So what was it like being a postman 25 years ago?

[Godric]

For special deliveries we just had a slip of a bit of paper to get the customer to sign and recorded deliveries went into an orange book. If it rained you could kiss goodbye to these things as they disintegrated into mush. It was much easier then however you did only get the Sunday off. Most of the managers were decent back then.

Recorded Delivery Book

mine always turned into mush until i put it in one of the plastic envelopes for damaged items

[bmccoll]

30 years ago we were at work 6 days a week and on 43 hour contracts. We had a full night-shift that sorted the mail for the rest of workforce starting at 6:00. No sequenced or walksorted bundles then. Everyone (FT and PT) then went to IPS to sort the remaining mail and and cut off at 6:20 regardless of any mail that was left, this would be held back for the 2nd Del'y. You then prepped your frame and could be out of the he door for 6:40 to catch the first bus to your starting point! Failing that you had to cadge a later lift from one of the firms delivery PM... and there were no seats in the vans, we all bundled into the back along with the parcels. Usually finished the 1st del'y by 9ish but we had a cut-off at 9:30, any mail left was brought back. Break from 10-1030 then prepping the 2nd del'y. Usually finished by 12:00, 1:00 o'clock at the very latest. Rebate would lie in your frame all week and was certainly never attempted on a Saturday! HDS (now D2D) came out once in a blue moon and delivered over a fortnight for about 1p an item. Utility bills were usually a bulk posting and also generated an extra payment.

The funniest thing was all the posties dodging the main roads to avoid the eyes of the Inspectors (now line managers) out on patrol!

[genesis]

We tend to look back with rose tinted glasses but I remember bullying managers, not getting paid for overtime, getting moved onto 5 different duties in one day, not getting annual leave, getting thrown out of a van blind onto duties, spending 3 hours prepping duties you didn't know and leaving the office about an hour after everyone else so...same s**t different day as they say.

I seem to remember The tories were in power , and michael heseltine wanting to privatise us back then, he said all postal workers would get £400 worth of shares .

[OnAFlyer]

I started 20 years ago. It was ridiculously easy, never home after 12 and it was usually earlier. Christmas was the easiest time of the year as mailsort was taken off, there was no internet shopping, only one delivery, cards didn't make up the difference and you automatically got paid overtime you didn't need. Home for 10.30 usually.

I used to cover town centre deliveries sometimes and they averaged under 30 minutes, 2nd delivery was around the same though due to taking most of the recordeds out then. Saturdays were 10-30 minute delivery, one delivery had 4 drops and if you looked after the driver in the week he'd do them for you so you went straight home at 6.30am. I used to do a full residential walk on overtime, finish the lot for 9am and be paid until 5-6pm.

I'd been at RM around 10 years before I finished after 12pm for the first time.

These days I regularly cut off 3 bags in a day, just to get done on time. Totally different job with the later starts, hardly anyone on ips, more part timers, working in pairs and the ridiculous amount of packets and scanning you have to do.

[stroller]

25 years ago the job was very easy, present day it's still easy.

[Mr Incognito]

In 1995 the walk I'm currently on had 328 calls, it now has 613.

[bmccoll]

walks are definitely bigger. My walk in 1988 had one bag of mail over 2 hours at the most! The recent starts think you're havering when you say this!

[woody38]

walks are definitely bigger. My walk in 1988 had one bag of mail over 2 hours at the most! The recent starts think you're havering when you say this!

I never remember any of our walks ever being one bag except for a Monday that used to be the quite day, not Tuesday as now, we had a review about 89 so jobs where made smaller

[bmccoll]

walks are definitely bigger. My walk in 1988 had one bag of mail over 2 hours at the most! The recent starts think you're havering when you say this!

I never remember any of our walks ever being one bag except for a Monday that used to be the quite day, not Tuesday as now, we had a review about 89 so jobs where made smaller

Our west end walks had two or three bags of mail, usually dropped behind customers doors! Sensible posties never signed for these as they generally finished late on but generated bigish tips at Xmas. I just wanted finished early so the one bag walks suited me and to hell with a gratuity at Xmas! Granted the early 1990s saw an increase and the installation of boxes for second/third bags.

[postiewhite]

http://northernlifemagazine.co.uk/the-p ... a-postman/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Interesting read.

[NWpostie]

Used to start at 6am. pick up your mail and sort it into streets, no IPS then as it was sorted into walks overnight, out of the door by7.15am to be dropped off and your 2nd bags as well, best thing is you had the whole street to yourself with the occasional milkman, no Victor Meldrews are awake either at that time, bonus !, you had a wnader round town to a shop or grab some lunch before heading back to the office for your second delivery usually your own walk and part of a delivery next door which would be a part time duty, if you were quick you could be done for 12pm otherwise its 1.30pm.

It was easy and you got away with murder and overtime was constant as they needed to shift mail out, there was no haggling, it was "book 4 hours and take them out"

Great times before single delveries.

Stan DuBonnet book was pretty much accurate about the realities of the job.

[WOBBLY]

5.45am start. If you were back any later than 9.30 from 1st delivery it was a busy day! Our 'noon' delivery would consist of the morning round a second time and a tenth of a part time round. I was on an 11 day fortnight then! You could do a noon and half a full delivery on o/t before 2.30 in those days!!

[vigilante]

5 oclock start.
Everyone full time.

TPO came in and we drove up to the station to get the mail, twice.
Everyone hit the mail.
We had sections, 3 rurals, one town and a late turn> (involving delivery, collection and evening dispatch)

Inward and outward sorting.
Head postmaster in charge with office manager, supervising PHG and two other PHG's

Rounds easy and second deliveries, ghosting of O/T.

Easy saturdays. One day i went out at 6.30 and back by 8(paid until 10 early saturday finishes)

Old boys had best area rurals new people had worst rounds-fair to me.
Holidays on seniority level whoever's at the top gets best pick- (waited all these years and that option for me has gone now I get crap picks.)

Loads of characters in the workplace(old servicemen etc) now a down beaten workforce miserable with their lot.

Ties on 1st day in Sept and off 1 June--you were sent home if you didn't have right uniform!

A completely different relaxed atmosphere although they were very hot on things you couldn't step out of line at all.

Only allowed 3 miss-sorts in 500 letters IPS!

Books to write your recorded mail numbers in. And RMSD's

Trackback parcels.
Rebate mail(before mailsort) which was left if you didn't have to go to a property.


Smoking allowed in delivery office

Marleen calling me a little tic turd. Oh the joys.

Stamping of privates with the date stamp while the bosses weren't there. (by females)
Constant horseplay again while bosses weren't looking.

Oh the memories.

Now look at us..............

[bmccoll]

Overtime... if asked to do half a walk this would mean for the whole day (ie the two deliveries) and would mean a 4 hour docket for doing an hour and a half's work. Doing a second delivery on OT would generate 3 1/2 hours OT for an hour's work. AGs never volunteered a 2nd del'y on OT on a Monday (unless they were either desperate or didn't want to scupper themselves for OT the rest of the week) as the first del'y was usually handled by the night shift which meant you had the rebate from the 1st del'y to deliver on the 2nd... a 2 o'clock finish while everyone else was done by 11 o'clock!