A few questions

[ysbrydtawel]

Just yesterday I heard that my application for a postman job at my local DO had been successful - just waiting for the CRB checks to go through now, then I'll have my induction and start. Can't wait to be working again!

Anyway, as I was in need of some extra cash this year I delivered about 1000 phone directories to get a bit of extra cash. Turned out to be a bit of a disaster - I got 3 rural routes so it meant I probably spent all the wage money on fuel anyway. I had to cross each address off a list that was in *alphabetical order*

But the point of this is, the whole experience made me quite curious about a few points - I'm sure in a few weeks I'll know the answer to all these questions anyway, but I thought I may as well satisfy my curiosity by asking, as this info will most likely come in handy anyway when I'm a postman!

1. I have come across houses that have no letterboxes, either in the door or mounted externally. They have no safe place to leave the letters. Sometimes there is a catflap, but sometimes there isn't even a catflap. What do you do in these circumstances? Do you knock on the door, and if so what if they're not at home? Do you push the letters through the catflap?

2. Some properties have multiple letterboxes - for example one ordinary one in the door, and an externally mounted one on their gatepost. What do you do then? Is there a rule as to which one takes priority, or is it either / or?

3. I know I will be taught this at training, but how do frames work? How do you sort letters into the right order for a walk you have never done before? How do you know what order you will encounter the houses in? Can anyone briefly explain the sorting process? I'm really curious about this.

Anyway, hope these haven't been too many questions...

[RoyalSlave69]

The main thing is the more you do your round the more you will learn. You will find some customers like their items left in certain places or delivered in certain ways. Maybe they want it put through the cat flap or maybe they don't. Make sure you listen to any advice given on your training of the round. Write stuff down.

1) I have never seen or heard of any property without a letterbox. When you are trained the trainer should advise you what to do if any property has no letter box. They should know the round and know what to do.

2) No priority to which letter box you should choose. If the mail is posted correctly you have done your job. But like I said...listen to advice given when shown the round.

3) Frames should be in the order of how you walk the round. Example being... 1 to 23 high street is in order on the frame to how you would walk it. You are given boxes of mail to sort into the frame each morning. Some boxes are already in order...so 1 to 23 high street is already in sequence and can be put straight into the frame. Some boxes are all mixed up and you have to work through them, putting them into the frame as you find them. Again all this is shown on the training days.

[wannabeek]

1 There are loads of old properties out in the sticks round our way without letterboxes, or any other conventional delivery point. Sometimes there's a postbox hidden in a hedge, sometimes they like mail left in a barn by the house, sometimes they leave an old bit of drainpipe for the mail, a couple of them prefer it to be left under their front doormat! No way of knowing if you hadn't been told. If in doubt just knock on the door - there's usually a friendly farmer's wife about!

2 If a property has a mounted box as well as a letterbox in their door, it's often because they have a pet which will shred anything which comes through the door, including fingers! For this reason, if there's a mounted box I always use that, and never the front door letterbox as it's one of the signs that there could be a dangerous dog there (Royal Mail may have requested them to have a box fitted due to a previous incident with a postie)

3 This process is way more straightforward than it looks, don't worry about it now. All of us spend quite some time staring blankly at a frame trying to figure out where to stick a magazine but the more often you do it, the easier it becomes.

[raws]

hello mate,congrates on your new job.did you do the online talent q test{matching numbers,postcodes and the multiple answer questionnair}i tried these and found them quite easy but have been unsuccessful twice,dont no where im going wrong?can you give me any advise please.

[ysbrydtawel]

Thanks for the answers, guys!

Hmm to be honest, I don't know what advice to give you for the online assessments - I do remember I didn't have enough time to finish all the questions on the postcode-matching one, though.

Another question that's sprung to mind: I have noticed that quite a few houses don't seem to have the house name / number displayed anywhere on the house. Obviously sometimes it's obvious (if it's between no. 3 and no. 7, chances are it's no. 5) - but what about in a rural area where the houses all have names, and it's unclear if this is Higher Nethercleave, Lower Nethercleave, Nethercleave House, North Nethercleave Barton, Middle Nethercleave, Nethercleave Barn etc. etc. ?

[Stella102]

Another question that's sprung to mind: I have noticed that quite a few houses don't seem to have the house name / number displayed anywhere on the house. Obviously sometimes it's obvious (if it's between no. 3 and no. 7, chances are it's no. 5) - but what about in a rural area where the houses all have names, and it's unclear if this is Higher Nethercleave, Lower Nethercleave, Nethercleave House, North Nethercleave Barton, Middle Nethercleave, Nethercleave Barn etc. etc. ?

you use names and postcodes in this situation

[fishtank]

Obviously sometimes it's obvious (if it's between no. 3 and no. 7, chances are it's no. 5)

You have a lot to learn in the ways of the farce.
More than likely it's 112b(14).

[TrueBlueTerrier]

or is the back door that happens to be the drop point for an address 1 street over.

[ysbrydtawel]

Obviously sometimes it's obvious (if it's between no. 3 and no. 7, chances are it's no. 5)

More than likely it's 112b(14).

or is the back door that happens to be the drop point for an address 1 street over.

Well, this job is going to be... fun

[Lateagainpostie]

Just yesterday I heard that my application for a postman job at my local DO had been successful - just waiting for the CRB checks to go through now, then I'll have my induction and start. Can't wait to be working again!

Anyway, as I was in need of some extra cash this year I delivered about 1000 phone directories to get a bit of extra cash. Turned out to be a bit of a disaster - I got 3 rural routes so it meant I probably spent all the wage money on fuel anyway. I had to cross each address off a list that was in *alphabetical order*

But the point of this is, the whole experience made me quite curious about a few points - I'm sure in a few weeks I'll know the answer to all these questions anyway, but I thought I may as well satisfy my curiosity by asking, as this info will most likely come in handy anyway when I'm a postman!

1. I have come across houses that have no letterboxes, either in the door or mounted externally. They have no safe place to leave the letters. Sometimes there is a catflap, but sometimes there isn't even a catflap. What do you do in these circumstances? Do you knock on the door, and if so what if they're not at home? Do you push the letters through the catflap?
Return the mail to the DO, kill it off as "inacessible"

2. Some properties have multiple letterboxes - for example one ordinary one in the door, and an externally mounted one on their gatepost. What do you do then? Is there a rule as to which one takes priority, or is it either / or?
Take your pick, you will get a bollocking off the householder until you put it through the right one, and don't think that because one wants it in the box on the outside wall they all do, it differs from idiot to idiot

3. I know I will be taught this at training, but how do frames work? How do you sort letters into the right order for a walk you have never done before? How do you know what order you will encounter the houses in? Can anyone briefly explain the sorting process? I'm really curious about this.

The way the mail is in the frame, bears no relation to how you do the walk, if you did it by the frame you would be out there until 6pm every day, you will be shown the best way to bundle up, (some) humans have common sense, Royal Mails A Plus system has a major malfunction between chair and keyboard

Anyway, hope these haven't been too many questions...

[chrisj]

House no 17: has no letter box on inner or outer door but porch always open so letters left in the porch - customer happy (well)

House no 19: same type of property, no letter box on outer door but letter box in inner door, letters left in the porch customer has a barney with postie and eventually made a complaint... other posties & leaflet droppers had also left letters in the porch and continue to do so. A note will suffice from customer but

House no 7: has an outside box surrounded by very thorny rose bush and also a porch. Postie tried to put letters in the outside postbox (silly box - very thin and cant even take A4 or Amazon book). In the struggle, postie get a large thorn in the finger (bloody ouch!!!). Postie has a word with owner the next day about trimming rose bush - owned says, well the other posties just leave the letters in the Porch.

Such is life!

[Lateagainpostie]

House no 17: has no letter box on inner or outer door but porch always open so letters left in the porch - customer happy (well)

House no 19: same type of property, no letter box on outer door but letter box in inner door, letters left in the porch customer has a barney with postie and eventually made a complaint... other posties & leaflet droppers had also left letters in the porch and continue to do so. A note will suffice from customer but

House no 7: has an outside box surrounded by very thorny rose bush and also a porch. Postie tried to put letters in the outside postbox (silly box - very thin and cant even take A4 or Amazon book). In the struggle, postie get a large thorn in the finger (bloody ouch!!!). Postie has a word with owner the next day about trimming rose bush - owned says, well the other posties just leave the letters in the Porch.

Such is life!

I once asked a customer to trim her bush to make it easier for me to get things in her box, next thing I know I'm in front of the DOM

[DGP1]

House no 17: has no letter box on inner or outer door but porch always open so letters left in the porch - customer happy (well)

House no 19: same type of property, no letter box on outer door but letter box in inner door, letters left in the porch customer has a barney with postie and eventually made a complaint... other posties & leaflet droppers had also left letters in the porch and continue to do so. A note will suffice from customer but

House no 7: has an outside box surrounded by very thorny rose bush and also a porch. Postie tried to put letters in the outside postbox (silly box - very thin and cant even take A4 or Amazon book). In the struggle, postie get a large thorn in the finger (bloody ouch!!!). Postie has a word with owner the next day about trimming rose bush - owned says, well the other posties just leave the letters in the Porch.

Such is life!

I once asked a customer to trim her bush to make it easier for me to get things in her box, next thing I know I'm in front of the DOM

I once got into trouble for saying that a woman had big knockers

[chrisj]

DGP, I don't believe you.

Large knockers are good - it saves your knuckles developing at arthritis or such like. They are good for other things too - you perv!

[ysbrydtawel]

Large knockers are good

Passed the security checks! Status changed on the site today. How long does it usually take for the induction to be arranged?