i need a job

[Plainy Janie]

yep me too!  I walked out on the post office today after a showdown with 2 of the bosses, regarding a van driver taking the piss out of me.  Just in time for the Xmas build up.  Not an ideal situation to be in, plus I shall miss out on the tips this year too.  Dave decided to come into work with me today (even though it was his day off), and witnessed what happened. 

As soon as I got home, I grabbed a set of front door keys and disappeared again.  15 minutes later, after enrolling at a nearby recruitment office, I find I'll be working in the army barracks on Monday as a kitchen porter.  Hope I'm not cooking in the fields. 

NB: my new forum moniker

[BikerGran]

I bet you'll never regret it!

But if it was a situation where the bosses should have backed you up, you should talk to someone about suing them for Contructive Dismissal!

Not for the principle you understand, but for all the lovely lolly!

[Manky Monkey]

That's great that you found something else so quickly Janie. Well done for having the get up & go to ...get up & go. Plenty of people would've gone home & moped about & done nothing.
What are these Christmas tips you keep talking about? I don't get a bloomin' penny on my round. 

[Plainy Janie]

I got approx £500 tips from the customers off my delivery last year, I had only been doing the round for about 7 months.  Lovely people. 

But if it was a situation where the bosses should have backed you up, you should talk to someone

Yes BG, just waiting for the union guy to return my calls!  Also this morning, I had an email from a work colleague who I used to have a chat and a laugh with, he too has told me that he has to go careful not to upset this certain van driver as he feels he could be a nasty piece of work.  I cut out the colleagues email address and have forwarded this onto my ex-boss in Fleet, with a brief sentence saying, I felt he should also be aware of someone elses opinion of the driver.

Anyway, onwards and upwards guys and gals!  A big hug and an even bigger bar of chocolate, I'll be fine. 

[kustom]

you should never be scared of anyone they all bleed the same as us all and i agree your boss should of backed you up

[Manky Monkey]

I work in a much bigger office than Janie, but we get exactly the same problem. We work in sections of 6 Posties, with one as the van driver. He has a shorter round because, in theory, it's his job to drop all the others' bags of mail off along their routes, (I've got 7 or 8 bags on mine), plus he delivers the large parcels we can't carry.
In practice, the drivers take full advantage of their little bit of power to make their lives as easy as possible at the expense of the rest of us -refusing to accept our parcels, insisting we travel round, dropping our own bags off before we start delivering etc. Then pressuring us to get done as fast as possible as we've already done half their job for them & they want to get finished so they can go home.
There's a lot of bullying & harrassment in the job, from both management & your fellow Posties.
It's not a pleasant job at all these days.

[Manky Monkey]

I texted my manager this morning to check what time I have to start when I go back on Monday -I've been on holiday for 2 weeks & the start times have been changed while I've been away.
He gleefully told me what a cr*p day I'm going to have on Monday. My sorting bench is apparently piled high with mail that hasn't been delivered while I've been off. Thanks for ruining my weekend mate. 

[BikerGran]

There's a lot of bullying & harrassment in the job, from both management & your fellow Posties.
It's not a pleasant job at all these days.

Was the same when Mike was driving for an agency and they sent him to Parcelforce.

The bosses had a go at him cos he wanted paying for all the hours he worked or when he stopped getting paid he stopped delivering, and the Union bloke had a go at him for not being in the Union!

He told the agency he was NEVER going back after a couple of weeks, and he never did!

[Baby Duck]

I think we have taken you postie guys for granted for far too long. Does anyone ever give a thought to what goes on before the mail is put through the door? I doubt it very much, we put our letters in the post box and expect them to be delivered to the address on the envelope without considering what happens to them between here and there. The delivery guys I see round here always look peed off and reading what you guys have to say it's no wonder.

I have worked in the mailroom of a naval establishment handling four or five bags of Royal Mail a day letters, packages and special delivery items (quantity variable according to time of year)  plus fleet mail that is run by the MOD so I have some small knowledge of the postal business.

[Manky Monkey]

We're told we each deliver around 2 1/2 thousand items a day -but that's by the same managers that keep telling us the mail volumes are down & they need to make cuts -so how come I'm delivering 2 bags more this year than I was last year? I wouldn't be suprised if we carry a lot more than that. Yet I've still got people on my delivery who genuinely think the one bag they see me lugging up their street's the only one I have & that I've got time to stand & natter with them.

[Hillbilly Deluxe]

When i was a postie,if i was'nt back home by 10,or back in the delivery office by 10.30,there was something wrong . Now ,i dont even see my postie till after 10.30 on a good day. Im glad i left when i did,about 15 years ago,at one point we all had to weigh our bags,to make sure we were'nt carrying over the limit of weight,that was the new rule.It lasted for about 3 days.There allways seemed to be one thing ,or another that we had to do ,which did'nt make any sense.As for people continuously complaining about wages,conditions etc,GET ANOTHER JOB,if you dont like it,nobody's forcing you to do it,there are much worse paid jobs with worse conditions.Im not getting at anyone on here,just the Post Office system as a whole,to me seems to be going down the pan,but what other options do we have,NONE.Rant over.

[Hillbilly Deluxe]

getting back to original thread,self employed electrician ?

[Firery Fred]

Yeah, how's the job hunting going Dave?  Well done Janie,don't let them grind you down, and if you want me and my old army buddie "Thug" to have a word with said wan* ooops driver not a problem, and good luck in your new job

[Manky Monkey]

This was my sorting bench at work when I arrived this morning. 13 sacks of parcels & 16 trays of letters. Each tray holds 500 letters & the sacks stand about 4 foot tall. This is the backlog from the last 2 weeks while I've been on holiday. On top of this lot I had the mail that'd been sorted by the night shift. They had a new "cadet" Postman doing my round. One of my business customers told me today they haven't received a single letter since I've been gone. It'll take weeks to clear this lot cos every day another lot arrives & it just snowballs.
O.K, no more Post Office ranting, promise. 

[BikerGran]

Anyone else had a good laff at the Post Office advert they keep showing on TV?  Ridiculous to advertise the Post Office when they're closing them as fast as they can!