At first I was concerned he got stuck in there, but quickly learned there's a little hole he can get out (because he was back inside the next day) and also both I and the homeowner are cool with it. Been there about a month!

Makes every day better!

What’s going on here, two people in an LLV, someone being evaluated? Why is this unsecured?🤔🤨

was my third day today on my own and it went well!! hope you all are having a good week

I’ve heard some pretty messed up and crazy things said to supervisors at 8am and think, “oh boy you can’t say that, they’ll probably be fired” but see them the next day and a few days later it’s back to normal like nothing happened 😂😂 I was just curious, what are some of the most insane things you’ve heard a carrier tell a supervisor and get off Scott free

Great way to start the morning 👍

So I converted to regular last January and got an all walking route and it’s 12 miles long. Long story short I was a little over weight and I was pre diabetic with my a1c at 5.9 and it’s been 10 months I got rechecked and got this and no longer pre diabetic. Wasn’t just the walking I also quit drinking and the sweets.

So Tuesday there were posts all over the country about how insane the mail volume was. Today it’s happening again where I am. Parts of all our routes have been missing from the mail since Saturday. Even with the insane mail volume on Tuesday. Yesterday I had one tray and parts of the route were still missing. Today I have 4. A majority of the mail is political flyers. Are we being sabotaged? My office is pretty normally pure chaos but now it’s just a mess. It’s not getting caught up.

Is writing "Return to sender" not a valid endorsement? I keep finding mail with that written on it in my DPS. I think the customers drop it off at the post office or in a blue collection box, and somehow it makes its way back. When I pick up mail with RTS on it from a customer's house, I'll add ANK to it.

Also, I have a customer who started leaving their mail sticking out of their front door's mail slot with "remove me from this list" written on each letter. The mail is addressed correctly to the people who live there. I guess they just don't want to receive it any longer. I pull it out, insert the day's new mail, and place the old one just like they left it. This cycle repeats for a few days. Either my T6 picks it up, or maybe they drop it off at the post office or at a collection box. I don't know. Anyway, this mail makes it back in my DPS. So I deliver it :) I'm sure it must drive them crazy that they can't get rid of this mail. This has been going on for a few months now. I would gladly explain to them what's going on, but I've never seen anyone there.

How are you handling your larger boxes too far away for a 2nd trip? My route just got full zip code Amazon and it’s been brutal. I just wanna know how you more seasoned people do it. I slip out the big ones, but 2 days of that and my small office starts piling up, and my customers are pissed because they “pay for prime” I’ve been doing 12 hours days for 4 weeks and I’m tired 😭

Until morale is improved

If you are a postmaster, how would you handle the situation? I quit before my 90 was up due to unforeseen mental health decline but my postmaster seemed extraordinarily helpful and willing to work with others, if a little absent-minded sometimes.

Anyone have any suggestions on which to pick. Its so many options and I'm at a loss.

I dont have a primary dr currently, but I plan on getting one ans getting on top of any health related things.

I do wear glasses.

I usually get my teeth cleaned twice a year, and that's usually just it.

I’m wrapping up my second week as a cca and as promised in my previous post, I’m writing out my experience week to week as a resource for people who are curious about what it’s like.

First and foremost, I’m definitely enjoying it. I get to be outside, I walk 10-12 miles a day, and I sleep like a log. I’m a little sore but I really try to take care of myself (good shoes, inserts, blister bandaids, compression socks, etc)

A little bit about me that might give you insight as to why I’m enjoying the job:

First of all, I came from a senior level position in corporate America that was extremely stressful, toxic, and was killing me slowly. When I came home, work was all I could think about. It was like I became a different person. With that experience, having a job where I just show up to work on time, do what is asked of me, and don’t think about work when I’m home feels not stressful at all.

Second, prior to starting with usps, I loved to go on long hikes almost every weekend. With my corporate job I lost sight of that slowly over time. Being outside and moving around is something I genuinely love so getting paid to do that feels like a blessing to me.

Third, I love being by myself. Once I’m out on the route and it’s just me delivering mail, it really works for me. I don’t like having too much social interaction in my life in general, so for me this part of the job is great.

Something I have noticed is there are a lot of people at the post office who are very cynical. A few people saying to me “just give it a month you’ll hate it too.” On the other hand there are a handful of people who are happy to be there, say good morning, and have a sense of camaraderie with other carriers. Those are the people I try to talk to more than the cynical ones.

As of writing this post I think my best advice to anyone curious about it is to give it a shot. Worst case you absolutely hate it and you look for something else. Even jobs within usps, there are way more things to do than be a carrier.

Another guaranteed period, another attempt at stealing money from rural carriers….

For the last week, we’ve been getting multiple trays of mixed mail with our DPS. Some days it’s been enough to add a full hour to our morning casing.

They’re telling us we don’t get paid 8127 time for it because it doesn’t count as raw letters. Because it has an NML tag on it.

So how is that call made at the plant? How do they justify sending 3 mixed trays per route out? I can’t show up to work and deliver half my route, so why is it okay for others to do it?

I don’t know how current the thing we have posted on the wall is, but it tells us that we’re supposed to get paid for anything that exceeds 125 pieces. Why is NML exempt from this?

It’s difficult to believe this isn’t a concerted effort on their part to keep our holiday OT rate reigned in.

Farewell last year's shoes, you've served me well and held up longer than the last.

I do have to say at over 30k steps a day the Hokas have pretty much knocked out the knee pain.

I accidentally made a dent in the bay door while trying to snag the ramp that was in front of it...

Any mail handlers care to chime in? Will they take my license away ? 😭

?

My station got a wave of new NGDV's this morning. Anyone else driving one or been driving one?

I’m a longtime clerk who’s been independently developing a few software tools to make some everyday postal tasks easier. I have working demos for things like delivery-route lookups, locating PO boxes, and tracking passport transmittals.

I’d like to find the right person or team within USPS to show them to and learn whether there’s a process for evaluating employee-developed tools.

I tried looking for IdeaSMART, the employee suggestion platform with peer voting, but haven’t been able to find it on LiteBlue. Does anyone know whether it’s still around or if something has replaced it?

Has anyone here had an idea or working prototype reviewed internally? I’d appreciate any suggestions for a department, program, or point of contact. If you have a specific contact you’d rather not post publicly, feel free to DM me.

Thanks!

Hello everyone! I was recently let go from my job of 14 years due to company restructuring, as my position was eliminated. While it’s tough to close that chapter, I’m looking at it as an opportunity to explore a new career.

I just applied for a CCA position and completed the Virtual Entry Assessment 474 exam. So now I'm just waiting to hear back to see what happens. In the meantime I've been doing some research, learning more of what it entails - Now I'm starting to second guess thinking this would be a good fit for me.

I love the outdoors, love rainy & snowy weather & l enjoy walking. So the delivering of the mail part sounds like something I would genuinely enjoy. But I've been reading a lot of bad stuff about management and unreal expectations, and that's something would most likely struggle with.

Should I go through with this if I hear back from them? Is it really as bad as some people make it sound?

Should I maybe go for a different position other than CCA?

Thanks for anyone that puts in their 2 cents! 🙏