quote:

Originally posted by Flash-LB:
Way back, years ago, I met a guy who was a mail carrier. Very bright guy, just too lazy to go out into the busy world, so he decided to deliver mail for 20 years and then retire.

He'd arrive at work at 6 am and then return the vehicle at 11:30, go home and shower, then go to lunch with me.

Of course other employees complained, so they shifted him around to the more difficult routes.

Same thing happened. He still finished up, showered and went to lunch with me.

The Post Office ultimately gave up and left him alone.

So he was a rural carrier. He got paid for how long the route was and how much mail it gets, not how long it take for him to do it . He got it done quickly, and...that's lazy? You realize there are small towns with nothing but 1 aux route right? He doesn't get paid extra if he goes over, so why would he take any longer than needed?
But now you're complaining about your mail being delivered late? I guess you wouldn't complain about your carrier getting done at 1130am then?

6am to 1130 is 5/12 hours, I can get some routes done in that time too, walking.

quote:

AFAIK both city and rural carriers pay is based on the route hours (be it a "J" "K" or "L" route for example) times their hourly rate. A "J" route might be 48 hours a "K" route may be 50 hours. So a "J" route would pay 40 hours of regular time plus 8 hours of overtime regardless of actual time spent completing the route. Most everyone's base hourly rate is different depending on how long they long they've been employed and how many contract negotiated pay increases have occurred during their tenure.

City carriers get paid by the hour, that's it.

quote:

Originally posted by PASig:
Do your mail carriers look like walking ragbags?

Because around here they do, it’s embarrassing

UPS/FedEx/Amazon are dressed professionally. USPS looks like shitbags in half worn uniforms, shirttails hanging out, baseball caps, you name it. Just unprofessional

I never tuck in my shirt jac, ever, did you tuck in you BDU blouse when you were in the Army? And most have a hole over my right shoulder blade from my satchel, and a brown stain from the leather strap, some even have a hole over right hip, from my satchel. My shorts always wear threw over the right pocket from my arrow key, which I'm required to keep attached to my belt. My entire uniform allowance goes to foot wear every year. If you saw how much each article of uniform cost, you'd understand very quickly why even if you buy one, you then have one, to use/wear, 6 or 7 days a week, until it's worn the f out....and you still don't have a full uniform. I find if funny you notice all those things but not the most important part of their uniform, what's on their feet.
If I don't have a long enough skivvy shirt, it will come untucked from walking, up down, in and out of the vehicle, front and back, loading unloading things, lifting things etc etc. So unless I want to spend 30 minutes of my day tucking a shirt back in....
New hires don't get "issued" uniforms or anything, if they have a uniform of any kind, they are wearing hand me downs that retirees have left behind.

UPS/Amazon/Fedex, don't walk.

quote:

Originally posted by SevenPlusOne:

I never tuck in my shirt jac, ever, did you tuck in you BDU blouse when you were in the Army?

I'll answer that one.

If I didn't tuck in my BDU blouse when I was in the Army, I'd find myself on KP for 3 or 4 days straight, immediately after doing 100 pushups for my Sargent.

Jungle Fatigues were a different matter, though.

quote:

Originally posted by SevenPlusOne:

quote:

AFAIK both city and rural carriers pay is based on the route hours (be it a "J" "K" or "L" route for example) times their hourly rate. A "J" route might be 48 hours a "K" route may be 50 hours. So a "J" route would pay 40 hours of regular time plus 8 hours of overtime regardless of actual time spent completing the route. Most everyone's base hourly rate is different depending on how long they long they've been employed and how many contract negotiated pay increases have occurred during their tenure.

City carriers get paid by the hour, that's it.

If you worked "city" I can't/won't argue. I worked "rural" as a sub for 3 years and didn't discuss financials with the folks on the city side. I was unaware of the difference. Thanks.

ETA
As a rural sub I too was hourly only. Regular rural carriers were on the route based pay scale.

I've gotten mail after 8-9PM as well. The Postman will deliver the mail in the dark while wearing a headlamp.

Strangely enough, I got Saturdays mail today (Sunday) at 10:30AM. Not sure what is going on with my mail delivery at this point.

Last night (Halloween), I had just left Dad's place when I saw the USPS van come around the corner. I made a U-turn and waited in the driveway. 8:50PM was when he walked down the street - he saw make the U-turn. He indicated that there were over 30 delivery vehicles still out at that time.

quote:

Originally posted by SevenPlusOne:

quote:

Originally posted by Flash-LB:
Way back, years ago, I met a guy who was a mail carrier. Very bright guy, just too lazy to go out into the busy world, so he decided to deliver mail for 20 years and then retire.

He'd arrive at work at 6 am and then return the vehicle at 11:30, go home and shower, then go to lunch with me.

Of course other employees complained, so they shifted him around to the more difficult routes.

Same thing happened. He still finished up, showered and went to lunch with me.

The Post Office ultimately gave up and left him alone.

So he was a rural carrier. He got paid for how long the route was and how much mail it gets, not how long it take for him to do it . He got it done quickly, and...that's lazy? You realize there are small towns with nothing but 1 aux route right? He doesn't get paid extra if he goes over, so why would he take any longer than needed?
But now you're complaining about your mail being delivered late? I guess you wouldn't complain about your carrier getting done at 1130am then?

6am to 1130 is 5/12 hours, I can get some routes done in that time too, walking.

Well, you managed to completely misunderstand what I was saying. I said he was a lazy guy, too lazy to work most jobs and he was. He was a friend and I knew him well, and that was the way he was.

And no, it wasn't a rural route, it was in a city of 50,000 people in a residential area. And no, I wouldn't complain about getting my mail at 11:30AM. I wouldn't complain if it was by 3PM.

It's amazing how few people have decent reading comprehensive and scary at the same time.

quote:

Originally posted by Flash-LB:


It's amazing how few people have decent reading comprehensive and scary at the same time.

Reading Comprehensive?

If he was a city carrier, he was a PTF, "Part Time flexible", not a "Regular Carrier". You paid for the hours you work, if you can get a route done in 4 hours, then ok. If that's all there is to do. You get paid for 4 hours. You're not guaranteed or required to work a full 8. When I was a PFT I went to other offices to pick up hours.
Management doesn't just reassign a Regular carrier to a different route. So no one shuffled him around to different routes out of some sort of disciplinary action.
Just because it's in a city, doesn't mean it isn't a Rural route. I've done a rural route before, it wasn't out in the boonies, it was a series of neighborhoods.
For years one of the biggest "lazy mailman" perceptions was the fact that they would get off at 2:30pm, when you start at 6 am, a 30 minute unpaid lunch, that's an 8 hr day.

If you're trying to tell me a full time carrier would show up, then leave before 8 hours, everyday for 20 years (or any extended period of time), and get paid for those 8 hours. I'm calling bullshit on your story.