new regular carrier. trained an rca from a different office last week. took him out on the route twice, let him sort as much mail as i could and still get the route done. He did half the route by himself one day. but never the other half-pm decision, not mine. Today he was on his own, and i got a call from a customer at 4 pm asking if he was getting mail today. he always gets mail. and is an hour from the end of the route. So is there anything im missing? i dont want to be the bad carrier who abuses the subs, but i m not sure i can do much more. I told him id be around today, and to call me if he had any problems or questions.
how do you train your rca?
- Thread starter johnwayne
- Start date
Sandygirl
Well-known member
Expect him to make mistakes, let your customers know he is learning, that you have ? number of boxes and it not like people think you drive around listening to music, be kind, Listen carefully when I say this as a 5 year in RCA, if you are too harsh he will hide his mistakes, which means he will not learn from them. From time to time admit YOU made a mistake , I don't mean when you started you made a mistake, admit to him last week you picked up a piece of mail behind yourself, let him know you and him are a team, I got your back, you got mine, lets keep small issues between us , you fix my stuff I fix yours and we both learn from it. There are tricks that newbies don't know, fill him in on those example..... once I as an RCA was suppose to hold mail for this address , it was in a priority box, on a Sat I did hold it BUT when I got back to the PO I sent it downtown as an outgoing parcel like the many we pick up from the route. In a panic I called my REG and told her what a stupid thing I did. She said don't worry it will come back to us Monday I will be at work, grab it and put on the hold shelf, IF the customer picks up the mail before then you will admit what you did. ok I said nervously, it did come back on MOnday and the customer no PM knew that package took a little side trip.... my partner and I build trust with one another and I NEVER did that again. REALLY remember what is was like to learn all the stuff you know now, make them your partner, let them know it is your and his route as a team. I am so loyal to my girl I cant tell you, because that is my route too!!!
Sandygirl
Well-known member
Its great you told him to call you , say that again to him, tell him look don't be afraid of me I am here to help you, it is to my benefit that you learn and stay with our route, I was new one time, it takes time to learn, I am giving you that time, but you must ask questions when you have them so that you learn the right way to do things. My reg would pick up mail behind me 2 times without saying a thing, the third time she let me know specifically what my repeat mistakes were, I LOVED that, to me it meant I am human you are human, but enough is enough lol Once she misdeliverd a package to another mail carrier on our route. This carrier worked in another town. I worked the day after the misdelivery. The carrier left a note and said you gave me someone's package it is on my porch. I know them but didn't want to take it to them and they would know your mistake so just pick it up and take it to them today..... LOL , I loved that.....my partner and I talked about it later that day and laughed and she told me she had a bad headache that day and couldn't believe she did that ….....I felt great knowing she was just human like me........ I always have her back ...
Sandygirl
Well-known member
here is one thing you are missing he never got his full time to learn the route and pm's fault, make a point of missing two days in a row so he can see his own mistakes .... that is a great learning tool.
I give them 3 days training.
I let them case DPS 2nd and 3rd day to help understand route order.
I make a "map" of the case, a folded legal size piece of paper, the folds in the paper represent cause wings, (section of case.)
Each row on map has street names in with different color highlights.
When casing raw flats and letters, I only let them case left half of the case on the first day. As we case, I case right side, while pulling out left side mail for them. (When they come in the second day, they know which side of the case any raw mail piece will be located.
Left half of the case is physically easier to work, that's why they get that side first.
I put blank stickers from PARS labels on each wing on the side of the case next to the first casing slot.
I put them on vertically, and write each street name that is on that section, like a list.
While we're loading LLV first d a y, I take them to other carriers, who show them how they set up differently from me. I tell newbie you'll figure out over time what works best for you.
On the street, I put them behind the wheel in first nice development. If they are a good driver, I hand them the me for each box and call out address and name for most of the route. ( You can't see much from the back of an LLV.)
I get them to deliver some easy parts out of tray first day, just to try it out.
By the third day, some can deliver without me getting the handfuls ready. (I tailor what I do for the individual. What works best to help them? I try to figure it out, then give them that.)
If they are not at good driving, I don't let them drive.
I let them case DPS 2nd and 3rd day to help understand route order.
I make a "map" of the case, a folded legal size piece of paper, the folds in the paper represent cause wings, (section of case.)
Each row on map has street names in with different color highlights.
When casing raw flats and letters, I only let them case left half of the case on the first day. As we case, I case right side, while pulling out left side mail for them. (When they come in the second day, they know which side of the case any raw mail piece will be located.
Left half of the case is physically easier to work, that's why they get that side first.
I put blank stickers from PARS labels on each wing on the side of the case next to the first casing slot.
I put them on vertically, and write each street name that is on that section, like a list.
While we're loading LLV first d a y, I take them to other carriers, who show them how they set up differently from me. I tell newbie you'll figure out over time what works best for you.
On the street, I put them behind the wheel in first nice development. If they are a good driver, I hand them the me for each box and call out address and name for most of the route. ( You can't see much from the back of an LLV.)
I get them to deliver some easy parts out of tray first day, just to try it out.
By the third day, some can deliver without me getting the handfuls ready. (I tailor what I do for the individual. What works best to help them? I try to figure it out, then give them that.)
If they are not at good driving, I don't let them drive.
MiddleOfNowhere
Well-known member
how do you train rca's - obviously, ineffectively. it is their job to learn the route. i can teachem, but i can't learnem... biggest problem i've had of late, is rca's thinking they can deliver mail. using only the first four numbers of the address. problem being i have several 2410's , 2465's etcetera...
one day last week, one of the customers had 4 other people's mail, with the same first 4 numbers.
one day last week, one of the customers had 4 other people's mail, with the same first 4 numbers.
i was just looking for tips. it seems management wont give them the time they need to learn. learning a case in 2 days? When i was an rca, the post masters would let me come in for 4-5 days and case some of the mail, just to learn the case. lots of times i did it for free, but it was worth it because i could get the route done in time with much less stress. Now some rcas get no training, and the ones that do get insufficient training. Im trying to keep one around, but its gotten to be almost impossible with what im allowed to do as far as training.
Voglio-il mio
Well-known member
Why does a customer have your phone number, big mistake!
Sprocket
Well-known member
Training is expensive, therefore the Postal Service skimps on training.
Why would one think its still enough to train an RCA for 3 days anymore...scanners, Amazon....the darn PM's don't even know all the rules...frankly, neither do most of the regulars.
Not a slam on carriers, a slam on the training and lack thereof all rurals are afforded.
Why would one think its still enough to train an RCA for 3 days anymore...scanners, Amazon....the darn PM's don't even know all the rules...frankly, neither do most of the regulars.
Not a slam on carriers, a slam on the training and lack thereof all rurals are afforded.
Rt2mailman
Well-known member
The managers look at it this way. If they save money on your RCA' s training they can give help for a longer period of time. That help may be given for over a year on heavier days, as with my last sub. It's a different method that sometimes keeps Rca's that may never "get it".
Voglio-il mio
Well-known member
This approach will cause more RCA's to quit due to frustration, lack of training and feelings of abuse due to pressures of wanting to do a good job but not being given the tools that will help them perform at their best. This is not a sink or swim position that it used to be, a Carrier either a Regular or an RCA must be organized and trained to be able to complete a route timely and efficiently.
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because its a business that ive patronized. some people just cant draw boundaries i guess.
blamethesub
Well-known member
Too much academy time and not enough on-the-job training time. You do the best you can with the three days you get, then just make yourself available for questions. I've always thought a newbie should get one more day with the regular about a month in. That's when all those questions the new RCA has can be answered in real time in the case and out on the route. They don't have a clue what to ask until they've delivered a few times on their own.
