Letter Carrier Tech Totes Mail in a Grocery Cart

Stockton, CA, Letter Carrier Technician Carol Ortega.

Stockton, CA, Letter Carrier Technician Carol Ortega said she still had about two hours of mail to deliver when she called one day to report her LLV wouldn’t start.

The VMF couldn’t send a tow truck. And a towing vendor couldn’t say when he would be able to tow the LLV back to the Post Office.

Later that day, the tow truck arrived at the Post Office with Ortega in the front seat and the ailing LLV behind. Manager Harry Centeno asked Ortega how much mail she had brought with her, expecting her to reply that there were still two hours of delivery remaining.

Instead, Ortega told Centeno she found an old shopping cart stuck in the bushes and used it to deliver the remainder of her route. She had finished by the time the tow truck arrived.

“Ortega went above and beyond the call of duty, exemplifying extraordinary customer service,” said Centeno. “Her passion made the difference.”