"It used to be job and finish but now it's a job to finish."

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Best Quote of the year

Llanelli set for a first class Christmas as Royal Mail goes the extra mile



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"THEY'RE taking our vans off us and giving us sleighs this year."

While simply banter between Llanelli's postmen, the remark could well be true as a huge increase in online shopping is seeing post vans filled to the brim with presents this year.

Having worked as a postman for a couple of years before becoming a reporter, I wanted to see how things were at Christmas time for one of south Wales' busiest delivery offices.

"We probably deliver 300,000 items in a normal week, but during Christmas it gets up to 550,000," said office manager Wayne Davies, who started as a postman in Llanelli 25 years ago before returning as a manager last year.

"We're seeing a huge increase in cards, packets, parcels and signed for items.

"It's been all hands to the pump with some working 10 or 12 hour days especially with Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but there is still that goodwill from postmen that they will work over their time to get every item out that you don't get with other companies."

I joined postmen Phil Hirons and Neil Brazell as they headed out to Furnace and Stradey with a van filled to the brim.

"There are three times the number of parcels and we're getting a battering every day," said Phil, who lives in Seaside.

"And the later you're out, the less likely people are to be in.

"It can be high pressure and you have to have your wits about you."

Neil has been a postman for 38 years and Phil, nearly eight.

Between them they know the round well going out together to cover the 1,036 calls.

When a Christmas card comes with the wrong house number or just a street name, the pair can more often than not work out where it's supposed to go.

When a person isn't in, both men try the neighbours or a safe place, and know which customers will have left the door open for them.

It's that extra diligence that sees them given tips in the weeks leading up to December 25.

"It's always a nice gesture and can be a morale booster that perks you up as you're going round," explains Neil, from Stradey.

"It's changed a lot over the years with far more parcels.

"We always try the neighbours either if the person isn't in rather than have the person have to go to the office but that all adds to the time and at Christmas you regularly end up working two or three hours over your time.

"It used to be job and finish but now it's a job to finish."

I see the delays it causes for myself every time we stop the van, with the sack of items going back to the depot on Old Castle Road because they are too big or need a signature growing by the minute.

One neighbour even refuses to take a parcel because he doesn't get on with the people next door.

Clearly a physically demanding job, both men are in and out of their van, negotiating all manner of hazards including dogs, slippery steps and even a huge pile of sand right across a drive as they get the mail through.

"It's been there six months and is like Cefn Sidan going to the letter box," adds Neil, 56.

The introduction of large letter stamps means if you get the wrong stamp, the person you send it to faces a £1 handling charge and the extra postage to get the item.

"It feels wrong somehow charging people to get their own Christmas cards," said Neil.

As well as delivering, the pair also collect from the bulging postboxes around town, many containing letters from children to Santa.

Royal Mail always endeavours to send a reply to each child.

Even after Christmas there is not much let up, with plenty of cards coming through the day after boxing day, before the travel brochures begin in January.

Having lived in Llanelli all his life, Phil knows the town like the back of his hand.

"It hurts me when people knock Llanelli as the vast majority of people here are really nice and it's a pleasure to deliver to them," he said.

"I've been doing it for nearly eight years and I'm proud to be a Royal Mail postman in Llanelli."

[arnold cheshire]

yes impossible to complete nearly five out of the six days a week what a mess they have created

[pants123]

its deliberate to run royal mail into the ground, its been planned...

so royal mail can then say it's unsustainable,,, the USO needs to go,, then make all posties on zero hour contracts.. 3 days a week delievery.

SO THE SCUM BAGS CALLED SHARE HOLDERS CAN MAKE MORE GREED FOR THE LOVE OF MONEY..

[bluenose48]

few years time walks franchised out
zero hours
low wage
vans hired out to you

[POSTMAN]

Sent a 1st class letter to family there and it took over a week!

[DirtyHarry]

This talk of franchising walks amuses me.
Who on earth will take up a franchised walk expecting to make even a half-decent living?

[arnold cheshire]

This talk of franchising walks amuses me.
Who on earth will take up a franchised walk expecting to make even a half-decent living?

can someone explain why i would want to buy a walk ?

[tincatinca]

This talk of franchising walks amuses me.
Who on earth will take up a franchised walk expecting to make even a half-decent living?

can someone explain why i would want to buy a walk ?

I will

How could/will franchising work?

Let's say for instance your local delivery office costs RM £5m per year to run.
They invite bids from local or national firms to do the work on their behalf, the best bid comes in at £4m per year. RM makes an extra £1m per year.
The company doing the work makes £ .5m per year.
So how do the company do the work for a cost base of £3.5m, they pay a 30% lower wage rate than RM with worse hols and pension, simples.

[arnold cheshire]

This talk of franchising walks amuses me.
Who on earth will take up a franchised walk expecting to make even a half-decent living?

can someone explain why i would want to buy a walk ?

I will

How could/will franchising work?

Let's say for instance your local delivery office costs RM £5m per year to run.
They invite bids from local or national firms to do the work on their behalf, the best bid comes in at £4m per year. RM makes an extra £1m per year.
The company doing the work makes £ .5m per year.
So how do the company do the work for a cost base of £3.5m, they pay a 30% lower wage rate than RM with worse hols and pension, simples.

can you imagine that the office would be snowed under with work RM had excepted for peanuts because they know it would be delivered and thats also a franchised office not a franchised walk

[Chelseablue]

Rip Royal Mail. A great public service ruined by the greed of few .

[steven100]

Rip Royal Mail. A great public service ruined by the greed of few .

That must include our well paid union chiefs!!

[Puppetmaster]

This talk of franchising walks amuses me.
Who on earth will take up a franchised walk expecting to make even a half-decent living?

Their are plenty of naïve people out their who would do it ,for the promise of making big bucks, look at the amount of people who give owner drivers a try for the courier companies ,and Driving instructor franchise to name just 2.

[DirtyHarry]

That is true.
There are more than one born every minute in our country, sadly.