postperson with driving Yet another question

[Dave74]

Hi all,
It's me again:)

After finaling having been offered the job (after a long wait and checking my emails every hour for the last week) I am really excited yet super nervous.
My role is that of postperson with driving and I live in Islington (London) where the driving will be focused on. I will be going around delivering posts. Now I don't know the whole or even half of Islington's roads or streets. How will I know the places that I need to deliver? I have not seen any postperson driver with a sat nav in their van. Just a handheld computer. Could I use my own sat nav for work? Or do they rely on the good old fashioned A-Z of London?


Many thanks

David

[Jack Rouse]

As a brand new postie you should go out with an experienced postie to show you the walk, and the correct way of doing things, getting signatures, deliver to neighbour, specials etc.

Don't be surprised if this training happens very quickly, it's supposed to be done over three days:

1st day, you just watch the experienced bloke do his job.

2nd day, you help out, by delivering parcels, and the odd street, if you get on well he may well let you off on your own.

3rd day, you do it all, prep the mail, bag up, and do the walk, with the experienced bloke watching you and putting you right if you are about to make a mistake.

4th day, time to sh*t yourself, you are own your own.

In some DO's day 2 can be replaced by day 4, depending on how short staffed they are.

You should be left on that walk for decent amount of time, to get you used to the job, and to get you up to speed, after about six weeks you may well find yourself being moved around the office as a day off relief, if you are in a shared van, then you will have someone to point you in the right direction, if it's a HCT walk, it's a map, and find your own way.

My general advice is:

No question is a stupid one.

If you don't know how to bag a walk up.... ask

If you don't know how to get there ... ask

Also find out where the comfort breaks are, best places to lock up the HCT etc.

And always take a mobile No for the person in the cage, or a managers mobile number, no-one ever answers the phone in our DO.

FINISH ON TIME IF YOU DON'T WANT OVERTIME.

[Dave74]

What a really useful piece of information and tips.

Thank you very much Jack Rouse

:)

[spiderj]

Use your own sat nav and an a to z and your phone.

[Dave74]

spiderj
So I am allowed to use my own sta nav then?

I know you just said that but I want to make sure that it is 100% allowed.

Thanks

:)

[olilew]

The only thing is if someone sees it and smashes the window of your van to steal it you will be held liable for it. You would have to hide it away EVERY time you got out of the van.

[Dave74]

Thanks olilew

[wannabeek]

It's unlikely you'd ever need your own sat nav to be honest as it's virtually certain that you'd be doing a set and learnable route for the start period anyway. The only time I've needed one is when I've been given some random parcels to deliver around a wide and unknown area and our RM PDAs given to us have a sat-nav function built in for this purpose (called 'navigate to PC' in the drop-down menu), just enter the postcode and it talks you to the destination from your current location as you drive. It usually works pretty well, in my experience.

[Surreypostie]

If you are on a shared van duty, which is likely, the fact that you don't know the area shouldn't matter. So long as you are partnered up with someone who does actually work as a team they will look after you. Most people in RM despite what you may read on here work well together. We were all new once. Good luck.

[spiderj]

You can use your own but if you've a decent phone and a waterproof case for it your rocking,also a mini first aid kit isnt a bad idea and always have two pens :)

[NewPostieUK]

I don't know the whole or even half of Islington's roads or streets. How will I know the places that I need to deliver?

I'd never been to the town I deliver in at all, ever. You only cover a certain area, say 30 or 40 streets. After 3 or 4 days you'll know them. You don't need to know exactly where every house is.

I've never needed a sat nav, but I found a map useful. Just print one off after your first day, when you know which area you'll be working.