Last week I and a number of my esteemed colleagues passed a milestone of sorts - we passed the one year mark as casual employees at Canada Post. So with that in mind, I thought I would offer up a few thoughts on the first year and where life has taken me.
When I wrote in this space last winter that I had passed my probation period of 480 hours of service, thus entitling me to a full Canada Post uniform of my own rather than hand-me-downs, I remember writing at the time I was afraid I wouldn't make it through. I still have to stop and think about that fact on a regular basis.
As mentioned in my earlier post, this is a very difficult job and I suspect few actually appreciate the work that goes into being a casual letter carrier. I certainly didn't before I started the application process last summer.
Once you pass the several hurdles that get you to the training sessions, you soon realize the mail carrier culture is entirely different than any other you have experienced. The colleagues I work with are without exception a dedicated, detail-oriented group of people who take pride in their work and the responsibility of delivering your mail day in and day out.
There are plenty of quirky individuals, of course, as is the case in most organizations, so you regularly hear good-natured joking, singing, mock angst about the number of catalogues we have to deliver and so on. The depot during the morning sort, which is how we all start our day, is a noisy and sometimes nerve-wracking affair.
Some days are easier than others, such as late in the week when the mail is usually somewhat lighter than say a Monday, when it can often be a nightmare and delay you actually hitting your route for the day. Following a holiday weekend, the problem is compounded even more.
On the sorting aspect, I am still slower than most of the others, although I am better than I was this time last year for sure. If I have the luxury of staying on the same route for a week or two at a time, as I was the last two weeks, I pick up my speed as I become familiar with the sorting case I am on. But often, as is the case for the casuals who don't have a route of their own, you are working on a different route every day, and that brings with it a certain amount of difficulty for people such as myself.
You would think the sort would be simple and straight forward, but as those who have done it for years will tell you, doing a different route every day is not for everyone, as you have to get used to a new sorting case each time and once out on the route, you have to search out mail boxes and house numbers quite often.
Those are things the average person receiving their mail every day don't realize. The person who does the route every day learns all the short-cuts, the lawns and other obstacles to avoid, and where the mail box actually is. This means they are generally faster on the route.
For a casual such as myself, you take longer until you get to know the route, and each day you're on it you usually get a little bit faster each day. It just makes sense: familiarity is a decided bonus in this job.
Since I often hit the street later than the person who usually does the route, I am usually hitting the milestones along the route later than usual as well, which prompts some to ask why I'm "so late". I'm not really late, as we are allowed to deliver the mail until 8 pm actually. It is just later than you are used to.
I had many a route in the early going that kept me out there until that 8 pm cutoff, although thankfully I have not see that in quite awhile. But even finishing at 4 or 5 as I often do now is considered late by most. Part of it is unfamiliarity with the route, but it is also the fact I am not a young man anymore and walking in all kinds of weather carrying a good-sized load of mail with me tends to slow me down a bit. Hey, I'm not a kid anymore!
Still, even I was taken aback this summer when I approached an older gentleman sitting on his porch and when I handed him his mail he said "You're late!" I looked at my watch: it was 12:50 pm. Delivering the mail is about the only job I know where delivering over the noon-hour is considered "late".
I have over the past year come up with many explanations for my tardiness on the route when the inevitable "You're late!" crops up. Most are true; some are gently fabricated to an extent. But all are offered up with sincerity and a genuine hope they have a good day in spite of my late arrival.
The thing to keep in mind is not everyone is going to get their mail in the morning. If I am delivering to a larger route of say, over 900 points of call, I physically can't get them all done before noon. I would like to, but as I said earlier, I'm not a kid anymore.
I never realized while delivering mail at an apartment building I would become such an attraction for the residents. Often when I arrive, especially if I am later than they are used to, many of them congregate in the general area of the mail room and their boxes and watch me do my job. I have no problem with that per se, but I wonder why it is so entertaining. I often hear a variation of "I never get any mail anyways" as the person patiently waits for me to finish my job in the mail room.
But what I have really discovered over the past year is the uncanny knack of many area residents to either camouflage or try to hide their mail box - if indeed they have one at all. Along Bunting Road, for example, mail boxes are often dispensed with in favour of the old-style milk box at the side of the house.
The more obvious the location of the mailbox the better. Hunting around the back of the house for a mailbox, as I have had to do quite often, slows you down even more. I know it is your home and you can do what you want on your own property, but it is always appreciated when a well-presented and clearly marked mailbox is within easy view as we approach the property.
On the subject of mailboxes, I would like to suggest once again a nice mailbox needn't be fancy, just functional. A lid that is rusted in the open or closed position, boxes barely hanging on the wall or on the ground somewhere on the property are regular occurrences on mail routes. I marvel at the number of people who have a lovely new home, yet the mailbox is nothing but a rusty afterthought lying on the porch floor.
The issue of house numbers can be perplexing, too. Or rather, the lack of them. In a perfect world, every house would be numbered in perfect sequence. In the real world, however, that just doesn't happen. Double lots, later additions to the street and so on all affect the numbering system, yet if the house doesn't have a number clearly displayed, it presents a problem for your mail carrier. Again, if it is the same route every day you grow accustomed to the anomalies and work with them; as a casual you have to figure these things out on the fly.
Those are my main pet peeves after the first year on the job. It has been a year of discovery to be sure, and I look forward to more "discoveries" in the year ahead. But if I may offer a few gentle suggestions here in conclusion, your friendly neighbourhood mail carrier will serve you more efficiently day in and day out:
- Clearly display the house or unit number and don't paint it the colour of the house itself.
- Maintain your mailbox and think about where it is situated in relation to the access points.
- In the winter, be sure to clear the snow on walks and steps, salting if necessary.
- In the summer, consider leaving water bottles for your overheated mail carrier.
- If there are any special instructions the carrier should follow, they should be clearly marked.
- If you get misdirected or mail for someone no longer living there, simply display it prominently on the box for pickup by your mail carrier. Marking it Return to Sender leaves no guesswork for us.
So there you have it. I have learned a lot over the first year, and it has been fun. This is really a great job, even with the weather conditions and obstacles we encounter throughout the year. So I don't regret the decision to join the fraternity for a moment.
Tomorrow morning a number of us who started roughly the same time will be gathering in Niagara Falls to celebrate our first year together, and swap stories from the routes we cover. Nothing I would rather do with some great colleagues I now call good friends.
Have a good week!
October 20th, 2016.
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