"it'll get better after Christmas," they said

[Kenfandango]

It was my first Christmas at RM, and I was on a route known as "the beast" (a high street, some rural, lots of massive houses and driveways and year-round parcels.) Finishing at 5.30-6 every day in December just to clear it as I couldn't face having to stuff things in the frame the next morning.
Constantly told how it would improve once Christmas was over.

It's worse. Came in Tuesday to 17 crates of mail; 3 mech and the rest missorts/buddy... at least 2 full Yorks of tracked (usually a few hefty ones and hundreds of small... how are some people getting 20 covid kits?!) and a sleeve of non-tracked every day.

Taking the advice from people on here, I've now taken to working my time and bringing things back. If I've got more tracked than I have time in which to deliver them, it doesn't get delivered.

[blacov]

I feel your pain. Early January is never really quiet as retailers put a lot of things on sale trying to capture the Christmas shopping spree for a little longer. However this years January is ridiculous. Everything is so heavy especially tracked items and having several people self isolating or on long term sick leave means this basically feels like Xmas pressure hasn't finished at all.

[chickenwittle]

We have people in my office that stay out past their finish time to get finished for the same reason, they don’t want to do it next day .I don’t think this is the right thing to do , all they are doing is papering over the cracks . The best thing to do is work your time and bring back what’s left , failing tracked items is what really hurts the managers and their bonuses.I admit this does wear you down though but you just need to focus on your start and finish time and do what you can.

[TopperGas]

Then again if you go over you can claim overtime, it's not like RM are forcing posties to work without pay, which seems to be the case with other couriers.

[Jpro747]

We have people in my office that stay out past their finish time to get finished for the same reason, they don’t want to do it next day .I don’t think this is the right thing to do , all they are doing is papering over the cracks . The best thing to do is work your time and bring back what’s left , failing tracked items is what really hurts the managers and their bonuses.I admit this does wear you down though but you just need to focus on your start and finish time and do what you can.

Exactly this. If enough of us did the job properly and just worked our hours the management would be forced to make the rounds more achievable. I get some people need the overtime which is fine, but I see too many guys coming in early for free, moaning about how heavy it is and rushing around to get everything done in their time (proving to managers that it CAN be done in the time). Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. MUGS!

[priority102]

It will never, repeat never, fail to amaze me how many employees of this company slag it off like there's no tomorrow but then come in early and work for free. I've seen people coming 2 hours early but then moaning their heads off when they're given lapsing to make up their PAID time.

Managers will always turn a blind eye and let you work for free, it helps their figures and bonuses. They're not daft!

[ihatedogs]

We have people in my office that stay out past their finish time to get finished for the same reason, they don’t want to do it next day .I don’t think this is the right thing to do , all they are doing is papering over the cracks . The best thing to do is work your time and bring back what’s left , failing tracked items is what really hurts the managers and their bonuses.I admit this does wear you down though but you just need to focus on your start and finish time and do what you can.

Exactly this. If enough of us did the job properly and just worked our hours the management would be forced to make the rounds more achievable. I get some people need the overtime which is fine, but I see too many guys coming in early for free, moaning about how heavy it is and rushing around to get everything done in their time (proving to managers that it CAN be done in the time). Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. MUGS!

But they're not proving it can be done in the time because they're coming in early.

[Sir Henry]

Yeah but the early start won't be recorded, so on paper it will look like it can be done. And THAT will be waved under the nose of any other poor f****r that complains its impossible.

Look we know screws are dishonest scumbags, not all I grant you but even those who aren't, KNOW what goes on and go along with it or say nowt so maybe their guilty too. s**t rolls downhill, the scum also rises etc. In short don't rely on fair play, management are f***ing bent because the whole system is bent and bent by design.

FTM
Come the f***ing revolution.

[koolishy67]

20 testing kit for one house look like they sorted for 6 months

[Kesknight]

I've been a Postman for nearly 35 years. Things have gone rapidly downhill. The whole system needs sorting out from top to bottom, if someone retires or leaves for whatever reason it takes months to replace them. Alot of Postman abuse the sick pay by taking a few days off whenever they feel like it. When i first started a senior manager used to visit our office now and again, you could ask him questions and he was a really nice fella. You never see anyone nowadays. Another big mistake was introducing one man one duty, alot of those guys are only interested in themselves and couldn't care less about helping anybody else whatever pressure they were under.

[priority102]

I've been a Postman for nearly 35 years. Things have gone rapidly downhill. The whole system needs sorting out from top to bottom, if someone retires or leaves for whatever reason it takes months to replace them. Alot of Postman abuse the sick pay by taking a few days off whenever they feel like it. When i first started a senior manager used to visit our office now and again, you could ask him questions and he was a really nice fella. You never see anyone nowadays. Another big mistake was introducing one man one duty, alot of those guys are only interested in themselves and couldn't care less about helping anybody else whatever pressure they were under.

...and back then when area managers did visit (and I agree, they were approachable), the DOM's didn't have to spend a panic 2 hours pre visit making sure that he/she didn't see loads of things they shouldn't, tidying up, hiding undelivered D2D's, as high standards back then were part of your daily duty structure, a company and job you were proud to be a part of.

[Kesknight]

I've been a Postman for nearly 35 years. Things have gone rapidly downhill. The whole system needs sorting out from top to bottom, if someone retires or leaves for whatever reason it takes months to replace them. Alot of Postman abuse the sick pay by taking a few days off whenever they feel like it. When i first started a senior manager used to visit our office now and again, you could ask him questions and he was a really nice fella. You never see anyone nowadays. Another big mistake was introducing one man one duty, alot of those guys are only interested in themselves and couldn't care less about helping anybody else whatever pressure they were under.

...and back then when area managers did visit (and I agree, they were approachable), the DOM's didn't have to spend a panic 2 hours pre visit making sure that he/she didn't see loads of things they shouldn't, tidying up, hiding undelivered D2D's, as high standards back then were part of your daily duty structure, a company and job you were proud to be a part of.

Your right

[crimson king]

We have people in my office that stay out past their finish time to get finished for the same reason, they don’t want to do it next day .I don’t think this is the right thing to do , all they are doing is papering over the cracks . The best thing to do is work your time and bring back what’s left , failing tracked items is what really hurts the managers and their bonuses.I admit this does wear you down though but you just need to focus on your start and finish time and do what you can.

Exactly this. If enough of us did the job properly and just worked our hours the management would be forced to make the rounds more achievable. I get some people need the overtime which is fine, but I see too many guys coming in early for free, moaning about how heavy it is and rushing around to get everything done in their time (proving to managers that it CAN be done in the time). Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. MUGS!

Yep, and then people like me the day off rotate rocks in, does it properly start and finish time, take breaks etc and brings stuff back.

Cue sideways looks from management and the duty holders...

It's frustrating enough having to explain yourselves to the screws, but having to explain to duty holders you don't want to come in early for free, skip breaks and go over your time every day to complete like they do is taking exasperation to the next level...

[1560loopsayear]

Probably as bad 'after' Christmas as I've known - in times before that 'deadly killer disease' took over our lives, we could look forward to a quieter period after Christmas to recharge our batteries - now we're just hamsters constantly spinning the running wheel

[SpacePhoenix]

It's down to the way the Bank Holidays fell combined with the weekends.

Week Beginning 20th Dec you had 4 days with people sending mail and mail being delivered with nothing being sent or delivered on the Saturday.

Week Beginning 27th Dec you had 3 days with people sending mail and mail being delivered with nothing being delivered on the Saturday

Week Beginning 3rd Jan you had 4 days with people sending mail and mail being delivered.

Over a total of what would normally be 18 days when people send mail and mail gets delivered you lost 5 days.

After Xmas eve for companies that send out lots of stuff and up to and including the 29th Dec, depending on if they worked Xmas day and Boxing day you had between 3 and 5 days during which they were processing orders. All that mail will have entered RM's system on the 29th.

After New Years eve up to and including the 4th of Jan you had 3 days during which they were processing orders. All that mail will have entered RM's system on the 4th.

That's a lot of mail compacted into a short amount of time. The amount of foreign mail has shot up over the last week, presumably as customs clear whatever backlog they had. You've also got New Years sales mixed in which also cause a surge in mail. I can't see it calming down until late January/early February