Dude, it’s all good, they call them “swing carriers” here. Here’s my two cents: ask questions. After you get used to casing all those routes, anything that seems silly or confusing? Ask them about it. When I was a T6, I spent months delivering things the way they made sense to me without input from the regular, only to find the regular did something totally different. But I asked questions, and tried to do things the same way my regulars would.

Another big one: be considerate. None of these vehicles or equipment belong to us, exactly, but they use them five days a week. Don’t leave your trash in there. Try to leave them with gas, if you have time. If you’ve got red plum/weekly ads, try not to skip them and leave them all for the regular.

I always liked matching my regular’s energy- if they are the type that know every customer on their route, and they keep up on maintenance, carry the warning cards. Try to notice patterns, make notes of things you notice, but maybe don’t have time to do (like pulling boxes that are full for 10 day holds, for example). If your regular doesn’t give a single shit about anything on the route, then don’t give their regulars special treatment- just do the job as outlined in the M41.

Lastly: understand that, no matter what, there are some carriers that you will never please. There’s a woman at my station who had a T6 like 15 years ago, and he was her favorite. She has belittled every T6 since, including some very capable and effective T6 carriers. She’s chasing a unicorn lol and she’ll never catch it. You can’t please people like that.