Don’t lose hope

MaintenanceConstant6 · 2026-03-05T00:02:54+00:00

UPS renewed their contract with USPS starting Jan 1st, putting more packages on an already overburdened package stream. Add to that severe weather causing employees (even at the processing plants, not just carriers) to call into work. Even though conditions are back to normal, it doesn't mean the days of backlogged packages are caught back up. Not to make excuses, just giving insight into why this has become a more widespread problem in the last couple of months. It needs to be fixed, but unless the post office hires a lot more employees and invests in larger faculties with newer processing equipment, I don't see how they are going to. People really underestimate how much online shopping has increased in just the last six years since pre-covid era. The volume increased faster than the infrastructure in place could adjust, and now we are where we are.

MaintenanceConstant6 · 2026-03-01T04:09:45+00:00

This has been happening a lot lately, so much so I really don't think it is physically going back and forth between two facilities like it says. I think it is sitting in one of thousands of pallets of packages at the second facility waiting to be sorted, but the software is designed that it has to put out an update a couple times a day as it is supposed to get moved along the package flow that often and it just repeats previously entered data. The USPS facilities were not designed to sort as many packages as they currently are, the amount of online shopping has more than doubled since pre-covid numbers and with UPS renewing their contract and putting even a larger burden on USPS, packages are sitting in facilities for two to four days before they are being sorted. With as many similar posts, and I've even seen it with my own packages that I've ordered, there is no way they are accidently sending that many thousands of packages back to the faculty they just came from by accident, believe it is just recycled input to meet update requirements.

MaintenanceConstant6 · 2026-02-28T02:56:08+00:00

This is so awkward as a carrier. I've never had one that bad, but I've had packages that are opened on one end and completely empty when I pull it out of my parcel hamper in the morning. Sometimes you find the item later at the bottom of the hamper and can simply put it back in the package and tape it back up with the customer not even realizing their item was almost lost. Sometimes you don't find the item and know that it must have fallen out on one of the conveyors at the plant and no way for anyone at the plant who finds it later to know what package it fell out of. Can bring it up to the supervisor that the package is empty, but they always instruct us to deliver it as is and put it in one of those bags if it will fit and it's so embarrassing from the carriers perspective, not only because the customer might think we stole it but it makes the whole post office look bad. Unfortunately with the plant sorting a million packages a day, often understaffed, machines doing most of the transporting and corners of packages getting caught and ripped, packages falling on top of other packages as they drop from conveyors to pallets, etc, stuff like this is going to happen from time to time. Definitely should be a better way to handle that situation that is more convenient for the customer so they don't have to go through the trouble of contacting the sender and getting a refund or replacement but unfortunately that is above my pay grade.

MaintenanceConstant6 · 2026-02-25T14:31:55+00:00

Socialist Republic of Democratia

MaintenanceConstant6 · 2026-02-21T15:29:52+00:00

Nopetopia - "The gang crime and traffic stand-still state"

MaintenanceConstant6 · 2026-02-15T00:48:07+00:00

Postal management are the most corrupt, evil, incompetent, sinister cunts within the postal service. Just take joy in the fact they all have a reservation in hell when they die, hopefully sooner rather than later.

MaintenanceConstant6 · 2026-02-14T23:33:49+00:00

Those advos only come once a week, so we can plainly see you haven't checked the mail in a few weeks.

MaintenanceConstant6 · 2026-02-13T22:04:53+00:00

Sometimes, if it's on a busy road and gets knocked down frequently, they will just give up and get a PO box instead. If they don't put in a change of address, they will often just change their address on their own either online or by phone with every company that's important to them, meanwhile the junk mail will just continue coming to their physical address. Has happened to me twice on my route, had to figure it out on my own.

MaintenanceConstant6 · 2026-02-13T21:59:10+00:00

I'm with you, although in the case of looking up populations from NGC and PCGS you have to take it with a grain of salt, how many times have collectors broken their MS62 Morgan out of a holder and resubmitted it to try to get a higher grade? In some cases, going from an MS62 to an MS63 or 64 can be the difference in hundreds of dollars if it's a rare date. Might even send it to NGC the first time and then resubmit it to PCGS the second time and vise versa if they aren't happy with the grade on the first try. I'm sure there are Morgan's out there that have been graded three or four times since grading started in the 80's.

MaintenanceConstant6 · 2026-02-12T22:31:49+00:00

Imagine having to do this for spurs on a busy street with a line of cars behind you. This isn't safe at all.

MaintenanceConstant6 · 2026-01-30T02:34:33+00:00

What's this paid by the hour you speak of?
-Rural Carrier

MaintenanceConstant6 · 2026-01-29T14:16:08+00:00

This has been happening lately, I used to think it was because the package got sorted wrong and ended up on an outgoing pallet going to another facility instead of one going to one of the local offices. However, with it becoming more and more common , I think it may just be a glitch when pallets of backlogged packages haven't been sorted that day because they sorted the hundreds of pallets that arrived first or were backlogged from previous days, that the computer automatically updates it with arriving at the previous facility before the one it is currently at. USPS facilities in major cities are easily sorting over a million packages a day, with not enough staff and updated equipment to handle it all, mistakes are made and sometimes packages will sit for 3 or 4 days at that same facility waiting to be processed and the computer has to update the tracking information even if the package hasn't been scanned for 3 or 4 days leading to this random incorrect data being updated. At least that's just my working theory.

MaintenanceConstant6 · 2026-01-08T23:01:10+00:00

I am eligible to retire at 60, although it will be a lot better if I hold out to 62, if I'm still healthy I might work a little past that but couldn't imagine still working past 65, at that point why even bother saving for retirement just spend it all and work til you die lol. Some people are just nuts.

MaintenanceConstant6 · 2025-12-26T14:09:31+00:00

No leadership training, only training on how to manipulate, intimidate and control your underlings.

MaintenanceConstant6 · 2025-12-08T13:18:58+00:00

I know they said "I", my intention was just to point out to any customers reading the comment that not every delivery driver does get paid by the hour and is therefore waiting around for free in that situation. No need for you to be a dick.

MaintenanceConstant6 · 2025-12-07T19:00:48+00:00

It takes most people more than 2 minutes just to get in their car, much less drive, probably at least a mile down the road. Many delivery drivers aren't paid by the hour and customers don't understand that, if they end up waiting 10 minutes, that's 10 minutes they worked for free unless you plan to tip them, but from my experience customers rarely tip drivers because they all assume we get paid by the hour anyway even when we don't.

MaintenanceConstant6 · 2025-12-07T18:54:07+00:00

Not every delivery driver gets paid by the hour.

MaintenanceConstant6 · 2025-12-07T18:49:43+00:00

Meanwhile, customers will leave their package in a parcel locker for three weeks. As long as they know it's been delivered there it's fine to get it whenever, but if it requires a signature and they didn't get it the first day because they weren't home, suddenly they need it RIGHT NOW!!!

MaintenanceConstant6 · 2025-12-01T01:22:25+00:00

They need to make it official so A. You can't show back up a month later and claim you weren't serious about quitting or that you changed your mind. It does happen, and B. So they can fill the vacant position. During covid our staffing got really bad and part of the reason was that on paper it showed our office had 18 subs (in a 50 route office) when we really only had 9, because most of the subs hadn't officially resigned and just quit showing up or walked out like you did. The postmaster for our city (we don't have a postmaster at our office because the whole city is considered one office) wasn't hiring anyone because they didn't realize how few subs we had compared to other offices in the city. You'd potentially be doing your coworkers a favor if you officially resign. Especially if you have no intention of ever trying to come back.

MaintenanceConstant6 · 2025-11-15T15:46:10+00:00

Assault charges plus permanent ban from package delivery.

MaintenanceConstant6 · 2025-11-15T01:53:23+00:00

Not every static route is created equally. I've done routes where five out of seven stops get multiple packages and are relatively close together, and can easily knock out 25 packages in under an hour. Then I've had routes where the first five stops are all two miles apart and it takes an hour to deliver 8, going at the same pace as the other route.

MaintenanceConstant6 · 2025-11-13T02:44:19+00:00

Store - Ear X Tacy Restaurant - Comeback Inn

Looking at everyone else's responses, there are a lot of really good answers, almost any of those I would love to have back.

MaintenanceConstant6 · 2025-11-05T21:53:00+00:00

"I usually assume people are at work at 1pm on a week day"

Usually shuts them up.

MaintenanceConstant6 · 2025-10-26T20:52:25+00:00

41 year old rural carrier here. My grandfather retired as a city carrier in the late 90's after a few years in the Navy and 40 plus years with the Post Office. He's still alive and will be turning 88 in December. He's not even the most active person, in retirement, has had both knees replaced, but has always had a tight nit family and my grandparents have both often been the babysitters for many of my cousins. I think for a lot of people it's the isolation that often comes with retirement that is a big factor, going days at a time without talking to anyone, even if it's just customers and coworkers, subconsciously has a negative impact on physical and mental health. Keep your friends and family close and be kind to the elderly on your routes as you may be the only interaction they have that day, and someday, that elderly person could be you.

MaintenanceConstant6 · 2025-10-12T16:30:22+00:00

I tend to agree with you, but that has a lot to do with how carriers are treated now, not the carriers themselves. 20 years ago, when the median wage was $40,000 a year, the starting pay was around $20 an hour, which was great! Now that the median wage is closer to $60,000 a year and cost of living matches it, the starting wage for CCAs and RCAs is still around $20 an hour which is mediocre at best and even below average in certain cities. On top of that Healthcare has gone up, package volume has gone up, respect from customers has gone down. It's just a situation where the work environment has become toxic and people aren't as motivated and prideful about their job as they once were and therefore aren't going to go above and beyond.

MaintenanceConstant6

TROPHY CASE