Want to be a postman...

TELLIT01

My brother-in-law has been a postie for about 4 years now and is still moved between different rounds almost every week. Some weeks he will be changed mid-week and that really ****** him off.
As in any other organisation, how local staff feel is very much down to the quality of management and morale in his location is rock bottom.

paddyw_2

i was considering something like this or meter reading but you can bet your life the newbies get all the rough dodgy areas.

1886

Part time but six days a week :mad:

I did home delivery for Sainsburys for six mths, that would be outdoors work and keep you fit too. The money is'nt as good but you can just do a couple of days a week if you like, they were very flexible with me

Bettie

I see a lot of postmen and they are all fed up with the job. They have to spend hours sorting before the round which they are now doing in pairs so it's all been changed and no one seems happy with it. They don't finish until very late and they are all pulling the trolleys with them whereas they used to carry bags.

RedfordML

usefulmale wrote: »

I was a postie 10 years ago. When you start, you are usually a stop-gap filler. You will almost certainly be on a different walk every day, so you never have a chance to learn your frame. That means you are last out of the depot and the driver who drops all your bags off has gone. After 4 years (in my case) I had been in the job long enough to secure a walk of my own (They are usually repicked every few years and the most senior (in terms of length of service) gets first pick, then the next senior etc. The ones picked last are usually the sink estates etc that nobody wants.

Summers (for me) were the worst time. Hot weather, no shelter from the sun, back doors open, so the dogs can come charging out when they hear the gate open, bratty kids, people thinking you have all day to chat. Best time really is winter or when its pi$$ing it down. Doors closed, so few dogs out, few kids, few chatterboxes.

The money itself is not so bad but the management treat you like dirt. For instance, I was attacked by a dog on the street. First thing the manager asked when I phoned the office was 'have you finished your walk?'

The reality.

custardy

chubsta wrote: »

I have googled but whilst i understand what the process is, it is always nice to hear peoples actual experience of the process!

At the moment i am looking perhaps a couple of years ahead as i am in a very stable job that i could quite easily stay in until I am 60 (I am currently 49) but just know that i really don't want to be still doing in 10 years time, the only thing i really want out of a future job is that it is outside and involves exercise, i really cant abide sitting at a desk. having said that, working indoors is fine as long as it is active.

Meter reading is another option i hadn't considered so thanks for that, and also thanks to 'usefulmale' for the experience report, I did wonder how routes get chosen, my postman said he had chosen ours as it is a really nice one where people are very friendly.

Robatwork - I wear shorts until the end of December and they usually come out again in February so with a little work i may be able to get up to post-standard!

thanks for the replies guys!

Ask away. I can give you info on most stuff.

You must have a driving licence. so no licence,no job.
Likely you will get a 25-30 hour contract over 5 days. Really depends on a units structure.

You will attend the delivery office from day one and will likely get (up to) 3 days training alongside another postie.
Then you should be on a set delivery for 10 weeks.
After that you are into the mix of covering what duties need covered.
Expect delivery spans of circa 4 hours. You will take longer than this at the start.


Work is split into indoor and outdoor components.
Full time staff making up the lions share of the indoor with PT staff starting later and doing less indoor work,same outdoor.

slink85

youll pick it up quickly, you only need to learn a few things.

how to knock as quiet as father christmas.

have the ability to post 'sorry you weren't in' cards without a sound or letting the letterbox knock.

Learn to run fast and dive behind the nearest bush should someone hear you not knocking and magically posting the sorry you weren't in' cards

korky69

slink85 wrote: »

youll pick it up quickly, you only need to learn a few things.

how to knock as quiet as father christmas.

have the ability to post 'sorry you weren't in' cards without a sound or letting the letterbox knock.

Learn to run fast and dive behind the nearest bush should someone hear you not knocking and magically posting the sorry you weren't in' cards

may i ask why you think the postie would want to keep the parcels in their bags to continue carrying the weight?
surely it make sense to deliver it so the bag is lighter.
our managers laugh when they get this complaint as they know its total garbage.

as for the job, its definitely not as easy as it used to be,
heavy workloads with not much time to complete,
very unsympathetic management which bully & harass staff,
i've never known the service be so poor, and it won't get any better, its probably not been publicized much but a few offices have had strikes in the last few weeks, which shows the way the job is going.

if you can get in and through the first few months you'll be fine,
we have had a few recently leave in the 1st week or so, mainly down to zero training, just thrown in at the deep end and put here there and everywhere.

but for unskilled labour it does pay well