Viewing Thread:
"Royal Snail"

Many many years ago, there was a time when our post was delivered on time. First class post was delivered by next day and second class the day after. It was delivered nice and early so that you had the time to see if any of it was important before heading off to school or work. If there was anything too big to fit through the door, the postman would knock or ring and hand over the parcel with a smile. I bet you're thinking, “Yeah right and they also each had their own black and white cat and delivered eggs and bacon?” Well that's how I remember the postal service when I was a little kid.

Now however, the Royal Mail are in a right state, especially since they were privatised a few years ago. In a local paper today there was an article on how certain areas are now part of a ‘reform' where mail will be delivered by around lunchtime however if you live in one of these areas you can arrange to collect your mail yourself at an earlier time. I wouldn't be surprised if this kind of thing is happening throughout the country. The cheek of it is, not only has this radical change been forced upon us, we were supposedly notified about the change ages ago. Funny, the first time I know about it is when I read my paper!

So what are we really paying for then in a postal service? Well way back when mail was delivered at a reasonable time, I remember First Class stamps, the ones that used to be in red ink, costing 19p. They now cost a minimum of 28p, and mail is lucky to be delivered within two days, and even then they're not delivered until midday . Second class stamps now cost a minimum of 21p. But why risk that when it could be months and months before it even turns up!

The Royal Mail service is a laugh. For guaranteed delivery by mid day the next day, you have to pay extra. But why should you when you're paying for a 1 st class service anyway? It's ridiculous! You wouldn't pay for first class seats on a plane only to find that you have to share your seat with Shrek and Fiona Ogre with the complimentary drinks being old and warm. So why should we receive a third world service for our first class mail?

This doesn't just inconvenience residential customers however. Businesses employ people to sort through the post and with this new reform in the service, businesses are losing lots of money on their staff who can do nothing but twiddle their thumbs until postie decides to turn up. One company in my local paper stated they lose £30,000 a week now thanks to Royal Mail.

Now I know I'm gonna have to wait until lunchtime on Friday for my two GBA games and Spider-man 2 for Xbox from SR and it's all because of Royal Snail.

Note: Originally posted on www.lorl.co.uk by myself

I think one of those nifty little trolleys would solve all your problems.

Also, other people have jobs and if you want to deliver packages late (after you've had a confirmed time), screw you if they aren't in. People have to make time to collect the parcels, it's not like there's an underground order that's making people miss you.

Goatboy wrote:
> Because most people wouldn't want to get up at 3:30am
-------

*looks at clock*
...damn

No wonder I sleep in the afternoon

Cyclone wrote:
> Ah, but what of when it rains?
--------

So you get wet a little, it doesn't kill you.
When it's freezing in winter, you're pounding down the street so you get real warm real quick.
And when we had that blizzard at the start of the year, the snow was fun as hell to walk in.

It's just nice being out before a lot of people are awake.
The streets are silent, it's just you and your thoughts.

Edgy wrote:
> If Royal Mail are having staffing problems, then maybe they should
> change their staff for people who are willing to do the job.
----------

You didn't read my post.
They are, at the instruction of top board level, phasing out regular workers and replacing them with temps because they save a lot in the long run.
It's not a case of "change their staff for people who are willing to do the job", they want people that have no legal standpoint.
Hence a crappy service in your neck of the woods, but Harlow/Stortford are damn good and the posties do care.
Morale isn't low in those two offices.
Posties, for the most part, enjoy what they do and are a happy bunch. You'll always get those whiny miserable insects that moan moan moan but never leave, but I'd say 95% of Harlow & Stortford are some of the best people I've worked with since I started full-time employment at 18.

But most people read the papers or watch a Despatches about crooked temps from Nigeria running scams and tar us all with the same brush.
And that's wrong.
Because most people wouldn't want to get up at 3:30am and do something they consider "menial", they'd rather sit at a computer and produce nothing of real consequence.
And I'm not knocking that, I'm saying from my own personal experience, I enjoy the fact I'm doing something material, I am producing a service that is essential and not just number crunching or marketing a product I don't care about.

An honest day's work.

Goatboy wrote:
> ... at least I'm not stuck at a desk posting thousands of messages a week here anymore.

:,^(

Ah, but what of when it rains?

lalakersrule wrote:
> First they had me over on the handstamping tables for a few weeks
> seeing as i was part of the new lot of part timers and well you have
> to start at the bottom.

> Then when i properly started nights i was put over on the debanding
> section, just me sitting there for 6 hours taking bands off letters
> and putting them on a trolley until i run out, go down the floor,
> sort the bundles out into 4 sections until my trolley was full then
> take it back up to my section and deband all over again.
---------

No offence, but no wonder you hated it if they stuck you doing 'tard work.
The first day I started?
"Walk 13"
"Eh?"
"You're doing walk 13"
"...ok but I haven't a clue what I'm doing"
"That's ok, John'll show you"
He showed me how to throw the walk up onto the racks, how to bundle in the right order and then I was bundled into a van and rolled out at the start of walk 13 - 380 drops. On my first day.
Took all bloody morning and I ached like you wouldn't believe.

I don't know why anybody thinks morale is low, it's one of the best jobs I've had. There are no mid-management assfaces lurking making sure you complete a task by a deadline, no "I'm going for lunch now" and making sure you take your allocated hour.
Even though it's 5am, people are singing along to the radio, cracking jokes and thoroughly enjoying themselves. Crap temps don't last at Harlow or Stortford, and I've earned the reputation as "a good bloke", which is why I get sent to rurals now and then, because they know I'll take each and every item on my rack.

And these past 3 weeks have ruled all.
I'm out the depot by 8am. Then it's just me wandering along in the sun, nobody telling me what to do or watching over your shoulder etc.
Just a stroll in the sun with no pressure or hassles.
I'm fitter than you'd believe, walking an average 5-6 miles per morning with heavy-ass bags. Suntanned to a healthy bronze and usually back home by 11am with my entire day free whilst others I know are staring at the clock wondering if they can sneak a second fag break without being caught.

Post Office (providing your actually doing a walk instead of doing Joeyjobs like debanding) is ideal if you loathe those mid-management supervisors, detest the idea of being a deskjockey staring at your VDU and considering perusing B3TA for the umpteenth time that morning, are bored with listening to colleagues talking about soap operas or Big Brother and any other number of office-based irritants.
People are friendly and always say morning/hello, once you know your regulars they chat to you about life and you're your own boss.

I work damn hard, deliver by mid-day and love the fact that it's just me wandering around in the sunshine and getting home by lunchtime.
Sure it's physically tough with the weight of the bags and having to trudge a few hundred houses but hey, at least I'm not stuck at a desk posting thousands of messages a week here anymore.

Sure they'll just take an age to get to you :-D

lalakersrule wrote:
> Got me about 200 stamps. Stealing from work rules :-D

If you get re-employed can i get 50?

First class.

Got me about 200 stamps. Stealing from work rules :-D