I stopped by my PO this morning to pick up my check from orientation and shadow day (attend the academy on the 25th), and I asked my PM for a route map and a few mins to create case maps for our 3 city routes "No, they don't want you in here before training"...so ya, I wanted to speed my ability to understand what I'm looking at on my own routes when I had the downtime this entire week to study, but was denied.
If you’re still with the post office you probably understand and this comment is outdated but there’s a lot of reasons for that, liability is just the main one. In simple terms, they have to tell you not to do stuff and have you sign that you were told what not to do so you don’t get hurt and sue them and they have no protection. Also? The more nuanced reason is that you don’t really know what you’re doing yet and what it entails. You are looking at it from the outside and therefore you will come up with strategies that might seem reasonable but they’d be totally unnecessary just a month or 2 in. It’s expected to need time to get the route and the job down. Thats why they rarely put veterans on unknown routes unless there’s staffing shortage
This was EXTREMELY helpful. So many tips & tricks I haven't heard or seen anywhere else before. I'm just a week in now after Academy & after my 1st day of OJI as a PTF, casing seems very daughting to me. This is gonna make my job so much easier. THANK YOU
Casing was a struggle for me when I first started. I cased everything, and it took forever. I came in at 6:30 and would struggle to leave by 11. I gets easier.
@@lahcenelakkaoui2664 I know that some rural routes have them, but I have never worked one. The closest thing was a route in town where I had to park and then service boxes in 3 neighboring apartment buildings, walking between them. I just loaded everything in a tub at the office so when I got there I could easily carry everything with me when I got there.
The best way to learn the case is to take 3 hours failing miserably, leaving the office 12 pm and running through the route until help arrives at 1600. Don't forget to get yelled at by the supe, respond always with "I did my best." Clock out. Congrats! You now have the motivation and some information to case a little faster tomorrow. Repeat after me! Tomorrow will be better! 😅🤣😇
Literally happened to me but I got out at 2pm. It was a new route to me on a Monday, multiple trips to the hot case to grab all the mixed flats/letters I had to case. Hundreds
DUDE, DAVID YOU THE MAN! I just had my carrier academy and we practiced casing and the names are soo small and some times on different selves. This video is a GEM! Thanks for explaining everything in details!
I'm still on the At the Job training portion of my career as a CCA, but soon they're going to have me come in AFTER the regulars case 1/2 a route for me, and they're nice enough to let me do that until I'm comfortable with casing an entire route on my own the case map idea is BRILLIANT (I'm going to take every opportunity to make a case map of EACH of our 20 routes that we have) because as a rookie it's fairly overwhelming, this is going to be HIGHLY beneficial for me; thanks so much for this!
@@yayaad8833 yeah, but i'm out of my 90 days so I put a hold down on a route, so now i know what i'm doing every day i go in. I started 7th of 8 CCAs and am now up to 4th in a matter of 6 months!
@@ernestoaguilera6632 take your time, be absolutely patient with yourself, and if ANYONE gives you ANY grief contact your union steward. make an effort to find the regulars who are more than happy to help, there's a handful at my station and they were super useful when i started.
thanks for all your helpful videos! i’m still hanging in there. we come in an hour and a half early now to just deliver big packages and i’ve been using a parcel sheet, very helpful! going to try to sort packages as i put them in the truck instead of in the office and see how that goes!
@@ceramicSabrina I always loaded my truck based on area. First area up and around my mail tray. Second area to rear of my mail tray. Third area behind the bulkhead and so forth. Sort your spr's into white tubs for each area and set your outsides with the tub. I was a city carrier and we were not allowed to touch our packages or dps mail until we had pulled our case and were on the way out. You would get discipline for time wasting practices. I never opened my rear door unless it was something really bulky and if I had one of those I would write the address on a notice and throw the notice in the white tub for that area. Yikes I am trying to take over this guys channel. Good luck you will figure it all out. It just takes time.
By all means give your input! I created this channel because when I started it seemed that there wasn't much out there for new carriers who were struggling or just looking for a different way to do things. I for one am always willing to hear a different way of doing things. Thanks for watching and commenting!
You give some great tips for people. Your wisdom is clearly developed thru trial and error. At the very least, you allow someone to start building some familiarization with terminology who may not have yet begun their training. Well spoken, patient, and a very positive influence on future generations of USPS employees. Thank you.
I used to write the streets on a cheat of paper and try to memorize as much as I could the night before. I always saw some carriers case their sprs. but I never did. I just broke my route down into tubs. Also, I cased my FSS in EVERY DAY and it made my job a lot easier. Retired 3/26/2021 on a 100% mounted route. In my office we were never allowed to case DPS or FSS because the morning office time. Life is really easy for me.
Congrats on your retirement! Absolutely agree with you on studying the night before- it helps you feel a bit less lost when you case. I do case my SPRS in my pov, but not in an llv. It's just a bit tricky to work out of 3 trays in my car and I am NOT casing my DPS. My office doesn't get FSS. Our mail comes out of Milwaukee and they don't have the flat sorting machine (it doesn't fit in the building). Thanks for watching and commenting!
@@davidkelln9225 Sorting SPRs out by my truck is easy. I place three tubs at each end of my gurney and each tub represents four splits. I can throw SPRs in them without even looking, and when I get to a particular area of the route the I can organize each tub. Way faster than wheeling all that crap back into the office while dodging all the other gurneys, then casing it all up. I will say that if you're new to a route you should probably case up the SPRs so you don't make a mistake in the ordering. Anybody who's been on a route for more than maybe a week should be throwing all parcels and SPRs out at the back of the truck. It's faster and easier. I'm consistently the first one out of the office so I know it works.
mixed flats are usually in bucket(s). Would love to have the flats and raws to be DPS'd 9:45 depending on the PO, sometimes the supervisor would get upset at that ... All in all, appreciate the tips. Will make a Case Map, great idea!!! My "Primary Regular" never takes off, so I'm tossed around to new routes, at new POs, in new towns every 2-3 days. Casing is the most frustrating thing at the USPS. That, and also bent locks on Cluster Boxes that don't want to close. Last but not least. Could you be the new Supervisor at my main office? That demeanor could go a long way to lift morale.
Thxs for all the videos!! The regulars I met at my office says I came to a good office postmaster is ok.. and all mounted routes lil walking.. I wanted a walking route but it’s ok I will walk strip malls and businesses
Your welcome! Congratulations on the new job and hang in there! You are joining at a busy time of the year, but it usually slows down mid-January when people burn through their gift cards and get their returns managed. Thanks for watching!
We had those parcels for a while- especially during the height of the pandemic- but now Amazon delivers a lot of their own so we really only get around 100, and only like 40 or so go to the door (most fit in the mailbox). A map or a parcel sheet definitely helps. Just lay it out in a way that makes sense to you on your route. SOOOO much easier than searching the whole case for those tiny street names. Another method I've seen recently is that the carrier puts the names for each row in order on a post-it note. They then stick that at the end of the shelf. Good luck and hang in there!
Vertical cases vs. Wrap horizontal cases . In my opinion ( and everyone's different) wraps will keep you spinning with unmachined flats and raw mail often giving you nausea. . When you make the case street listings just break it down as left ], center.] And right like a baseball diamond . When streets extend from left to another section center or right , mark on your map the numerical range of addresses say 1000 to 1500 on left 3000 to 3500 on right ( it may skip center) but the point is to not spin. Separate by number the raw flats and letters place them on the left shelf , center shelf , right shelf or table. This will stop the ridiculous sickening spinning.and save your back. And you will find how to work a case vertically even on the spinner wrap cases. If you become a regular change your case to a vertical this will save you time and health money.
You can check out some of my other videos like this one: ruclips.net/video/QnB_uYL_fSk/видео.html It has a section about casing, so you could just scroll through it to the part about casing.
Thanks I've been an RCA for 2 months now and casing is my biggest flaw, it takes forever, I'm not going to case my DPS this weekend and see what happens.
Give it a shot! Your route will take a little longer to deliver, but for me I find it gets me out of the office an hour or two earlier when I don't case it. You might also consider casing only a portion of it the first time and see how it goes. Sometimes when I try a new method I will try it for just a portion of my route just to see how it goes. Good luck out there!
@@davidkelln9225 that is a good idea as well I went and talked to my boss after I watched your video and asked him what kind of routes we all had and he said double K's what does that mean?
Lol on this day as I type (3/23/21) my first of four days at the academy. And we cased for the first time, had a standard 18 pieces of letter mail.. and like 8 flats. I think I only cased three letters and three flats in a minute... 😆😆😆 but tomorrow I’m on the same case and I studied the case and taking ya tips!
@monicaisinherownworld S do not worry.... I’m about probably ten days away from completing my 90 days, and I’ve been coming in the office to a 4 hr aux route that’s already cased and pulled down.... I believe you only case for like 5hrs during your 90 days.... and believe it or not it’s easier to case once you’ve already physically worked and delivered on that route.... I’m learning with the post office... if you want to succeed then you will.... there is no other choice
@monicaisinherownworld S it was super tough for me at first, but it does get easier. When you get your first route, write down the street names in order, make yourself a cheat sheet to use when casing, and take some time study it when you aren't at work. Thanks for watching the video and good luck with orientation!
Something interesting I learned about casing: it's faster to make sure each piece is perpendicular to the cell (or slot) before pushing it in to the cell. The mail doesn't hang up and get stuck the way it does if you push it in at an angle. I also like to step toward each cell as I put a piece of mail in rather than just standing in the middle of the case area all the time. They don't tell us these tips in training. Also, LEARN THE NAMES if you are going to be on the same route for a while. It's faster to case by name: your hand will automatically go to the right part of the case. At least it works for me.
I've done it both ways. It really depends on the route. For example, I'm more likely to list it twice if they usually get a lot of packages. Whatever works for you.
It takes time. It can be frustrating at first, but after 2-3 times on a route you start to feel almost a bit competent lol. Hopefully things will slow down a bit so new recruits will have a fighting chance at actually getting done on time. Hang in there and thanks for watching!
@@benji1289 mail is delivered 6 days a week and a regular carrier usually delivers the mail 5 of those days. As an RCA, you would cover the other day as well as their sick days and vacations. You would also have the option/obligation to deliver amazon on Sundays. So an average week you would only work a day or two. If you are in a larger office that doesn't have enough subs, you could be covering multiple regulars and possibly work every day. You could also be loaned out to other offices that need help and fill your week that way. Going full-time is tricky. When a regular retires, the senior RCA gets the route the other regulars don't want. There are RCAs out there who've been working for 20+ years and never made regular. Both of the clerks in my office are former RCAs who switched crafts because they needed the insurance and couldn't wait anymore. For me, I have a regular job during the week and use this one as my side job. I like it, but I know that I can't count on becoming regular anytime soon. RCA is usually the slowest path to a career position. That being said, there art many people out there who walked into the right position and made regular in just a couple years. It's just timing.
First thing you need to do is learn the contract. Management will incourage you to speed up so that you can carry more. Sprs are to be cased into your case according to the contract not cased in your vehicle. No carrier may be on the work room floor before or after work, Another contract violation. DPS casing is a violation as well as casing FSS. Follow your morning flowchart. Do not be pushed. If you are, see your shop steward. By following the contract, you force management to do their job. To get more carriers and promote more to regular.
This website is a great resource for discussing issues with management: www.ruralmailtalk.com I've been pretty fortunate so far in my office. So far everyone seems willing to go to bat for each other.
We are only allowed to riffle through our DPS (to see if it is all there) and we're not supposed to touch FSS at all though here in Denver we don't have FSS anymore. It's back to bundled and loose flats for us. Most carriers flag or rubber band off their DPS splits in the office and management lets them do it. I just take mine directly to the street like the flowchart says to. But who follows the flowchart anymore? We are supposed to punch in and immediately go check our vehicles, and some days I'm the only one out in the parking lot. Management doesn't want to enforce discipline but once a month the station manager will call a stand-up and scream at us. Hey, I'm following the flowchart: don't get on MY case.
@@davidkelln9225 Branch 3520. First 2 weeks.... delivery spvr...said...go back to your country...my accent didn't like it... how can I go back... I'm from the Apache tribe.... being a hardworker they expect you to work more...14-25 ft of Mail in 8 hour... there's no DPS back then ..sorting flats in a APC... How to return the nasty back to nasty supervisor.....slow down.....casing to enroute.... OMG! You took so long....! Leave me alone....
I have a street in one of the routes I do that is in like 8 different places and the boxes are on both sides of the road with a mix of even and odd numbers on each side. When I case the route, I just make a pile of that street and case it last. That way I can group up the matching numbers and put them in numerical order. It seems to cut way down on my time casing this street
@@davidkelln9225 ya, it used to be the aux route so when they added to it to make it a k route, they never had the customers move their boxes. Lots of bits and pieces spliced together to make a route. Lol
Hello David I wanted to know about the DPS delivery point sequence do I have to sort that mail in the case, don't I suppose to take it to whever apartments And star Casing them on the CBU's?
Some people sort it in the case, but it's already in order. If I have a choice, I would sort it right at the boxes. I recently filled in on a route that has 2 large apartment complexes with cluster boxes. What worked for me was to take the flats and sprs in a tub, grab a handful of mail, and sort it right there in their lobby.
I will be doing a apartment complex with 4 CBU's an it's about 264 centralize boxes that is my first stop on my route I'm a first timer@@davidkelln9225
Hey Dave what are your thoughts about taking the DPS to the streets? It just seems like a lot of steps to case & pull. When everything is basically in order already for the route. Just curious.
I made a video about that! ruclips.net/video/IQu6t1MGB9s/видео.html Honestly I hate casing DPS so I almost never do. I agree- it takes so long to case and pull down. That said, I totally support anyone who wants to case it- you have to do what works for you on your route.
@@davidkelln9225 OK great! I’ll check it out I’m sorry I missed that! Thanks so much for the response. I’m just trying to get through my route as fast as I can… but safely.
@@davidkelln9225 So after casing in Academy yesterday it just seems like a total waste of time to case the DPS if it’s in route order already. I’d rather get to the street as quick as I can rather then stay in the office all day. My question is Dave can you possibly make a video of what it looks like to deliver the mail with DPS on the street? The process of what it looks like and what you’ve done?
Yes. After your probation period is over, you can lend yourself out to other post offices as long as you are not needed that day in your home office. It's a little intimidating the first few times you do it, but they are usually appreciative of you for helping them out.
The best thing to do is to ask for a line of travel- it should specify how to deliver. Also, some carriers will write inside mail boxes on the route to help direct you. In all honesty, there will be times that you feel lost. I've driven a bit around parking lots trying to locate the mailboxes. Just be patient and you will figure it out. In time it will get easier to figure out new routes. Hang in there!
The biggest timesaver (which only a few carriers take advantage of) is to go to your case, plant your feet, and case without talking to other carriers. Don't be making a hundred trips to the hot case. Some carriers, if they just worked during the time that they spend complaining, would be able to get the route done with no problems. The faster you get to the street, the more time you'll have if you run into a problem. Some carriers spend three hours in the office even on light days and so they're forced to run out on the street. They end up with knee and hip replacements. Don't be like that.
Yep. That's my philosophy too- although I do talk a bit while I'm casing. If you leave the office earlier you have more time to deal with whatever the route throws at you. You can take your time, talk to your customers, and even help out other carriers. Fast in the office is safer (and easier) than fast on the street.
@@jba414 yeah, I mean as long as you don't have to stop what you are doing. It sounds like Jeff works with a few complainers. My office is usually super positive (we do have one person who complains) so we joke around a bit and talk while we work- we just don't stop working to talk.
So let me see if this is right….Casing is the reason new CCA’s are leaving the office 4 hours more than they should which gives them less delivery time on the street?…so if I get this down truly I will get the full 7 hours of street time to get off at 4pm to either go back out to help or go home sometimes.
Casing is a big hurdle for a lot of new carriers. Staring at that case for hours, looking for that tiny little street name. I think it's a good first step to learn the case. Take some time to write down the street names in the order they appear on the case and make yourself some kind of cheat sheet. And when you are casing, don't let yourself get hung up on finding any one address. If it's taking longer than a minute, set it to the side and try the next one. Leaving early absolutely makes your day better.
@@davidkelln9225 thank for reply, so you are saying you have the time to create a cheat sheet every time you get a route each day? But you are new and don’t know what’s coming at you at any station they may want to use you at…so there is still time to do this??
@@brianj1203 yep. It doesn't take that long. I take a piece of paper and just go row by row, writing the street names (I will abreviate them when appropriate). Honestly it usually takes less than 5 minutes. It saves me time in the long run. If you are worried about it, try it sometime at the end of the day and time yourself.
First day in academy and took every note i could just to be told i can't take them home to review, it also doesn't help when you ask questions and response is "it'll take a while to get it down, it took me years"; then what is the whole point of the 8 hour "training" sesions?
Yeah. The first week is rough. I liked the second week better - more specific to your craft. That said, so much depends on who your instructors are. They aren't teachers, they are carriers who are teaching. Some will simply be better than others. You will likely learn more from the carriers in your office.
@@davidkelln9225 thanks man, we were talking amongst us students yesterday and it seems they want to cram everything in 4 days so explaining is not really part of the course. Be safe out there brother
@@amusicunlimited i came home and watched as many videos as i could about casing as well as just looking up info online and it helped. I'll keep going in, taking notes and coming home to watch more videos to try and understand better so i can hang on until i either get it rolling or they get tired of me 😂
Just curious, what part of the country did you deliver mail. I put in 47 years, over 20 as a classroom instructor and over 40 as an OJI and never heard of a case map and other disciplines you're talking about for casing. Most of what you are talking about are considered "time wasting practices", in the office. Interesting view on casing.
Thank you for your years of service and for watching the channel. I'm in southeastern Wisconsin- which is in the Lakeland district. I was taught about case maps during my second week of orientation in downtown Milwaukee in 2018. Never saw one in the offices I've worked in- only in the classroom. I have created my own, but settled on using the parcel sheets I've made. So taking five minutes to study a case you've never seen before is a waste of time?
Use this one. Just make a copy of it and change the street names. docs.google.com/document/d/1Q-xj2Jt5cfvy4rTi0QvkEObtV1Vvdsrrt_k-gWKtK74/edit?usp=drivesdk
LLV is a delivery vehicle Pov is your own car Flats are large envelopes, magazines, newspapers, and catalogs DPS is mail that was processed by a sorting machine and placed in delivery order in trays A hot case is a cubby or tray where clerks sort mail into different routes. You need to check it before you pull down and leave
I wish we can call you with questions I admire you a lot for the RCA route an how your doing the 💼 work 20 💫 for you. Maybe you should consider provide us a telephone number so we can call you when you're not besi at times.
Lol I had that same problem! In my home office, everyone cased DPS because they all drove POVs. When I started working at another office, I was shown how to take my DPS on the side- I began writing the house number on the marker if there was no mail. It seemed crazy to me, so I started using my parcel sheets instead of putting markers in the mail. There are a lot of different ways to manage packages besides parcel markers.
I stopped by my PO this morning to pick up my check from orientation and shadow day (attend the academy on the 25th), and I asked my PM for a route map and a few mins to create case maps for our 3 city routes "No, they don't want you in here before training"...so ya, I wanted to speed my ability to understand what I'm looking at on my own routes when I had the downtime this entire week to study, but was denied.
lol they aren't going to let you do that before academy. This is stuff that really won't apply to you until you've been at the job for 2-3 months.
If you’re still with the post office you probably understand and this comment is outdated but there’s a lot of reasons for that, liability is just the main one.
In simple terms, they have to tell you not to do stuff and have you sign that you were told what not to do so you don’t get hurt and sue them and they have no protection.
Also? The more nuanced reason is that you don’t really know what you’re doing yet and what it entails. You are looking at it from the outside and therefore you will come up with strategies that might seem reasonable but they’d be totally unnecessary just a month or 2 in. It’s expected to need time to get the route and the job down. Thats why they rarely put veterans on unknown routes unless there’s staffing shortage
David you are so nice, I learned a lot from you. Because you always smile, make a new CCA relax.
This was EXTREMELY helpful. So many tips & tricks I haven't heard or seen anywhere else before. I'm just a week in now after Academy & after my 1st day of OJI as a PTF, casing seems very daughting to me. This is gonna make my job so much easier. THANK YOU
Casing was a struggle for me when I first started. I cased everything, and it took forever.
I came in at 6:30 and would struggle to leave by 11.
I gets easier.
How about loops ?
@@lahcenelakkaoui2664 I know that some rural routes have them, but I have never worked one. The closest thing was a route in town where I had to park and then service boxes in 3 neighboring apartment buildings, walking between them. I just loaded everything in a tub at the office so when I got there I could easily carry everything with me when I got there.
The best way to learn the case is to take 3 hours failing miserably, leaving the office 12 pm and running through the route until help arrives at 1600. Don't forget to get yelled at by the supe, respond always with "I did my best."
Clock out.
Congrats! You now have the motivation and some information to case a little faster tomorrow.
Repeat after me! Tomorrow will be better!
😅🤣😇
Lol That's how I learned!
You’re forgetting the the key ingredient: you didn’t die and you didn’t quit! 😎
@@evanjames81 not gonna lie, I almost died several times today xD
Any updates? I'm on my first week ! You're right, casing is a bitch 😂😂😂
Literally happened to me but I got out at 2pm. It was a new route to me on a Monday, multiple trips to the hot case to grab all the mixed flats/letters I had to case. Hundreds
DUDE, DAVID YOU THE MAN! I just had my carrier academy and we practiced casing and the names are soo small and some times on different selves. This video is a GEM! Thanks for explaining everything in details!
I'm still on the At the Job training portion of my career as a CCA, but soon they're going to have me come in AFTER the regulars case 1/2 a route for me, and they're nice enough to let me do that until I'm comfortable with casing an entire route on my own
the case map idea is BRILLIANT (I'm going to take every opportunity to make a case map of EACH of our 20 routes that we have)
because as a rookie it's fairly overwhelming, this is going to be HIGHLY beneficial for me;
thanks so much for this!
Are you still working as a CCA? I start Saturday I’m so nervous …
@@yayaad8833 yeah, but i'm out of my 90 days so I put a hold down on a route, so now i know what i'm doing every day i go in.
I started 7th of 8 CCAs and am now up to 4th in a matter of 6 months!
@@Shrieking_In_the_Void any tips lol
@@ernestoaguilera6632 take your time, be absolutely patient with yourself, and if ANYONE gives you ANY grief contact your union steward.
make an effort to find the regulars who are more than happy to help, there's a handful at my station and they were super useful when i started.
I feel like this would make more sense if I were actually in the post office in front of the case itself.
Excellent video with tons of tips and helpful content for the new RCA/CCAs . Thank you and God bless.
Nice job! I really appreciate your help David!. I have day one academy for CCA today and it was very helpful. Thank you!
Love this video! So informative and detail oriented. Thank you for your time!
Thank you for watching!
These videos are helpful!! I’m in my second day of academy we case today!!!
Thanks for watching! Congratulations and good luck!
Love the parcel sheet idea. Thankyou!
You are most welcome.
This was helpful. Thank you!
Great video! I’m on my 3rd day of orientation. This info will be helpful once I do start to case mail
Thank you! Good luck on your new job!
thanks for all your helpful videos! i’m still hanging in there. we come in an hour and a half early now to just deliver big packages and i’ve been using a parcel sheet, very helpful! going to try to sort packages as i put them in the truck instead of in the office and see how that goes!
You mean your scanner does not have navigation that does a map for you?
@@DannyWalker247 nope! o:
@@ceramicSabrina I always loaded my truck based on area. First area up and around my mail tray. Second area to rear of my mail tray. Third area behind the bulkhead and so forth. Sort your spr's into white tubs for each area and set your outsides with the tub. I was a city carrier and we were not allowed to touch our packages or dps mail until we had pulled our case and were on the way out. You would get discipline for time wasting practices. I never opened my rear door unless it was something really bulky and if I had one of those I would write the address on a notice and throw the notice in the white tub for that area. Yikes I am trying to take over this guys channel. Good luck you will figure it all out. It just takes time.
By all means give your input! I created this channel because when I started it seemed that there wasn't much out there for new carriers who were struggling or just looking for a different way to do things. I for one am always willing to hear a different way of doing things. Thanks for watching and commenting!
You give some great tips for people. Your wisdom is clearly developed thru trial and error. At the very least, you allow someone to start building some familiarization with terminology who may not have yet begun their training. Well spoken, patient, and a very positive influence on future generations of USPS employees. Thank you.
That's very complimentary, thank you. And thanks for watching!
Good tips I will definitely mention to my new Rca!
I used to write the streets on a cheat of paper and try to memorize as much as I could the night before. I always saw some carriers case their sprs. but I never did. I just broke my route down into tubs. Also, I cased my FSS in EVERY DAY and it made my job a lot easier. Retired 3/26/2021 on a 100% mounted route. In my office we were never allowed to case DPS or FSS because the morning office time. Life is really easy for me.
Congrats on your retirement! Absolutely agree with you on studying the night before- it helps you feel a bit less lost when you case. I do case my SPRS in my pov, but not in an llv. It's just a bit tricky to work out of 3 trays in my car and I am NOT casing my DPS. My office doesn't get FSS. Our mail comes out of Milwaukee and they don't have the flat sorting machine (it doesn't fit in the building). Thanks for watching and commenting!
@@davidkelln9225 Sorting SPRs out by my truck is easy. I place three tubs at each end of my gurney and each tub represents four splits. I can throw SPRs in them without even looking, and when I get to a particular area of the route the I can organize each tub. Way faster than wheeling all that crap back into the office while dodging all the other gurneys, then casing it all up. I will say that if you're new to a route you should probably case up the SPRs so you don't make a mistake in the ordering. Anybody who's been on a route for more than maybe a week should be throwing all parcels and SPRs out at the back of the truck. It's faster and easier. I'm consistently the first one out of the office so I know it works.
Thank you for the video
mixed flats are usually in bucket(s). Would love to have the flats and raws to be DPS'd
9:45 depending on the PO, sometimes the supervisor would get upset at that ...
All in all, appreciate the tips. Will make a Case Map, great idea!!! My "Primary Regular" never takes off, so I'm tossed around to new routes, at new POs, in new towns every 2-3 days.
Casing is the most frustrating thing at the USPS. That, and also bent locks on Cluster Boxes that don't want to close.
Last but not least. Could you be the new Supervisor at my main office? That demeanor could go a long way to lift morale.
THANK YOU SO MUCH 💓 💗
Thxs for all the videos!! The regulars I met at my office says I came to a good office postmaster is ok.. and all mounted routes lil walking.. I wanted a walking route but it’s ok I will walk strip malls and businesses
Your welcome! Congratulations on the new job and hang in there! You are joining at a busy time of the year, but it usually slows down mid-January when people burn through their gift cards and get their returns managed. Thanks for watching!
@David Thank you for the video ! I’m about 4 days in and will be making a cheat for my route. I have over 500 stops and heavy parcel load
We had those parcels for a while- especially during the height of the pandemic- but now Amazon delivers a lot of their own so we really only get around 100, and only like 40 or so go to the door (most fit in the mailbox).
A map or a parcel sheet definitely helps. Just lay it out in a way that makes sense to you on your route. SOOOO much easier than searching the whole case for those tiny street names.
Another method I've seen recently is that the carrier puts the names for each row in order on a post-it note. They then stick that at the end of the shelf.
Good luck and hang in there!
Starting orientation tomorrow, thank you
Good luck!
Good info can you make a video explain how to tell if mail is first class and when the mail needs to go in the bbm please thanks!
Vertical cases vs. Wrap horizontal cases . In my opinion ( and everyone's different) wraps will keep you spinning with unmachined flats and raw mail often giving you nausea. . When you make the case street listings just break it down as left ], center.] And right like a baseball diamond . When streets extend from left to another section center or right , mark on your map the numerical range of addresses say 1000 to 1500 on left 3000 to 3500 on right ( it may skip center) but the point is to not spin. Separate by number the raw flats and letters place them on the left shelf , center shelf , right shelf or table. This will stop the ridiculous sickening spinning.and save your back. And you will find how to work a case vertically even on the spinner wrap cases. If you become a regular change your case to a vertical this will save you time and health money.
Thank you so much for the help if anyone else has any tips of casing mail please let me know and also what goes in my
You can check out some of my other videos like this one: ruclips.net/video/QnB_uYL_fSk/видео.html
It has a section about casing, so you could just scroll through it to the part about casing.
Thanks I've been an RCA for 2 months now and casing is my biggest flaw, it takes forever, I'm not going to case my DPS this weekend and see what happens.
Give it a shot! Your route will take a little longer to deliver, but for me I find it gets me out of the office an hour or two earlier when I don't case it. You might also consider casing only a portion of it the first time and see how it goes. Sometimes when I try a new method I will try it for just a portion of my route just to see how it goes. Good luck out there!
@@davidkelln9225 that is a good idea as well I went and talked to my boss after I watched your video and asked him what kind of routes we all had and he said double K's what does that mean?
@@jalewe3203 a K route means that the regular only works 5 days a week. Im guessing that they want you to cover for 2 different routes each week.
Lol on this day as I type (3/23/21) my first of four days at the academy. And we cased for the first time, had a standard 18 pieces of letter mail.. and like 8 flats. I think I only cased three letters and three flats in a minute... 😆😆😆 but tomorrow I’m on the same case and I studied the case and taking ya tips!
Congratulations on the job! Thanks for watching and good luck on the rest of your training!
@monicaisinherownworld S do not worry.... I’m about probably ten days away from completing my 90 days, and I’ve been coming in the office to a 4 hr aux route that’s already cased and pulled down.... I believe you only case for like 5hrs during your 90 days.... and believe it or not it’s easier to case once you’ve already physically worked and delivered on that route.... I’m learning with the post office... if you want to succeed then you will.... there is no other choice
@monicaisinherownworld S it was super tough for me at first, but it does get easier. When you get your first route, write down the street names in order, make yourself a cheat sheet to use when casing, and take some time study it when you aren't at work. Thanks for watching the video and good luck with orientation!
Something interesting I learned about casing: it's faster to make sure each piece is perpendicular to the cell (or slot) before pushing it in to the cell. The mail doesn't hang up and get stuck the way it does if you push it in at an angle. I also like to step toward each cell as I put a piece of mail in rather than just standing in the middle of the case area all the time. They don't tell us these tips in training. Also, LEARN THE NAMES if you are going to be on the same route for a while. It's faster to case by name: your hand will automatically go to the right part of the case. At least it works for me.
How can you put your markers in for the packages if they don't want u to case your DPS?
Is it possible on the shadow days for me to b in the driver's seat cause I'm not going to pick it up fast if I'm in the back or to the side?
I’m a new CCA and already have me caseing full routes plus covering an hour on another. Caseing routes I never did is super difficult atm
For sure! When I started my eyes went blurry from staring at addresses for 3 hours
On my second day at the academy for cca casing is not easy took me longer to put them all up then the first day
If you go back and forth to a street in a row with a street inbetween do you put the streets twice on parcel sheet in one row or just once?
I've done it both ways. It really depends on the route. For example, I'm more likely to list it twice if they usually get a lot of packages. Whatever works for you.
This part I know I'm going to mess up a lot.
It takes time. It can be frustrating at first, but after 2-3 times on a route you start to feel almost a bit competent lol. Hopefully things will slow down a bit so new recruits will have a fighting chance at actually getting done on time. Hang in there and thanks for watching!
@@benji1289 mail is delivered 6 days a week and a regular carrier usually delivers the mail 5 of those days. As an RCA, you would cover the other day as well as their sick days and vacations. You would also have the option/obligation to deliver amazon on Sundays. So an average week you would only work a day or two. If you are in a larger office that doesn't have enough subs, you could be covering multiple regulars and possibly work every day. You could also be loaned out to other offices that need help and fill your week that way. Going full-time is tricky. When a regular retires, the senior RCA gets the route the other regulars don't want. There are RCAs out there who've been working for 20+ years and never made regular. Both of the clerks in my office are former RCAs who switched crafts because they needed the insurance and couldn't wait anymore. For me, I have a regular job during the week and use this one as my side job. I like it, but I know that I can't count on becoming regular anytime soon. RCA is usually the slowest path to a career position. That being said, there art many people out there who walked into the right position and made regular in just a couple years. It's just timing.
First thing you need to do is learn the contract. Management will incourage you to speed up so that you can carry more. Sprs are to be cased into your case according to the contract not cased in your vehicle. No carrier may be on the work room floor before or after work, Another contract violation. DPS casing is a violation as well as casing FSS. Follow your morning flowchart. Do not be pushed. If you are, see your shop steward. By following the contract, you force management to do their job. To get more carriers and promote more to regular.
This website is a great resource for discussing issues with management: www.ruralmailtalk.com
I've been pretty fortunate so far in my office. So far everyone seems willing to go to bat for each other.
We are only allowed to riffle through our DPS (to see if it is all there) and we're not supposed to touch FSS at all though here in Denver we don't have FSS anymore. It's back to bundled and loose flats for us. Most carriers flag or rubber band off their DPS splits in the office and management lets them do it. I just take mine directly to the street like the flowchart says to. But who follows the flowchart anymore? We are supposed to punch in and immediately go check our vehicles, and some days I'm the only one out in the parking lot. Management doesn't want to enforce discipline but once a month the station manager will call a stand-up and scream at us. Hey, I'm following the flowchart: don't get on MY case.
@@jeffw1267 are you a city carrier?
@@davidkelln9225 Branch 3520. First 2 weeks.... delivery spvr...said...go back to your country...my accent didn't like it... how can I go back... I'm from the Apache tribe.... being a hardworker they expect you to work more...14-25 ft of Mail in 8 hour... there's no DPS back then ..sorting flats in a APC... How to return the nasty back to nasty supervisor.....slow down.....casing to enroute.... OMG! You took so long....! Leave me alone....
@@JR-lo8we it sounds like your supe is an idiot. How is the postmaster?
I have a street in one of the routes I do that is in like 8 different places and the boxes are on both sides of the road with a mix of even and odd numbers on each side. When I case the route, I just make a pile of that street and case it last. That way I can group up the matching numbers and put them in numerical order. It seems to cut way down on my time casing this street
Sounds like a confusing case! Good that you found a way to deal with it.
@@davidkelln9225 ya, it used to be the aux route so when they added to it to make it a k route, they never had the customers move their boxes. Lots of bits and pieces spliced together to make a route. Lol
Hello David I wanted to know about the DPS delivery point sequence do I have to sort that mail in the case, don't I suppose to take it to whever apartments And star Casing them on the CBU's?
Some people sort it in the case, but it's already in order. If I have a choice, I would sort it right at the boxes. I recently filled in on a route that has 2 large apartment complexes with cluster boxes. What worked for me was to take the flats and sprs in a tub, grab a handful of mail, and sort it right there in their lobby.
I will be doing a apartment complex with 4 CBU's an it's about 264 centralize boxes that is my first stop on my route I'm a first timer@@davidkelln9225
@@carlosaguilar8032 in that case I would pull that section down in tubs and just grab handfuls of DPS as you dismount.
Hey Dave what are your thoughts about taking the DPS to the streets? It just seems like a lot of steps to case & pull. When everything is basically in order already for the route. Just curious.
I made a video about that! ruclips.net/video/IQu6t1MGB9s/видео.html
Honestly I hate casing DPS so I almost never do. I agree- it takes so long to case and pull down.
That said, I totally support anyone who wants to case it- you have to do what works for you on your route.
@@davidkelln9225 OK great! I’ll check it out I’m sorry I missed that! Thanks so much for the response. I’m just trying to get through my route as fast as I can… but safely.
@@mr.jsp.e.channel474 I recommend trying it on part of your route to see how it goes. It definitely saves time, but not everyone likes it.
@@davidkelln9225 I’ll definitely try it out! Thanks again!
@@davidkelln9225 So after casing in Academy yesterday it just seems like a total waste of time to case the DPS if it’s in route order already. I’d rather get to the street as quick as I can rather then stay in the office all day. My question is Dave can you possibly make a video of what it looks like to deliver the mail with DPS on the street? The process of what it looks like and what you’ve done?
When you say" ask can i work in different offices" , do you mean different post offices?
Yes. After your probation period is over, you can lend yourself out to other post offices as long as you are not needed that day in your home office. It's a little intimidating the first few times you do it, but they are usually appreciative of you for helping them out.
How do I know when I do park-and-loop, Dismount, and Curbside?
Appreciate for your help! I think I am getting the hang of usps delivery concepts.
The best thing to do is to ask for a line of travel- it should specify how to deliver. Also, some carriers will write inside mail boxes on the route to help direct you. In all honesty, there will be times that you feel lost. I've driven a bit around parking lots trying to locate the mailboxes. Just be patient and you will figure it out. In time it will get easier to figure out new routes. Hang in there!
The biggest timesaver (which only a few carriers take advantage of) is to go to your case, plant your feet, and case without talking to other carriers. Don't be making a hundred trips to the hot case. Some carriers, if they just worked during the time that they spend complaining, would be able to get the route done with no problems. The faster you get to the street, the more time you'll have if you run into a problem. Some carriers spend three hours in the office even on light days and so they're forced to run out on the street. They end up with knee and hip replacements. Don't be like that.
Yep. That's my philosophy too- although I do talk a bit while I'm casing. If you leave the office earlier you have more time to deal with whatever the route throws at you. You can take your time, talk to your customers, and even help out other carriers. Fast in the office is safer (and easier) than fast on the street.
Lol me and the carrier beside me talk everyday and all morning casing and still get out faster than everybody else! 🤷🏾♂️
@@jba414 yeah, I mean as long as you don't have to stop what you are doing. It sounds like Jeff works with a few complainers. My office is usually super positive (we do have one person who complains) so we joke around a bit and talk while we work- we just don't stop working to talk.
So let me see if this is right….Casing is the reason new CCA’s are leaving the office 4 hours more than they should which gives them less delivery time on the street?…so if I get this down truly I will get the full 7 hours of street time to get off at 4pm to either go back out to help or go home sometimes.
Casing is a big hurdle for a lot of new carriers. Staring at that case for hours, looking for that tiny little street name.
I think it's a good first step to learn the case. Take some time to write down the street names in the order they appear on the case and make yourself some kind of cheat sheet. And when you are casing, don't let yourself get hung up on finding any one address. If it's taking longer than a minute, set it to the side and try the next one.
Leaving early absolutely makes your day better.
@@davidkelln9225 thank for reply, so you are saying you have the time to create a cheat sheet every time you get a route each day? But you are new and don’t know what’s coming at you at any station they may want to use you at…so there is still time to do this??
@@brianj1203 yep. It doesn't take that long. I take a piece of paper and just go row by row, writing the street names (I will abreviate them when appropriate). Honestly it usually takes less than 5 minutes. It saves me time in the long run. If you are worried about it, try it sometime at the end of the day and time yourself.
@@davidkelln9225 thank you very much for everything and I will do this!!
I'm nervous as all hell to get it right!
It takes some getting used to, that's for sure.
First day in academy and took every note i could just to be told i can't take them home to review, it also doesn't help when you ask questions and response is "it'll take a while to get it down, it took me years"; then what is the whole point of the 8 hour "training" sesions?
Yeah. The first week is rough. I liked the second week better - more specific to your craft. That said, so much depends on who your instructors are. They aren't teachers, they are carriers who are teaching. Some will simply be better than others.
You will likely learn more from the carriers in your office.
@@davidkelln9225 thanks man, we were talking amongst us students yesterday and it seems they want to cram everything in 4 days so explaining is not really part of the course. Be safe out there brother
The Same thing happen to me 3 Weeks ago. It made no sense to take Notes for 3 Days and not be able to take Training Book Home until 4th Day.
@@amusicunlimited i came home and watched as many videos as i could about casing as well as just looking up info online and it helped. I'll keep going in, taking notes and coming home to watch more videos to try and understand better so i can hang on until i either get it rolling or they get tired of me 😂
Just curious, what part of the country did you deliver mail. I put in 47 years, over 20 as a classroom instructor and over 40 as an OJI and never heard of a case map and other disciplines you're talking about for casing. Most of what you are talking about are considered "time wasting practices", in the office. Interesting view on casing.
Thank you for your years of service and for watching the channel. I'm in southeastern Wisconsin- which is in the Lakeland district. I was taught about case maps during my second week of orientation in downtown Milwaukee in 2018. Never saw one in the offices I've worked in- only in the classroom. I have created my own, but settled on using the parcel sheets I've made.
So taking five minutes to study a case you've never seen before is a waste of time?
You gave a link once to your docs and I cant find it. Do you remember where?
Use this one. Just make a copy of it and change the street names.
docs.google.com/document/d/1Q-xj2Jt5cfvy4rTi0QvkEObtV1Vvdsrrt_k-gWKtK74/edit?usp=drivesdk
@@davidkelln9225 Thank you!!
Did it work for you?
@@davidkelln9225 yes!
@@davidkelln9225 The link is making me request access? Said I will receive an email.
Please specify what are all those abbreviations that you are saying.
LLV is a delivery vehicle
Pov is your own car
Flats are large envelopes, magazines, newspapers, and catalogs
DPS is mail that was processed by a sorting machine and placed in delivery order in trays
A hot case is a cubby or tray where clerks sort mail into different routes. You need to check it before you pull down and leave
USPS has alot of acronyms huh?
Yo this is fucking smart excuse my language
Appreciate it! Thanks for watching!
What is that rattly sound. Do you have bangle bracelets on? It's distracting. Nice, pleasant video though.
Haha no bracelets. That is my microphone against the zipper of my hoodie
I wish we can call you with questions I admire you a lot for the RCA route an how your doing the 💼 work 20 💫 for you. Maybe you should consider provide us a telephone number so we can call you when you're not besi at times.
This is confusing it’s better in person
Sorry about that. You are right, nothing beats hands-on experience.
How can you put your markers in for the packages if they don't want u to case your DPS?
Lol I had that same problem! In my home office, everyone cased DPS because they all drove POVs. When I started working at another office, I was shown how to take my DPS on the side- I began writing the house number on the marker if there was no mail. It seemed crazy to me, so I started using my parcel sheets instead of putting markers in the mail.
There are a lot of different ways to manage packages besides parcel markers.
How can you put your markers in for the packages if they don't want u to case your DPS?
ruclips.net/video/iz0XGQJAuYs/видео.html
This is the first video I made for the channel. It has a few ideas about organizing large parcels.