New National policy - DPR loading Vans

[funkflex55]

It’s a waste of time handling them indoors and again whilst loading the van, much better and far quicker doing it as u load the van.

why wouldn’t you.

Hanging it out so they can either do less parcels or book more docket at a guess.

We can't just bring back what we don't fancy delivering like you lot do with non-tracked mail. We have to stay out until its all delivered because its all tracked. Basically we have enforced overtime which most of us don't want to do. I'd rather finish on time. But if I start bringing loads back they'll start looking for ways to manage me out of the business. No such thing as cutting off in dpr land.

And on the odd occasion I do finish early they send me out to deliver bags of mail that the legacy posties can't be arsed to do

Just scan the excess no answer/ inaccessible and take it back to keep the managers off your back. Either that or have a raging argument with them before going out setting out your limits.

There's one manager who insists to do an honest scan of "delivery not attempted" whilst others prefer "inaccessible" and a third who says phone them and they'll say what to do .... Sometimes they'll send someone to do the last few. An angry customer confronted me today on her doorstep because someone yesterday scanned her parcel "no answer" while she was in the house all day. Shes screaming "tell those liars I've got CCTV" . I'm stood there in the pouring rain so wasn't going to give her an in depth explanation of why that might have happened. Just said feel free to make a complaint before turning my back on her and walking off. I felt like that Postman Plod cartoon in Viz comic years ago, just shrugging and walking off, but my patience with the rudeness of punters was wearing thin today. She'll probably complain about my attitude but her rudeness warranted it in my opinion. My only regret is I forgot to add her address to my "s**t list" who will get 739s in future on every occasion

If someone is shouting or acting aggressively you have every right to walk away. It's probably the best thing to do and if she complains then she has the CCTV to prove she was shouting you!

[Jonathan Alsatian]

There would be a lot less angry customers if we were allowed to scan delivery not attempted instead of no answer or innaccessible. They don't mind getting an email saying sorry we didn't manage to get to you today but they hate being told they were out when they weren't. The large DO in my area instructs staff to use delivery not attempted but the smaller DOs nearby say no don't use it under any circumstances whatsoever

[kazardaimenu]

If the manager’s bonus was spread between delivery staff and the overtime rate was upped it wouldn’t be such an issue you would find more people willing to take a few extra parcels. As it stands getting about £8/9 an hour take home to stay out past your time isn’t really worth it.

[Londonsburning]

It’s amazing how the “we used to” posters on here always know best !!
Perhaps that’s why the company is in such a state - because you’ve “always done it like this”!!!

I do 120-140 large parcels a day spread over 20-30 miles
I’m given 6-9 York’s in totally random order to load
We jump from duty to duty over 27 DP duties
I number using the van loading tool
There’s NO WAY I can know every duty
We have to follow the gun
You try loading 9 York’s alphabetically
And as for the comment we’ve been found out - try it yourself and let me know

I’m sick of people saying how great they do things and how sh1t us newbies are
You’ve been deluded fir so long you have no idea of how far other companies have moved on

Out of genuine interest, with your own healthy hourly wage of, what was it, almost 16 quid an hour? As far as I'm aware 90% of OPGs such as yourself are paid £12.54PH for the first 40 hours on an inferior contract are they not?

[Smoothbackground]

It’s amazing how the “we used to” posters on here always know best !!
Perhaps that’s why the company is in such a state - because you’ve “always done it like this”!!!

I do 120-140 large parcels a day spread over 20-30 miles
I’m given 6-9 York’s in totally random order to load
We jump from duty to duty over 27 DP duties
I number using the van loading tool
There’s NO WAY I can know every duty
We have to follow the gun
You try loading 9 York’s alphabetically
And as for the comment we’ve been found out - try it yourself and let me know

I’m sick of people saying how great they do things and how sh1t us newbies are
You’ve been deluded fir so long you have no idea of how far other companies have moved on

Out of genuine interest, with your own healthy hourly wage of, what was it, almost 16 quid an hour? As far as I'm aware 90% of OPGs such as yourself are paid £12.54PH for the first 40 hours on an inferior contract are they not?

What is your question, LondonsBurning? We have debated this previously, me and you (aka BouncedCzech, CarryingMgmnt, SkiSunday, etc - apologies for not remembering your many names), and so there is no point going over old ground, chum.

I recently posted some calculations to corroborate my blended hourly rate, and as I recall, there was not a hint of demur from the more learned members of this forum as to same.

[Londonsburning]

So you earn way more per hour, than other posties yeah?

[Londonsburning]

What is a blended rate? 16 quid an hour is a lie Smoothbackground lol.

[TopperGas]

Nothing random about loading the van, if I've got area's A, B & C to deliver I put all the parcels for C at the rear of the van in the order they are going to be delivered, then area B and finally area A, as I've already said if you'd been doing a rural for 5 years would you seriously number each parcel every single day before loading them in your van, if you did that all the other posties would have left the DO an hour earlier than you and most likely back an hour sooner. I accept if you don't know the area(s) then numbering them helps.

It's ok for you as your delivering on a condensed area of 2 walks that you do day in day out and know it well.
We mainly have small Nissans that we fill front to back, Bottom to top. I've tried all things over the years and have found the way I work to be the best way. Once I wheel my yorks out to load it takes 5 mins per york to load and it's loaded in such a way that if I do get any load shift I'm not wasting time trying to find packets.

I covered one section for close to 4 years, walks and packets and know it like the back of my hand.
When doing DPR in that section it was the same 8 walks I covered (Combination of 2+2)
I was on a singleton duty taking out all mail and parcels for a year and just scanned to core, never used DPR as I knew the walk inside out.

For reason's unknown since moving to a 13.30 start my new LM has refused to put me on the area I know well and I have been thrown out on area's I know not at all and because you are allocated a diff route everyday it's impossible to learn them ( We have 30 afternoon DPR drivers )

Since all AM DPR dutys were removed from our DO all oversize and LAT's now don't go out until 14.30 including schools and business's.

Our DO's biggest problem is agency are given a DPR route to scan to and they are told just scan X amount from these yorks until 5 hours is on the gun.
So for example today drop 88 of 100 was 3.8 miles away from the area I was covering and the PDA said 10 min round trip, it actually took 30 mins due to traffic. Drop 76 customer says your the 3rd RM driver to deliver to me this afternoon. Drop 4 scanned to a residential address. Just a few examples.

This isn't a pop at you, just explaining how our working system at my DO has been decimated in the last 4 months from a working system for years to a complete farce and shambles for both customers and employee's.

I assume you didn't bother reading my last sentence, if you had it would have saved you typing all that out!

Anyway it sounds like your DO needs a manager who knows what he's doing, as all our DPR parcels are sorted into duties, so there's no chance of a driver delivering even twice to the same customer.

[TopperGas]

It’s amazing how the “we used to” posters on here always know best !!
Perhaps that’s why the company is in such a state - because you’ve “always done it like this”!!!

I do 120-140 large parcels a day spread over 20-30 miles
I’m given 6-9 York’s in totally random order to load
We jump from duty to duty over 27 DP duties
I number using the van loading tool
There’s NO WAY I can know every duty
We have to follow the gun
You try loading 9 York’s alphabetically
And as for the comment we’ve been found out - try it yourself and let me know

I’m sick of people saying how great they do things and how sh1t us newbies are
You’ve been deluded fir so long you have no idea of how far other companies have moved on

Out of genuine interest, with your own healthy hourly wage of, what was it, almost 16 quid an hour? As far as I'm aware 90% of OPGs such as yourself are paid £12.54PH for the first 40 hours on an inferior contract are they not?

What is your question, LondonsBurning? We have debated this previously, me and you (aka BouncedCzech, CarryingMgmnt, SkiSunday, etc - apologies for not remembering your many names), and so there is no point going over old ground, chum.

I recently posted some calculations to corroborate my blended hourly rate, and as I recall, there was not a hint of demur from the more learned members of this forum as to same.

Now you've mentioned could you explain how you still get the London Allowance if you no longer work in London?

"The recruitment of new entrants in my region didn’t really start until July 2023, and also in London where I previously worked, so it’s no wonder only 146 of us have more than two years’ service. I suspect if you reran the calculation in August or later there would be considerably more than 146 with two years’ service."

[Smoothbackground]

Now you've mentioned could you explain how you still get the London Allowance if you no longer work in London?

"The recruitment of new entrants in my region didn’t really start until July 2023, and also in London where I previously worked, so it’s no wonder only 146 of us have more than two years’ service. I suspect if you reran the calculation in August or later there would be considerably more than 146 with two years’ service."

I don’t work in London and have never worked there as an RM employee. I did previously work for RM at quite a few London offices as an agency worker. I therefore don’t get London Weighting. Other new entrants at my office are all on the same rate as me. I may be mistaken, but I think you and I discussed this on a separate thread last year?

[Londonsburning]

So as a "new start" can you explain how you get paid more money than every other non London weighting OPG at Royal Mail? Would love to know so I can get my colleagues above poverty wages