RM staff take festive rush in their stride this Christmas

[TrueBlueTerrier]

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The Christmas rush is underway for hundreds of tireless Royal Mail workers lugging bags of packages across south Somerset and west Dorset.

Thursday was the official start of the festive period in the districts’ delivery offices as Christmas cards, internet orders and gifts start flooding the postal system.

ll annual leave is cancelled until after the 25th and extra vehicles are being brought in to ship the millions of extra items around.

The Dorset mail centre is anticipating a festive mailbag of 35 million pieces of post, and Bristol and Somerset’s centre is predicting 78 million packets and envelopes.

This has a knock-on effect at the local centres where staff work longer shifts to ensure no-one is disappointed come Christmas day.

Nick Ferguson, 36, is getting ready for his third Christmas on the rounds from the Yeovil delivery office in Huish.

From there mail is sent across the town and to 20 rural areas as far as South Cadbury, Halstock, Ilchester and East Chinnock.

Mr Ferguson said: “Put simply it means more stuff for us to carry. It’s a lot busier already. I start work at 7 in the morning to sort out my deliveries and just keep going until it is all delivered.”

Sharon Mooney, 43, describes Christmas as “a nightmare.”

She said: “The packets are especially bad as they take up so much room to carry.

“On an average day you each get between one and two bags of packets to take out but this time of year you can get five or six. It makes the round take longer too because you have to knock and wait for two minutes, then if no-one answers you have to fill out the form to leave behind. It can take up to four minutes per packet.

“It’s all internet shopping, especially from Amazon and Play. I don’t blame people for doing it online because town is so busy. It still goes on after Christmas because people miss the posting deadlines.”

Christmas is by far the busiest period of the year, followed by a time known as “autumn pressure” at the end of August as the catalogues, holiday brochures and periodicals start building up.

The end of the tax year in March also sees an increase in mail volume.

But collections and deliveries office manager Nigel Quick, 47, said staff are ready for it.

The Yeovil office has 101 staff, with 67 doing deliveries. Some start as early as 4am to get their rounds done.

“When most people start working for Royal Mail they know that this will be our busiest time of the year so they are prepared,” he said.

“It is hard work, but it’s all downhill for the rest of the year after that. Letters are dropping off at a rate of six per cent per year as people use email and sites like Facebook more and more.

“Apart from Christmas we hardly get any stamped letters through. But with internet shopping packets are the main growth area which is good for the Royal Mail business.”

As the weather gets colder, pavements frost over and rain pelts down, many feel sorry for the postal workers out rain or shine.

But the practice of tipping a postie came under the national spotlight when new anti-bribery legislation came into force.

However, grateful residents can feel free to thank their regular delivery man or woman with cash or a gift as long as it’s worth less than £30.

Micki Lane, 53, a Royal Mail worker for 20 years, said he would be shocked if he got more than a couple of small tips this Christmas.

He said he does the job for the enjoyment, but admits the only thing that annoys him is envelopes with windows that hide the first few lines of the address.

His round is the Princes Street end of town. He said: “I love my job, I wouldn’t still be doing it if I didn’t.

“I’m always out in the open and chatting to people.

“I don’t mind it when it rains. I wear shorts all year round because I hate it when trousers soak up the puddles. Bare legs dry quicker.

“Even Christmas doesn’t bother me. You just get on with it but it is a bit mad.

“My round gets a bit tricky when town gets busy and I have to try to get through the mobs.

“Christmas is the worst time of year for people getting the wrong address too. Sometimes we just get a name and ‘Yeovil’, not even a street. We try our best though.”

[Lounge Lizard]

"Some start as early as 4am to get their rounds done." - but when are they paid from ?

[BernardBresslaw]

We might not deliver any stamped letters at other times of the year but there is always a shed load of DSA to deliver! Not our fault RM can't make it profitable.