10% drop in volume?

[norbert]

Royal Mail, with volume going up when everyone elses is going down. Thats a good un.

like somebody's approx retirement due time and rough length of service sorry but that's the credibility and transparency problem that Hellmail & the fluffy side have had .

[Night Tonic]

It wouldn't take that much nonce to deduce which DO I'm in if I gave that much away but when the chips are down you fight amongst yourselves anyway. Easier to put the deckchair out.

[Tman]

Selective quoting again. How about the part I've highlighted?

Operational traffic methodology, based on sampling at mail centres, has been used as the basis for measuring inland stamped and metered traffic volumes. This approach involves determining traffic in the workplace by machine counting or by counting numbers of containers and applying statistical techniques.
Royal Mail recognises that there are inadequacies in the current traffic measurement and statistical procedures for stamps and meter traffic and has ongoing initiatives to improve the processes.

Clearly the daily/weekly stats aren't compiled by sampling or "applying statistical techniques" either. Why would RM need to put resources into this when pressing a few buttons gives an instant downloadable report as used and seen by MCMs, stats teams and sector managers country-wide?

[axeman]

It's the age old royal fail culture of jobs for the boys eh tman lets be honest we know the figgures the come from this relayed 'statistical info' are to be taken with the proverbial pinch of salt don't we You have to be on the delivery side to see it not just a 'mech manager' with the belief that everything your told is the 'truth the whole truth so help me god' or yes lil ad

[andy2007]

Quite frankly, I don't have first hand knowledge of how they come up with the figures Nationally. But as I've said several times. Where I am, the Mail HAS dropped. But I believe that it's only temporary. Because I deal with the Business Mail, and as the Economy is in trouble at the moment, it's only to be expected. Prior to the Credit Crunch, I saw no evidence of a drop in Mail volumes.

Elsewhere in the Country, I'm told that there hasn't been any drop. Whether that's true or not, I don't know. But based on my personal experience, I think it's far more likley to be true, than false.

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Selective quoting again. How about the part I've highlighted?

Operational traffic methodology, based on sampling at mail centres, has been used as the basis for measuring inland stamped and metered traffic volumes. This approach involves determining traffic in the workplace by machine counting or by counting numbers of containers and applying statistical techniques.
Royal Mail recognises that there are inadequacies in the current traffic measurement and statistical procedures for stamps and meter traffic and has ongoing initiatives to improve the processes.

Clearly the daily/weekly stats aren't compiled by sampling or "applying statistical techniques" either. Why would RM need to put resources into this when pressing a few buttons gives an instant downloadable report as used and seen by MCMs, stats teams and sector managers country-wide?

Sorry not selective quoting because I did quote the part you highlighted - selective highlighting though I grant you, because as I understood it every letter was machine counted now, however, as early as Apr 2008 there were still guestimating (no matter how scientifically) volumes so how can we be sure that they have not changed the way the generate the statistics they come up with.

I do think there is a reduction in volume but I do not believe its as sharp as RM are saying and I think it is only temporary due to the current market conditions.

Clearly the daily/weekly stats aren't compiled by sampling or "applying statistical techniques" either Why would RM need to put resources into this when pressing a few buttons gives an instant downloadable report as used and seen by MCMs, stats teams and sector managers country-wide?

- so when are they using these statistical techniques for counting containers then and if they can download it with a press of a button why didn't they do it for a annual report. I am genuinely interested in this subject and not looking for an argument, I really feel I need to understand this subject as much as I can.

[Tman]

however, as early as Apr 2008 there were still guestimating (no matter how scientifically) volumes so how can we be sure that they have not changed the way the generate the statistics they come up with.

They were using the current stats methods in April 08, and for many years before that too. Even thirty years ago they had daily print-outs from tele-types of the day's/week's/month's automation totals, although much more mail was "grabbed" to keep the manual sections usefully employed back then.

I do think there is a reduction in volume but I do not believe its as sharp as RM are saying and I think it is only temporary due to the current market conditions.

Maybe so, but that's not the argument. Not the "why" but the "is it or is it not" dropping.

[- so when are they using these statistical techniques for counting containers then and if they can download it with a press of a button why didn't they do it for a annual report.

Don't know what you're referring to here. I'm rebutting the common DO postie's assertions that because his bag is as full as it's ever been, and because "RM can't be trusted to tell the truth" then the concept of mail volumes dropping is incorrect.


I

[stupidboy]

i think this issue needs proper defining. lets assume for one moment that this alleged 10% drop in volume is true. this refers to the volume of mail in all forms being handled by royal mail as a whole.
we as delivery officers are primarily concerned about our own individual duties. in our office, ips sorters are down by approx 75%. walks have continuely had more added to them. we are later out of the office due to lack of sorters and the number of do's prepping part time walks. we absorb a duty all year round,and 2 duties during the summer. i personally have at least 10 pouches daily and lots more packets than i used to.
royal mail can conjeur up all the figures they want. if mail is dropping for the business as a whole it certainly is not for the individual postman/woman. and there answer is to cut even more jobs and hours.

[pinstripe]

Volumes of letters may have declined, but packets, which are much more time consuming have increased. Does anyone know the answers to the following:
1. What is the % increase in packets over the last 2 years?
2. Has the extra time required to deliver these packets been factored into delivery times?
3. What if any, is the maximum number of calls a DO should make where he is required to obtain a signature/deliver a packet which does not fit through the letterbox.
4. Why, when taking into account 1-3 are Delivery Offices being cut to the bone because they say there has been a 10% decline in volumes in the last year?

[Big Daz]

was speaking to a manager today who kept blethering about this 10% drop in volume we keep hearing about,i told him that even in the worst case senario there was this drop it did'nt mean that we missed that percentage of calls.
i had to explain to this guy that instead of customers getting 4 or 5 items they might only get 3 or 4 and we would still have to go to the same amount of doors, his answer was to shake his head and walk away muttering to himself that this was'nt the line they were fed.

Strangely enough my managers agree with you on this one. Its how they respond every time the issue of so called reduced mail volumes are discussed.

[Tman]

was speaking to a manager today who kept blethering about this 10% drop in volume we keep hearing about,i told him that even in the worst case senario there was this drop it did'nt mean that we missed that percentage of calls.
i had to explain to this guy that instead of customers getting 4 or 5 items they might only get 3 or 4 and we would still have to go to the same amount of doors, his answer was to shake his head and walk away muttering to himself that this was'nt the line they were fed.

Strangely enough my managers agree with you on this one. Its how they respond every time the issue of so called reduced mail volumes are discussed.

I expect he walked away shaking his head, as he was thinking how he could ever get it through to his staff that there was no correlation or disparity between the number of doors and the mail volume dropping, and that 3 or 4 items is still less than 4 or 5 by roughly 10%..........

[spilie]

delivery points up, packets up, product prices up, staff slashed, overtime payments banned, pay freeze, fat cat salaries still the norm and all you come back with the mythical 10% well shove that up yer a**e we can play the stats game too

[haveagojoe]

I don,t care what the so called figures say, us lads on the road know this is crap!!!!!!, I've been on my walk for 8 years now and 5 years ago on a saturday I would take out 8 bundles and approx 3-4 packets now I take out 5BAGS and 15-20 packets just tell us the truth, I've said this before if they keep on spouting this crap do they think they will believe it. NO!!!

[Cut Off King]

Even if the manager were telling the truth about a 10% drop in mail volume, it dosen't disguise that there has been a - 25% - Reduction in RM staff(55,000 fewer staff ),so thats at least 15% more work that were pulling in ! confront your manager within WTL with this fact
Also if there are 25% less staff, why isn't there a 25% reduction in management ?
As our jobs are getting larger & harder, theirs are getting lighter

[janitor]

When i started 15 years ago one manager run our office and it worked like clock work, today we have two and a part timer who comes in a few times a week, and at times can have upto five, and they still can't get it right.