Is it really as bad as you all say?

[Rural Mail Lady]

Thank you all. I guess I'm a "get the job first, ask questions later" type but I really should have asked about the vehicle right away since my family has only one at this time. I honestly thought I would be told I needed one if I did but that doesn't seem to always be the case so I will be calling the office on Monday.

Question, Have you attended the Rural Carrier Academy yet? That would be a good place to start asking some questions, but yes do contact your office, When you were hired, they should have addressed and explained to you how that office operates. How big is this office and how many routes? You can also train on other routes to increase hrs, if the carriers and PM need extra RCA help. But keep in mind you will be assigned to a certain Rt, and that route and it's carrier is your # 1 priority. I was first a TRC when I started in 1999. Temporary Relief Carrier, Don't think they exist anymore, I did that for a year, then I was converted to RCA. I was a RCA for 10 years, before I became career. I have seen changes that would make you RUN, but By you coming in with no some what knowledge of the "old way" you will be fine. It's a HARD JOB, but, you will meet so many customers, good and bad, which I love 90 % of mine, and you will have "mail Mares" at night, and cry a lot, but if you like it, hang in there everything thing will click with you all of a sudden. I agree with the other carriers, it DOES depend on the PM, and the office, and the carriers in that office. I had more trouble out of the carriers than anyone, "back biting" because I could run their rts faster and better than they could. As they said, be polite, if you disagree with some things that other carriers do and you know it's not proper procedures, don't confront them, just address questions nicely, on why they do it that way, etc, but you don't have to do things their way if you know they are wrong. Because, being cautious is a good thing. Because each carrier does thing differently, once you are out of the office and on the route you will find your "own" delivery system that works for you. Keep us posted, and we are all here to help you along the way, most of us have "been there done that" and each of us hopefully have advice, to guide you through the stress of being the "new kid". Just remember the sanctity of the mail is #1.

 

[Rural Mail Lady]

Haha, I learned that from reading all the comments on this site. Thanks, I'll call Tuesday

YOU WILL BE A AWESOME SUB !!!! I can't wait to get updates from you, it takes me back in time !!! FYI, don't show up at work like I did days gone by, on Sunday or a holiday" because nobody's home !! I still laugh at myself about that, Just wanted to make you laugh, I still tell those stories to our subs, so we all can laugh !

 

[btdtret]

Rural Mail Lady -- "Temporary Relief Carrier, Don't think they exist anymore,.."

-- Just one the "gifts" of Arbitrator Clarke's 2010-2015 "award". The Board of Arbitration will direct the USPS to cease hiring Temporary Relief Carriers ( TRC's ) ( Designation Code 70 ) effective 11 August 2012. TRC's will be allowed to complete their existing appointments.

" I have seen changes that would make you RUN, but By you coming in with no some what knowledge of the "old way" you will be fine. "

-- Also starting after the Christmas Crunch period will be helpful for "JTF".

"you will have "mail Mares"

-- You too?!

For "JTF"

-- Although manglement will disagree, when you are working, consider it YOUR case, YOUR vehicle, YOUR customers. When you are that involved, you tend to put much more effort in doing things correctly.

-- There will be bad days, good days, and great days. Try to keep bad days to a minimum. Be glad for the good days. And cherish the great days! That will be the tough one as you'll want to tell everyone in the office about. Try to keep those to yourself and really relish them.

"Just remember the sanctity of the mail is #1. "

-- Keeping your sanity and health is a close second -- listen to your body!

 

[Boston65]

From what I've heard, the academy training is pretty well scripted, and the instructors pretty much have to stick to the script...

There is the instructors guide which they must follow, however they can add to it, not leave anything out.

 

[justasinger]

I know I will be in the minority here, but I love using my own vehicle to deliver mail. the .70 per mile I get FAR surpasses the cost of maintaining it (when I was an RCA I had a 1995 GMC Safari, and it cost me 22 cents per mile to operate/maintain), and my new vehicle (2018 Nissan NV200) runs me .55 per mile (car payment, insurance, fuel, maintenance). I absolutely love being a Rural Carrier. I am no longer an RCA, I am a Career sub, AKA PTF Rural Carrier, but this is seriously the best job I have ever had in my life. I am 43 and love to drive. This job is NOT for everyone, however. It takes a special kind of crazy to enjoy it, and a special kind of 'special' to be good at it. Those two are specials are NOT mutually exclusive. I've met carriers that were great that hated the job, and i've met carriers that were absolutely horrible that loved it. I have been assigned to two different post offices in my 3 years of employment, and have had no problems with my 'real' post masters. They were both very good at their job and they both took care of their Rural carriers. One of my PM's retired and a clerk was thrust into an OIC (officer in Charge) position, and that was a very unhappy experience for me.

 

[Sandygirl]

I know I will be in the minority here, but I love using my own vehicle to deliver mail. the .70 per mile I get FAR surpasses the cost of maintaining it (when I was an RCA I had a 1995 GMC Safari, and it cost me 22 cents per mile to operate/maintain), and my new vehicle (2018 Nissan NV200) runs me .55 per mile (car payment, insurance, fuel, maintenance). I absolutely love being a Rural Carrier. I am no longer an RCA, I am a Career sub, AKA PTF Rural Carrier, but this is seriously the best job I have ever had in my life. I am 43 and love to drive. This job is NOT for everyone, however. It takes a special kind of crazy to enjoy it, and a special kind of 'special' to be good at it. Those two are specials are NOT mutually exclusive. I've met carriers that were great that hated the job, and i've met carriers that were absolutely horrible that loved it. I have been assigned to two different post offices in my 3 years of employment, and have had no problems with my 'real' post masters. They were both very good at their job and they both took care of their Rural carriers. One of my PM's retired and a clerk was thrust into an OIC (officer in Charge) position, and that was a very unhappy experience for me.

Five years for me and I feel the same way you do , happy for you.....

 

[eomr]

I did it for 30 years and was always grateful to have the job. It's good to read your story.

 

[WhyWasteYourLife]

I’m going to make this short and sweet.

1- mgt will LIE to you at the interview about every single topic you address just to get you in the door.
2- the Gallup poll showing us at the bottom 2% of all companies as reviewed by their employers is a sign.
3- run in the other direction, do not walk. RUN

Agree 100%!

 

[btdtret]

All -- IMHO -- "justasinger", "Sandygirl", and "MNpostman" are the fortunate ones as they have hit the proverbial employment jackpot -- loving the rural carrier position.

-- It is not really "work" if one enjoys what they do and can look forward to come into work every day.

-- Hopefully manglement and the USPS does not mess things up so you all can hold onto that feeling as time goes by.

 

[Skierstmoritz]

I agree with you. Ever since i was little, and seeing our mailman come every day, use to always think that would be a cool job. Life directed me toward working for the USPS, finally went regular last year. I ended up replacing the mailman(retired) I use to see as a kid. Was and still is one of the best jobs you can get in out little rural community. I am on the table one of salary pay chart. I've been thinking would I still do this if I wasn't? Answer is absolutely, still a good paying job in my neck of the woods, even with table 2 pay chart. Shhh don't tell USPS.

I too love the job! But you just highlighted the vast difference in rural carrier life! I'm on table 2, where i live, in the northeast, median income is over 55k, median housing price is 350k. I make 40k on a 40k route and can't get a day off. After all the deductions I take home @ 1k per pay period. Not pretty

 

[Voglio-il mio]

Its a great job if as a Rural Letter Carrier when we get to perform the job as described, then interject Amazon and we become Rural Package Carriers and the job becomes a challenge to enjoy!

 

[Gotrope]

The median housing around here starts at $587k. It is a tad challenging finding anyone to work here...rca's or regulars. Cheap, nasty rentals start at $2500 a month. And gas is consistently close to or over $4 a gallon.

I've often thought they should look into locality pay for some places. The cost of living can vary in the extreme from place to place. Perhaps, nrlca could work on an mou formula for initiating locality pay in high cost areas. Perhaps, this is something to push forward at unit and state mtgs to be voted upon at national. It would certainly benefit the membership. It might even keep some from quiting because they can't afford to work for USPS.

 

[DB.Cooper]

You know... I USED to really like the job... and some parts I still do... but now we got useless mngt bozos, that got nothing better to do than hide behind trees or wherever else they can find to do driver observations and any other form of harassment and micro-mngt they can think of... all in an effort to justify their worthless existence...

Here's a hint for the bozos ?... why don't you go out and spend some time with the new PSEs, trying to show them how to do their jobs, or do something that actually helps get the mail delivered... we'd all be a LOT better off without your BS harassment... just sayin'... ?

 

[JFT]

Hi Happy Sunday. Glad to have 2 days off.
Question for you all....

What do you all do to take care of dry, cracked, sore, papercut fingers? My poor little hands are so sad.

Also, I found myself cursing tricky mailboxes on my route yesterday. I made myself laugh. Then I remembered a form I could shove in the box to let the customer know, "Hey, your mailbox is slightly dilapidated." Do those ever work?

Anyway, my supervisor asked ME if I'd like more training. Of course I would! Still the best job I've ever had. I'd just like those few customers to fix their boxes and it'd be a dream ?✌??

 

[blamethesub]

The "your mailbox needs attention" form only works because of the threat to hold their mail if the problem is not fixed in 10 days. If you're not in a position to do that, then it's probably not a good idea to just serve them on your own. Sometimes people fix them, but more often they just get irate and complain. Talk to your regular about any really bad ones, and see if he'll put in the forms. After all, he's the one who will have to follow through on them.

Death by a thousand paper cuts should be our motto instead of the rain, snow, gloom of night stuff. Your hands will toughen up, but keep that moisturizer coming, especially overnight. Oh, and keep some band-aids in your vehicle so you don't get blood on the mail.

Glad to hear you're doing well so far. Keep it up.

 

[DB.Cooper]

A pair of finger nail clippers is another good thing to keep with you... broken nails can be a REAL pain if on the mail route... also good for those occasional hang nails... ouch... hurts to think about... ?

 

[Gotrope]

Use Shea butter at night and nitrile gloves on the rt.shea butter also works well as a wind, cold barrier in bad weather.

 

[Shafted]

Working hands in the jar after every time you wash them. If the sand salt trucks have been out the. The nitrile gloves under your other gloves (that have the finger tips cut off)

 

[Gotrope]

Btw, everyone looking to work in Truckee, the area has had almost 10 feet of snow this week. With roads side drifts of over 20+ feet. Friend sent me pics of caltrans plows stuck and buried in whiteout conditions. Scarey times

 

[csparks]

What do you all do to take care of dry, cracked, sore, papercut fingers? My poor little hands are so sad.

Also, I found myself cursing tricky mailboxes on my route yesterday. I made myself laugh. Then I remembered a form I could shove in the box to let the customer know, "Hey, your mailbox is slightly dilapidated." Do those ever work?

Anyway, my supervisor asked ME if I'd like more training. Of course I would! Still the best job I've ever had. I'd just like those few customers to fix their boxes and it'd be a dream ?✌??

I've got a bunch of tricks. First, if possible, keep those nails cut short that start the cuts at edge of thumb. For actual cuts, I keep cheapo superglue around, and superglue over the paper cut. Its an old ER trick. There's even a medical grade superglue.

I've just started using tight nitrile disposable gloves while casing in the mornings. No hindrance, and you should see how filthy they get. Along the route, I keep a nitrile glove on the left, and a tight "work glove" on the right to open boxes. You can grab, pull, use fingers without fear. Look at you hardware, lumber, etc store for the lightweight work gloves that fit very tight, like a mechanic's glove. Have kind of rubber on one side, and mesh on the other. Generally around $5.