Two Tampa Letter Carriers were recognized for going above and beyond for a Sulphur Springs family.
In a letter to Tampa Officer In Charge (OIC) Keith Pierle, customer Michael Gonzalez wanted to acknowledge the exceptional customer service exhibited for many years by Letter Carriers Steve Hall and Jorge Molina Jr.
Gonzales and his wife have an adult autistic son with an extreme obsessive-compulsive behavior issue associated with thinking that every time he sees a mail truck, he thinks there are packages and presents inside for him.
The parents never allowed their son to go outside by himself for safety reasons, which was easy to enforce when he was younger. But as he grew and was able to reach the lock on the door, he began to open the door and run out to the mail truck before the parents could catch him. Fortunately, he only behaves this way when he sees mail trucks.
According to the father, when this first started his son would try and climb inside the mail truck through the window. “Rather than becoming angry, Mr. Hall worked with us to have Michael stand next to the mailbox at the end of the driveway and wait to see if he received anything,” Gonzalez wrote.
Gonzales also praised Molina, who backfills for Hall. “Mr. Molina has been a great reinforcement because of the importance associated with autistic individuals receiving directions from people other than their primary caregivers,” he noted. “Our son also likes to high five or fist bump Mr. Molina, which Mr. Molina allows even though most individuals are understandably reluctant to high-five nowadays.”
Pierle recognized Hall and Molina with Letters of Appreciation in front of their co-workers at the Sulphur Springs Station.
“It makes me proud to work with individuals like Steve and Jorge, who take pride in their work, who go above and beyond in the performance of their duties and involve themselves in their community,” said Pierle.
Congratulations, Steve and Jorge! Thank you for making a difference.
