Being a Postman Queries

vnewson · Post by **vnewson** » 24 Sep 2014, 09:55

Hi
Just wondered if anyone could help. I should pass my driving test by xmas, so was thinking when I do xmas casual work (was asked to register in October) I could see if there was any delivery jobs going. Just wanted to know:

How many miles do you have to walk a day being a postmen, and how many hours are you out delivering?
Do they get rid of you if you are not fast enough on your rounds?
Do you rounds constantly change everyday?
Is it easy to get lost if you are rubbish at directions?!
Where do you go for toilet breaks when you are delivering?!

Any help would be great, thanks!

Post by **TrueBlueTerrier** » 24 Sep 2014, 10:55

vnewson wrote:How many miles do you have to walk a day being a postmen, and how many hours are you out delivering?

Hours:It varies but average its between 4.5 and 5 hours planned. Though it can be as little as 3 and as much as 8 hours.

Distance : 9.5 miles seems to be the average

vnewson wrote:Do they get rid of you if you are not fast enough on your rounds?

There is a planned speed but they will give you time to adjust - it takes about 4 - 6 months.

vnewson wrote:Do you rounds constantly change everyday?

They can do but as a new starter you should get about 6 weeks on one round while you get up to speed. After that it depends on the local office and yes you could be doing different rounds, and different types of rounds every day.

vnewson wrote:Is it easy to get lost if you are rubbish at directions?!

Yes - But if you have a smart phone then any navigation app will help. Google maps is quite useful. However if you are on a paired round (called a CDV delivery) then you'll be with another postie.

vnewson wrote:Where do you go for toilet breaks when you are delivering?!

There should be identified official toilet stops for each duty, but in extremis you can usually ask most businesses if its ok to use the staff toilet, or in the very worst case you can knock on someones door.

vnewson wrote:Any help would be great, thanks!

Welcome to the site.

vnewson · Post by **vnewson** » 24 Sep 2014, 11:46

Thats excellent info thanks for the help! Ive heard alot people only last a couple of weeks, do you think this is because its tough walking about 9 miles a day in all types of weather? Thanks

Post by **TrueBlueTerrier** » 24 Sep 2014, 11:57

vnewson wrote:Thats excellent info thanks for the help! Ive heard alot people only last a couple of weeks, do you think this is because its tough walking about 9 miles a day in all types of weather? Thanks

Yep its not the easy job most see when their postie comes, its very physical and certainly not for the shy or faint hearted.

vnewson · Post by **vnewson** » 24 Sep 2014, 12:00

It sounds tough! Thanks, I suppose the only way you will know is if you actually try it. Cheers!

Post by **TrueBlueTerrier** » 24 Sep 2014, 12:09

vnewson wrote:It sounds tough! Thanks, I suppose the only way you will know is if you actually try it. Cheers!

They had a programme on BBC a few years back where they challenged a Royal Marine to do it for 1 day - even he said he'd struggle if he had to do it every day.

This is a thread we had on it at the time. http://www.royalmailchat.co.uk/communit ... lit=marine" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

dazg · Post by **dazg** » 03 Oct 2014, 12:39

TrueBlueTerrier wrote:
vnewson wrote:Thats excellent info thanks for the help! Ive heard alot people only last a couple of weeks, do you think this is because its tough walking about 9 miles a day in all types of weather? Thanks
Yep its not the easy job most see when their postie comes, its very physical and certainly not for the shy or faint hearted.

Nine miles? Hah! I do at least nine miles a day just portering inside the mail centre

(seroiusly) Twelve is my record for an eight hour shift. Sixteen is my record for a 12 hour shift.

( I have one of those apps on my phone tells me what i walk)

It should be no surprize to anyone that I have lost 2 stone since last Xmas (eating the same as i always have)

Justanotherstar · Post by **Justanotherstar** » 03 Oct 2014, 15:57

dazg wrote:
TrueBlueTerrier wrote:
vnewson wrote:Thats excellent info thanks for the help! Ive heard alot people only last a couple of weeks, do you think this is because its tough walking about 9 miles a day in all types of weather? Thanks
Yep its not the easy job most see when their postie comes, its very physical and certainly not for the shy or faint hearted.
Nine miles? Hah! I do at least nine miles a day just portering inside the mail centre (seroiusly) Twelve is my record for an eight hour shift. Sixteen is my record for a 12 hour shift. ( I have one of those apps on my phone tells me what i walk)

It should be no surprize to anyone that I have lost 2 stone since last Xmas (eating the same as i always have)

I've done both and Its tougher walking the streets, you have all kinds of different surfaces to walk on (them god awful pebble drives are a bloody nuisance!!) and different weather conditions to contend with, pushing a (working) york around is nothing compared to having up to 16kg in a bag going up and down peoples drives or walking one of those horrible HCT's

The worse thing about MC portering is the monotony of walking around the same building for 8/12 hours...also you can disappear in the mail centre for little breaks when the work isn't too busy...you can't do that if you want to finish on time while you're on a walk

ROYALMAILCHAT

Being a Postman Queries

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