Who is looking forward to Christmas then?

Anonymous100 · Post by **Anonymous100** » 02 Sep 2018, 19:51

Hello!

So this Christmas is going to be my second Christmas at Royal Mail.
Last year we never really had any sort of Christmas plan so it was an absolute shambles and very stressful.

They were sending drivers out at 630am with a York of packets, and then we would get back about 8am and then have a meal relief, sometimes your frame got prepped sometimes it didn’t haha!
I personally hated this because it meant at 7am I was told I had to start knocking on doors to deliver, which in some places is okay because they are getting ready for work but a few times I thought these blokes were gonna cave my head in!

So after a while if there was any porches I would just leave them in there and post a card because I didn’t have the heart to wake people up if I didn’t see any lights on, I just think personally it’s wrong and too early to be delivering.

What usually happens at your delivery office at Christmas?

MinTee · Post by **MinTee** » 02 Sep 2018, 20:07

Managers usually willfully delay mail and especially parcels for days on end.

We have drivers go out and do packets. Some do it as their shift or 15 parcels for 1 hour OT. Problem is it gets cherry picked by managers favourites. I did overtime 1 day and was getting 10 parcels done every hour. Do not let management load up your van, they shoved 130 parcels in a Vauxhall combo and expected me to clear it all. Got to 5.30pm and I brought 75 parcels back and told them to shove the OT up their arse.

It becomes a very unfair, demanding and downright disgusting place in my DO.

Sir Henry · Post by **Sir Henry** » 02 Sep 2018, 20:26

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6LTq1CAoi7E" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

"During Xmas pressure I'll hide under some coats and hope that somehow everything will work out"

Thousands of Xmas temps hired for mail centres, not one extra postie for delivery. Who the f**k thought THAT was the way forward?. Cut offs and overtime galore, cold weather. dark nights, early starts and late finishes. Ill tempered queues out of the callers office for parcels that are mostly trackable but still they're never home to receive them.

The only good thing is that since the threat of strike action a few years back Joe Public have learned to shop early for Xmas.
But even though we start getting hammered with packets in October, RM only count Xmas pressure as starting in December.
"It's been a quiet Xmas this year" Yeah the Avalanche tails off towards the 25th but we've been dealing with it longer and earlier.

Who's d.o. has a Xmas raffle for Xmas week off?

Post by **rambo1** » 02 Sep 2018, 20:47

Anonymous100 wrote:Hello!

So this Christmas is going to be my second Christmas at Royal Mail.
Last year we never really had any sort of Christmas plan so it was an absolute shambles and very stressful.

They were sending drivers out at 630am with a York of packets, and then we would get back about 8am and then have a meal relief, sometimes your frame got prepped sometimes it didn’t haha!
I personally hated this because it meant at 7am I was told I had to start knocking on doors to deliver, which in some places is okay because they are getting ready for work but a few times I thought these blokes were gonna cave my head in!

So after a while if there was any porches I would just leave them in there and post a card because I didn’t have the heart to wake people up if I didn’t see any lights on, I just think personally it’s wrong and too early to be delivering.

What usually happens at your delivery office at Christmas?

Back in the day we were delivering at that time anyway. Obviously, we didn't have packets back then , but we did have 80% more mail lol

Post by **hothothot** » 02 Sep 2018, 21:19

My old office every Christmas was and is all ways an absolute bloody
shambles. The management don't plan they even admit they play it adhock on a daily basis. I just worked my allocated hours . The parcels used to back log daily. The office couldn't cope with the amount of parcels and packets. Lots of them used to hang around for 3 or 4 days. Extra vans your having a laugh. Last year they even hired 2 cars for delivery. My god I'm glad I've retired no more Christmases for me. Good luck everyone.

cpsteve · Post by **cpsteve** » 02 Sep 2018, 22:07

The jobs the same with more packets, you do not have to go over if you do not want to. As we will be starting later i might take the easy early sorting money. Not looking forward to the cold wet weather.

Post by **SpacePhoenix** » 02 Sep 2018, 23:26

Sir Henry wrote:Thousands of Xmas temps hired for mail centres, not one extra postie for delivery. Who the f**k thought THAT was the way forward?.

Trouble is without them to help, warehouses would quickly become full with arctics not having any warehouse space to unload into. It's not unusual anytime of the year now for us to be outnumbered by casuals.

For MCs where the work comes in later as a result of Network 18, unless they revert the changes to Network 18 for Xmas pressure, it's a disaster in the making. Much of the mech mail will end up going manual as there won't be a chance in hell of sequencing it all

Creditshampoo · Post by **Creditshampoo** » 03 Sep 2018, 09:52

With 300 hours taken out of my office due to the shorter working week I’m looking forward to it

Post by **Judgee** » 03 Sep 2018, 11:20

Always seems to be a shambles now. Wasn't bad when Christmas agreements were in place and most people cleared every day no matter how high the traffic volumes.

Mind you I do think all this black Friday crap that's been adopted from America has eased the pressure in December. Many people now load up on Xmas pressies in November! Seems slightly better having a bit more madness in November and spreading the pain a slightly longer time frame?

k979aaa · Post by **k979aaa** » 03 Sep 2018, 11:47

Anonymous100 wrote:Hello!

So this Christmas is going to be my second Christmas at Royal Mail.
Last year we never really had any sort of Christmas plan so it was an absolute shambles and very stressful.

They were sending drivers out at 630am with a York of packets, and then we would get back about 8am and then have a meal relief, sometimes your frame got prepped sometimes it didn’t haha!
I personally hated this because it meant at 7am I was told I had to start knocking on doors to deliver, which in some places is okay because they are getting ready for work but a few times I thought these blokes were gonna cave my head in!

So after a while if there was any porches I would just leave them in there and post a card because I didn’t have the heart to wake people up if I didn’t see any lights on, I just think personally it’s wrong and too early to be delivering.

What usually happens at your delivery office at Christmas?

If they cave your head in you would be off on the sick but before that these ungrateful twats should think before ordering their crap I have no compunction banging down their door at 7.00 AM but I am a packet driver always was still am!

Post by **britwrit** » 03 Sep 2018, 13:37

Sir Henry wrote:Thousands of Xmas temps hired for mail centres

Say what you want about MC managers but they've sure learned the lesson of Use It or Lose It when it comes to overtime budgets.

Post by **CPTNemoUK** » 03 Sep 2018, 14:07

I'm looking forward to it this year. I'm telling them to do one when they trying making me up to full time (don't need the money) and won't be going over one minute this year. My goodwill has gone. I'm having a stress free Christmas.

k979aaa · Post by **k979aaa** » 03 Sep 2018, 14:14

CPTNemoUK wrote:I'm looking forward to it this year. I'm telling them to do one when they trying making me up to full time (don't need the money) and won't be going over one minute this year. My goodwill has gone. I'm having a stress free Christmas.

And who said scrooge was dead. Not mocking you doing the same.

crimson king · Post by **crimson king** » 03 Sep 2018, 17:06

k979aaa wrote:
CPTNemoUK wrote:I'm looking forward to it this year. I'm telling them to do one when they trying making me up to full time (don't need the money) and won't be going over one minute this year. My goodwill has gone. I'm having a stress free Christmas.
And who said scrooge was dead. Not mocking you doing the same.

And me! Just over a year in, second d Xmas looming and they've pretty much lost any remaining goodwill I had these past few weeks.

Hated last Xmas. In early to do packets, going over and finishing in dark and still questions from the DOM about overtime booked etc. Result? One grumpy tired Dad on the big day who fell asleep on the sofa after dinner and a couple of drinks cos I was so I knackered. Not this year, matey!

JKSmudge · Post by **JKSmudge** » 03 Sep 2018, 17:19

The stress has started for me today, been on holiday - found loads of stuff had not been taken out for a few days plus got a newbie buddy ( because they are training walks apparently ), loads of prep waiting for me at 830 including all packets & parcels. Newbie turns up after 9am. He'd only ever bundled up once before... we got out at 1040 !, bought most of an entire walk back. May or may not have same person tomorrow. Will be like this until mid-November when they will give me yet another newbie who will stay on walk for Xmas/ New year. Oh and tomorrow we will have lapsing in an area about 4 miles from our walks

I usually put name down for Prep for the 5-6 weeks up to xmas, considering volunteering for the 1-9pm shift doing parcels ( though we are told it's 20 per hour expected ).