"There’s always work at the post office (c) Hollywood Shuffle"
I hit six years here two months ago. This is legit one of the worst places I’ve ever worked, and I worked at Walmart for three years unloading trucks. Only worse jobs for me was busing tables (lasted one day, they asked me to clean toilets) and academy sporting goods (lasted a month and they asked me to clean toilets)
Ask me many things.
------ “There is no fate that cannot be surmounted by scorn.” -Albert Camus
2. "I worked at HQ for over two years, traveled a LOT for work" In response to Reply # 1
One thing I learned is that there is no one name for anything. If y’all called it an ox, it’s an ox. Might be something different in NY, and a third thing in LA
------ “There is no fate that cannot be surmounted by scorn.” -Albert Camus
12. "First generation college. I was forced into the suit life. " In response to Reply # 11
I unloaded trucks for three years in college.
They both have their goods and bads One of the bad sides you can see here every day. The people that put on suits are going to retire “happily” those that have spent the last 30 plus years walking on concrete day in and out can barely walk.
------ “There is no fate that cannot be surmounted by scorn.” -Albert Camus
>Why does everybody take lunch at the same time, leaving one >clerk with 20 customers at noon?
Office politics and lack of management oversight
>Do clerks get commission for selling stamps? They are >constantly pushing those things.
Nope. It’s how we make revenue as an organization
>Are zip codes really meaningless (c) Newman
Not at all, they are actually fascinating in how they’ve been used internally and externally. One thing I became aware of this year is zip code day for example today is 7/10/18 or 71018 Cotton Valley, LA
------ “There is no fate that cannot be surmounted by scorn.” -Albert Camus
legsdiamond Member since May 05th 2011 79752 posts
Tue Jul-10-18 02:58 PM
5. "how much unclaimed shit do yall get to keep?" In response to Reply # 0
**************** TBH the fact that you're even a mod here fits squarely within Jag's narrative of OK-sanctioned aggression, bullying, and toxicity. *shrug*
8. "I’ve never been sent anywhere for letters, only packages" In response to Reply # 7
For the last four years I’ve had higher level jobs so I’m not assigned to a particular plant. Just visiting others. The craziest package I ever saw though was a mini piñata. Someone just taped an address to a horse piñata and dropped it via the service.
------ “There is no fate that cannot be surmounted by scorn.” -Albert Camus
10. "Definitely. We pretty much ship everything with the right address" In response to Reply # 9
Except alcohol.
Now the condition that it’s shipped in is contingent upon knowing what you have an getting it into the correct mail stream. A lot of people will slap “valuable” on a package and expect the half dozen machine handles to compensate for that. Once I caught a load of bullets being shipped. The problem was the box density made a tiny box higher than the machine specs, so those moved through a slower network.
People ship all kinds of things. Tires, skis, fishing rods.
------ “There is no fate that cannot be surmounted by scorn.” -Albert Camus
13. "What makes it worse than the other shit jobs?" In response to Reply # 0
Management? petty shit? morale?
I used work morning shift in a mailroom, so I'd have to hit the dock to pick up 10-20 bins every day. There was this skinny older dude named Otis, and he was the one who was supposed to wheel that cloth bucket thing over to me. He'd see me, and say "I got you" and disappear. Other people would see me and ask is Otis taking care of you? and I would say I don't know where he went, and they'd shake their head, and go either go get it or get him to get it. Eventually, i just asked if I could get it myself and just go grab it. Everyone wins.
For whatever reason, Otis is always what i always think of when i think of post office work. That and, my friend's mom was a lifer mail sorter so when we were 18-ish we went to long beach to take a test for one of those temporary mail carrier gigs. talking like... man, if we can get in here we're SET. We both scored hi and never got a call haha
14. "For me? The work culture difference between my generation and others" In response to Reply # 13
The postal service is an organization that as a manager you can be sent nearly anywhere in the country for near indefinite time periods and reasons beyond your control. And the people that are at your professional level are mainly within 5 years of retirement age, the people over them are mainly within 3 years of retirement, they all hate their jobs, and they all came up in the organization under military style leadership.
Also you can't really be fired or demoted. But work needs to be done. So if you're not getting your work done that work load shifts to someone else that has time. Because every manager needs to answer to their manager above nearly immediately.
To add onto all that. The people that are close enough to retirement have all the power. So if you make someone within that five year frame angry. They'll do things like immediately go on extended sick leave for up to a year siting stress. So two years ago. Right as Christmas season started one of the plant managers didn't like how he was being treated so he just on sick. Which meant the entire area had to shift to cover his plant all because of how he was feeling personally.
He got to retire this year with his full pension
ALSO The divorce rate is high and people sacrifice their families for the jobs. That’s the cultural expectation
------ “There is no fate that cannot be surmounted by scorn.” -Albert Camus
15. "Yeah, that sounds pretty awful" In response to Reply # 14
>The postal service is an organization that as a manager you >can be sent nearly anywhere in the country for near indefinite >time periods and reasons beyond your control. And the people >that are at your professional level are mainly within 5 years >of retirement age, the people over them are mainly within 3 >years of retirement, they all hate their jobs, and they all >came up in the organization under military style leadership. > >Also you can't really be fired or demoted. But work needs to >be done. So if you're not getting your work done that work >load shifts to someone else that has time. Because every >manager needs to answer to their manager above nearly >immediately. > >To add onto all that. The people that are close enough to >retirement have all the power. So if you make someone within >that five year frame angry. They'll do things like immediately >go on extended sick leave for up to a year siting stress. >So two years ago. Right as Christmas season started one of the >plant managers didn't like how he was being treated so he just >on sick. Which meant the entire area had to shift to cover his >plant all because of how he was feeling personally. > >He got to retire this year with his full pension > >ALSO >The divorce rate is high and people sacrifice their families >for the jobs. That’s the cultural expectation
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