Sue

DJKillaQueen Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Most people do the job they are paid to > do....there is NO excuse for not delivering items > a customer has paid for delivery of. xxxxxxx Nobody is saying that there is. What I'm saying is that you have to put this in the context of the size of the operation and the number of staff involved, rather than tarring every postie with the same brush. I feel like I'm banging my head against a brick wall here, however.

DJKillaQueen Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > very few private sector jobs are less than 40 > hours xxxxxxxxxxx Where do you get that figure from? Is that 40 working hours, or 40 hours including breaks? xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx > The point is that NO postal workers should be > doing this xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx No of course they shouldn't. No employee anywhere should be doing things they shouldn't, including going on non-work related forums when they should be working, taking stationery for personal use, going shopping in work time on their way back from a meeting etc etc.. Let s/he who is without sin cast the first stone. The Royal Mail, like any employer, is not going to be able to stamp out completely all wrongdoing by its employees. It used to be (maybe still is) the largest employer in the UK, with over 180,000 non-management staff. Of course it will take customer service issues seriously, but it can hardly expect no bad eggs amongst so many employees. And having groundless accusations flung about, like the OP in this thread, doesn't help.

felt-tip Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > That is hilarious! xxxxxxx I can assure you it wasn't at the time :)) :-$

I once approached a person who was playing music very loudly in a cemetery, which I thought was very inappropriate, only to be very embarrassed when she said it was her father's favourite song which she played him whenever she visited his grave :-$

Twirly Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Thank you EDKiwi and Sue - I didn't know that and > it's really useful. It's been a month or so since > I last had to go down there, but I don't think it > indicated late openings on a Wednesday on the > card, so I suspect that they may be using old > stocks up. xxxxxxx The first time I noticed it was actually today, when I had to go and collect a packet - looked at the card to double check when they closed, and saw they were open longer hours some days.

Jeremy Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > 40hrs a week doesn't sound excessive to be honest. xxxxxx If my calculations are right, that's 8am to 5pm allowing an hour unpaid for lunch (sorry but I can't be arsed to double check if that's correct). But posties also work - or used to - very unsocial hours. Possibly this has all changed, but there used to be shifts starting about 5am, plus overnight shifts. 40 hours may not be "excessive", but most workers are on 35 hours a week - aren't they? Obviously it's different for management jobs where you put in whatever hours are necessary to get the job done. But your pay level then reflects that.

Twirly Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Saturday morning > is the only time we can go to the sorting office. > xxxxxx The Sylvester Road office is now open till 8pm on - I think - Wednesday nights. It's also now open till 2pm on Saturdays, though that's probably less useful. ETA: Sorry, crossed post!

longea Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > It true what you said about this incident because > it's not new to sometimes ago Iused to work for > Royal Mail and during my work training I saw one > of the Delivery Driver slip a 739 slip true the > door without knocking the customer's door xxxxxx But the postman concerned has come onto this thread and explained that this is not what he was doing, so it's not "true what you said about this incident". I can't understand why people continue to ignore his post (no pun intended). Just because some postal workers sometimes do this when they shouldn't does not mean that they all do it all the time, and nor does it mean that it was what happened in this case, because clearly it wasn't.

Ridgley Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I wrote directly to there Head Office, received a > to my surprise a good response they even allocated > me a code so if this happens again they will take > direct action not sure if this will actually > happen but a result. xxxxxxx I've always had a good response whenever I've had cause to complain to Royal Mail (which I haven't had lately).

Huguenot Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Hmm. It's probably worthwhile being specific on > the Living Wage in London - because it is an > official figure distributed by the GLA through the > Mayor's office. > > The figure is currently ?7.85 - which amounts to > ?16,328 per year. > > So according to Sue's wage summary, posties do > earn above the 'Living Wage'. > > If you want to know how it's calculated, you can > find it here. xxxxxxxxx OK, I didn't even know there was an actual calculated "living wage", so as there is, maybe I should have called postie pay something else, like "absolutely rubbish pay" for working "very long hours" :))

DulwichFox Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Why do we need Waitrose when The Co-op are > charging ?4.00 for 150gms of Blueberries. xxxxxxxxx They were ?2 for ages. Maybe they are charging ?4 so that they can then truthfully say that ?2 is "half price". They did that recently with bog rolls. Very annoying, but all the supermarkets seem to do it. They must think we're all idiots :)) Every year, the strawberries are "half price" all Summer :))

plimsoul Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > regards food from iceland: the mature cheddar is > not a good mature cheddar compared to say > sainsburys mature cheddar. it's mild really and > not got the taste of a properly matured cheese. xxxxxxxx The mature cheddar I had from Iceland was not mild at all, it was very good. I haven't had it lately, maybe they've changed their supplier.

binary_star Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > If anyone would like to complain using RM's online > form (it took me ages to find the URL and > helpfully, it's NOT the one provided by their > telephone customer services) xxxxxxxx Oooooh - you can complain about that as well :))

muser Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Thanks for that AlexC. My machine doesnt make that > noise, so I missed the opportunity, xxxxxxxx I'm by no means an expert, but I'm sure you don't need to hear a noise to go into Safe Mode!

You shouldn't make assumptions :))

Narnia Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Do people still drink ale in ED? I must get out > more. xxxxxxx Cutting edge now, mate. Real ale and cider. Those of us who never stopped drinking it suddenly find ourselves at the front of fashion :))

I bought a great little teatray with bread and honey and a tiny knife, for three quid, though :) Was going to give it to my grandchildren, but think I may keep it for myself :) Sorry, off topic ....

DJKillaQueen Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- >> Let's not start pretending that being a Postman is > somehow on a Par with beign a Nurse or Fireman > etc. It's not. xxxxxxxxx No of course it's not. That doesn't mean they shouldn't be paid a decent living wage. It may be an unskilled job, but it's an essential job.

tomdhu Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > > The main point I was making was in my original > post QUOTE If they can't be @rsed to provide the > service that they are paid to provide..... > > Oh, and finally Sue, if did find myself out of a > job (again) I would take anything going - > including delivering mail. I've been made > redundant several times but I never been out of > work for very long. I've always found that having > a job, any job, makes it easier to get considered > when applying for another (eg better paid ) job. xxxxxxxxx The post I was referring to was the one in which you appeared to be saying that postal workers did not deserve a pay increase or an improvement in their terms and conditions. I suggested you research what they got. Postmen/women's pay and conditions If you would like to work a forty hour week (that's forty working hours) for that level of basic pay, good on you. All the posties I have known have had to do overtime even on top of the forty hours, to make a decent living wage. And as for taking the job as a stop-gap until you find something better - maybe that's the cause of the very problems you are complaining about. Royal Mail spend time and money on training and then people leave. In any work environment, some people will be hard grafters who give their all, and some will be lazy tossers. It's not fair to talk about Royal Mail as if all their employees fall into the latter category.

felt-tip Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > BUT.... the CPT serves undrinkable ale. xxxx Does it serve ale at all these days???

You could try looking at this thread: Drops of Help

ianr Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > >It stars Aiden Gillen (The Wire), Tom Fisher and > Riann Steele. > > Never mind them. Who played the eponymous > Treacle? Was it a local cat? xxxxxxxx Yeh and did it get paid?

Oh OK thanks. Too blooming near my house for a Monday night :)) ETA: Or Tuesday even :-$

Anyone know what the shouting and screaming on NCR which has been going on for some time now is all about?

Tibbs Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- I would rather buy fresh organic > wholesome foods and cook meals from scratch > especially as I have 3 young boys to feed and my > husband.... I shop for what is on offer and plan my menu round > that ...... xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx You don't have a paid job then, I guess, if you have time to do all this? If you do, respect, but give a thought to those who would find it too difficult to fit it all in. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx It is not about > snobbery it is about quality, most of the food in > Iceland is shocking, xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Things like Iceland's frozen vegetables and bags of prawns or plain white frozen fish seem perfectly fine to me, and very good value. I understand that because frozen vegetables are frozen soon after they are picked, they retain their nutrients longer than so-called fresh vegetables do. I have also had yoghurt, cottage cheese and mature cheddar cheese from Iceland which have appeared to be no different to anything I'd buy anywhere else. Correct me if I'm wrong, but surely people who buy ready meals do so either because they have no time to cook, because they're too tired to cook after work, or because they've never been taught to cook. Or because a ready meal is cheaper than buying all the individual ingredients, particularly if you live on your own and want to avoid waste.