Royal Mail Strike - Quick Question?

[Jebus]

For example all you people backslapping your postman for leaving parcels in rabbit hutches and such things, and/or letting your neighbours sign for a recorded delivery are actually applauding slackness.

You wont be so happy when something goes missing (and it will) and neither will your posty who is doing the exact opposite of what he has been trained to do.

Misdeliveries are common place, I suspect in Chris's case, some nab of a postman has been getting towards the end of his time, and thought fk this i'm off back to the office - Here take this lot Mr Field.

I wouldn't say "slackness" is the right word. Most posties (most) do it to help the customer AND themselves out. When you start a delivery nowadays, you are overloaded, you bank on the first few people being in to recieve packets because you simply have nowhere to put them by the time you reach your second bag, which has more packets in it!

You are totally correct though, and officially the rule is still that if you "doorstep" any item, it can lead to dismissal. We've had occasions where we've left parcelts and had the binmen take it with the rubbish! Equally though, we've had people come in with parcels complaining it was left on their doorstep and doesn't belong to them, only for us to point out that the item has nothing to do with Royal Mail, and is in fact a courier company such as DHL, TNT etc.

I can't say that there aren't posties that do what you've said, and just say "f*ck it" but I can say they are the minority. I live in an area FULL of grannies and they complain at everything, we don't get too many complaints about misdeliveries, mostly about the fact you can't pick up parcels the same day that they've recieved a card (Sorry you were out). If they do shove it all through to get back to the office, I can asure you that (most of the time) they are doing so because if they get back late, they get threatened by the manager for doing so. Bullying and harrassment is so high in royal mail at the moment, mostly from managers. I've literally seen managers purposefully drop their guts in people's direction, smirk at them when they ask for help, laugh at their problems. Derogatory nicknames, repeated by the managers etc.

One final point, despite it still being officially against the rules, I've heard numerous coaches say "Look, it's against the rules, but if it's safe, then we all do it. You are on your own if you decide to do that..." etc, and I'm gonna be honest, everyone does it. Not out of laziness, out of neccecity. We don't have the equipment to handle the sheer volume of mail we get nowadays, especially parcels and packets, which are our largest growth market and have gone through the roof in recent years. We simply don't have the equipment to handle them any more, like I say, you absolutely bank on the first 2/3 customers being in (which is another reason we posties want to get out earlier, to make sure we catch the first few!) or you are screwed.

Don't get me wrong though, I've followed a posty and found a parcel on a doorstep, soaking wet from the day before, he didn't realise they were on holiday...that's why you only do it to people you know approve of it, and you know haven't gone away somewhere for the week or weekend.

I'm a big fan of common sense, sadly, like in many trades, some people don't use that tool.

[Brats]

I still don't believe it's a training issue at all. What you've described is just basic common sense. Next you're going to tell me that someone who pissed themselves didn't get training on how to go to the toilet.

Seriously if you need to train people to check that the final bunch of letters are not all for the same house, I think we should just launch all the nukes we have at ourselves. Let another species have a go because we're clearly f*cked.

Maybe the Post office should use this as part of their recruitment programme. After the interview, let everyone perform a dummy run and see if they stuff the last few letters through the same door. If they do, they don't get the job.

Even better they get ejected into space.

[Jebus]

You've never heard of potty training then I take it Brats?

If it's a quiet day, it could be safe to assume that the final few letters are for one house. ASSUME. That's why we TRAIN people to CHECK. Once again, I don't think you understand the process at all. It could be that *normally* that bundle ends at 21 and the next one carries on, but that day, someone else has prepped and pouched it for him that day and bagged it how *they* want to, which isn't how the guy has been shown to do the round, therefore he ASSUMES it's as normal, because he's not been trained to check EVERY letter.

Do you realise quite how many stupid people there are out there? I'm baffled here Brats, you're a person who trains for a living, have you never encountered someone where you constantly wanted to facepalm? Isn't that what training is there for, to...train people for every eventuality, no matter how mind-numbingly boring it is, so they have every tool possible to do their job properly and efficiently?

[Jebus]

doublage!

[Brats]

I've had to work with loads of imbeciles and people with no common sense. What I know for a fact is that you cannot train people not to be idiots. Seriously, some people should not be in certain jobs and even if you trained them for a million years, they'd still be **** at it.

I appreciate some people do assume, but that's just an example of poor common sense. Even if you trained them, there's a strong chance they will still assume. If it's in their nature to be careless, then training won't help. Training is not the answer to the world's ills, although some managers think it is: "this person f*cked up, send them on a training course and all will be well". Except if the problem is the person, it never is.

Training isn't there to train people about every tiny little thing. It it was, it would take more than a lifetime for people to become brain surgeons or airline pilots. You concentrate on the fundamental areas that the majority of people would need extra knowledge or skills in. besides if you train them on everything, they get resentful or bored and ignore the stuff they do need to learn. Training is a skill in it's own right and there are few who can do it well.

In my profession we don't train people how to use a calculator even though it's a fundamental part of the job. We also don't train anyone not to embezzle the client's money and run off to Rio. There's some things that are accepted as general knowledge and common sense.

[Jebus]

But do you train them on the potty?

[Brats]

Some of them drive me potty. There are certain people you train and you think to yourself 'These people are crap. They'll be here for three months, maximum. That other person, five months, no more'.

I'm usually right within a few weeks.

[Jebus]

The last person I trained made me want to hurt him. Normally I'm patient, but my God...he made my brain ache. I find that within a few days of training, you know if they will make the grade.

[prinnysquad]

For example all you people backslapping your postman for leaving parcels in rabbit hutches and such things, and/or letting your neighbours sign for a recorded delivery are actually applauding slackness.

You wont be so happy when something goes missing (and it will) and neither will your posty who is doing the exact opposite of what he has been trained to do.

No. I backslap my postman for doing what I asked him to do. It's not like he's all reckless and does things how he likes. If it goes tits up then I take it on the chin. It's my problem, lesson learnt.

I'm pleased that my postman went to the extra effort to provide me with a service, instead of following everything to the sickeningly bureaucratic letter.

[ChrisF]

Here take this lot Mr Field.

I should have... the one was jewelery according to the customs label on it Could have got me a right bobby dazzler.

[stevie vip 99]

Posties like me and jebus still care about the job and i can tell by the way he talks he's been a postie for a long time, since it's gone tits up the new staff don't really care (not all of them though).

I've been a postie for 19years now and i'd like to think i do a bloody good job

[Papercut]

When and why did it go tits up?

My experience has generally been good, except for one thieving postie who regularly nicked DVDs, which RM quite deliberately turned a blind eye to.

I know Kilburn had loads of problems though, thousands of packages stolen by staff, thousands of letters undelivered. Depends where you are.

[ChrisF]

I've been a postie for 19years now and i'd like to think i do a bloody good job

Being from Birmingham then you may know my dad! He worked for the Post Office for 35 years, worked his way from telegram boy right the way up, till he retired, although he was on the counters side of things for the latter part of his career.

Infact, my first computer came from an advert in The Courier

[stevie vip 99]

Being from Birmingham then you may know my dad! He worked for the Post Office for 35 years, worked his way from telegram boy right the way up, till he retired, although he was on the counters side of things for the latter part of his career.

Infact, my first computer came from an advert in The Courier

You never know lol, courier is a legend of a mag ha ha

[Dogg Thang]

I've said it before and been shouted down by the posties but I've always fancied the life of a postman. The routes, the walks. The routine of it all and the knowledge that when you go home that evening, you've done your job and it's a job well done.

Here in Ireland, we know little of customer service and many businesses and services are run half-assed. But I have, in my entire life, had nothing but great posties. Pleasant, efficient and people who go out of their way to be helpful. Like one local postman who, if I wasn't there to accept delivery of a package, would pop it in his car and pop in and give it to me on his way home from work rather than chuck it into the system for collection.

A whole different experience to courier companies who, for their prices you'd think you'd get great service. I trust my local post system far more.