Have Your Say

[The BFO]

I have just returned home after the usual end of month bun fight – half a counter staffed, queue to the door, FSS playing Space Invaders etc., to find a letter from someone signing himself Richard Barker, General Manager. He has taken the liberty of writing to me at my home address, but has neglected to include his so that I may reciprocate. Nonetheless, I am left wondering what the point of his letter is. It just reads like a page and a half of sanctimonious garbage to me.
Is he standing for some sort of election?

[pondhopper]

I have just returned home after the usual end of month bun fight – half a counter staffed, queue to the door, FSS playing Space Invaders etc., to find a letter from someone signing himself Richard Barker, General Manager. He has taken the liberty of writing to me at my home address, but has neglected to include his so that I may reciprocate. Nonetheless, I am left wondering what the point of his letter is. It just reads like a page and a half of sanctimonious garbage to me.
Is he standing for some sort of election?

Put up a copy of his letter then to see if anyone can help "translate"

his page and a half of sanctimonious garbage to me

. you never know someone somewhere maybe able to translate it. Anyway there will no doubt be a return address on the envelope. Send it back... "unsolicited mail etc etc". Should be treated as a new item of mail and as it's been opened and then returned.. it will be surcharged too!


I would assume that you mean he is in charge of PO counters then? I must admit I've not really heard of him... I just "googled" him and all I found was this, assuming this is the same person that is.

http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&sa ... =&aq=f&oq=" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Richard Barker - LinkedIn
Taunton, United Kingdom - General Manager, Commercial Network at Post Office Ltd
Richard Barker. General Manager, Commercial Network at Post Office Ltd. Taunton, United Kingdom. Contact Richard Barker · Add Richard Barker to your network ...
uk.linkedin.com/pub/richard-barker/4/a63/92a - Cached

[simjan]

Got the letter too, wish I could reply to him. Same at our office even the customers are starting to feel sorry for us. Mind you went for my 15 min break came back about 10 mins later a lady I had spoken to coming in I served her. I am getting really annoyed about the way this company is treating its staff and customers, whoever made these cuts in staff ought to be made to do the work for a few days, face the customers, who have better things to do than stand in a queue for a long time and then be asked to stay a little while longer to sell you something.Putting unbelivable pressure on us its getting closer to a health and safley matter. Rant done, thank god it is sunday tomorrow, cannot bear to think about what monday will bring.

[PostalOfficer]

Putting unbelivable pressure on us its getting closer to a health and safley matter.

Which prompts me to ask something that I had thought about for a long time.

If a big piece of asbestos fell off the ceiling at work, hit me on the head and put me off sick, I would claim compensation.

If works stresses me to the extent I am off work, I get a sick warning when I return.

I maintain both actions are caused by the PO, both put me off work, so why the big difference in outcome?

Furthermore, when I was off with work-related stress, my counsellor said that the employer has a duty of care to it's employees. Given that one year at my office sick leave reached 13% of staff hours and there are currently two staff off with stress and another who ought to be, how bad do things have to get before the CWU could instigate a case for breach of duty of care?

The irony to me is that a Health and Safety person came round and carefully examined numerous file, records of signatures, ticked boxes etc., whilst completely missing the 13% S/L figure. If asbestos leaking from the ceiling had caused the S/L, I presume the office would have been shut in seconds?

I'll bet there would be a stronger reaction if the office had been 13% below it's credit card target