Bristol businessman: Blame management for postal chaos
Bristol businessman Peter Hargreaves on why Royal Management are to blame for the city's chaotic postal strikes.
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Many readers of the Bristol Evening Post will have noticed that postal workers have been involved in a small amount of industrial action.
Now, we hear, those strikes have created a million-strong backlog of mail items across the Bristol area.
The initial reaction by most of Royal Mail's customers has been astonishment. I have heard comments such as "Do they not realise that there is a recession on?", "Have they not noticed that hundreds of thousands of people are losing their jobs?", "They only work mornings", "What a great job – postmen now ride around in vans". Indeed, postal workers must be concerned at how little public sympathy they engender.
Sadly, however, members of the general public who say things like that do not appear to realise the fundamental problem at Royal Mail – it seems to be one of the worst managed businesses in the country.
Not only do I think that it is badly managed but I also regard it as over-managed. To me, an outsider, it looks like there are far too many managers.
This comes right from the very top of the Royal Mail. So much so, that I have visions of thousands of meeting rooms filled with overpaid incompetents pontificating about how to run the business.
I think they are all unnecessary. The postmen know how to run the business. They know how to sort the mail and get the mail out and they do it extremely efficiently – or, should I say, they would if they were not interfered with by the bunch who are supposed to be running the service.
From what I have been told, the other problem is that rumours abound. Because it seems no one knows what is going to happen and who is running the business, it seems internal information is propagated more by rumour than by fact.
When you hear of all the stupid rules about what speed a postman should walk at, or how much weight he has to carry on a bike, is it any wonder that morale has reached rock-bottom?
My view on what should happen at Royal Mail is a simple one. They should sack 90 per cent of the people with titles like administrator and manager and halve the salary of the five per cent they need to keep.
There is no doubt that Royal Mail business is shrinking thanks to the internet, but what we don't see is any downsizing of the management. No, they keep their salaries and bonuses, holidays and perks and lay all the blame at the tired feet of the hardworking postmen.
Perhaps what should really happen is that we should start at the top and sack the board, specifically the chief executive, Adam Crozier, whom I believe is wildly overpaid.
I think I am extremely well qualified to comment on the Royal Mail. Our company is one of Bristol's major users of their 'service'. Many years ago, when we started becoming major users, we were introduced to someone that was called a postal rep. They were supposed to help us. Since then, we have had a succession of these people and, in the 25 years that we have had a postal rep, I can honestly say only one of them was any use whatsoever.
To put things in perspective, on one occasion we asked a question of one of our many postal reps, who couldn't answer it. We suggested he ought to ask his superior. He had to check to find out who his superior was!
Yes, the Royal Mail is struggling. Its business is declining. In fact, it's suffering a slow death.
But I have no doubt that the people running it are accelerating its demise. The saddest irony is that the British taxpayer is going to have to pick up their pension liabilities.
38 Comments
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by John, Bristol
Wednesday, September 16 2009, 8:09PM
“Mike Ford appears to be a bit of a silly person.”
by Sprout, Bristol
Saturday, September 12 2009, 11:56AM
“I find it utterly tragic that some people leaving comments - you know, the ones 'counselling' us posties - obviously have nothing better to do with their time. You know nothing about us, or the work we do, so please just LOG OFF!”
by Jon, Bristol
Friday, September 11 2009, 10:07PM
“I know this may upset some posties, but if you're so unhappy with how you're treated, why do not find other jobs? Or battle it out in the employment tribunals (that's what they're there for!)
It seems a little backward thinking on the worker-level to constantly strike. Surely this will only lead to further constrictions on working conditions because a) businesses go elsewhere for their postage needs and b) the management don't like to be shown up in the paper.
I can understand how the working conditions may make the job unpleasant, but either leave, go to court or give me my damn mail!”
by Marky H, Bris
Friday, September 11 2009, 9:53PM
“Any one else see the beautiful irony in the comment " From what I have been told, the other problem is that rumours abound."?????”
by Sprout, Bristol
Friday, September 11 2009, 7:28PM
“Can we just back to the point? Mr Hargreaves is absolutely spot on! All us posties have been saying similar things for years - we need minimal management. We are a great company, being pounded with undeserved whinges. End of.”
by Ron, Bristol
Friday, September 11 2009, 7:07PM
“I would like to congratulate Mr Hargreaves on this report. Having worked for Royal Mail for 10 years he is 100% correct in every aspect.”
by James, South West
Friday, September 11 2009, 6:45PM
“I suspect that as is usually the case there is fault on both sides but they don't seem willing to meet in the middle.
Having been a client of Peter Hargreaves's company for many years I am very aware that PH loves a bit of personal publicity and is adept at sound bites.
It wasn't that many years ago that he threatened to move his business out of Bristol because of some perceived slight from the council. Well, they are about to move in to a new £20 million headquarters on the Harbourside.
I think any comments he makes on things that are not in his immediate sphere of expertise should be taken with a pinch of salt, and I suspect that he knows that himself.”
by tim, portishead
Friday, September 11 2009, 5:47PM
“Its nice to know that the head of one of bristols most successful buisnesses knows what is truly going on in royal mail. Thanks Mr Hargreaves, i am sure you have given a huge morale boost to the thousands of royal mail workers who are fighting to save our postal service.As for Mr Ford I would love to take you out on my delivery for a week,carrying on average 100 kilos of mail per day,thats if you could last the week!”
by Jean, Patchway D.O
Friday, September 11 2009, 5:03PM
“Wow! comments flying around all over the place here. Having worked in and around the business for thirty years as a postwoman, I would suggest that it is only those of us whom have first hand knowledge of the business who could even begin to understand the complexities and challenges facing Royal Mail today. Royal Mail needs to modernise that is absolutely clear and you would find few in all sectors of our working environment who would dispute this simple truth. However, to modernise you first and formost have to have in place modern machinery to help assist the very postmen and women you are trying to sell the concept of modernisation to. I am assuming that most of you would agree with me that no- one really likes the idea of a changes in working practise especially when it effects long standing routines and unless lions are led by example and quality equipment is also provided, post job cuts, industrial action will always simmer beneath the surface. You see contrary to the opinions of some on this message board the majority of 'posties' care deeply about their ability to provide a quality service to their customers whom many come to know personally over many years service in the community. I work at Patchway Delivery Office and as a member of Patchway have not participated in the recent round of industrial action. Our office voted by a slim majority (1) not to take part in Industrial Action at this time. We are an unusual office! We are hitting the majority of our targets and I believe are currently running well under budget. We have no back log and continue to clear all mail that comes into our office on a daily basis. As stated - 'we are an unusual office'. How did we get to be in the ' lofty' position we are in I wonder - I'll tell you... by the sheer hard work, effort and grim determination of the very 'posties' some of you are sneering at. A body of workers who were determined come what may that they wouldn't buckle under regardless of inexperienced managers being tasked to deliver cost cutting all office revisions . By team work and a dogged determination not allow poor, unqualified, management decisions ( a legacy of the past we still labour under in some quarters) smash extremely fragile delivery infrastructure to smitherines, the legacy of which would have had disasterous ramifications on our ability to provide our community with the quality of service they have come to expect from us! I believe we have found a new way at Patchway. A way where Management, CWU and worker alike communicate openly and honestly with one another without fear nor favour and where dignity and respect is in the main adhered to. Not many offices hold with this communicative approach. I am convinced that in the main old style managers would avoid working with CWU officials and will go to any lengths to achieve distance, which may be comfortable in the short term, however, disasterous for our future. Good Industrial Relations are of PARAMOUNT IMPORTANCE to the success of our business.
I would state that I really feel we have 'gone it alone' in this quarter as a separate entity and I see the validity of arguement on all sides. What I would say is that i feel we are often let down as a whole unit (worker, cwu rep. and manager alike) by an inability to provide us with the service we deserve due to a lack of walk sequenced mail. We have reduced our manpower hours within the unit substantially on the strength of our mail being walk sequenced only to find that as soon as there is a problem at the Bristol Mail Centre our work is presented to us unsequenced. The knock on effect is that I and my colleagues regularly find ourselves delivering mail at 14.30 in the afternoon an hour after our duty end time. We aso have no concept of what it is to take a tea or lunch time break! Not for us conciencious posties the luxury of taking back our delivery half delivered! A regular workday for a 'modernised' office is to sta”
by An angry postie., cornwall
Friday, September 11 2009, 4:57PM
“Mike Ford, you have not got a clue, you just spend the whole day writing petty articles about stuff you know nothing about,you obviously have no job or even worse you could be a Royal Mail manager how sad is that, unless you have something constructive to say about this open debate, then I would suggest you crawl back under the stone you came from,I hate gutless people.”