half away in the middle of nowhere to do a route lol which I didn’t even know was possible for a new RCA lol. I say that to say I’ll probably be bouncing around in between routes most of the time. We’re not taught to case DPS, only flats/spurs and I pull those down into a hard tray.
 
As stated by previous posters here, don't rush yourself. Take your time and do the job properly even if you are back later than others. We all had learning curves, I certainly know that if I had started today rather than 17 years ago it would have been much more difficult due to the package volume.
Learn from the others in your office and ask them for pointers. They are happy to have you working there and want you to succeed.
 
don't compare yourself to anybody... watch and learn from others... now that you are a little smarter, maybe come in the morning on your day off and watch regular,, it might click with more aha moments...
As stated by previous posters here, don't rush yourself. Take your time and do the job properly even if you are back later than others. We all had learning curves, I certainly know that if I had started today rather than 17 years ago it would have been much more difficult due to the package volume.
Learn from the others in your office and ask them for pointers. They are happy to have you working there and want you to succeed.

Thank you for your kind words.

Would any of the reasons above (returning with mail etc.) cause them to fire me?
 
unconventional22 -- welcome to the "circus"

-- Seriously -- Are there no other employment opportunities in your area?

" I started my job as an RCA in January and I suck at getting back to the office at a decent time, I’m usually the last one back in and even brought back mail a few times." "This week would be my 6 shift on my own and I’m stressed but determined to do better. "

-- This is NORMAL for some one just starting out!!! Should manglement "hint" that you need to get faster, thank them for their concern and that you would really appreciate them showing you just how to get faster.

- faster just leads to more mistakes which in turn takes additional time to correct.

- don't get stressed as that leads to mistakes too.

- do try to keep that determination to do better.

-- What is your official hire date and when was your first day in the office?

-- Does your office have a union steward? If not, ask the regular carriers how to contact the Assistant District Representative ( aka the ADR ).

- without knowing the date you were shipped out to another office, that MAY have been in violation of the new contract! Article 9.2.I.2. Training Pay:

- A newly appointed leave replacement WILL WORK ONLY in the assigned office for the first two full pay periods in that office. The leave replacement WILL SERVE ONLY THE PRIMARY assignment and may also delivery parcels on any rural route and on Sundays and holidays in the assigned office during these pay periods.

- Well, while covering the contract, check your pay stubs: A newly appointed leave replacement rural carrier will be p[aid the greater of the ACTUAL HOURS WORKED or the evaluation of the route ( up to 40 hours ) for the FIRST FIVE ( 5 ) pay periods of employment.

-- How did you find this web site? It will serve you well -- the only "dumb" question is the one not asked. There are probably centuries of experience here waiting for a question to answer. Also search around this web site and download the CONTRACT ( aka the EL-902 ) and the PO-603. Actually you should ask manglement for your own copy of the PO-603 ( Rural Carrier Duties and Responsibilities ). Let us know if manglement says they don't have any!!

-- Not to get you more stressed, but you really need to learn the contract and the PO-603 -- just in case manglement tries to violate them. ( yes - they do at times )

- some here may even say that if manglement's lip are moving, most likely it is an untruth.

- You may find that manglement tends to stay away from a rural carrier who is knowledgeable on the contract and PO-603.

-- Unless your office is well "stocked" with RCAs, don't worry about manglement firing one ( unless for something really serious ). The fewer RCAs there are could mean manglement may have to deliver the mail! Just concentrate on YOUR job and getting BETTER at it.

- Back in the day ( get used to that phrase ) it would take about a year in most cases for a new RCA to really get a system that worked for him/her. And that was before COVID, the avalanche of parcels, the the new scanner, and the impending RRECS pay system.

-- Hang in there and let us know how things are going. Stay positive -- lose an electron!
 
We’re not taught to case DPS, only flats/spurs and I pull those down into a hard tray.
It took me longer to become efficient at taking DPS to the street. Find your rhythm. Spr, Flats, DPS, do they have a big package? For each and every address, find an order that works for you. Start slow. Safety is more important than anything else. When you find yourself doing better, pick it up half a notch.

BE ORGANIZED. This will save you so much time. Take your time loading, be methodical in your loading. Set yourself up for success. If you rush loading, you will waste so much time on the street. Mark big parcels.. figure out if its better to mark sprs or to just tray them in order and keep an eye on the next upcoming spr.

Most carriers have different methods and layouts. Observe how other carriers set up their truck and try it if it makes sense for you. While looking at my tray, Sprs are furthest to the right, Flats in the middle, DPS to the left. If you're casing your SPRs with Flats, maybe carry an extra tray of DPS upfront. I throw everything I pull out of DPS on the dash of the LLV. Outgoing mail (not a whole lot) gets tucked between SPR tray and edge of mail ledge. A packet of new resident slips, 3849s, etc is tucked in front of my DPS tray. I write down big parcels and rubberband the list to my visor, the ones in the very back are notated, so I know its not upfront with me or close to bulkhead. I've got a half tray directly underneath the mail tray, that's for accountables or any misc. items that need special handling.

You're asking questions, you seem to care. You'll be just fine. We all started off struggling.
 
I already heard talks of them wanting to can another RCA
At this point NO RCA should be let go unless they are just not showing up. If they are out delivering. Keep ‘um
Our hub let go a ARC after 90days because she wasn’t getting faster. She was finishing what was assigned to her, yes she wasn’t speedy. But she showed up every Sunday. Now they are complaining nobody’s is applying 🤦‍♀️

As far as getting quicker, it sometimes takes time, I can deliver my route super fast, but throw me on a route I do only occasionally…not so fast.
We had a sub for 4 yrs he never got fast and made a LoT of mistakes. Also had one that first time on the route did it faster than I ever have. Everyone is different.

Personally I feel accuracy is more important than speed
 
Couple tips and tricks that may help...

Have you memorized the case. That is step 1. I (asked permission) but took pictures of the cases I would be working and created a copy of them at home to study on Excel. Review them the night before and the morning of. If you can't do that make post it notes that you stick to the side with each street name so you can at least find them more quickly.

Marking packages save turn arounds but takes so much time. I took a dry erase board or even a notepad. Write down each street name and at first scribble down the number of each package. Mark off or erase as you deliver and verify each street before you drive on. Then when you think you got that... switch to just marking down the number of packages on each street. Then before you move on count back did I deliver that many packages on that street. This will lead to only needing to mark some streets and eventually not needing to mark saving lots of time. It takes time thought.

Be honest with yourself on your use of time. Do you pause to have converstations with people. Do you check your phone or recieve calls. Do you have any distractions that slow you down. Some people need a distraction here and there and you can judge what you can handle, but most people do not realize how much time they waste doing little things that slow you down. We had a girl who couldn't figure out why it took her an hour longer to case than everybody else and it was because every 5 minutes she would head out and smoke and went thru a pack each morning. Your time can slip away with little things that don't seem to take much time. Try putting on something soft to listen to that doesn't distract you but cuts our all the other noise and interuptions that could happen. Get to the speed you want and then you open back up to what distractions you want.

One of our carriers getting faster would start a stopwatch at the beginning of a street. See how long it took him and the next day the goal was to go more quickly down the same street. Those little pushes can make a difference. Number of packages can change things... but you get the idea. Small victories.

Can you open the mailbox, drop the new mail and collect the outgoing all with one hand in one motion. Saves time if you can. The difference in 3 seconds at a box vs 10 seconds adds up quickly. You can teach yourself how to handle a pretty quick if you focus on it.

Do you have conversations with your postal customers. Sometimes that is wonderful and adds to the experience but don't be afraid to say.. "I would love to talk but my boss needs me to help out another route and I really need to go fast today." Easy and understandable reason to move on.

Biggest thing is this. Have you learned or done something to improve every day. Doesn't need to be a lot but if you get just a little better every day before long you will have it. Good luck.
 
Just to reiterate, shipping you around to multiple routes right off the bat is wrong, but typical of desperate, unscrupulous postal management. You need to stay on one route until you've learned a bit.

I don't use Load Truck because I think I'm quicker with marking the bigs, and getting the littles in order. But, if you use it in conjunction with Lookahead, it should (in theory) work. Just make sure you've scanned them all, and noticed the green (loaded) vs red (phantom) entries.
 
unconventional22 -- welcome to the "circus"

-- Seriously -- Are there no other employment opportunities in your area?
Haha, maybe? But working Saturdays just works for me at the moment lol.
" I started my job as an RCA in January and I suck at getting back to the office at a decent time, I’m usually the last one back in and even brought back mail a few times." "This week would be my 6 shift on my own and I’m stressed but determined to do better. "

-- This is NORMAL for some one just starting out!!! Should manglement "hint" that you need to get faster, thank them for their concern and that you would really appreciate them showing you just how to get faster.

- faster just leads to more mistakes which in turn takes additional time to correct.

- don't get stressed as that leads to mistakes too.

- do try to keep that determination to do better.

-- What is your official hire date and when was your first day in the office?
I don't want to get too specific but it was the first week of January(I believe 1/6 was the first paycheck of the year) and I was shipped out the first week of Feb.
-- Does your office have a union steward? If not, ask the regular carriers how to contact the Assistant District Representative ( aka the ADR ).

- without knowing the date you were shipped out to another office, that MAY have been in violation of the new contract! Article 9.2.I.2. Training Pay:

- A newly appointed leave replacement WILL WORK ONLY in the assigned office for the first two full pay periods in that office. The leave replacement WILL SERVE ONLY THE PRIMARY assignment and may also delivery parcels on any rural route and on Sundays and holidays in the assigned office during these pay periods.
I'll look into the contract to see if theirs any violation on that, the PM might've waited for that EXACT date to ship me out.
- Well, while covering the contract, check your pay stubs: A newly appointed leave replacement rural carrier will be p[aid the greater of the ACTUAL HOURS WORKED or the evaluation of the route ( up to 40 hours ) for the FIRST FIVE ( 5 ) pay periods of employment.

-- How did you find this web site?
I was searching "tips on how to become a faster RCA" lol. I was so happy because Reddit and YouTube had videos and thread from years ago, nothing really recent.
It will serve you well -- the only "dumb" question is the one not asked. There are probably centuries of experience here waiting for a question to answer. Also search around this web site and download the CONTRACT ( aka the EL-902 ) and the PO-603. Actually you should ask manglement for your own copy of the PO-603 ( Rural Carrier Duties and Responsibilities ). Let us know if manglement says they don't have any!!

-- Not to get you more stressed, but you really need to learn the contract and the PO-603 -- just in case manglement tries to violate them. ( yes - they do at times )

- some here may even say that if manglement's lip are moving, most likely it is an untruth.

- You may find that manglement tends to stay away from a rural carrier who is knowledgeable on the contract and PO-603.
I'll read more into the handbooks because I truly feel like they try to force me to work shifts that I never signed up for. I was told during orientation that RCA's work Saturdays but might be called to come in during the week. Does that mean it's mandatory that I go in during the week?
-- Unless your office is well "stocked" with RCAs, don't worry about manglement firing one ( unless for something really serious ). The fewer RCAs there are could mean manglement may have to deliver the mail! Just concentrate on YOUR job and getting BETTER at it.

- Back in the day ( get used to that phrase ) it would take about a year in most cases for a new RCA to really get a system that worked for him/her. And that was before COVID, the avalanche of parcels, the the new scanner, and the impending RRECS pay system.

-- Hang in there and let us know how things are going. Stay positive -- lose an electron!
Thank you so much for this info! Most of the time I feel like I'm not supposed to ask any questions, just do what I'm told, so I'm grateful.
 
Couple tips and tricks that may help...

Have you memorized the case. That is step 1. I (asked permission) but took pictures of the cases I would be working and created a copy of them at home to study on Excel. Review them the night before and the morning of. If you can't do that make post it notes that you stick to the side with each street name so you can at least find them more quickly.

Marking packages save turn arounds but takes so much time. I took a dry erase board or even a notepad. Write down each street name and at first scribble down the number of each package. Mark off or erase as you deliver and verify each street before you drive on. Then when you think you got that... switch to just marking down the number of packages on each street. Then before you move on count back did I deliver that many packages on that street. This will lead to only needing to mark some streets and eventually not needing to mark saving lots of time. It takes time thought.

Be honest with yourself on your use of time. Do you pause to have converstations with people. Do you check your phone or recieve calls. Do you have any distractions that slow you down. Some people need a distraction here and there and you can judge what you can handle, but most people do not realize how much time they waste doing little things that slow you down. We had a girl who couldn't figure out why it took her an hour longer to case than everybody else and it was because every 5 minutes she would head out and smoke and went thru a pack each morning. Your time can slip away with little things that don't seem to take much time. Try putting on something soft to listen to that doesn't distract you but cuts our all the other noise and interuptions that could happen. Get to the speed you want and then you open back up to what distractions you want.
Thank you for responding. I'm pretty comfortable with the casing, I don't leave my area unless it's to the hot case or to check my pumpkin for spurs. How soon can I start loading parcels in my LLV? For example, I came in early a couple of weeks ago to get a head start but no flats or missorts were ready for me to case, but there was a good amount of parcels already in my pumpkin, could I bring those out right away?
I'm asking because I know we can't pull our case until told all the mail is up.

One of our carriers getting faster would start a stopwatch at the beginning of a street. See how long it took him and the next day the goal was to go more quickly down the same street. Those little pushes can make a difference. Number of packages can change things... but you get the idea. Small victories.
I'm going to try this because my eval time sucks lol.
Can you open the mailbox, drop the new mail and collect the outgoing all with one hand in one motion. Saves time if you can. The difference in 3 seconds at a box vs 10 seconds adds up quickly. You can teach yourself how to handle a pretty quick if you focus on it.
I was told at the academy we should spend no more than 3 seconds at a mailbox and that we should be casing our DPS but my PO doesn't agree. When I shadowed one of the regulars they explained their method of delivering as "fingering the mail" but then said we're technically not supposed to do it.
Do you have conversations with your postal customers. Sometimes that is wonderful and adds to the experience but don't be afraid to say.. "I would love to talk but my boss needs me to help out another route and I really need to go fast today." Easy and understandable reason to move on.

Biggest thing is this. Have you learned or done something to improve every day. Doesn't need to be a lot but if you get just a little better every day before long you will have it. Good luck.
 
It took me longer to become efficient at taking DPS to the street. Find your rhythm. Spr, Flats, DPS, do they have a big package? For each and every address, find an order that works for you. Start slow. Safety is more important than anything else. When you find yourself doing better, pick it up half a notch.

BE ORGANIZED. This will save you so much time. Take your time loading, be methodical in your loading. Set yourself up for success. If you rush loading, you will waste so much time on the street. Mark big parcels.. figure out if its better to mark sprs or to just tray them in order and keep an eye on the next upcoming spr.
I think this is a part of my issue, I'm usually rushing to load my truck. I'm going to take what I learned from you all and apply it next time I go in. Thank you.
Most carriers have different methods and layouts. Observe how other carriers set up their truck and try it if it makes sense for you. While looking at my tray, Sprs are furthest to the right, Flats in the middle, DPS to the left. If you're casing your SPRs with Flats, maybe carry an extra tray of DPS upfront. I throw everything I pull out of DPS on the dash of the LLV. Outgoing mail (not a whole lot) gets tucked between SPR tray and edge of mail ledge. A packet of new resident slips, 3849s, etc is tucked in front of my DPS tray. I write down big parcels and rubberband the list to my visor, the ones in the very back are notated, so I know its not upfront with me or close to bulkhead. I've got a half tray directly underneath the mail tray, that's for accountables or any misc. items that need special handling.

You're asking questions, you seem to care. You'll be just fine. We all started off struggling.
 
I'm a slow starter on any new route I got. I took the time to figure out what I'm slow at so I'd get faster.

I was told once it was 15 minutes casing per DPS tray. So I'd setup the stopwatch on my phone. When I started in my POV I'd do bundles. When I went regular I switched to trays in the LLV. I'd put everything up & sort in to trays. At first I did bundles in trays. Then I did straight mail. I asked the supervisor how he did it when he delivered city and he showed me. I couldn't get that down after a week, so I crisscrossed mail in trays. When I went to my current route in my POV I went to a flat tub at first in my CRV (between me and the passenger door). When I got the jeep I made a mail tray holder & currently put a tray of mail on my left.

With large parcels I tried a couple ways to label & sort my parcels. First I just labeled then row #. Then I did row #, column letter. How I load the vehicle depended on the vehicle I'm using: a Metris was one way, LVV was another, POV was another. I'd organize them differently depending on what was at hand. I used to use a pumpkin a couple years ago when I first went regular. Organizing in a pumpkin was nearly pointless as they'd all fall over. Then I got another position in the office I wanted, I had two laundry style carts. I hated those. I tried a pumpkin again, didn't like it. One day dispatch sent us a two level plastic orange cage. Perfect! I can easily divide by rows with that thing (top of cage = row 2/1, bottom = 3/4). Less bending over then the pumpkins sped me up.

If I get a l large parcel & have no mail in that slot I have some markers with a sticky note on it that I write down the address so when I get to that spot in the tray it says the address for the large parcel.

Spurs never really changed, but I learned when I went off my aux route to put whatever I can in the case & takedown with mail. I use a tub (with Metris or LLV) or tray (POV) & put them in order. When I mark & sort them I have a tray or two accessible to put them in. If I don't need two trays I'll consolidate them.

To the left & right of each row on the case I have all the streets labeled for that row. Really helped when starting to find where loose mail goes, especially when you have one or two stops for a road.

When pulling down I taught myself to use two hands at once.

For driving it's all about making sure you're organized to get stuff delivered efficiently. mail, flats, spurs, parcels accessible? Scanner at the ready? This depends on what you're driving but I find the LLV is the easiest to organize. Metris has a lot less accessibility & space.
 
uncoventional22 -- " I was told during orientation that RCA's work Saturdays but might be called to come in during the week. Does that mean it's mandatory that I go in during the week?"

-- WOW! If told that during your office orientation, your office must be well stocked with RCAs!

-- If called, yes you better go in if you want to keep your job as an RCA.

- being unavailable can lead to firing. Article 30.M. Also Section 665.41 of the ELM ( Employee and Labor Relations Manual )

-- While in the office check the work schedule before leaving for the day as manglement just may "forget" to tell you the next time you are supposed to work - other than your assigned route.
 
Hello everyone! I started my job as an RCA in January and I suck at getting back to the office at a decent time, I’m usually the last one back in and even brought back mail a few times.This week would be my 6 shift on my own and I’m stressed but determined to do better. I already heard talks of them wanting to can another RCA and I’m a bit nervous. Any tips on loading up my llv quicker? Or delivering mail quicker?

I’d appreciate any help or tips at this point.
You could check out a few of my videos! But, as said above, you will get faster- it just takes time and a bit of patience.
 
uncoventional22 -- " I was told during orientation that RCA's work Saturdays but might be called to come in during the week. Does that mean it's mandatory that I go in during the week?"

-- WOW! If told that during your office orientation, your office must be well stocked with RCAs!
Yes, we all started within the last 3-4 months.
-- If called, yes you better go in if you want to keep your job as an RCA.

- being unavailable can lead to firing. Article 30.M. Also Section 665.41 of the ELM ( Employee and Labor Relations Manual )

-- While in the office check the work schedule before leaving for the day as manglement just may "forget" to tell you the next time you are supposed to work - other than your assigned route.
Good to know, Thank you!
 
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