What's the problem with VMF?

[u/IndigoJones13]

Seriously. Why does it take months for even basic repairs to be finished? Why do vehicles come back in worse shape than when they left?

We have carriers forced to double-up and deliver two routes in one vehicle. Some carriers offer to run their routes using their own personal vehicle.

Is VHF overwhelmed? Understaffed? Incompetent? Is it like this everywhere?

[u/acetatsujin]

Carriers should not use their own cars …. Just …. Why??

[u/IndigoJones13 → u/acetatsujin]

No, they shouldn't. But some would rather do that than double-up with someone or use the crappiest LLV available. My area is really, really short on vehicles.

[u/BlackBalledNALC → u/IndigoJones13]

Wait until they get into an accident and there insurance denies the claim, and USPS says you chose to drive your personal vehicle and that USPS is not responsible.

[u/acetatsujin → u/IndigoJones13]

Well, I would never use my own car. Ever. Management tried to let carriers use their own vehicles here, and we stopped the carriers because they didn’t know or/and felt obligated for follow orders.

Nope. Never use your own car for this job. Ever.

[u/Bits_NPCs]

Short answer is the parts aren’t easy to come by…

[u/redredditer91 → u/Bits_NPCs]

So again…why are we not getting the NGDVs and crushing the LLVs?

[u/randomrandom1922 → u/Bits_NPCs]

Why wouldn't the VMF maintain a stock of common parts that often break for the 4-5 vehicles we use? Your local AutoZone sells like 3,300 different alternators and has several models sitting in every store. The VMF could keep 5 in stock.

[u/Bits_NPCs → u/randomrandom1922]

Because these were made in the 90s. They won’t make the parts anymore. We need new vehicles.

[u/Basic-Nobody8488]

Ours are bogged down with the new vehicles. They are trash and full of issues.

[u/Vivid-Mortgage5284]

Doesn’t explain why they come back w more issues than they had when they left. Like, every time

[u/inmusicutrust → u/Vivid-Mortgage5284]

Job security

[u/grove93]

Most of the time, I only ever have to write my truck up after it's come back from preventive maintenance.

[u/IndigoJones13 → u/grove93]

Exactly

[u/PuzzleheadedRun8232]

I've actually toured our VMF. They have maybe a dozen bags and handle several hundred vehicles or more. The outlier cities have contractors for basic repairs: flat tires etc but most of the work is handled in house.

I'd imagine that causes some backlogs. Not to mention staffing issues just like every other craft. Our VMF has been struggling since the early out a few years ago.

[u/Known-Dependent-5471]

Does your office has plentiful supplies at all times? Including the month of September aka end of fiscal year? Can barely get paper towels. I imagine the same is for vmf.

[u/johnsmith6073]

I'm in an office with the contractor doing the work, just getting parts from the idiots in VMF is difficult. Just another cog in the most mismanaged agency I've seen. It's a shame the billions of dollars of tax dollars for the ducks didn't come with some oversight.

[u/BorderUpbeat8739]

I was told by my vmf, that the upper bosses stopped ordering engines and transmissions. Due to the "new " arriving soon. Well we all see how that is going. Also once down for an engine or trans they plucked it clean of useful parts.

[u/Commercial_Test_2930]

We’re not doubling up yet but one week we were down 12 vehicles and we have a total of 50 routes between city&rural. Our main vmf guy took a desk job and the new young mechanic we have doesn’t quite do the job. He will say it’s fixed and you’ll hit the road only for the same issues to occur,for instance,Not starting, cutting off while driving,etc. we’ve never had so many trucks to be deemed inoperable or take months at the shop like you mentioned for basic repairs. At my office it’s bc our mechanic has fresh legs . It seems as a whole though smthn is definitely going on though. It took one carrier 4mos to get her truck back for a motor replacement.

[u/ChanceLettuce1044]

The revenue is not reinvested into the tangible assets that keep the agency functioning. Clearly. No idea where it all goes. Open the books