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Is it as terrible as it sounds in these forums?

Forum for info, hints and tips about working for us through Royal Mail not Angard.This is an open forum.
BieberBear
Posts: 9
Joined: 31 Jan 2022, 13:02
Gender: Female

Is it as terrible as it sounds in these forums?

Post by BieberBear »

Hi all!

I'm due to start a permenant job at a sorting centre in a couple of weeks, so I've been lurking around this forum for a while to get a feel for it all. I worked for RM years back as a Christmas temp and loved it which is why I applied for this job (been doing the family thing in between). I'm reading a lot of stuff about heavy workloads, unrealistic targets, bullying managers etc and I'm wondering what I've let myself in for! I was just hoping that some of you could reassure me with some positives of working for RM? Specifically from mail sorters as that's my new job. I'm going to be doing nights which I did before and as I said, I really enjoyed it and everyone I worked with was so friendly, so I'm really hoping there will be 'some' work matey' laughs to be had! I have a few 'boring' questions as well, but I'll leave those for now to see how much attention this thread gets!

Thanks in advance!

SpacePhoenix
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Re: Is it as terrible as it sounds in these forums?

Post by SpacePhoenix »

By "sorting centre" do you mean a Mail Centre or a Delivery Office?
BieberBear
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Gender: Female

Re: Is it as terrible as it sounds in these forums?

Post by BieberBear »

HI, thanks for the reply! I meant the Mail Centre
N|M
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Re: Is it as terrible as it sounds in these forums?

Post by N|M »

Mail center i work in the managers are good, not seen any bully the workers, some may not be worth asking questions, but otherwise i have no issues with our mail center managers.

Workload is quiet this time of year vs this time last year, targets don't really have them other than try and clear before end of shift,
yes covid era it was a bit hectic but things look to be leveling out (at least in our mail center)

Not really done nights - just a few here and there, so depending on mail center you might be mainly in a bull ring sorting or on tracked.

Best advice i can give is take everything you read here with a pinch of salt and try for yourself and make up your own view, hope you end up enjoying it like you did when you were in as a xmas temp :)
BieberBear
Posts: 9
Joined: 31 Jan 2022, 13:02
Gender: Female

Re: Is it as terrible as it sounds in these forums?

Post by BieberBear »

Thanks for getting back to me :) I am looking forward to it. I suppose most of the negative stuff I was reading was from posties and I can understand that as I did a couple of days temping with the local delivery office last month, so I got a tiny bit of an insight. One question I have is about uniform. On my welcome pack stuff it says that non customer facing roles (mail centres for example) you are not required to wear a uniform, but you can if you want to. What do the majority of other mail centre workers wear? Uniform or their own clothes? I'm on the fence on whether I want a uniform or not!
SpacePhoenix
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Re: Is it as terrible as it sounds in these forums?

Post by SpacePhoenix »

N|M wrote:
07 Feb 2022, 22:18
Not really done nights - just a few here and there, so depending on mail center you might be mainly in a bull ring sorting or on tracked.
You'll get moved around the different work areas depending on which work area has got work (or which work area has got the most outstanding work to be done). Bullrings aren't used very much for sorting these days as powered conveyors get used.

If you get offered the chance to get mech training, go for it, you'll get TPM money (provided your on the mech as duty) and the time really flies by on the mech)

The requirement to wear a uniform might well be different in every MC
BieberBear
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Joined: 31 Jan 2022, 13:02
Gender: Female

Re: Is it as terrible as it sounds in these forums?

Post by BieberBear »

Thanks. I have already been told I'll be getting TPM payment once trained, so it's obviously going to be part of my role. Glad that's a good thing to be on then! Weirdly, one of the most important things to me is going to be staff morale because I've worked practically alone for last 15 years, so I am looking forward to working with other people and making some friends! It would be awful if everyone was stressed and in a bad mood because they were overworked and unhappy in their jobs! :sad: Obviously, I don't expect to be standing around chatting and laughing all night, but it would be nice to have work mates for a change! :Very Happy
BieberBear
Posts: 9
Joined: 31 Jan 2022, 13:02
Gender: Female

Re: Is it as terrible as it sounds in these forums?

Post by BieberBear »

So, I've just finished my first week on nights - absolutely shattered (but not because of the work, just the change of normal routine). I have to say I've enjoyed it and every one has been so friendly and helpful! The managers I have are all nice (so far)! I'm on letters and have spent this week manually sorting, so a lot of time sitting down! Hours are good as its' only 35 hours, so just 7 hour shift with a long break in the middle. I am happy sorting the letters manually, but the majority are RTS junk mail stuff which can get a bit tedious!

I'm booked in for training on three courses: TOPS 2K next month and then IMP operator and iLSM operater courses in June. I have to admit, I have not got a clue what these are - can anyone enlighten me :crazy: Hoping it's the mech training the SpacePhoenix mentioned that makes the time fly by!
SpacePhoenix
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Re: Is it as terrible as it sounds in these forums?

Post by SpacePhoenix »

TOPS 2K are the big machines that sort flats.

IMPs have got multiple outputs (stackers) where the sorted mail is output, at one end is what looks like a washing machine drum. It splits the mail into 1st and second and the different envelope sizes. Reads the address, prints unique barcodes on them (that other machines use.

iLSMs don't have the culler or facing sections that an IMP has

Both IMPs and iLSMs can also be used for walk sequencing.

If you can, get your name down for CSS training, it can be hard work when you've got big batches and you've got mail that doesn't stack well (some mail generally doesn't stack well, square envelopes for example have a habit of spinning as they pass through the machine) but the time can really fly by. In MCs you normally do 2hrs on 2hrs off, repeating for throughout the shift. That 2hrs off can include operating other machines.

Both iLSMs and CSSs are manufactured by the same company (Solystsic) so once you've learn the interface of one it shouldn't be too hard to learn the interface of the other. The only thing that might catch you out when you're new to the machines is that with a CSS the mail faces towards the feed and with the iLSMs (don't know about IMPs) the mail faces away from the feed.

It sounds like the workload was quiet as night shifts don't normally touch the RTS stuff which tends to be done by early shifts.

Ask your manager if your MC is due to get a packet/parcel sorting machine installed at some point. we've not got one so I don't know what % of staff on a shift get trained on a PSM
Last edited by SpacePhoenix on 20 Feb 2022, 21:00, edited 1 time in total.
BieberBear
Posts: 9
Joined: 31 Jan 2022, 13:02
Gender: Female

Re: Is it as terrible as it sounds in these forums?

Post by BieberBear »

Thanks for that really informative reply! That's a big help. I will get my name down for the CSS training if I can :)

I suppose this time of year is fairly quiet and I just missed the Valentines Day thing as well, so maybe the manual sorting will get a bit more varied as time goes on!
SpacePhoenix
MAIL CENTRES/PROCESSING
Posts: 10209
Joined: 12 Nov 2008, 17:03
Gender: Male

Re: Is it as terrible as it sounds in these forums?

Post by SpacePhoenix »

BieberBear wrote:
20 Feb 2022, 00:56
Thanks for that really informative reply! That's a big help. I will get my name down for the CSS training if I can :)

I suppose this time of year is fairly quiet and I just missed the Valentines Day thing as well, so maybe the manual sorting will get a bit more varied as time goes on!
Valentines day was dead, no extra flowers or letters going through the system. In past years we'd have a separate large Tracked setup just for flowers, there was no need this year
denhamhoop
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Re: Is it as terrible as it sounds in these forums?

Post by denhamhoop »

SpacePhoenix wrote:
20 Feb 2022, 02:36
BieberBear wrote:
20 Feb 2022, 00:56
Thanks for that really informative reply! That's a big help. I will get my name down for the CSS training if I can :)

I suppose this time of year is fairly quiet and I just missed the Valentines Day thing as well, so maybe the manual sorting will get a bit more varied as time goes on!
Valentines day was dead, no extra flowers or letters going through the system. In past years we'd have a separate large Tracked setup just for flowers, there was no need this year
That's cause most of the Valentines stuff went through on the Sunday day and Night as Valentines day was the Monday so unless you work weekends you won't have seen it
SpacePhoenix
MAIL CENTRES/PROCESSING
Posts: 10209
Joined: 12 Nov 2008, 17:03
Gender: Male

Re: Is it as terrible as it sounds in these forums?

Post by SpacePhoenix »

denhamhoop wrote:
20 Feb 2022, 11:27
SpacePhoenix wrote:
20 Feb 2022, 02:36
BieberBear wrote:
20 Feb 2022, 00:56
Thanks for that really informative reply! That's a big help. I will get my name down for the CSS training if I can :)

I suppose this time of year is fairly quiet and I just missed the Valentines Day thing as well, so maybe the manual sorting will get a bit more varied as time goes on!
Valentines day was dead, no extra flowers or letters going through the system. In past years we'd have a separate large Tracked setup just for flowers, there was no need this year
That's cause most of the Valentines stuff went through on the Sunday day and Night as Valentines day was the Monday so unless you work weekends you won't have seen it
It will have failed then as I don't think our Sunday shifts would have the capacity
twoloops
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Joined: 24 May 2017, 20:52
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Location: Sheffield

Re: Is it as terrible as it sounds in these forums?

Post by twoloops »

Personally I do not receive any bullying, my phone alarm is set for my daily last letter times & I stop & everything goes back regardless, it can be a s**t crap job, but only if you let it :sad:
BieberBear
Posts: 9
Joined: 31 Jan 2022, 13:02
Gender: Female

Re: Is it as terrible as it sounds in these forums?

Post by BieberBear »

Thought I would come back and update you all! I have now been with Royal Mail for six weeks at the Bristol Mail Centre and I have to say I'm loving it now! I was so worried before I started, but I needn't have. Maybe it's because I'm in a mail centre and not a delivery office, but I've not been forced to work overtime (or even asked yet), my managers are all really nice, training has been mostly great, the work is enjoyable and times goes quickly, hour break time, everyone is so friendly and I'm already starting to feel like I belong.

I think I got lucky getting this job though as the three others who started same day as me have all had recent experience there (two of them have been temping there for over a year before getting job offer). When people there have asked if I was a casual to start with and I've said no, they've seemed genuinely shocked that I got a job there!

So, the verdict is - I'm very happy and can see me staying for a long long time!
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