Royal Mail shoulder bags...

[KyzaSoze]

When i first started with Royal Mail my first shoulder bag lasted me over 2 1/2 years.. Now am lucky if they last a few weeks on Thursday morning i went and got a new one and by today, yes today is Friday so basically 2 shifts...! and thats it FCUKED. Its always the stitching at the arse of the bag which rips at the seams. This has been on going for months upon months now and I would like to know if its maybe just our office which has had a bad batch of bags or its a more common problem Nation-wide. If it is a more common issue with other Posties, wouldn't Royal Mail save a hell of alot of MONEY if they got the seams DOUBLE-STITCHED, so that they last and can take a bit of weight. Just thinking there that maybe s**t bags are part of the cost-cutting efficiency.. What would happen if the arse collapses all the mail+packets where to fall through the bag and i'm miles away from my office and the office is shut - How would i be able to continue with my walk if i couldn't carry by hand what was in the bag??

[delboy]

my last bag lasted just under 6 months both pockets ripped after about a month and then the strap came loose thought ware and tare..

[TrueBlueTerrier]

I have had mine for a year now but the ones that have come since are really bad, the seams of the main section at each end go in about 2 weeks and most of our guys use the rain bags or black plastic bags to keep the mail secure.

[hooniebagoonie]

I've had mine 5 years now and i purposely rip the dividing front pocket to make more room......of my 9 bags only 1 is starting to go.
wish my shoes lasted as long a my bags

[norfolk n chance]

Not just your office

The bags last weeks now not years like before, just more royal mail cost cutting with cheap crap

[Sandyman]

just more royal mail cost cutting with cheap crap

Cost cutting? What about the expensive crap? e.g. :cfo

[montriff]

When i started everything used to be good quality and last for ages ,now its all crap

[razor]

I find them ok, bit the shoulder straps can be a bit slippy to start off with, they are not rough and grippy like some of the older bags.

[ronpetetrevchris]

3 in the last year, all ripping at the arse like you said, also the plastic clasp just falls off!!!!
I remeber about 15-20 years ago bags would be so personal theyve have had a funeral if one had 'died'.

Oh, and dont get me started on the f***ing bands!!!!! one day theyl have someones eye out

[Spedley]

And the pouches are smaller, not only can you fit less in but with the increased number of packets I often take puches with only 3 bundles in!

[rhino49]

The fabric and construction of the recent cycle panniers is terrible - when they first came out, the pair I was given lasted for three years coping with extreme weather and christmas deliveries. When I finally had to write them off I got the new replacements which are thin, poorly made and floppy. - I am now on my second new set in three months and one of the bags has come apart at the seams and the edging is unravelling after two weeks.

Royal Mail are obviously asking for the cheapest tender without regard to quality and will then ask us why we are continually asking for replacement equipment. Didn't they learn anything from the shoes fiasco? (and by the way WHEN are the new options going to be available?).

It's the same scenario we have seen before - contracts management selling our services too cheaply so they can run to their superiors with "new business" that actually doesn't earn us anything and now doing the same thing effectively by saying "look at the price I got these suppliers down to" without realising they will have to buy three times as much to do the job. Where do we get these idiots? Is this what our universities churn out every year to enhance the future of British business - I honestly despair for the future of our business and our country with money minded people in positions of power.

There are many other facets to this culture of money first, quality last, not least the way full time experienced staff are being treated but that is a rant for another day.

I have probably said this in other posts because I feel so strongly about it, but it is time junior managers had the backbone to stand up to the people above them and told them the truth about their expectations and the effect that their uninformed decisions are having on the company they ALL work for.