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What made you join the Royal Mail?

Reminisce about days gone by in the job.How it used to be what you miss and how things have changed.This is an open forum.
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snoopywonderdog
Posts: 44
Joined: 04 Feb 2010, 11:16
Gender: Male

Re: What made you join the Royal Mail?

Post by snoopywonderdog »

Unlimited O/T double time after 12 hours ( most on double time by tuesday ) finishing delivery 3 hours early , ghosting, time off when wanted. Unlimited Tea breaks , 2 hour long meal reliefs. One of the best pensions in the Country, and Profit Making .Oh how I long for the Good Old Days.
PS Do you think they might come back

Jennifer
Posts: 33
Joined: 11 Oct 2008, 20:39
Gender: Female

Re: What made you join the Royal Mail?

Post by Jennifer »

I joined Royal Mail because the picture painted during my interview process inicated that it was a commercial environment that would embrace change. I was ill prepared for the debacle that I encountered. The managment is dishonest and are puppets simply doing as dictated. As an individual you are powerless to make any changes required. Certainly, the upper management started as postfolk and worked their way up or should I say 'floated up'. They are unaware of any other business therefore their commercial acumen is non-existent. So what happens? Floundering and meandering from one disaster to another but gaining higher & higher bonuses for no results bit like the banking sector. :Applause
seaniesson
Posts: 8
Joined: 02 May 2008, 13:20

Re: What made you join the Royal Mail?

Post by seaniesson »

I joined Royal Mail because my Dad worked there as a delivery postman and had done for a number of years and he told me there was an opening in the offices if I wanted to apply for it. I was 16 and wasnt sure exactly what I wanted to do but office work was a possibility. I was lucky to get the job and was very proud to work for Royal Mail. Have been there ever since, going on for 20 odd years now.

Back then it seemed like a lot of people joined RM because family members worked there. Not sure if its the same now though. Everyone knew you if you had family members there then but sadly large Mail Centres have put a stop to a lot of that now.
Darren Bent
Posts: 2150
Joined: 05 Oct 2007, 15:38
Gender: Male
Location: Pride Park, Derby, DE24 8XL

Re: What made you join the Royal Mail?

Post by Darren Bent »

I applied for it as I want to work something away from shops and computers. People tell me how easy the job is and what a great job, but not now.

I will look for new job in several months time but I have to work out what I want to do.
krussel
Posts: 5284
Joined: 26 Jan 2009, 18:03
Gender: Male
Location: Out on the streets.

Re: What made you join the Royal Mail?

Post by krussel »

I left school in 1982 and went into printing and point of sale work. The reason I went in this direction was because I enjoyed photography and could process and develop my own prints and this got me a job as a darkroom assistant in screen printing.
After a few weeks the darkroom technician walked out for a better paid job and I was offered his job because they were stuck. I did well and ended up a dept manager aged 20. Great job right, well no not really as I never saw the daylight as I was in when it was dark when I started work then I spent all day under red lights only to come home once again mostly in the dark, if i was lucky as sometimes i had to work late into the night so no chance of going out and getting myself a nice girlfriend.

The change came when a mate who was a postie invited me on a post office night out. It was a Greek evening which included a coach ride there and back. Well it was fantastic and I could not believe the spirit and the fun of all the posties it was so refreshing after the stale professional environment I was used too. Also there were GIRLS, about half a dozen postal cadets who were very trim and very hot, well I was hooked with the crowd, such fun.

I remember going back to my pressured boring job on the Monday thinking something has to change as my postie mate was always home by 10am and in the pub by 11. I asked my mate if there were any vacancies and he told me they were 15 jobs short !!!. So I applied and got accepted straight away. When I told my bosses I was leaving they offered me a big promotion running a new textile printing unit but my mind was made up as I was sick of the long hours and pressure. My parents thought I was mad to give up a job with great prospects for one which played only half the money and was dead end. On the outside I had everything of that post yuppie era i.e.: nice clothes even a Porsche car. :confused but i was slowly killing me as i felt i could not really breathe.

So I started with the intention of working the summer, getting a tan, and then looking for another more local job. However I ended up staying the winter and became a reserve driver so I thought I would do the next summer and then the next etc. Well 22 years and I am still here and yes so much has changed that the things which had drawn me to it have be slowly removed as it’s a proper full time job now and a lot of the real fun has gone out of the job.

But the one thing which still remains is the camaraderie, the wind ups and the jokes. My mate left years ago blaming the job for most of the failings in his life and now drives a forklift truck. :roll: Maybe I could have done better financially speaking but i have a nice house and 2 cars and holidays etc so i think ive done alright. Mostly ive enjoyed the last 22 years and still look forward to going in to the office for the fun and banter.
As iam now in my early forties i do have worries about my fitness and health as the workload increases and increases which is a shame but i carry on whilst i still enjoy it.
Rows of houses all bearing down on me........I can feel their blue hands touching me.......All these things in all positions.........All these things will one day take control..........
jessiegirl
Posts: 22
Joined: 12 Jun 2010, 07:43
Gender: Female

Re: What made you join the Royal Mail?

Post by jessiegirl »

i started off as a temp back in 2001. mainly started off sorting but then was put out on a delivery. its nice to be out and about and no boss looking over u. can do it inmy own pace....
Lounge Lizard
EX ROYAL MAIL
Posts: 9458
Joined: 06 Aug 2007, 21:54

Re: What made you join the Royal Mail?

Post by Lounge Lizard »

"It was a Greek evening which included a coach ride there and back." :shock: I would never go that far for an evening. :crazy:
krussel
Posts: 5284
Joined: 26 Jan 2009, 18:03
Gender: Male
Location: Out on the streets.

Re: What made you join the Royal Mail?

Post by krussel »

Lounge Lizard wrote:"It was a Greek evening which included a coach ride there and back." :shock: I would never go that far for an evening. :crazy:
Oh mate it was so much fun as bottles and tins were being freely passed around the coach and we were all half gone before we even got to the restaurant :left: So much so they nearly did not let is in :roll:
Rows of houses all bearing down on me........I can feel their blue hands touching me.......All these things in all positions.........All these things will one day take control..........
Lounge Lizard
EX ROYAL MAIL
Posts: 9458
Joined: 06 Aug 2007, 21:54

Re: What made you join the Royal Mail?

Post by Lounge Lizard »

krussel wrote:
Lounge Lizard wrote:"It was a Greek evening which included a coach ride there and back." :shock: I would never go that far for an evening. :crazy:
Oh mate it was so much fun as bottles and tins were being freely passed around the coach and we were all half gone before we even got to the restaurant :left: So much so they nearly did not let is in :roll:
And in Greece I've heard the plates are smashed against the wall instead of going to be washed. :Very Happy How I wish I could have been there. :sad:
krussel
Posts: 5284
Joined: 26 Jan 2009, 18:03
Gender: Male
Location: Out on the streets.

Re: What made you join the Royal Mail?

Post by krussel »

Lounge Lizard wrote:
krussel wrote:
Lounge Lizard wrote:"It was a Greek evening which included a coach ride there and back." :shock: I would never go that far for an evening. :crazy:
Oh mate it was so much fun as bottles and tins were being freely passed around the coach and we were all half gone before we even got to the restaurant :left: So much so they nearly did not let is in :roll:
And in Greece I've heard the plates are smashed against the wall instead of going to be washed. :Very Happy How I wish I could have been there. :sad:
Funny enough ive been on hols to greece a few times and i ve wanted to see the smashing plates bit and once they did throw some plates to the floor but the were plastic :left:
Rows of houses all bearing down on me........I can feel their blue hands touching me.......All these things in all positions.........All these things will one day take control..........
mickyplum
Posts: 24
Joined: 01 Nov 2010, 17:46
Gender: Male

Re: What made you join the Royal Mail?

Post by mickyplum »

I joined Royal Mail in 1974 (it was called the G.P.O. then). I joined on the advice of my Uncle's brother in law who had been a postman for many years. Best move I ever made. Poor basic wage but plenty of overtime in those days. We also had managers who knew the job, unlike today. They got respect off the workers and we were respected back. Different story nowadays. What happened to customer service? They could post a local letter at 8.30am and it would be delivered the same day, even before noon. It's not all Royal Mail's fault. We are forced to deliver competitors mail at a fraction of the cost and that is why we are losing revenue. Bring back the good old days, putting the customer first, then we would become the best again. The postal service is part of British life but then again is it a service nowadays, or a business. The customers want their mail in the mornings not in the middle of the afternoon or even later, with the new way of working. We used to use torches to help us deliver mail in the winter mornings now we will probably need them for the dark evenings. I used to be proud to work for Royal Mail, now it is just a job. The service is a joke!!
postie_bear
MAIL CENTRES/PROCESSING
Posts: 18
Joined: 11 Nov 2010, 12:08
Gender: Male
Location: East of England

Re: What made you join the Royal Mail?

Post by postie_bear »

I joined RM 13 yrs ago, my father has been a postman for 38yrs this year, his cousin and brother in law have both been postman for 35+yrs each, my grandfather and his brother were both postmen, and 1 of my brothers and my cousin are both postman.

I originally joined an outside company when i turn 18, after 3yrs of working longer hours and taking home half the pay my Father got me a job in RM.

It was like a holiday camp, I worked less hours and doubled my wages, I was then the first one in my family to progress to PHG then to admin and finally management.

Most of my family no longer talk to me since progressing to Management as the old them and us still exist in some offices,

As an ex postman i have never forgotten my roots and i am fair but firm, the staff like me as i know the job and they know i will stick up for them to senior management, even getting a marked down PDR in the process for not issuing stage warnings. I can see things from both sides and may not agree with all things but like most emplyees of royal mail i go not want to see it destroyed.

Postie
BELIAL
Posts: 6634
Joined: 15 Jun 2007, 17:33
Location: Somewhere in the Milky Way

Re: What made you join the Royal Mail?

Post by BELIAL »

Lounge Lizard wrote:"It was a Greek evening which included a coach ride there and back." :shock: I would never go that far for an evening. :crazy:
Me neither , and I'm not talking distance :shock:
NWpostie
Posts: 3187
Joined: 04 Aug 2007, 17:32
Gender: Male
Location: Sector 001 Borg Collective, 6 o f 9

Re: What made you join the Royal Mail?

Post by NWpostie »

went on YTS scheme with no job at the end of it, then a restaurant washing dishes, long hours and low wages soon p1ssed me off, decided to join the Post Office as part timer, same wages but a third of the hours compared to my previous job and as much overtime as you want, the job was alright, you still had some w*****s pretending to be a Boss, not as many as now, I used to enjoy delivering early in the morning with nobody to bother you, winter is good one as you can see the sun rising in the morning and the dawn chorus also you can pee in a bush if needed without anybody seeing you :Very Happy

fast forward 23 years job now a lot more difficult, bullying and harassment has gone up, overtime is scarce all I have left is my hours (full time) I will not be buying down or anything like that, I intend to do my job correctly only so to reduce any pressure on me, I used to put myself out for my customers, now you will only get taken advantage off, weakness will jumped on like a pack of hyenas to a dying prey.

sad really but the future is not too bright and its not fcuking orange !


So I am sticking out only for the money.
Six of Nine loves Seven of Nine, together in Electric Dreams.
belle smith
Posts: 1557
Joined: 26 Aug 2008, 17:41
Gender: Male
Location: scotland

Re: What made you join the Royal Mail?

Post by belle smith »

I think the lassie that started this thread is probably on her gap year by now. :neutral:
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