California postal worker shares holiday delivery experiences
By Tom Lopez
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SALINAS, California (KSBW) — Salinas, city letter carrier Laith Abboud shares his experiences of delivering mail during the holiday season, highlighting both the challenges and rewards of the job.
“My name is Laith Abboud. I’m a city letter carrier, and here in Salinas, California, and this is my second year for my second Christmas,” Abboud said. “So this is what I was talking about earlier. Just filling the small trucks all the way to the brim basically, this time of the year.”
Abboud explained the challenges of organizing the large volume of mail and parcels during the holidays, noting that the trucks are filled.
“We basically get all your mail ready, all your parcels, and you have a lot of parcels. It can be difficult to try and organize everything properly in the vehicle. You know, it’s stacked up this high, and you’re trying to keep it all organized. So you can get through it,” he said.
He emphasized the importance of efficiency, saying, “Usually I try to leave, get out here as quickly as possible because, you know, the quicker you’re out of here, the quicker you can finish.”
Abboud described the difference in volume during the holidays, with many people receiving Christmas gifts.
“Little packages are pretty easy for a mailman. You know, we have a satchel. We can throw those tiny packages in our satchel. Came around, deliver into your mailbox the holidays. The big difference is the volume. You know, people are getting all this Christmas gifts, stuff like that. And then you get into the holidays, and then it’s just you’re inundated with packages,” he said.
Despite the challenges, Abboud finds joy in the job, especially when customers show appreciation.
“I have a customer. My route. She makes homemade cookies, and she leaves them for me. So that’s always that’s always a nice treat,” he said.
He also noted the positive interactions with people on his route.
“People are always happy, you know, they’re always excited to see us. You know, grandma, grandmothers getting cards from their grandchildren or vice versa. It’s it’s just they’re always happy to see you,” Abboud said.
The satisfaction of completing a day’s work is a highlight for Abboud.
“And then when you finally get to the end of the day, you deliver. That last package is very, very satisfying. You know, you look in the back of your truck, it’s empty. Mails are done, mails done, being delivered, packages are done, you know, and you feel good. You feel accomplished,” he said.
Reflecting on his job, Abboud expressed gratitude for the positive experiences.
“I’ve had other jobs, you know, where people are excited to see you. They’re not happy to see you. But here, people love to see you. They they’re excited to see their mailman, you know? Yeah. It’s I’ve never had a really bad moment, but I’m, I’m blessed. I guess. Yeah,” he said.
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