humbug

[simjan]

any one else been told this. We are not able to put up a christmas tree this year due to it not being compiiant , victor meldrew eat your heart out.

[eian687]

well how come they can send us a card then

[The BFO]

Good.

[sukado]

us to, retail standards and all that, can you belive it ??? no xmas in the po

[onlyanother30years]

Well it's all about giving a professional image to our "clients" I mean customers, so no Christmas decorations or festive dress within the "banking hall" I mean branches.
If the Post Office is serious about a professional image then give the boot to that tw*t Ken and his bunch of numnut sidekicks from Tv and branch adverts.
What a waste of time he his, I could fart more eloquently than he speaks.

And as for spending our pension on Roger Moore, that’s another rant in the brewing

God bless and Merry Christmas

[The BFO]

I suggest a cardboard cut-out of 'Ken', adorned with shiny tinsel and baubles, bent over and being rogered by a second cardboard cut-out of Roger (Moore).

[billyhayes]

You could probably understand it in this age of political corectness, if the post office was playing the race/religion/faith card but, as you rightly say, it is only down to compliance.

We have Jewish and Muslim staff in our office and they said it was pathetic that decorations etc are not allowed.

Just another bad move from the wonkers at the top, who have no idea of good customer/business relations.

As the post office is getting rid of more bodies through counter VR, some of the ABMs and most of the SECs at the end of the year, thus leaving branches even more short of staff than they already are, they are ignoring the 2010 christmas pressure.

I can foresee it now "Pressure? At christmas? Nonsense! Mails are down! You don't need more staff!..."

[bigjames]

Whilst I do not agree with the Business' stance on Christmas decorations etc, I can understand what they mean about the image portrayed by decorations at this time of the year. I have worked in a few offices whose decorations left a lot to be desired. However, surely a trick has been missed here, and if commonality & conformity is required to fit with our new image, it is hard to see why a standard set of decorations could not have been provided to each office. Obviously with economy of scale we could have got a massive discount on such a big order, and our offices could have looked 'officially' festive, instead of the barren sterile look we will now have.

[baldrick]

You could probably understand it in this age of political corectness, if the post office was playing the race/religion/faith card but, as you rightly say, it is only down to compliance.

We have Jewish and Muslim staff in our office and they said it was pathetic that decorations etc are not allowed.

At Mount Pleasant MC we have probably one of the most diverse workforces in the country,
but we have an Xmas tree outside, and in the entrance lobby (provided by RM).
We don't have Xmas decorations in every work area as we used to a few years back, but that's
more to do with the way staff are treated these days, and that we aren't too happy about it.

[POSTMAN]

Bet the PO sells xmas cards and other xmas bits though.

[billyhayes]

IMPORTANT UPDATE ON THIS!!

MESSAGE FROM RICHARD BARKER BELOW AND INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO CLAIM!

MAKE SURE YOUR BRANCHES GET THEIR MONEY!
> |-----------------------------------------------------------------------|
> |I have received a lot of feedback regarding Christmas decorations in |
> |branches. The de-cluttering impact of CORP, combined with a low-key |
> |Christmas theme in our Express Mail campaign, has meant our Crown |
> |branches do not look particularly festive. I do appreciate that many of|
> |you, our colleagues, and our customers do want to see a bit more |
> |Christmas cheer in our branches. |
> | |
> |So, in an attempt to address the issue, I am making budget available to|
> |every branch (£500 for Flagships; £350 for Commercials; and, £250 for |
> |Sales and Service) which can be used locally to help generate a more |
> |festive atmosphere in our branches. Details for expense claims can be |
> |found below. |
> | |
> |The money can be used, at your discretion, for example to buy and |
> |decorate a Christmas tree for your branch, to provide mince pies for |
> |customers, to decorate staff areas, or for any similar team activities.|
> | |
> |I am sure you will all appreciate the need to maintain professional |
> |display standards, and not to detract from the core sales and service |
> |messages in-branch. Please therefore bear this in mind particularly if |
> |you plan to put a tree customer-side of the counter. Adjustments to |
> |Impressions Count audits will be made to allow for such decoration. |
> | |
> |Next year, we will ensure that your feedback is built into our |
> |Christmas planning. I know you will make the most of the sales |
> |opportunities presented by Christmas, in our newly refurbished |
> |branches. My offer to donate £1 to Barnardo's for every Crown branch |
> |which achieves their Impressions Count target in December still stands.|
> | |
> |Richard Barker |
> | |
> | |
> | Remove the funds for these purchases from the till and purchase the |
> | items locally. The expenditure should then be accounted for through |
> | the Horizon system as follows: |
> | |
> | From the main menu |
> | Touch F1 Transactions |
> | Then touch F13 Housekeeping |
> | Then touch F4 Local expenses. |
> | |
> | A Menu will now have appeared showing as an option Goodwill and |
> | Local Purchase. |
> | Touch the Local Purchase button. |
> | Then touch F1 Select. |
> | |
> | Enter the value claimed in £ and pence and press enter. Then press |
> | enter again to finish. |
> | |
> | You will need to retain the receipts for this spend for audit |
> | purposes. However, we need you to send a copy of the receipts |
> | (including your office name and cost centre) by post - not Special |
> | Delivery - to the following address by 18 December 2009: |
> | |
> | Ravinder Jhheent |
> | First floor open admin area |
> | Birmingham Mail Centre |
> | St Stephens St |
> | Birmingham |
> | B6 4AA |
> | |
> | This will enable us to credit your offices cost centre with the |
> | spend in time for period end. If you do not send the receipts to |
> | Ravinder by the 18th, these costs will appear on your office's |
> | period 9 Profit & Loss report. You will receive an e-mail from |
> | Ravinder confirming that she has received your claim. |

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THOSE CHRISTMAS BOUBLES!???????

[The BFO]

Doesn’t this, more than anything else, illustrate the ineptitude of our senior management? I’m not certain of the exact numbers but I think it goes something like this:

Flagships 70 offices @ £500 = £35,000
Sales & Service 50 offices @ £250 = £12,500
Commercials 250 offices @ £350 = £ 87,500
Total £135,000

£135,000 on Christmas Decorations – you work out how many people we could employ for a year on that. One week they have banned them altogether, and the next week we can blow all that.

[DGP1]

Doesn’t this, more than anything else, illustrate the ineptitude of our senior management? I’m not certain of the exact numbers but I think it goes something like this:

Flagships 70 offices @ £500 = £35,000
Sales & Service 50 offices @ £250 = £12,500
Commercials 250 offices @ £350 = £ 87,500
Total £135,000

£135,000 on Christmas Decorations – you work out how many people we could employ for a year on that. One week they have banned them altogether, and the next week we can blow all that.

TBH we all already know that, remember all those plasma tvs they bought that now just sit in each office just gathering dust.

[BELIAL]

Not to mention the fairy at the top of the tree and his massive salary and bonuses

[norbert]

Not to mention the fairy at the top of the tree and his massive salary and bonuses

the Secretary of State Fairy at the top of tree who uses them as his attack dogs too - only joking Hellmail