Feeling fed up to be honest. 8 weeks into the job. Solo walk with HCT,nearly 800 addresses including several blocks of 2 & 3 story flats & hilly terrain. Start is a 20 minute walk from the DO. 35hr contract. Instead of things getting better they have got worse.
Been totally on my own since day 4 which i dont mind, go as fast as I can, don't run, dont cut across gardens, don't doorstep or walk & sort all the things i was told about. I prep my own frame & I leave on average when most others do & always do all my D2D at least 4 a week, on average walk 13 miles a day. But I also go over my finish time daily by on average an hour. This time has reduced even though in the lead up to xmas letter & parcels have increased a lot so I guess I must be getting faster. I knew this was to be expected as a newbie but my manager now comments about the overtime.
My wages are always wrong & I am missing loads of overtime despite it being written down & signing the sheet. I've even agreed to work a day off to help out. I have had a customer complain about an opened parcel which didnt look open to me but I havent heard anything else since being questioned about it. So feel as if I'm doing it all wrong.
There are some lovely customers on my round but a really nasty one who said was going to complain about something but he didn't say what?? Is this normal or am I just focusing on the negatives?
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What am I doing wrong
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Janet Brum
- Posts: 886
- Joined: 28 Sep 2016, 19:52
- Gender: Female
What am I doing wrong
Basically you do focus on the negatives, as far as I can read, you got a new full time contract, got your speed pretty fast comparing to others and you are doing great :)
Write down your overtime and ask your manager to pay it, also ask him if he is happy for you to complete your walk and go over or maybe he wants you to leave a loop or two behind so he won`t have to pay you Ot?
He is taking the mickey btw, I`ve seen new starters who were claiming 2-3 or more hours every day for 6 or more months and no one told them anything...
Also is worth talking to our union rep about the missing ot and try to ignore the customer`s moaning, if you are doing your job properly, it`s nothing they can complain about and if they do, they are wasting their time :)
Be optimist and ignore the negative stuff, apaprt from the overtime owed
Write down your overtime and ask your manager to pay it, also ask him if he is happy for you to complete your walk and go over or maybe he wants you to leave a loop or two behind so he won`t have to pay you Ot?
He is taking the mickey btw, I`ve seen new starters who were claiming 2-3 or more hours every day for 6 or more months and no one told them anything...
Also is worth talking to our union rep about the missing ot and try to ignore the customer`s moaning, if you are doing your job properly, it`s nothing they can complain about and if they do, they are wasting their time :)
Be optimist and ignore the negative stuff, apaprt from the overtime owed
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Dezzy79
- Posts: 48
- Joined: 13 Apr 2018, 06:22
- Gender: Male
What am I doing wrong
you are probably slow because you are doing things right. Cutting across gardens,walking and sorting is how to be quicker. Doing all your d2d aswell is correct but takes time. Wouldn't worry about customers moaning. Getting paid properly is your main worryAli831 wrote:Feeling fed up to be honest. 8 weeks into the job. Solo walk with HCT,nearly 800 addresses including several blocks of 2 & 3 story flats & hilly terrain. Start is a 20 minute walk from the DO. 35hr contract. Instead of things getting better they have got worse.
Been totally on my own since day 4 which i dont mind, go as fast as I can, don't run, dont cut across gardens, don't doorstep or walk & sort all the things i was told about. I prep my own frame & I leave on average when most others do & always do all my D2D at least 4 a week, on average walk 13 miles a day. But I also go over my finish time daily by on average an hour. This time has reduced even though in the lead up to xmas letter & parcels have increased a lot so I guess I must be getting faster. I knew this was to be expected as a newbie but my manager now comments about the overtime.
My wages are always wrong & I am missing loads of overtime despite it being written down & signing the sheet. I've even agreed to work a day off to help out. I have had a customer complain about an opened parcel which didnt look open to me but I havent heard anything else since being questioned about it. So feel as if I'm doing it all wrong.
There are some lovely customers on my round but a really nasty one who said was going to complain about something but he didn't say what?? Is this normal or am I just focusing on the negatives?
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norris9
- Posts: 2669
- Joined: 27 Feb 2019, 17:32
- Gender: Female
What am I doing wrong
It's how I felt at the beginning and was wondering how my van share partners were always finishing their loops well ahead of me..... it's because they all cut corners.
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PostmanA
- Posts: 10
- Joined: 18 Oct 2019, 18:23
- Gender: Male
What am I doing wrong
Can’t provide much help as a new starter myself but I’m improving, slightly, so I might be doing something right.
I have been ‘lucky’ in the sense that I have my own duty and not changing rounds every 2 days, so I am getting more and more familiar with it, hopefully you are the same.
I try and use the ‘quieter’ days into my advantage, this means taking a look at the bigger picture and trying to improve my system, I owe the person that I’ve shadowed a lot, but they taught me what works for them, I’m now trying to come up with a system that works for me.
I don’t cut corners or leave parcels unattended, writing cards costs time but it’s safe. What I have changed is apartment blocks (Got used to the smell now
still feel sick sometimes though 
) But in my frame you’d have to go all the way up in some blocks with all the parcels and work your way down, when I asked why do I have to carry all the parcels up instead of getting rid of some as I go up I got a stunned face in the office, but I ignored it and it’s much easier now.
Like I said, I don’t have much advice as I am new myself and trying to find my feet, but don’t forget that if you follow someone else’s system, you’re only trying to copy them and while it may work for them, it might not work for you. Don’t be too scared to try a new routine, what’s the worst thing that could happen? Loose a few minutes? But you’ll learn and find a way to improve it.
My manager is a not very smart bully, but I have got my overtime accurate so far, no mistakes till this day, I am still ‘new’ though and that could be why. I don’t know what your manager is like but I’d put my foot down and escalate it if they started messing with my pay, many people get away doing a lot less than they should so I wouldn’t tolerate any mistakes regarding my hard earned cash.
I don’t think you’re doing anything wrong, you’re just stuck trying to get the job done AND learn at the same time, it’s not easy, but you will get there
I have been ‘lucky’ in the sense that I have my own duty and not changing rounds every 2 days, so I am getting more and more familiar with it, hopefully you are the same.
I try and use the ‘quieter’ days into my advantage, this means taking a look at the bigger picture and trying to improve my system, I owe the person that I’ve shadowed a lot, but they taught me what works for them, I’m now trying to come up with a system that works for me.
I don’t cut corners or leave parcels unattended, writing cards costs time but it’s safe. What I have changed is apartment blocks (Got used to the smell now
still feel sick sometimes though ) But in my frame you’d have to go all the way up in some blocks with all the parcels and work your way down, when I asked why do I have to carry all the parcels up instead of getting rid of some as I go up I got a stunned face in the office, but I ignored it and it’s much easier now.Like I said, I don’t have much advice as I am new myself and trying to find my feet, but don’t forget that if you follow someone else’s system, you’re only trying to copy them and while it may work for them, it might not work for you. Don’t be too scared to try a new routine, what’s the worst thing that could happen? Loose a few minutes? But you’ll learn and find a way to improve it.
My manager is a not very smart bully, but I have got my overtime accurate so far, no mistakes till this day, I am still ‘new’ though and that could be why. I don’t know what your manager is like but I’d put my foot down and escalate it if they started messing with my pay, many people get away doing a lot less than they should so I wouldn’t tolerate any mistakes regarding my hard earned cash.
I don’t think you’re doing anything wrong, you’re just stuck trying to get the job done AND learn at the same time, it’s not easy, but you will get there