MAUMEE, Ohio — Mail carriers don't get the option of having a snow day, so WTOL 11 crews followed them around on the job to learn how they can still deliver our mail.
The mail carriers in Maumee who we followed told us that their customers are what make it worth walking through piles of snows on days like Friday.
While this week's winter storm put a lot of businesses on pause, the U.S. Postal Service isn't one of them.
"It's not too bad," said mail carrier Travis Keener. "You just get into your groove and you can get right through there to make your paths. I have a lot of customers that will snow plow, put some salt down for some safety reason."
Keener and Brandon Hotaling both are veteran postal carriers. They agree that the worst part of the job is working in the blistering cold when there is a lot of snow on the ground.
"You're just out in the open for hours on end and it's very hard to stay warm and keep warm," Hotaling said. "So, being prepared and dressing in layers and wearing boots and wearing grippers so you're not sliding on ice is very, very important. We definitely take safety as our priority as well."
But he said the people he serves every day are what makes the job worth it.
In many nighborhoods residents will create a path for postal workers so they can take short cuts through the snow. Residents also keep an eye on mail carriers when it's this cold and many people put down salt for them.
Keener said some customers even take it a step further.
"You know, people look out for me. They leave me hot coffee or hot cocoa - stuff like that. Little snacks if I need."
Mail carriers don't get a day off the job and when the public takes notice of the work they do, both Hotaling and Keener tell me it makes a world's difference.
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