The correspondent seems to be taken aback by the latest bulletin from management in An Post. I am not surprised at all to the new directive that has been issued. As delivery staff are well aware that the people who run the show seem at times to be concerned more about thinking up what they call new ideas than improving the service.

The brilliant new idea? has been in use since I was a young post person and was more an issue of common sense between the person who was on delivery and the customer. If this is what the think tank has come up with I can now understand why so many of my colleagues seemed so confused after reading the notice.

I wonder are there many in management in A post who have done a delivery. I remember when the company became a semi state commercial company the chairperson Senator Fergal Quinn took time to do a delivery. At least he saw even though for a brief period what the job entailed it may have been for only one morning but at least he made the effort to understand the workings of a person on delivery. Some may have considered it to be a publicity stunt but that is open to interpretation.

 After thinking about what Fergal done all those years ago the embryo of a new idea struck me. Why not get s volunteers from   management to do a delivery duty for say a period of say between 3/6 months to see what the job entails. Give them the training that all new entrants receive and maybe after their stint as a delivery post person they may be able to come up with ways of improving the postal service.

This would not be just beneficial to our customers but might bring some extra business to an post. This might help managers to understand how the conditions and more importantly the efficency of delivery staff could be improved.

It might also help the bonding process between people like me on the bottom of the ladder and those in the rarefied air at the top. I think age and physical condition should also be taken into account and maybe the test for members of the defence forces could be used as a barometer in selecting candidates.

Let’s give a go, why not. I don’t expect any reward for my idea but if management feel they have an obligation financial or otherwise to me then I will nominate a charity.

The Humble Postie