It was a normal day and a cold start to the day for senior Marcus Sandroni when he had to get up to leave the house for his job at UPS. After his dad picked him up in the delivery truck, they would start working through the winter running packages from the truck to the porches of the recipients, repeating whenever they had to during their sometimes extremely cold shifts.
Throughout the winter break, Sandroni also helped at the delivery center as a seasonal worker from Black Friday through January 12.
“That time is when everyone is trying to order Christmas gifts and everything from Black Friday. Also we handle the returns of unwanted gifts,” Sandroni said. “I was pretty much Santa because I was the last one to touch the boxes and bring them to the houses.”
Sandroni used his experience as a runner to his advantage while delivering packages.
“My dad, who is the delivery guy for the Grayslake area, usually has around 165 stops, and some may say that it’s not a lot of stops, but it really is. To stop, get out, go to the door, and then go to the next stop is a lot,” Sandroni said.
Sandroni and his dad made 499 stops in a single day.
“The view of the truck is crazy. Seeing that many packages is insane. They are just bricks loaded floor to ceiling. You can’t even get back there,” Sandroni said.
Long work days come with the delievery job. Sandroni works between nine and thirteen hours a day, up to six days a week.
“My dad and I made a goal that we wanted to see 60 hours. We made it happen. We were definitely tired and exhausted, but it was worth it,” Sandroni said.