4 Weeks In – Is this What It Is Going To Be Like?

[Southern_Man]

Evening all. I joined RM 4 weeks ago on walk duties. For the first 6 weeks I am on a specific walk to learn the basics before becoming a reserve. After a week of shadowing/working with the outgoing postie I have been responsible for the walk, going out in a van with a more experienced postie who does the other walks from the same parking points.

My frame has 800 addresses and in addition to the mail there are in excess of 100 parcels to scan and deliver every day. I have 13 loops and on a couple there are so many parcels that I have to take 2 full bags.

I am on a 40 hour contract (8 hour days). In weeks 2 and 3 I have generally got back to the depot 8½ - 9 hours after my start time (7am). Nobody takes their breaks. Its tough work but after week 3 I felt that once I had learned the frame and the walk better, I would have a fighting chance of completing the duty within my 8 hour shift most days.

Then on the Monday of week 4 I arrived at my frame to see boxes of 4,000 mailers, leaflets and pizza flyers. Everybody else had got in early and had thrown off a chunk of the door to doors to get ahead. Including throwing off all of the mail, bundling etc my walk has been taking 9-10 hours this last week due to having to lug and deliver the door to doors to every address. In addition I have spent 4 hours after my shift in total throwing off all of the flyers.

Does this sound like a typical/reasonable workload?

[TopperGas]

First question are the 100 parcels all smaller than a shoe box as small packets seems a lot for trolley duty?

Second question what were the 4,000 "mailers" the pizza leaflets etc, if so, how many did you have for each household?

Third question how does your round seem to compare to others in the office, do they all get 100+ parcels a day?

Fourth question, are you claiming overtime for all the additional hits you are doing?

[qwerty2]

Don’t prep D2Ds in your own time
Start on your time and finish on your time if you don’t want OT

[Southern_Man]

Quite a few of the parcels are oversize and should go via the DPR, if that's the right term (driving only duty). I can reject them but they often get sent back to my frame.

The mailers this week were 5 mailers/card/leaflets for each address, so 4,000 in total. All different sizes which makes throwing them off and pushing them through letterboxes a faff.

My frame seems similar to others. In my area of the depot there's a bunch of keen, energetic posties who seem able to cope with the workload. But the workload seems steep.

I have tried claiming some overtime and it's been ok'd. But I get the sense that I'm expected to get the walk completed within the 8 hours so haven't claimed some days as I guess a more experienced postie would complete the walk quicker.

I agree that I shouldn't be prepping D2Ds in my own time. But I think others do which puts pressure on.

At this point (only 4 weeks in) I guess I'm trying to demonstrate that I can do the job without without needing to claim a lot of overtime, conscious that there is some sort of review after 6 weeks.

The D2Ds have definitely taken what gloss there was in the job off as its a lot of work. If we're going to get D2Ds most weeks I'm wondering if parcel (DPR?) duties are a better option for me.

[fadetogrey63]

and we do all of this for just a bit over the minimum wage! . I hate the d2d, esp as we new contracts don't get the delivery supplement.. I never prep them, we just take a few out in the van with us and do some on the loops to only the houses we have mail for.. If you work over your time always book it, don't give them your time for free, you get no thanks for it.. now xmas is over it should be slowing down, but as of yet it's still quite manic, esp pacets/parcel wise, only a very slight let up in our office. I'm getting on a bit now and it's starting to take its toll on me, so in the new year I'm looking to get out, ..

[Southern_Man]

Your method of dealing with the D2Ds makes much more sense to me.

The Postie in the next frame to me (who I share the van with) has their way of doing things and expects me to copy it. But throwing all of the D2Ds off seems a waste of time to me (double handling). I guess when I can eventually sign for a walk I can do things my way.

I agree re the parcel volume. There’s been no noticeable reduction in volume since Christmas.

[Playmail]

It's very rare there's a week without d2ds so don't be doing them in your own time or they will expect it every week your review should be at 6months come April we will be 34p off minimum wage.

[TopperGas]

and we do all of this for just a bit over the minimum wage! . I hate the d2d, esp as we new contracts don't get the delivery supplement.. I never prep them, we just take a few out in the van with us and do some on the loops to only the houses we have mail for.. If you work over your time always book it, don't give them your time for free, you get no thanks for it.. now xmas is over it should be slowing down, but as of yet it's still quite manic, esp pacets/parcel wise, only a very slight let up in our office. I'm getting on a bit now and it's starting to take its toll on me, so in the new year I'm looking to get out, ..

How can you only deliver D2D to houses you have mail for, what happens on the followings days, as how can you remember which houses have had D2D and which haven't?

[TopperGas]

Your method of dealing with the D2Ds makes much more sense to me.

The Postie in the next frame to me (who I share the van with) has their way of doing things and expects me to copy it. But throwing all of the D2Ds off seems a waste of time to me (double handling). I guess when I can eventually sign for a walk I can do things my way.

I agree re the parcel volume. There’s been no noticeable reduction in volume since Christmas.

There's only 2 ways to deliver D2D's correctly either prep them as you have been doing or take them out for a road at a time and deliver them to all the houses on each road. I try and do two columns a day, either at the start or the end of my shift. When I started I claimed for all my O/t and waited until it was ever queried by management, as they can't expect a newbie to work at an experienced postie's speed.

[fadetogrey63]

How can you only deliver D2D to houses you have mail for, what happens on the followings days, as how can you remember which houses have had D2D and which haven't?
[/quote]

we don't remember, it's not often there's a big gap, but if we have a lot left over we do the same loop or two again.. what's left gets taken away by whoever puts out the following weeks d2d.. it's not the set way to do it, but it's the way I was shown and quite a few in the office hardly touch them, they say they are just to busy.. Plus others moan they don't get the delivery supplement so they don't put the effort in

[ted_e_bear]

How can you only deliver D2D to houses you have mail for, what happens on the followings days, as how can you remember which houses have had D2D and which haven't?

we don't remember, it's not often there's a big gap, but if we have a lot left over we do the same loop or two again.. what's left gets taken away by whoever puts out the following weeks d2d.. it's not the set way to do it, but it's the way I was shown and quite a few in the office hardly touch them, they say they are just to busy.. Plus others moan they don't get the delivery supplement so they don't put the effort in
[/quote]

Sounds like your manager needs a serious shake, the d2d customer has paid RM to deliver their leaflets to every address rather than a selection that happened to get a letter, presumably some addresses are getting multiple amounts of d2ds with that method of delivery.

I know what you mean saying people claim to be too busy to do d2ds but it's all collectively part of the daily workload your manager should be managing to ensure everything can be done.

Oh yeah and maybe just maybe some day it might start to be accepted that the delivery supplement isn't a payment that enables people to treat d2ds separately from the rest of the work and stop thinking if you don't receive it then you're not obliged to do them.

[Navalron]

Evening all. I joined RM 4 weeks ago on walk duties. For the first 6 weeks I am on a specific walk to learn the basics before becoming a reserve. After a week of shadowing/working with the outgoing postie I have been responsible for the walk, going out in a van with a more experienced postie who does the other walks from the same parking points.

My frame has 800 addresses and in addition to the mail there are in excess of 100 parcels to scan and deliver every day. I have 13 loops and on a couple there are so many parcels that I have to take 2 full bags.

I am on a 40 hour contract (8 hour days). In weeks 2 and 3 I have generally got back to the depot 8½ - 9 hours after my start time (7am). Nobody takes their breaks. Its tough work but after week 3 I felt that once I had learned the frame and the walk better, I would have a fighting chance of completing the duty within my 8 hour shift most days.

Then on the Monday of week 4 I arrived at my frame to see boxes of 4,000 mailers, leaflets and pizza flyers. Everybody else had got in early and had thrown off a chunk of the door to doors to get ahead. Including throwing off all of the mail, bundling etc my walk has been taking 9-10 hours this last week due to having to lug and deliver the door to doors to every address. In addition I have spent 4 hours after my shift in total throwing off all of the flyers.

Does this sound like a typical/reasonable workload?

AS A NEW START YOU ARE NOT BEING PAID FOR YOUR BREAK. SO YOU ARE GIVING RM A MINIMUM OFF 2.5 HOURS PER WEEK FOR NOTHING. AND CLAIM EVERY MINUTE YOU WORK LATE. YOU DON'T HAVE TO WORK OVER YOUR FINISH TIME AND THAT MEANS BEING BACK IN THE OFFICE TO HAND IN PDA, SCAN s**t IN AND ALL THE OTHER STUFF THAT APPARENTLY HAS MADE THE JOB FASTER. YOU SHOULD BE WALKING OUT YOUR DO AT EXACTLY ON YOUR OFFICIAL FINNISH TIME. AND WHY DON'T YOU REPORT THOSE TWO SO CALLED MANAGERS FOR NOT DOING THEIR JOB.

[Newandscared]

It's very rare there's a week without d2ds so don't be doing them in your own time or they will expect it every week your review should be at 6months come April we will be 34p off minimum wage.

I never got a review at 6 months, I did my last shift yesterday. Joined in October and never even got my ID card.

[OikOik]

It's very rare there's a week without d2ds so don't be doing them in your own time or they will expect it every week your review should be at 6months come April we will be 34p off minimum wage.

I never got a review at 6 months, I did my last shift yesterday. Joined in October and never even got my ID card.

Management at your Ex-DO seems extra s**t. I managed to get an ID card and have my review.

[ted_e_bear]

It's very rare there's a week without d2ds so don't be doing them in your own time or they will expect it every week your review should be at 6months come April we will be 34p off minimum wage.

I never got a review at 6 months, I did my last shift yesterday. Joined in October and never even got my ID card.

Sounds about right for your experience of royal mail, as I said in another post you must have dropped in an office with the shittest of the shittest management, they can sort an id card easy as well as everything else they couldn't be arsed to do either, it's a shame, you might have liked working in a decent office.