Are any Crown Office staff here happy in their job?

[FinancialSpecialist]

This is a serious question - on this forum, everyone seems to be very unhappy with POL and in many cases their managers, FS, counter clerks and the directors.

My question is if anyone thinks that it isn't that bad and actually feel happy in their jobs in any way?

[PO1]

Put it this way, we've got a countdown clock up in the office counting the days away to 31st March 2012... VR day.

Does that put you in the picture?

[bigjames]

I like my job, I wouldn't go so far to say that I love it, but I do like my job.

What I don't like is having to do other people's jobs, whether that is a counter clerk's, or an FS's or even the cleaners. Closely linked to that is not having the tools to do my job properly, whether that be enough staff, enough leaflets, enough money, or whatever. Give me what I need, and I can do a half decent job, don't give me what I need and it's not my fault if I can't deliver.

[FinancialSpecialist]

PO1 I honestly hope that isn't the case, just because it would serve all the hangers on right who are bringing down the business for everyone else because they would like to cash in or can't be arsed trying to do a good job.

BigJames good answer. The ONCH control is an example of cost cutting at the expense of customer faced staff and customers themselves and is ridiculously stringent. Never had a problem with leaflets or cleaners though.

[bigjames]

When a mentally challenged customer does a dump on the carpet, or a senile old lady pees herself in the queue, and the cleaner isn't due in until 5am the next day, someone has to clean it up. I can't spare any of my staff of the counter, so it falls to me. Both are instances of things that have actually happened in my offices. I have had to deal with diabetics going hypo, epileptics fitting in the queue, drunks unconcious in the lobby, drunks pissing in the post box, old ladies collapsing, old ladies bleeding, drunks fighting (themselves and others), drunks drinking meths, drunks pissing in the photobooth, mental patients pissing in the litter bins, pregnant ladies collapsing, pregnant ladies bleeding, customers racially abusing my staff, schoolkids generally being a nuisance, kids riding scooters, kids spilling drinks, kids puking, dogs crapping, dogs pissing, pikeys nicking, customers cycling into the queue, mobility scooters destroying displays, mobility scooters bumping into the old Q-TV (remember that?), and all this on top of the usual rows about car insurance and ID for dole cheques.

[PO1]

PO1 I honestly hope that isn't the case, just because it would serve all the hangers on right who are bringing down the business for everyone else because they would like to cash in or can't be arsed trying to do a good job.

Successive governments have tried to do away with the Post Office from as far back as when you were in nappies and I was serving the masses with a pen and a bit of paper. The current one (with a little help from the internet and Pay Point) looks like it will succeed.

The only ones cashing in at the moment are the failed 'sales experts' from banks/retail organisations.

[FinancialSpecialist]

How are they cashing in? I suppose it must have been soul destroying to be in an organisation that the government was always trying to take down. I am talking about the job now though, whether people really hate it that much or find it alright.

[billyhayes]

...a mentally challenged customer does a dump on the carpet,
diabetics going hypo,
epileptics fitting in the queue,
drunks unconcious in the lobby,
drunks pissing in the post box,
old ladies collapsing,
old ladies bleeding,
drunks fighting (themselves and others),
drunks drinking meths,
drunks pissing in the photobooth,
mental patients pissing in the litter bins,
pregnant ladies collapsing,
pregnant ladies bleeding,
customers racially abusing my staff,
schoolkids generally being a nuisance,
kids riding scooters,
kids spilling drinks,
kids puking,
dogs crapping,
dogs pissing,
pikeys nicking,
customers cycling into the queue,
mobility scooters destroying displays.

That's just a normal Monday morning in our gaff.

With all that lot going on... What's not to love?

[billyhayes]

Remember the words of Colonel Saito folks, "Be happy in your work!"

1.jpg

Quite dashing in that uniform actually...

To answer... I DO like my job. Serving, selling, meeting and greeting etc etc, I can do it in me sleep, but there is an awful lot of absolute crap that goes along with it.
Updates, (morning, mid, and 5ish)
flip charts
trackers
KPI's
conference calls
etc
etc
etc

All of the above are B O L L O C K S!!

And they make not a jots difference to what we have done, what we are doing or what we will do.

That I cannot abide. Non-jobs created by knob-heads.

[PostalOfficer]

Interesting question; I wondered about it myself.

Having done a stint at head office a while back (when we were ALL Post Office!), I couldn't wait to get back on the counter. Serving different customers was so much more interesting than staring at the same 3 colleagues all day. And there was such a sense of satisfaction when you balanced at the end of the week

Having been on the counter for around 25 years, the job should be really easy now. I've got a fair idea what I'm doing, the computer adds everything up and management no longer seem to care if I balance or not. Should be in heaven!

Instead of that it just seems to get harder and harder (for all the reasons we all know about). Our manager insists on pulling clerks off jobs they enjoy and putting them on jobs they hate, not even allowing colleagues to swap to help each other out. I look after a stock all week and keep it within pence only for somebody else to get it for an easy ride on Wednesday. Then next week I'll get dumped with a stock that's miles out and half the figures on the balance have to be altered.

Just back off, credit me with the intelligence to do the job I used to and give me my own stock back so i can get some sort of achievement at the end of the week Heck, I'll even have a go at sales if you'll leave me alone. But I just get a patter off when the boss comes along and says "Don't do that now, we're having a power hour on X") Does it really matter if I sell somebody travel insurance instead of a Phone package

In short, I keep saying we used to work twice as hard in some ways and get more fun out of it than we do now.

P.S. Don't get me going about ONCH. Colleague recently had to be refered for ordering two bags of bronze. That just sums it up!

[onlyanother30years]

Yes, I love it

[onlyanother30years]

Oops please ignore last post, thought question was if you like being on the job!

[billyhayes]

Oops please ignore last post, thought question was if you like being on the job!

[Blue8]

Not in our Office and the reason is the management pure and simple!!

[Mr Love Pants]

Not in our Office and the reason is the management pure and simple!!

Our managers are simple - not to sure if they are pure.