Christmas & Covid

Wild Rover · Post by **Wild Rover** » 05 Sep 2020, 23:28

I'm guessing most offices, if like mine, are days behind on duties and parcels and we've not even started the countdown to Xmas yet. So if we retain the same working practices currently in place due to Covid (ie, no van shares, duties going out alternate days, parcels mounting up (non-tracked) then just how bad is it going to be in say 4-6 weeks from now when folks start to jump on the Xmas countdown bandwagon?

Post by **wacko74** » 06 Sep 2020, 05:08

We're still having to sort large and oversized outside in the yard due to no space in the office, that should be fun when there's 2 or 3 x as many and freezing rain, sleet and gales.

Woody Guthrie · Post by **Woody Guthrie** » 06 Sep 2020, 06:14

We're pretty much clearing daily.
Our biggest concern is that the number of D2D starts ramping up, that's been very quiet lately and it's indoor capacity where we sometimes struggle..
We're lucky though in that we're a big modern office with plenty of space. Our old office would have been a nightmare to social distance.

HA1 · Post by **HA1** » 06 Sep 2020, 09:03

The business wont cope at Xmas, people have got used to internet shopping now so the majority will do their Xmas shopping online as well.

Unless they do something different this year is going to be a big failure

1560loopsayear · Post by **1560loopsayear** » 06 Sep 2020, 09:34

Won't they (RM) just hire loads of temporary agency drivers to clear any backlog?

Cedar_Room · Post by **Cedar_Room** » 06 Sep 2020, 09:37

Yet again the communication from the top is zero. To my mind Xmas pressure now starts in September,will be even busier this year due to people’s reluctance to visit the city centre. We are destined to fail because,despite the early glimmer of hope when Rico resigned,all the company cares about is digging their heels in & not granting us a well deserved pay rise!

theotherone · Post by **theotherone** » 06 Sep 2020, 10:07

I just think that the CWU have been suckered in again and my fear is industrial relations will be at a low point again come xmas.
Coupled with the CV-19 situation the could potentially be horrendus.

Grinder64 · Post by **Grinder64** » 06 Sep 2020, 10:16

1560loopsayear wrote:Won't they (RM) just hire loads of temporary agency drivers to clear any backlog?

The powers that be will no doubt -as usual- prioritise expenditure in the form of processing at mail centres whilst delivery offices are left to struggle with unrealistic budgetary overtime constraints. The mantra of 'concentrate on tracked, specials and recordeds' will be interesting in light of the fact that we're barely clearing those items now and some duties are seeing 3-4 days of letter backlog remaining in the frames largely due to the usual docket kings being frozen out of overtime. As other posters have rightly pointed out that once you throw increased parcel and D2D traffic into the mix then it's a recipe for absolute meltdown. RM top brass never seem to grasp the reality that you can't accommodate the contents of a quart into a pint pot...

wallan · Post by **wallan** » 06 Sep 2020, 10:27

1560loopsayear wrote:Won't they (RM) just hire loads of temporary agency drivers to clear any backlog?

If "One " in a van is going to continue , more vans are needed Now ,

sindba · Post by **sindba** » 06 Sep 2020, 10:28

As usual, there will be no xmas plans from RM that are fit for purpose.

They'll try to muddle through by stepping up the bullying and harassment, and it'll be a chaotic nightmare daily.

100% guarantee it.

iHateD2Ds · Post by **iHateD2Ds** » 06 Sep 2020, 11:37

The plans are
Save Save Save
With the results
Chaos Chaos Chaos

postslippete · Post by **postslippete** » 06 Sep 2020, 11:58

We are not clearing daily.

And all I'm bothered about right now is the fact that I'm not expected to deliver two loads of f**king mail and packets because they wouldn't pay anybody to clear my duty on my day off!

Its really not much to ask is it?

Wild Rover · Post by **Wild Rover** » 06 Sep 2020, 13:46

General consensus suggests chaos in the offing!

I did notice this https://jobs.royalmailgroup.com/go/Chri ... t/4479401/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Seems not open yet to applications. I'd have thought that should be a priority now.

Post by **SpacePhoenix** » 06 Sep 2020, 14:48

Grinder64 wrote:The powers that be will no doubt -as usual- prioritise expenditure in the form of processing at mail centres whilst delivery offices are left to struggle with unrealistic budgetary overtime constraints.

We're probably very close to the normal Xmas levels of staffing already and we only just clear.

Post by **eastie** » 06 Sep 2020, 18:13

Grinder64 wrote:
1560loopsayear wrote:Won't they (RM) just hire loads of temporary agency drivers to clear any backlog?
The powers that be will no doubt -as usual- prioritise expenditure in the form of processing at mail centres whilst delivery offices are left to struggle with unrealistic budgetary overtime constraints. The mantra of 'concentrate on tracked, specials and recordeds' will be interesting in light of the fact that we're barely clearing those items now and some duties are seeing 3-4 days of letter backlog remaining in the frames largely due to the usual docket kings being frozen out of overtime. As other posters have rightly pointed out that once you throw increased parcel and D2D traffic into the mix then it's a recipe for absolute meltdown. RM top brass never seem to grasp the reality that you can't accommodate the contents of a quart into a pint pot...

Plus you have to add the lapsing as well