I read in the papers the other day that Lord Mandelson, ennobled by the Great Bloated Haggis, Saviour of the Universe, for bringing politics into further disrepute, “sought to reassure anxious Labour MPs yesterday by expressing regret at the way the postal market was opened up to competition in 2006.
But, the report continued, “his olive branch appeared to cut little ice (great mixed metaphor, by the way) with Labour backbenchers, of whom 71 have signed a Commons motion opposing plans to sell a minority stake in Royal Mail, warning that it “would risk fracturing one of Britain’s greatest public services”.
Er, would you hit me again with that one, please? Fracturing what? My Newman Street office happens to be a hundred yards or so away from the big West End Post Office, whose stool-perching toilers are the mainstay of the nearest pub.
This pub was built over 100 years ago. Newman Street was then famous for its brothels. In those days if you wanted to tell your wife in Croydon (a London suburb) that you would be late for dinner – maybe because you planned doing a naughty in Newman Street – you could post your letter at lunchtime and she would get it in time to turn off the oven.
Nowadays you couldn’t be sure it would arrive the next day, or even arrive at the right address. I got six letters last Friday addressed to Drayton Bird Associates staff who don’t exist. Three are actually people who live in flats in our building, are far too intelligent to work for me. This is because the database that links names with postcodes is useless. Rather like the Royal Mail, actually.
Anyhow, give it time and the lads in the pub will all be out of work because TNT and others will have fractured their service, eaten their lunch – and emptied their pints.
Drayton
I have to disagree with you about the Royal Mail. Where I live (Southwest London) and work (Surrey), the Post Office and their employees are excellent.
We have recently moved office and the only service which worked well and assisted us was the Post Office.
We have a great Postie at work(Sarge) and the ones at home are a very happy and friendly lot.
Having worked in Newman Street when the pubs closed just long enough to get some work done in the afternoon, I did see a postie or two, but most had gone home by the time I got to the pub having done their work by 1pm.
The problem with today’s post office is the effing idiots who run the show and some of the more militant union idiots who should be shot for sedition, but that’s another rant all together!
You know what? I think you’re right in one vital respect. It is not the people doing the job but the people in charge you should blame – the politicians, the unions, the top managers. They determine what happens or should; they create a climate that determines morale – or fail to. And it seems the top managers get an amazing amount of money, no matter what happens, just as the politicians and union leaders trouser their nice fat index-linked pensions.
Now that Lord Mandy has dispensed with his Brazilian bum he is turning his attentions to the Post Office, obviously in the mistaken belief that it is still the nest of queens that it was in Victorian days. After all there was the famous male brothel in Cleveland Street where the aristocracy, including Prince Eddy the eldest son of Edward VII, were known to supplement the incomes of the telegraph boys.
However, the Tories are suggesting that the mincing minister is planning “a massive and wicked accounting trick” by taking over the £22 billion Post Office pension fund in order to plug the black hole in the public finances, leaving future taxpayers to pay a feared £6.8 billion pensions deficit.
How the hell can they run a mail service with all this buggering around?
Drayton
I have to say that, like Simon, didn’t wholly agree with all your ‘rant’ nor the last comments he made.
However, you are both right about the meddling, interference and manoeuvring that governments continue to make in the running of the Royal Mail, in the main, from a standpoint of political dogma.
However, it is always managements fault, the background to the statement is outlined in The Four Elements of Successful Management by Don R. Marshall. In acknowledgement that excludes the unions.
Management afterall are tasked and paid to manage, the failure of which results in industrial dispute which is generally always blamed on bolshie unions.
The true facts are invariably overlooked in the various PR and public statements poured out to hide the background and true situation.
Making the situation worse in the case of the Royal Mail is the political interference, lack of proper funding and opening up the mail service to the cherry pickers in the belief that it is only the private sector that has the wherewithall to run a business.
It is relatively easy running a business when you know that the most costly part of the service you are offering is both done by someone else and that someone else is limited by its masters in charging a proper and economic rate for the job!
All of which make your TNTs and DHLs of our capitalist economy more pariah than saviour.
Most competitions usually take place on a flat field or pitch not the side of a hill without even any half-time turn-around.
I’ve never really fully understood the rationale for liberalising the postal market in the first place. I was always under the impression that it was the elasticity of supply, demand and price, not either political dogma or expediency, that created the environment which enabled new businesses to enter a competitive market.
It’s about time we decided whether we want a free market or command ecomomy as the one we currently have works against itself.
The current economic recession is a (sub) prime example!
And, I believe the Royal Mail is still one of the cheapest, if not the cheapest, and reliable postal service in the world.
There was a man who worked for Royal Mail whose job was to process all the mail that had illegible addresses. One day, a letter came addressed in
shaky handwriting to God with no actual address. He thought he should open it to see what it was about. The letter read:
Dear God,
I am a 93 year old widow, living on a very small pension. Yesterday
someone stole my purse. It had £100 in it, which was all the money I
had until my next pension cheque. Next Sunday is Christmas, and I had invited my only living friend over for dinner. Without that money, I have nothing to buy food with, have no family to turn to, and you are my only hope. Can you please help me?
Sincerely,
Edna
The postal worker was touched. He showed the letter to all the other workers.. Each one dug into his or her wallet and came up with a few quid. By the time he made the rounds, he had collected £95, which they put into an envelope and sent to the woman. The rest of the day, all the workers felt a warm glow thinking of Edna and the dinner she would be able to share with her friends. Christmas came and went. A few days later, another letter came from the same old lady to God. All the workers gathered around while the letter was opened. It read:
Dear God,
How can I ever thank you enough for what you did for me? Because of your gift of love, I was able to fix a glorious dinner for my friend. We had a very nice day and I told my friend of your wonderful Gift.
By the way, there was £5 missing. I think it was those thieving bastards at the
Post Office.
Oldie, but good, Rupert.