Xmas the usual disasters!!!

[2791dean]

I've worked for Royal Mail for 15+ years now (8 of them as a collections driver) and every Xmas it's the same old story, lack of preperation! 2 weeks before Xmas the s**t inevitabley hits the fan and we never seem prepared, lack of relief collections, lack of yorks, lack of bags, lack of staff etc etc etc why have Royal Mail never learned for so long on stuff like this!!!!

Steve

[Budfrog]

Every region has a team of special events planners whose responsibility it is to ensure that everything is in place based on robust forecasting of daily Christmas traffic volumes and workload. Like just about everything else that RM plans these teams don't learn from previous years and in many cases they don't start the planning process early enough ... coupled with a philosophy where corners are cut and resources trimmed at every opportunity it's inevitable that there will be failures.

[2791dean]

Last year they put red dot collection on my run.......................day before xmas eve!!! pointless!!

Steve

[Postman51]

Got to agree callers offices shoul be open late from last week so many 739s parcels running out of space .suggest get real Christmas planners in not same again next year .havent got clue on the work floor

[centenaryman]

we always say year after year that xmas always sneaks up on our bosses and catches em un awares

[steven100]

You'll find the planners really aren't up to the job, just like RM management. Everything which is wrong with RM continues and soon **** hits the fan. This year i fully expect a failure in my office. Unless the runners work 24/7.

[DGP1]

We've run out of P739s but they did give me (and 1/2 the office) a york for their returns which they didn't to do..........if they'd used the ones with shelves

[chuzzwuzzer]

We havn't got enough vans for xmas pressure duties.Wont spend out on hire vans till they are in the s**t

[ebbzie]

Last year they put red dot collection on my run.......................day before xmas eve!!! pointless!!

Steve

why dont you change your user name then you wouldnt have to end every post with "steve"

[fb1969]

We've run out of P739s

So have we, for the second time in three weeks!! A couple of weeks ago we ran out of elastic bands - they got some in from another office, and most of them snap when going round an average sized bundle. Ho hum!

[postypie]

Our callers office was bursting at the seams five weeks ago..necessitating in large numbers of packets being moved to the canteen...p739 items posted back to us taking around 3 to 8 days to get back to our offices...posties failing to add bar codes/item numbers on p739's for both international and recorded items doesn't help...thus making it impossible to track and trace..just chaotic as usual...we have several managers in 'charge'...all know we are short staffed in box counter...none ever come into help..just preferring to stay in their own offices and not face customers who come down expecting their packets/letters to be here,but aren't..haven't seen any Xmas spirit yet..just lots of folk pissed off and managers appearing to bury their heads in the snow..sorry sand...it's Xmas time....

[eastie]

We've run out of P739s but they did give me (and 1/2 the office) a york for their returns which they didn't to do..........if they'd used the ones with shelves

They gave us the Christmassy blue 739's docket cards last year and rationed us to 20 each

[eastie]

We havn't got enough vans for xmas pressure duties.Wont spend out on hire vans till they are in the s**t

The DOM said they couldnt because of the budget

[Toby Tyke]

Our office is sinking fast.
Packets building up, staff leaving everything that won't fit in the bags(not got time to deliver everthing)
Managers expecting staff to work over everyday to try and keep up.
No spare vans even if you want to work your day off.
Won't be long before they are pleading with us to come in on Sunday and "help us out"
Will they never learn

[2791dean]

Sounds like it's just a disaster everywhere!!! managers who fail at there office because of there actions should be forced back to the floor so they can actually see the crap we have to cope with over the xmas period on all aspects of the job from delivery to driving to distribution it all gets f****d up this time of year because of lack of preperation and forsight, by the time they get round to acting on it the s**t hit the fan that hard that it's hard to recover for most offices, it doesn't help that most managers I've heard of don't like paying overtime (probably due to there bugets and there bonus at the end of the year!!!) the only way forward is to work to rule because doing it off your own back is playing into there hands, I put in 5 hours over time last year over a 1 week period that the manager never paid me so as of then I vowed I'd work to my time and no more, if it doesn't fit in with my hours it's not my problem and I'm not willing to work for free anymore to pull the business out of the s**t as it's never appreciated, DOM's are royal mail employee's and at this time of year "as directed" should come into there work ethis aswell, they should be made to pitch in, I know of several DOM's who pitch in and help out but I know a lot more DOM's just sit in there office and just let things slide!!