Squeaky,
Interesting points, well put.
I have to agree about the Post Office not functioning if the Managers don't know what is going on. I also care deeply about the work I do, and find it incredibly frustrating that I am not told what is going on, or when they do tell me it is either too late or not strictly accurate.
I freely admit that I got the full whack for my Treasure Chest bonus, in 2 parts because I was at 2 different offices during the scheme. I did not like the fact that I got so much more than my teams, but the truth of it was that before I went into the office and got things moving they would have been on a bonus of £20 between 19 people. And I didn't do it by encouraging them to start 'badgering elderly customers', I did it with the support of my local CWU rep, explaining the financial facts of life, and encouraging them to do what we all know they can do, talk to customers and give them good service. None of the Managers who got the Treasure Chest bonus money had any say in how the scheme was devised, and it caused a lot of problems and resentment, understandably. It did, however, pay at the age of 38 for my first proper (and foreign) holiday in over 15 years.
You are right about the numbers, but frankly I don't give a stuff about where we are in league tables, unless coming near the top gives the team some sort of tangible reward. There are loads of ways of cheating the system, and the public, but we choose not to do that, and consequently we are near the bottom of the pile. We do however, have a loyal group of customers, that grows weekly, who want to buy OUR products because they represent a good deal. If they say they don't want them, that is fine, but no harm is ever done by asking. The credit card is a good product to highlight, because it is a good deal, but it is not suitable for everyone, and I would be mortified if I thought my team was pushing it on to some old person just to get a sale. With all the hoo-ha over slamming with Homephone, we only had 2 complaints registered against our office. One was from a manic depressive who admitted in his complaint that he both took medication and often forgot to take it, so he was hardly a credible complainant. The second was from someone who lived 350 miles from my office, and after a bit of investigation it turned out her local office had the same FAD as ours just in a different order. So my point is that it is possible to sell our products successfully without shafting the public.
Every single member of my team has got a sales bonus, every quarter this year, regardless of how much they have actually sold, or their attitude to the 'new' sales culture. The person behind the turnaround in their fortunes, the person who has given them the infomation, coaching, help, and in many cases the will and belief in themselves to achieve this - me, has not got a single penny, and that cannot be fair, although it could be seen as payback or Treasure Chest I guess.
You are right about providing a service, but at this moment in time we are being told by our one and only shareholder - the Govt. that we have to make a profit. We will never make a profit by selling a few stamps and cashing pensions, not with the network the way it is now. That is not manager speak, that is fact, and probably the only way we could effect a change in Govt. policy would be to have a change in Govt. but don't bet on the Tories putting it back how it was!
We can't usually do much about the things that happen to us in life, but what we can influence is how we react to those things when they happen. The changes brought about by the conversions could be a positive thing for some people, but I am sorry if that is not the case for you. This will be my 2nd conversion, and I am fortunate that in the London area we have a number of options for redeployment, but it is no less hard or daunting just because we have more choices. For various reasons, and none of them negative apart from the 2 conversions, I will have been in charge of a different office for each of the last 6 Christmasses, so I am hoping for a bit of continuity. The VR offer did look appealing for a while, but I have decided that I can still contribute to this business, and I would like to be positive going forward.
I sent out flyers to all the Smiths 70's and none have come on to chat with you guys,do they not care 
