D.O Christmas Delivery Strategy - RM Directors. Thank You

[Stormproof]

Also just for a bit of morale boosting in my office there is a whiteboard outside the cage with all the volume/quality figures....everyday the quality level has been over 92% and yet they draw a poxy unhappy face next to it. Gotta love WCM its like being at infant school!.....but now we don't even get crayons to kill off our deads.

[chuzzwuzzer]

We were told by the Dom that we have peaked already .

[rambo1]

I have 'been good' this last week and done 6hrs overtime in an attempt to serve the public on my round, you know ,the way we used to. I sit here this morning ,knackered. I resolve to work to time the rest of christmas, I don't need the money enough to be this knackered on my day off. Had a talk with area manager the other day about the state of the business and specifically the new policy of never bringing back a tracked item to the office. If we do they are now classed as a fail. I asked ,what if the neighbour is not in, his reply was try and try again until you find someone willing to take it! If I don't think I can manage this in my time (how do you know in advance to any degree of accuracy?) I am to inform my line manager. God knows what plan he will have in this (probable) eventuality. We are told 'take your tracked and flowers' ,because they know any other packets left will be there for some time. He tells me we are down on mail (the day after we had 23% more traffic than model) and that we are 6% down on packets from last year. I told him no we are not, he said those are the figures.........guess it must be true then. Stark truth about Royal Mail is that it totally relies on overtime, if nobody worked their day of or went over ,i would guess we would be at least 30% short on hrs to get the job done. Whilst this is good for those who want the money, it is a sure fire way to fail as a business. Don't know how we have a budget for overtime and yet none to get the job done properly.

[rambo1]

1. What is your delivery office strategy?
if you mean: ensure the office is cleared before you go out on delivery...

2. How have you been informed to work during Christmas Pressure?
Managers came around, with clipboards at the end of November, to see if people would/will/can come in to work their days off during Xmas Pressure.
I gave them a big fat NO in reply... no will or desire to work this Christmas, considering we're already "worked to death" enough as it is

3. What 'Best practice' methods are you applying for the Christmas pressure?
Working as per normal practice. ie using your noggin - aka "local knowledge" - when taking a delivery out, "if it ain't safe to leave with a neighbour etc, then bring it back."

4. How are you being advised on daily volumes ?
During Team Briefs at the start of the week. Cue the same propaganda videos and missives from above about "cascading down" whatever the current "news" is that they wish to bestow on us.. mail volumes down, targets not being met, need to improve, first time delivery, deliver to neighbour etc etc
Another tactic employed here is to block vehicles in with "parked vehicles" so you can't leave or have to get a manager to move their car so you can leave. This annoys the bulk of drivers too (apart from the ones that managed to park on the roads outside the office).

What's a team brief ?

[rambo1]

1. What is your delivery office strategy?
if you mean: ensure the office is cleared before you go out on delivery...

2. How have you been informed to work during Christmas Pressure?
Managers came around, with clipboards at the end of November, to see if people would/will/can come in to work their days off during Xmas Pressure.
I gave them a big fat NO in reply... no will or desire to work this Christmas, considering we're already "worked to death" enough as it is

3. What 'Best practice' methods are you applying for the Christmas pressure?
Working as per normal practice. ie using your noggin - aka "local knowledge" - when taking a delivery out, "if it ain't safe to leave with a neighbour etc, then bring it back."

4. How are you being advised on daily volumes ?
During Team Briefs at the start of the week. Cue the same propaganda videos and missives from above about "cascading down" whatever the current "news" is that they wish to bestow on us.. mail volumes down, targets not being met, need to improve, first time delivery, deliver to neighbour etc etc
Another tactic employed here is to block vehicles in with "parked vehicles" so you can't leave or have to get a manager to move their car so you can leave. This annoys the bulk of drivers too (apart from the ones that managed to park on the roads outside the office).

What's a team brief ?

New line in thermal underwear for us????

[rambo1]

January 2015 Postscipt.

Moyas Message

Our delivery staff has made this another wonderful Christmas for our customers, and I would like to thank you immensely for all your efforts.

Now you lazy bstrds. Christmas is out the way. Lapsing will continue and increase post haste and another 3000 of you lucky people will be leaving the company.

I have had a superb time in Canada over the holidays with my new hubby and I have now returned to the helm to make sure that I can top up both my own bank account with those lovely bonuses you work so hard to get me, and to make sure my under managers keep a tight reign on things I will give them a little hand out again later in the year.
Now get grafting and if your lucky, you will still be fit enough to reach Easter.

sooooooo funny...............and probably true.

[OnAFlyer]

We were told by the Dom that we have peaked already .

.....Yet the screens in our canteen are saying that tomorrow (8th) is forecast to be the busiest online shopping day of the year.

[Altrider]

My DIM's response...direct quotes ...honest

1. What is your delivery office strategy? We deliver? Oh yes...I mean we deliver. (Apart from the two full walks and 12 loops of lapsed that didn't go out yesterday)

2. How have you been informed to work during Christmas Pressure? Christmas? Sh*t me! Is it December already?

3. What 'Best practice' methods are you applying for the Christmas pressure? See answer for Question 2

4. How are you being advised on daily volumes ? Oh, yeah, it's ummmm... Christmas, mail's dropping off and we might have a few extra packets. Do you have an extra loop in you?

[dvbuk55]

There is only one strategy, Christmas and any other time - get it done as cheap as possible and lie like bastards about the volumes.

[hampshireman]

I have 'been good' this last week and done 6hrs overtime in an attempt to serve the public on my round, you know ,the way we used to. I sit here this morning ,knackered. I resolve to work to time the rest of christmas, I don't need the money enough to be this knackered on my day off. Had a talk with area manager the other day about the state of the business and specifically the new policy of never bringing back a tracked item to the office. If we do they are now classed as a fail. I asked ,what if the neighbour is not in, his reply was try and try again until you find someone willing to take it! If I don't think I can manage this in my time (how do you know in advance to any degree of accuracy?) I am to inform my line manager. God knows what plan he will have in this (probable) eventuality. We are told 'take your tracked and flowers' ,because they know any other packets left will be there for some time. He tells me we are down on mail (the day after we had 23% more traffic than model) and that we are 6% down on packets from last year. I told him no we are not, he said those are the figures.........guess it must be true then. Stark truth about Royal Mail is that it totally relies on overtime, if nobody worked their day of or went over ,i would guess we would be at least 30% short on hrs to get the job done. Whilst this is good for those who want the money, it is a sure fire way to fail as a business. Don't know how we have a budget for overtime and yet none to get the job done properly.

RM see this a better and therefore cheaper solution (well cheaper is correct).

If , you cover by using O/T then you save ; as you are not paying for FT employees ( and therefore Sickness , holiday pay etc etc)

Does it provide better customer service? The obvious answer is a big fat NO.

But who are we to question the wisdom of RM policy.

I read somewhere (some time ago - and my memory might be flawed) ; that the P&L revision , using the low model week , call rate etc , would be unable to complete within duty time for 38 weeks of the year.

[postslippete]

[Whysoslowyehcfc]

Wednesday and Thursday WILL be the heaviest days over Christmas, packets and parcels will go through the roof

[wabbithunta]

Is that why Yodel packets have been seen on rooftops.. they're getting early practice in?

[stodgy88]

Wednesday and Thursday WILL be the heaviest days over Christmas, packets and parcels will go through the roof -your reasoning been ?