My name is David Demanchick, and I’m an automotive technician at the USPS Vehicle Maintenance Facility in Rochester, NY. I help keep delivery vehicles moving.
My day starts at 6 a.m. After I punch in, I go to work on the “tags,” which is what we call a vehicle that breaks down. It might be a mail truck or a car that has a flat tire. We fix these first because they need to get back on the road for mail delivery.
After the tags are done, I start on regularly scheduled vehicle maintenance. I try to find problems before they become problems.
I work with 25 employees, and we service about 900 vehicles a year.
My shift ends at 2:30 p.m. I used to work the night shift, but my wife Rachel and I just had a baby boy — Landon, who is six months old. This shift works better for me and my family.
Before I joined USPS in 2012, I worked for an auto repair shop. I also served four years in the Navy, which I joined right out of high school. When my military career ended, I went to automotive repair school on the GI Bill. I’ve always had an interest in car repair.
I’m from a close Italian family, so when I’m not working, we’re off doing things. I like boating on Lake Ontario. I also like hunting deer.
The Postal Service is great. You get a pension, you get time off. The pay is good. There’s a good team environment. I have a bunch of friends at work.
Vehicle maintenance doesn’t get a lot attention. Nobody ever sees us. But without us servicing these trucks, the mail will never get to where it has to go. So I think this is an important job.
“On the Job,” a series on individual employees and their contributions to the Postal Service, appears regularly in Link.