How to get faster

norris9 · Post by **norris9** » 18 Apr 2019, 16:16

I think my walking pace is ok.... but I want to try to be quicker in other ways...

1. Signed Fors and ringing doorbells:

I knock, wait 10 seconds, knock, wait 10 seconds....then write out a docket. Shall I just knock once wait 10 seconds and then write out the docket?

2. Leaving things in a 'Safe Place':

I have tended not to risk leaving anything in 'safe places' unless recommended to me by the colleague I am with. What are the consequences of leaving packages in a 'safe place' as determined by you, if the customer complains that they never received it?

Obviously I'd never leave a packet on a doorstep which was in plain sight from a street or neighbouring houses. I'd leave under a bucket, behind a bin, in a porch, or behind a gate in a garden.

One colleague told me that as he has a designated round which he has done for years and knows his customers, he knows where to place packets and he doesn't bother to PDA them as 'left in safe place' which saves him time taking a photo and typing the location into the PDA. He just clicks delivered... is this typically what those that have been on a set round for a long time tend to do?

I think I have accidently clicked 'delivered' on the PDA instead of doing the whole photo + digital note on the PDA.

3. Are there any other shortcuts that you can get away with?

I get people will say - 'do things properly as they should be done'...but I get the feeling that's not how it ends up working out and the management are likely fine with people shortcutting here and there as speed helps to get the mail out the door. I am sure some managers take their own shortcuts.

Post by **unome** » 18 Apr 2019, 16:21

Do the job the right way
1 That's entirely up to you
2+3 Sound good until someone complains about a missing packet
manager will have no hesitation in cutting your feet from under you
and showing you the nearest door to the job centre. Never trust them an inch.

DiamondSmiles · Post by **DiamondSmiles** » 18 Apr 2019, 16:26

Point 1. I think that a total of just 20 seconds is actually not long enough tbh, especially in the warmer months when people could be out in the garden.

Point 2. If in doubt form left it.

Point 3. Why do so many people want to race around and take shortcuts? Mistakes happen if you are rushing. Trust me i have been 30+ years in the job. Just take it steady, your body will thank you for it if you are still in the job a couple of decades later!

Postie45 · Post by **Postie45** » 18 Apr 2019, 16:39

Theres a big difference between doing things "faster" and doing things "properly"

1. Sure write out the card as soon as you knock if you like if you just want to be faster, but waiting about 20-30 seconds before doing it would seem more reasonable and thus not waste 739 cards.

2. dont do it, simple as that. I know people who have left stuff in "hidden" places but guess what ? - regardless if the customer receives the item or not, they can claim they didnt and eventually someone WILL claim they didnt get the item.
Even if you know the customer very well I wouldnt leave items, if they genuinely did have an item stolen that you had left can you guarantee they wont complain or report it ? Are they going to pay your salary if you lost your job ?
If someone does report an item missing and the manager follows it up and you say you left it somewhere unattended its a conduct case. Ok, first time you probably get away with a warning but its a black mark against your name, its not a path you want to be going down especially if youre relatively new to the job.

3 In reality managers LOVE people taking short cuts, LOVE them ignoring health and safety because they know many times this is the only way a delivery is getting done. But its also win-win for the manager because as soon as something goes wrong and its found you were cutting corners theyre not going to say "well, i was ok with him ignoring procedures" NO... theyre going to use it against YOU and cover THEIR own arse.

Sir Henry · Post by **Sir Henry** » 18 Apr 2019, 16:47

You COULD start writing out the red card immediately upon arriving at the door, knock first, that ensures that someone should hear, ring next, sometimes the bell isn't audible to you at the front door, if it's broken your first knock will have alerted anyone at home already.

NEVER safeplace, if it's not safe (i.e. Lockable). If judged unsafe it gets red carded and returned, saves all the pissing about and saves you any trouble with supposedly missing items later on. YOU have the final say as to whether a place is safe so use it to your advantage. Your partners opinion as to what is OK to do won't save your arse if it goes tits up. Also it teaches the customer to actually be at f***ing home when expecting a parcel if they get red carded regularly.

The bosses couldn't give a flying f**k at a rolling donut if you've done your job correctly or not, only if they have to deal with any s**t that lands in their lap as a consequence. Minimise the chance of this happening and your boss will not actually love you for it but better still will leave you the f**k alone to get on.

Scan barcodes and read addresses as you walk between addresses, just don't trip up and hurt yourself while you're distracted, it becomes second nature and shaves seconds off your time per delivery point. This is frowned upon by everyone, I do it, no f***s given

Doing things properly or not, the thing about opinions is that they're like arseholes, everyone has one but some stink worse than others. The only one that matters is your own so f**k anyone else's.

Some of this is a little tongue in cheek, some not.

clashcityrocker · Post by **clashcityrocker** » 18 Apr 2019, 17:03

And if you get really fast you could ask them to decrease your contracted hours.
You won't be needing them.

norris9 · Post by **norris9** » 18 Apr 2019, 17:43

Cheers guys.

1. I will knock, wait 10 seconds, knock and then start writing out the docket.

2. I am not going to safe place anything, maybe only if told to do so by a colleague - yes I know it's not risk free, but I'd trust someone who has been doing the round for years to know the places which are reliably safe. If a manager wants to rip my balls off for one parcel going missing - then so be it. Though I'd be shocked if they sack people for this, unless they left an expensive item out in the open for all passers by to see.

As soon as I get 1 complaint about safe placing then I'll NEVER safe place anything ever again.

I suppose looking around for a safe place + going through the process of taking a photo and leaving a note, probably amounts to a similar amount of time to writing out a docket.

Well, if any Postie's whine at me for being too slow - they will just be told to piss off by me. My hope is I'll get lucky and get designated a round, long term. That way I'll be sure to be fast within weeks, but with all this moving around - I am likely to be a fair bit slower than my colleague seeing as they are fitter, know the route like the back of their hand and will likely have the urge to finish early like every postman I have come across so far.

norris9 · Post by **norris9** » 18 Apr 2019, 18:06

oh....another thing.... with signed fors....

Do you actually ask for their surname or do you just type the surname that's on the parcel? When delivery people come to the door with a signed for (including the postman) they very rarely ask for my name, they just ask for a signature, sometimes I think they just hand over the parcel and sign for you.

arnold cheshire · Post by **arnold cheshire** » 18 Apr 2019, 18:17

It's because of bullying . .Dom's pushing people not to cut off or making sure they lapse

Jpro747 · Post by **Jpro747** » 18 Apr 2019, 19:04

norris9 wrote:oh....another thing.... with signed fors....

Do you actually ask for their surname or do you just type the surname that's on the parcel? When delivery people come to the door with a signed for (including the postman) they very rarely ask for my name, they just ask for a signature, sometimes I think they just hand over the parcel and sign for you.

Ask for the person who signing for it, as it will be their signature. When I have had deliveries to my door from other couriers they sometimes ask for my name AFTER I’ve signed... which makes me think their PDA is recording sound when you say your they can back themselves up if someone tries to deny reciept

Sorry a bit off topic.

robbertwhitton · Post by **robbertwhitton** » 18 Apr 2019, 19:06

Really!!??? Have we learnt nothing?? I dispair

Decky Boy · Post by **Decky Boy** » 18 Apr 2019, 19:41

As many have said "Do the job correctly and don't cut corners". Sure we all want to be as efficient as possible and for Royal Mail to thrive as a business. Racing inevitably leads to mistakes... and in many cases personal injury as a result of trips,slips and falls ! ! !

With parcels, it's a bang on the door AND the doorbell if there is one. Mostly you can tell if someone is home fairly soon after knocking. If no answer after a reasonable time I'll be knocking on a Neighbour's door and may try a second neighbour. As a regular on a round you will get to know who is home ( and more importantly who will take in a packet

) Use a P6721 if a neighbour takes in a packet... this prevents dafties (members of the public who don't read a P739 properly) driving 12 miles to the callers office for a parcel which YOU left with their Neighbour ! ! !

The only parcels you should be leaving in a safe place are Tracked Items which specifically state that this can be done. You must not leave other mail items under buckets or in porches UNLESS the customer provides a written and signed letter authorising irregular delivery methods. I always make a copy which I give to the gaffer and keep the original in my own file at home.

Finally on the subject of signatures ... You should ask for the full name of the person receiving the item from you. If they don't provide their full name, or get stroppy about things, I usually put the parcel back in my bag and pull out a P739 card. You want the FULL NAME of the person taking the parcel from you and not the name on the parcel .

I hope the above helps. Stick in, take your time. . . and do the job properly. Good Luck

Janet Brum · Post by **Janet Brum** » 18 Apr 2019, 19:43

norris9 wrote:oh....another thing.... with signed fors....

Do you actually ask for their surname or do you just type the surname that's on the parcel? When delivery people come to the door with a signed for (including the postman) they very rarely ask for my name, they just ask for a signature, sometimes I think they just hand over the parcel and sign for you.

Write down the name on the parcels, that saves time.
Whoever signs for it lives at that address, the pda scan is proof that you delivered, end of.
Don`t waste your time asking about names or even more time having to spell that name etc.
Never heard about that anyway, whoever is on the parcel, gets put in the pda.

Decky Boy · Post by **Decky Boy** » 18 Apr 2019, 20:02

Janet Brum wrote:
Write down the name on the parcels, that saves time.
Whoever signs for it lives at that address, the pda scan is proof that you delivered, end of.
Don`t waste your time asking about names or even more time having to spell that name etc.
Never heard about that anyway, whoever is on the parcel, gets put in the pda.

My oh my oh my. Why would you write names on parcels ? Or advise a new start to do so ? This is WRONG ... and not SOP.

And to suggest asking about names wastes time is also WRONG. Who coached or trained you ? Cut corners and you cut hours out of offices. Your advice is crazy

norris9 · Post by **norris9** » 18 Apr 2019, 20:17

Decky Boy wrote:You must not leave other mail items under buckets or in porches UNLESS the customer provides a written and signed letter authorising irregular delivery methods. I always make a copy which I give to the gaffer and keep the original in my own file at home.

ok, maybe these ones I did the other day will come back to bite me. I will start fresh....only leaving parcels in a safe place if stated on the parcel.

Maybe one of these countless forms or PDF's they give you when you start working for RM states the protocol for this.....but I do not remember reading about it. I am not sure I have been told anything official about this.

On my weeks worth of training I was told by my colleague/trainer that it was up to me if I wanted to leave a parcel in a safe place or not. He would put parcels in back gardens, under recycling crates etc... then the next guy I was put with told me to put parcels in a porch on one property and there is a pub with an unlocked side gate which leads up to a door and he told me to leave the parcels on the front door mat. Then the next guy I got put with said to me in a nicer residential area that I can "leave parcels out as it's safe".

So all 3 Postie's I have been put with so far freely place parcels in 'safe places' that they themselves determine as safe.

If you are not mean't to do this.....why don't Royal Mail make it crystal clear!!!! DO NOT DO IT! Then surely nobody would do it....

It seems to me that they are fine with you doing it, until it goes wrong.