Sole Purpose Of Being A Reserve

[Darren Bent]

I am full time reserve for last 5 years and change a walk every week. It is a pain in the arse sometimes due to uneven workload on walks. Some walk I struggles due to being too big for me. I would like my own walk, but there is no full time duty to apply for. If you want your own walk you have to cut your hours.

[smelly_cat_lady]

If you don't like it, go and work somewhere else you whinger!

[fishtank]

Our office has park&loop.
Reserves are 99% of the time paired with experienced posties.
Walk Sequenced mail has also made the job easier for reserves.
There had to be something positive from modernisation.

[Darren Bent]

Yes as I spend less time on IPS and Sorting mail. :)

[TrueBlueTerrier]

If you don't like it, go and work somewhere else you whinger!

If you don't mind please let them whinge if they want, RMC is a forum for debate and it would be like the Courier if all we had was

[RedBagMan]

Let's be honest, being a postman doesn't require a degree in rocket science does it? Just how much training should it take to be able to stick a letter through a door or knock with a parcel?

But that's the easy bit - it's knowing the shortcuts (as in alleyways/ginnels etc) - it's knowing the "efficient" way of tying up (and bugger the frame because the regular can't be *rsed to get it changed around) - it's knowing the bag drops, the timings and such like (will I get to location "x" before 1300hrs for the special ?) - it's knowing the key codes for blocks of flats (or even finding a bloody key fob for same because regular thinks it "belongs to them") - it's knowing the area (when you get shifted from office to office) - it's knowing the names and addresses (so you can sort other people's cock-ups out 'on the fly' if necessary ... and much much more.

I reckon us floaters are actually the "creme de la creme" - turn our hands to anything/everything/anywhere ... fly by the seat of your pants on day one and after that you're off and away - until you get moved again ...

[fishtank]

I reckon us floaters are actually the "creme de la creme" - turn our hands to anything/everything/anywhere ... fly by the seat of your pants on day one and after that you're off and away - until you get moved again ...

Doesn't that mean we're all "creme de la creme" because 99% started out as reserves with the flying and the offing and awaying?

I was once on 5 duties in 1 day way back some time in the 1800's i think.

[Sliders]

I'm part time and was given a duty on my first day and been doing it for 3 months. All the new starters since have also had their own duties.
It seems the ones that have been around a few years are reserves and cover our days off doing a different round everyday.
Having said that there are also duty holders been doing the same one for over 4 years

Yeah they do that to give you a false sense of "this is pi**" , then you will find that they stick you on five different duties in a week, then the holidays over

[fishtank]

It's supposed to be part of "an effectively managed and supported 13 week induction period".
The induction agreement only guarantees 6 weeks though....

For a minimum of the next 6 weeks wherever possible New Entrants will be provided with a fixed duty in order that they can embed their new learning through a fixed walk.

[Redyam]

I'm a reserve by choice, been here around 8 years. I had my own walk for 4 years, it was so mind numbingly boring I had to get out. Walking up the same drives 5 days a week. Doing the same repetitive letter box, waiting for the same idiotic dog to bark at you for the 800th time. Walking around the same corner, pick up the same bags, have the same idiotic conversation about the weather with the same bloody oap. My god, kill me now.

Thank f**k Im on a different walk every week now. Exploring new areas. Experiencing other peoples mundane repetitions. Learning new routes, meeting new people. Brain stimulation, oh yeah. Suits me down to the ground.

Doing a s**t walk just so it can be repeated? I rather slit my own wrists.

[smelly_cat_lady]

Absolutely right TBT, allow me to explain my comments or enter the forum of debate as you would say.........

At some point soon after joining RM, the concept of seniority is explained to you. It's not complex or difficult and if you didn't understand at the time perhaps you needed pictures. Live with it. To be moaning after 2 years that you don't have your own walk is at best naive and at worst idiotic.

I have been off work for the best part of a year with a serious illness. I've been to the funeral of a colleague that didn't survive so, I thank my lucky stars that a) I'm now healthy enough to get on my broomstick and go back to work and b) I've got a job to go to. I don't have a lot of time for whingers who have the luxury of sitting in a nice warm house in front of an computer moaning about a job most people these days would be very happy to have. And if you don't want yours, I know a few people who would be happy to have it and your strength and health to be able to do it.

In short: If you don't like it, go somewhere else you whinger!

[TeeferTiger]

Absolutely right TBT, allow me to explain my comments or enter the forum of debate as you would say.........

At some point soon after joining RM, the concept of seniority is explained to you. It's not complex or difficult and if you didn't understand at the time perhaps you needed pictures. Live with it. To be moaning after 2 years that you don't have your own walk is at best naive and at worst idiotic.

I have been off work for the best part of a year with a serious illness. I've been to the funeral of a colleague that didn't survive so, I thank my lucky stars that a) I'm now healthy enough to get on my broomstick and go back to work and b) I've got a job to go to. I don't have a lot of time for whingers who have the luxury of sitting in a nice warm house in front of an computer moaning about a job most people these days would be very happy to have. And if you don't want yours, I know a few people who would be happy to have it and your strength and health to be able to do it.

In short: If you don't like it, go somewhere else you whinger!

lol I miss working

Anyway, I can understand some peoples frustration though, when you see a new starter come in and be given their own round. Fair enough they're given their own round for the start to get them used to the job etc, but when they're still on it a few years later and you're still a reserve, I can understand that that might p*ss you off. Especially when you know that that round used to be full time and now it's part time etc etc etc. (Please don't think I'm having a go at the new starters either, I'm just pointing out one problem with the way things are dealt with in DOs nowadays)

[RetroJunkie]

Absolutely right TBT, allow me to explain my comments or enter the forum of debate as you would say.........

At some point soon after joining RM, the concept of seniority is explained to you. It's not complex or difficult and if you didn't understand at the time perhaps you needed pictures. Live with it. To be moaning after 2 years that you don't have your own walk is at best naive and at worst idiotic.

I have been off work for the best part of a year with a serious illness. I've been to the funeral of a colleague that didn't survive so, I thank my lucky stars that a) I'm now healthy enough to get on my broomstick and go back to work and b) I've got a job to go to. I don't have a lot of time for whingers who have the luxury of sitting in a nice warm house in front of an computer moaning about a job most people these days would be very happy to have. And if you don't want yours, I know a few people who would be happy to have it and your strength and health to be able to do it.

In short: If you don't like it, go somewhere else you whinger!

I don't expect my own walk just a limit in the amount of deliveries i cover as a float would be nice, not open to the whole office week after week.

All im saying is i literally have no regularity what so ever, and its very easy to make mistakes as i'm sure people are aware that not everything is straight forward on walks as you would like them to be.

[muzzy]

I spoke to bloody soon!
Got in this morning and manager comes up to me and says from after Xmas I'll be a reserve!!

Oh well, I'm looking forward to the change of scenery, 4 months on one walk and one tough walk as well, time for a change

[fishtank]

In short: If you don't like it, go somewhere else you whinger!

Or you could try to change it for the better or you could try to bring it's deficiencies to the attention of those with the power to change it or you could just make sure that others are aware of what they are getting in to.

Or...like you say you can just bottle it and leave or keep quiet and be grateful because things could be worse...until they become worse...and then be grateful because things could be worse.......until they become worse etc,etc...blah,blah,blah.