Xmas Radical rethink required.

[RICARD020191962]

So on Thursday I finished my round 3 hours over time and returned to the office to find a colleague literally in tears as she threw back in bundle after bundle of undelivered mail. It was 6pm, she had been working non stop since 7am and despite her very best efforts she felt like she was a failure for not being able to complete.
Everyone knew how unprepared we were for this tsunami of parcels but all we heard was, no annual leave so plenty of bodies to deal with it.
Factor in this, Covid absences, no budget for extra vans, exhausted posties not prepared or able to go over their time and we find ourselves where we currently are.
Frames choking with undelivered mail, Manager telling us to prioritize SD, tracked packets and do whatever letters we can manage.
It's an absolute feckin disgrace in my opinion.
The old Xmas duties workplan is not fit for purpose, busy does not even begin to describe the workload we are currently experiencing and expected to achieve. People are dropping like flies at my office and have no doubt it is replicated nationwide.
From November onwards a plan should be in place to deal with this and every resource enabled to ensure that staff are able to cope without the stresses currently being experienced.
It's actually inhumane what is happening on a day to day basis, some people can deal with it without batting an eyelid but plenty others are suffering with feelings of inadequacy through no fault of there own.
We need to change our modus operandi completely when Xmas looms large on the horizon and stop expecting frontline staff to deliver the equivalent of 3 days work every feckin day.
It's utter madness!!!!!!!

[malawihap]

Dont hold your breath been doing this job for nearly 30 years and it gets worse every year.

[PorkPie]

Cannot disagree with any of that .. the knee-jerk reaction from the top brass is just plain embarrassing .. and yet they still remain oblivious to the full extent of the problem because the middle management from DOM's upwards have consistently hidden the truth from their bosses and simply told them what they want to hear .. the fact that senior management haven't made the effort to find out for themselves what the reality was in the delivery offices is no excuse .. the article that has appeared on the BBC News website today is still just a watered down version of what we're experiencing, I would suggest, in every single delivery office up and down the country.

[Clappedoutpostie]

To have a “rethink” would have required them to have had a plan in the first place. At ours it seems to be made up on an hourly basis, even a 10 minute basis when it’s really hitting the fan. All you can do is ignore the noise and not worry about it, do your best in your hours and extend if you wish. Saying that nearly everybody has given up where I am, even the docket kings are pissed off and hand back everyday. We will be delivering presents and cards well into January.

[HTPostman]

Good post. Unfortunately even if management wanted to, they can’t get out of this mess now. We could revert to pre revision rounds, but you can’t just magic up vans, more postmen etc. It’s too late to recruit any now bearing in mind any new starter will take time to get up to speed. The best bet is probably to entice some ex posties from Mail centres back into delivery just for a few weeks but let’s be honest, how many would offer? They’d have to be offered incentives which then pees off more of the workforce.

This has been coming for months. I just feel like things will boil over soon - all it’s going to take is another stupid letter from Simon, a rambling video from Terry or a ‘posties cancel Christmas’ story from one of the gutter press. Then watch the fallout.

[PorkPie]

The fact that we have created and sustained a management culture where not one single person has the balls to stand up and tell their superiors the truth is shameful in this day and age.

[postieblueshirt]

I know it's wrong but I know we all think it but it needs to completely fail to bring to light what's going on.as a private business theve squeezed as much out of us as they can.

[SpacePhoenix]

no budget for extra vans

Even if there was the budget I doubt RM would be able to get hold of any

[drfeelgood]

Same in our office, no help, no spare vans, no management interest, and not enough people who understand that they cant force you to do overtime. Just cut off and go home at your finish time, leave the problem in managements hands, and throw the problem back at inept managment.

[Schiff]

After this year's shitshow, planning for next christmas should be starting now. The problem is that for planning from the top to have any chance of being successful they need reliable data about what has gone wrong now. It is clear that many DOs are massaging the stats making it appear that they are getting everything out.

My own suggestion to Simon would be to have plants among the casual staff reporting back what is actually happening on the ground, with gross misconduct hearings to follow for DOMs who make fictitious reports.

[SpacePhoenix]

My own suggestion to Simon would be to have plants among the casual staff reporting back what is actually happening on the ground, with gross misconduct hearings to follow for DOMs who make fictitious reports.

Or drop in on a random DO and not tell anyone at all which one so he sees the real picture

[ViperF]

Just work to time you have a start time and finish time. Let the managers stress about it.

[Schiff]

Just work to time you have a start time and finish time. Let the managers stress about it.

Easy to say but some people take pride in their work and don't want to let down their customers. Unfortunately the same can't be said about too many managers who simply want to protect their bonuses by fair means or foul.

[ViperF]

Customers couldn’t give two hoots who delivered there parcels/letters as long as they get them. The customers are not your friends and neither is management.
Look after yourself and health.

[Mr Rush]

After this year's shitshow, planning for next christmas should be starting now.

There's a mentality in the collective consciousness of upper management that considers planning ahead to be wasteful. They think it makes the company lean and agile to wing it on the day rather than cautiously allocate resources for the future. They'd rather risk what we're experiencing now than have a single OPG finish under their time.