[Merged] Ask Me About Working For Canada Post

[monty613]

He delivers the mail the next day and writes on the envelope "snow on stairs, please shovel".

haha wow that guy sounds terrible, but the sad thing is if you complain directly to him he'll f**k with your mail. i'd suggest trying to contact Canada Post but they're complaint system is probably so bureaucratic it won't get anywhere...

[Bleys007]

This guy puts the mail in the wrong mailboxes so much to the point that all of the neighbours who didn't know each other are now friends from returning the mail to it's rightful owner. We have left signs not to walk on the grass, he steps over it...daily. We've left signs on the mailbox not to walk on the grass, he removed it.
One day in the winter, he doesn't deliver the mail because he says there was snow on the steps. Who doesn't have snow on the steps during a snowstorm? You are at work, nobody is there to remove it. He delivers the mail the next day and writes on the envelope "snow on stairs, please shovel".

I use the snowthrower to amass a three foot snowbank on his favourite path, across my lawn. I have video footage of him struggling to get over the snowbank instead of walking down the shoveled and salted driveway. He even crossed the lawn after a severe ice storm . The lawn was so slick, any icicles that fell off the house and hit it smashed and slid the 40 ft to the road. While he was doing this, he almost fell about 12 times.

Next year I get may mail a day late with "snow on steps, same as last year??" scribbled on it. I'd love to put a landmine right where he walks and get rid of him once and for all. My only joy is when he is away and other carriers do his route.

I'd love to get rid of him, so he can go screw up someone elses life and lawn instead of mine.

Wow... Ya, this guy sounds like quite a piece of work. As for cutting across your lawn, most posties are considerate enough to not walk on your grass if you ask them not to. Some do whatever they want just because that's how they are. You get people like that in any job, and sadly some of them are letter carriers, too.

Snow and ice in winter are serious occupational hazards, though, and slips trips and falls account for a very large portion of injuries to letter carriers. I haven't worked during the winter, but I do know that if driveways are iced over or a path (driveway, steps) isn't clear, a letter carrier has the right to hold the mail until it is safe. I'm not sure what the rules are if it's snowing while delivering; I would imagine it would be fairly safe to deliver unless the snow had not been cleared.

As for getting a new carrier on the walk, not much to do, really. If you phone in a complaint and give your address, the carrier will know it was you and might not be happy about it. I don't want to advise you to not complain, because this is something that should be fixed, but it could piss off the carrier.

[faken]

does anyone know how to applying as a filing clerk in canada post? how much do they make? $17-20/hr?

[AudiDude]

The worst thing is, if I tell any other "posties" about this guy, they actually guess who it is everytime and end up laughing at me...

[tao]

Can anybody describe the amount of lifting performed by christmas relief staff?
I am thinking of applying but don't know if I am qualified.

In the job description, it listed one of the qualifications as "Ability to handle bags and containers of mail weighing up to 22.7 kilograms (50 lbs)." Now I know I can lift 50-lb bags, e.g. I can carry two big bags of rice (18kg each) from the car into my house. But that was only lifting from the car trunk and I only had to do it once, not repeatedly doing it over and over again.

[CSR]

awesome thread.

[daye1212]

I was "benched" (waiting at home without pay to get called in for work) for a little over 5 weeks before getting called in. You get called on the Thursday or Friday for the following Monday, generally.

It may have just been bad luck, because the class before me went straight out after training. Once people started going on holidays I got called in.

Training covers lots of stuff. General post office stuff, practice sorting mail, how to organize the mail, where it's ok/not ok to leave mail or parcels, a week of on-street training with other letter carriers, preventing dog bites (had a dog follow me down 2-3 houses down the street this week before leaving me alone), mail redirect cards, holds on mail, what to do with undeliverable mail, and the list goes on. Basically everything you need to know.

Big emphasis on getting your sortation speed up. I'm still not up to "normal" speed. Give me 6 months to a year. lol. They give you lots of time for the sortation test in training, though. 10 minutes for 120 pieces of mail.

Thank you so much!!

Do you currently work at night? How many hours?

What do the letter carriers do at night? sorting mail?

[Bleys007]

Thank you so much!!

Do you currently work at night? How many hours?

What do the letter carriers do at night? sorting mail?

Letter carriers don't work night, just plant workers.

[rebel400d]

If you get called in, there's a General Aptitude Test. It's broken up into I believe 5 different sections where they test things like basic math skills, reading comprehension, memory, comparing 2 addresses, and number sequences. You need to get a minimum score on each of the sections to continue on.

Then there's an interview for the position you're going for. Standard interview questions, situational questions (i.e. you have a customer who's upset his pension cheque hasn't arrived yet, how do you handle it?), you give them reference letters.

After that is a vision and driving test. Letter carriers do a road test in a van, couriers I believe take a stepvan. If all goes well, you go in and do paperwork in a few days and start training.

Hi Bleys007,

How long did it take you to finish this process? Is this whole thing spread over a period of days or weeks? Appreciate your reply. This thread is very informative.

[Anessa]

Those combined mailboxes in newer areas must be a godsend for you carriers. Are there any discounts on shipping for being a Canada Post employee?

[HighFlyer]

Are there any discounts on shipping for being a Canada Post employee?

Nope.

[Bleys007]

Hi Bleys007,

How long did it take you to finish this process? Is this whole thing spread over a period of days or weeks? Appreciate your reply. This thread is very informative.

It took me almost six months from start to finish. Had they been accepting electronic prints for a certified criminal record check at the time, it would have been much shorter.

Unfortunately, when I applied they were only accepting the traditional ink prints, which took over 4 months for the RCMP to process. The electronic prints supposedly take about 3 weeks for Canada Post.

Don't know what the average wait time is, can only speak to my own experiences.

[Bleys007]

Those combined mailboxes in newer areas must be a godsend for you carriers. Are there any discounts on shipping for being a Canada Post employee?

No discounts for us

The community mailboxes are physically easier for letter carriers, however they cut down on the number of jobs by a lot. Yes, you have a vehicle to drive to the boxes, but there are fewer routes to pick from, and ultimately fewer Letter Carriers.

[netriones]

Hi,

1. I am considering applying for a job at sortation plant or as mail carrier. Or does a person do both?

2. If I don't have a vehicle and don't have driver license, can I apply for letter carrier? ie. Deliver the mail replying only walking. I heard my friend say the sorted mails are in the white box on the street and one just walks to the white box and pick up the mail and deliver it to each house?


3. Do they think a person's education is overqualified and won't hire a person? I have a bachelor of engineering degree.

[Bleys007]

Hi,

1. I am considering applying for a job at sortation plant or as mail carrier. Or does a person do both?

2. If I don't have a vehicle and don't have driver license, can I apply for letter carrier? ie. Deliver the mail replying only walking. I heard my friend say the sorted mails are in the white box on the street and one just walks to the white box and pick up the mail and deliver it to each house?


3. Do they think a person's education is overqualified and won't hire a person? I have a bachelor of engineering degree.

Nope, one or the other.

You don't need a vehicle, but you will need a driver's license.

Nope, feel free to apply.