Big Joe
Bronx, NY
Male, 31
I work in NYC for the USPS. I drive a 2 ton box truck and deliver packages that are too large for the regular letter carrier to take. I've been on my assignment for 5 years and a postal worker for almost 10. I spend most of my day running up and down stairs with heavy packages. I have to be on constant alert for dogs. Especially in apartment buildings with narrow hallways. I have lots of great customers and I love my job. All of my opinions are my own and I DO NOT speak for my employer.
I assume that you're referring to the financial issues of the post office. I'm a union employee and I would never just "lose" my job. If it came down to something like that, there would be a tell tale chain of events leading up to it. During which, I would explore other options available to me to provide income for my family. I have faith in the United States Postal Service and I'm sure they'll find a way to pull through any hardship...Now or in the future.
Yes. Most times the parcels are identified as "suspicious" when the addresses look strange or incomplete. Other times they could have grease stains on them, or be leaking something. Either way, they are isolated and the supervisor is notified. I remember one time when I was in my truck and heard a package "ticking". I immediately jumped out and called the manager, but it just turned out to be a wall clock that was shipped with batteries in it. But safety is top priority.
To be honest, when I see a parcel marked fragile, I usually try to take it easy a little more than usual. Come to think of it, I'm actually pretty meticulous with the way I organize my parcels...and I'm careful with all of them. I always re-tape boxes that pop open or get crushed from the weight of others. If you really want that extra piece of mind about your item reaching it's destination in one piece, write the word "GLASS" on the package a few times. I feel like the delivery personnel always go the extra mile when they have the fear of delivering a parcel full of broken glass. Thanks for your question. And by the way....Stage House Tavern in Scotch Plains is AWESOME. I try to make it for ravioli Monday's as often as possible :)
First and foremost, the postal service does NOT automatically re-deliver items. Our daily workload is too heavy to have parcels from the previous day in our trucks. If you receive a pink notice slip, you can go to the post office the following day from the notice date (upper center on face of slip) or you can call the 800 number on the back of it to schedule re-delivery. You can also schedule re-delivery online @ USPS.com/redelivery. Unless the carrier sees a place where he can safely leave a parcel, they usually will leave a notice. Reason being that about 95% of the packages we deliver have barcodes on them that we have to scan. Here is an example of what I mean. If I left your parcel somewhere on your property, I would scan it as being delivered. But if it goes missing and the customer complains that they never received it, management looks at me because it was linked to me by way of barcode and I had it last. I belive this to be the basic logic behind most of the people who preform jobs such as mine. I hope I answered your question buddy.
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Hahaha that's classic. Well Gizzy, when I deliver one of those, my truck becomes like the Publishers Prize Patrol van. I come to your door with balloons and a bullhorn, bears on tricycles, and a camera crew with a live feed to the morning news. Lol, Just kidding. Seriously though, I'm sure the company that sends your "item" is very discreet and the box It's shipped in wouldn't look different than any other. I'm also sure that we deliver those kinds of things everyday. Thanks for your colorful question.
Well, i'm not entirely sure. I've always been told that doing it is a federal offense. I know there are people who work for the organization whose job it is to investigate these kinds of things. I also have have heard stories of carriers being fired for stealing, some customers too I'm sure. Bottom line is that its better safe then sorry. If you find mail that doesn't belong to you, it's best to just give it to a carrier.
Thankfully, I've never been bitten. However, there have been many close calls that I can think of. I was walking out of a building one day with a fairly large box in my arms because the people weren't home. As I was passing a group of people, a huge brown dog lunged at me and snapped it's jaws about a foot from my face. The owner had it on a leash and pulled back at just the right moment to stop it. The area that I work in is mostly made up of apartment buildings and the tenants have a habit of leaving their doors propped open for ventilation. This is the most dangerous scenario. Dogs hear my keys jingle and they come running. The best thing you can do is to put something between you and them (a large parcel you just happen to be holding works good) and try to get the owner's attention. Most dogs are friendly and I usually don't have a problem. I love animals and I belive they can sense it. However, I won't be making any overtime if I'm sitting at home with stitches in my leg, so I try to stay aware. As for carrying treats, I personally don't. I've heard stories about guys doing so, but I think that smelling like beef jerky will only further my chances of becoming a chew toy ;)
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