[Albion] So this happened to me today

[Seagull on the Hill]

That dickhead electrician @Justice and myself enjoy a bit of good humoured piss taking out of each other and our trades on here.

It's well known that plumbers, electricians, and carpenters are self important dickheads, whereas bricklayers are modest unassuming "salt of the earth" types.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Agreed, he sounded like he had big Mussels

Well played.

 

[Paulie Gualtieri]

Sorry to here that

I’m glad you walked away and didn’t plaice your fists on him.

brains over prawn

 

[PascalGroß Tips]

I work for Royal Mail in head office. Ping me the details if you don't get any joy and I can try and direct things to the right place.

From your description of 'not looking like a Royal Mail employee', it's potentially one of the temps taken on over the peak period.

In any case, that's no excuse for the behaviour you experienced and it definitely needs to be followed up. The vast, vast majority of posties are excellent at their job and very caring for customer wellbeing. Incidents like this need to be thoroughly investigated to keep that ratio the way it is.

Had a prompt response from RM this morning asking for my full address and any 'evidence' I might have. Replied with my address but said I didn't have reg of van (which I had already told them in my first email). And I certainly didn't have any video evidence. I think if I'd got my phone out and pointed it in his direction, I'd have been the one splatted on the floor.

They replied saying without a full reg they couldn't do anything. Not sure what the point of asking me my full address was, given I'd already told them I didn't have the reg. I'd tried to be as helpful as possible with a location from Google maps and a small time frame. I also included a screenshot of the street showing the pavement and cobbled area. I asked if maybe the local office would have known delivery routes etc and could therefore which one of their drivers could have been in the location at the time I gave them. Bearing in mind the chap was delivering parcels in the street and had a handheld scanner.

But no ... next response said:

Thank you for your further email.

"I'm truly sorry to hear one of our vans was driven in a way that caused you concern and the aggressive behaviour of the employee concerned. I cannot apologise enough for any upset this may have caused you and your wife.

Whilst I fully understand the your concerns regarding managers knowing which routes their drivers are on, I would like to respectfully reiterate that without a full registration we are unable to confirm where the vehicle or driver is based. It is possible the van and driver are based at a different location to the local delivery office - without confirmation we are unable to investigate the matter further, on this occasion.

I appreciate this is not the outcome you were looking for and I hope my explanation has set out why this decision has been taken. However, if you are unhappy with my response you can contact the Escalated Customer Resolution team. They can be reached by completing an online form atwww.royalmail.com/escalation."

Oh well ... hopefully he is just a temporary worker, as suggested ... and he won't be working for Royal Mail after Christmas (if he lasts that long).

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

Had a prompt response from RM this morning asking for my full address and any 'evidence' I might have. Replied with my address but said I didn't have reg of van (which I had already told them in my first email). And I certainly didn't have any video evidence. I think if I'd got my phone out and pointed it in his direction, I'd have been the one splatted on the floor.

They replied saying without a full reg they couldn't do anything. Not sure what the point of asking me my full address was, given I'd already told them I didn't have the reg. I'd tried to be as helpful as possible with a location from Google maps and a small time frame. I also included a screenshot of the street showing the pavement and cobbled area. I asked if maybe the local office would have known delivery routes etc and could therefore which one of their drivers could have been in the location at the time I gave them. Bearing in mind the chap was delivering parcels in the street and had a handheld scanner.

But no ... next response said:

Thank you for your further email.

"I'm truly sorry to hear one of our vans was driven in a way that caused you concern and the aggressive behaviour of the employee concerned. I cannot apologise enough for any upset this may have caused you and your wife.

Whilst I fully understand the your concerns regarding managers knowing which routes their drivers are on, I would like to respectfully reiterate that without a full registration we are unable to confirm where the vehicle or driver is based. It is possible the van and driver are based at a different location to the local delivery office - without confirmation we are unable to investigate the matter further, on this occasion.

I appreciate this is not the outcome you were looking for and I hope my explanation has set out why this decision has been taken. However, if you are unhappy with my response you can contact the Escalated Customer Resolution team. They can be reached by completing an online form atwww.royalmail.com/escalation."

Oh well ... hopefully he is just a temporary worker, as suggested ... and he won't be working for Royal Mail after Christmas (if he lasts that long).

Even if he was employed only for one day the PO will have a record. They need to know where their drivers will be for insurance purposes. And there will be a written rosta - they won't assign deliver routes on a whim. So they are giving you bullshit.

It also means that he will almost certainly be delivering to the same street again. If you can be arsed, you could do a bit of reconnaissance with a camera.

 

[Bodian]

They will probably have GPS trackers in the vans as well.

 

[Zeberdi]

Even if he was employed only for one day the PO will have a record. They need to know where their drivers will be for insurance purposes. And there will be a written rosta - they won't assign deliver routes on a whim. So they are giving you bullshit.

It also means that he will almost certainly be delivering to the same street again. If you can be arsed, you could do a bit of reconnaissance with a camera.

Also many people have Ring Doorbells these days set to motion detect video.

It is worth people knocking on a few doors to see if anyone has got any recordings if they have been the victim of aggression.

The police do this ’investigation’ in the event of crime - my sister lives at the top end of a T-junction in a residential area in London so her Ring captures views down 3 long roads - the Police have knocked 3 times on her door in the past 18 months for video evidence of car theft, a stabbing and a burglary - obviously they don’t have the resources to do it for a less serious incident but we do.

 

[Oh_aye]

I've recently moved into a new flat in a block. Today I was getting everything delivered from the storage company. Moments before the van was due to arrive with my things, a contractor's van turned up to do some work on one of the flats, completely blocking the entrance to the driveway.

When he returned to the van to get some tools I *very politely* asked him if he could move his van (there was a massive space with plenty of room'). He said 'I'm not moving it', picked up his tools and walked past me back into the building without saying anything else.

As he passed me, I simply said 'So you're not going to move it then?'. At which point he flew into a blind rage, shouting in my face and physically threatening me multiple times saying how he was going to 'chew me up and spit me out' and how I should 'get back in my house'. I backed off, and eventually went inside as it was clear he intended to violently assault me.

I'm sure people have different ways of reacting to this kind of situation, but I am 61 years old. This guy was younger, bigger and stronger than me.

Thinking about it now, it seems incredible that someone should threaten the neighbour of someone they are doing work for in such a way.

His response was completely and utterly unprovoked. I did nothing wrong and was perfectly polite. Just a simple request to move his van.

It's unpleasant but some people are just absolute freaks. Proper anger managent issues with no awareness of it . It's not much solace but I'd be willing to bet his life is absolutely horrible.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

It's unpleasant but some people are just absolute freaks. Proper anger managent issues with no awareness of it . It's not much solace but I'd be willing to bet his life is absolutely horrible.

I made the same point early in the thread.

This thought has been very useful to me, prone as I am to getting incredibly angry and upset and outraged at the absolute shite-house behaviour of a minority of people.

I have started making myself feel sorry for them. It doesn't solve any problem but it makes me feel better.

We can't spend our lives fulminating in anger, often directed against imaginary as well as real foes, or we'll end up like a certain poster who was eventually relieved of his position as a NSC member some years ago.

And revenge is a dish best served cold. Often without any action needing to be taken. It just happens. I may have mentioned the weird number of times people who have done me a bad deed have come a cropper without my having to lift a finger. Of course this isn't magic or karma. It is simply that people who reach for the bastard option, as first instinct, probably have underlying issues that will eventually bite them on the bum

(The school prefect who gave me a vindictive detention when I was a mere year younger than him, and died a few years later of some sort of brain disease, well, that was clearly just bad luck).

 

[Shropshire Seagull]

People must know that actions have consequences and bad actions should result in bad consequences.

Temp or not, Royal Mail need to identify this individual and terminate his contract. All well and good you saying, "at least he'll only be there a few weeks" but without that black-mark on his record he may very well be doing it again next Xmas.

Get the bloke the bad consequence he so deserves - follow it up.

Do you know the address he was delivering to? With the scanner, I believe the posties record (with GPS) where the handover / parcel was left. Maybe with the delivery address the RM can trace back that way?

Personally, I wouldn't let it rest ..... the fella needs a damn good sacking!

 

[Justice]

That dickhead electrician @Justice and myself enjoy a bit of good humoured piss taking out of each other and our trades on here.

Charming

 

[Justice]

It's unpleasant but some people are just absolute freaks.

Plumbers mainly

 

[PascalGroß Tips]

Even if he was employed only for one day the PO will have a record. They need to know where their drivers will be for insurance purposes. And there will be a written rosta - they won't assign deliver routes on a whim. So they are giving you bullshit.

It also means that he will almost certainly be delivering to the same street again. If you can be arsed, you could do a bit of reconnaissance with a camera.

Well that's what I thought and it did seem like they were trying to brush it under the carpet with a rather weak excuse.

Lewes is somewhere we only go to a few times a year and not planning another visit this year.

I'll see what @Brian Fantana suggests in terms of if it's worth escalating.

 

[PascalGroß Tips]

Also many people have Ring Doorbells these days set to motion detect video.

It is worth people knocking on a few doors to see if anyone has got any recordings if they have been the victim of aggression.

The police do this ’investigation’ in the event of crime - my sister lives at the top end of a T-junction in a residential area in London so her Ring captures views down 3 long roads - the Police have knocked 3 times on her door in the past 18 months for video evidence of car theft, a stabbing and a burglary - obviously they don’t have the resources to do it for a less serious incident but we do.

It was in a pedestrianised shopping street - so more likely CCTV than residential Ring doorbells (unlikely shops would be prepared to go back for footage and also unlikely to capture the reg that Royal Mail say they need because of the angle) ... but then I've no plans to go back to Lewes until sometime next year anyway.

 

[PascalGroß Tips]

People must know that actions have consequences and bad actions should result in bad consequences.

Temp or not, Royal Mail need to identify this individual and terminate his contract. All well and good you saying, "at least he'll only be there a few weeks" but without that black-mark on his record he may very well be doing it again next Xmas.

Get the bloke the bad consequence he so deserves - follow it up.

Do you know the address he was delivering to? With the scanner, I believe the posties record (with GPS) where the handover / parcel was left. Maybe with the delivery address the RM can trace back that way?

Personally, I wouldn't let it rest ..... the fella needs a damn good sacking!

Totally get what you're saying. Re the address ... I couldn't be certain as we don't go to Lewes very often (2/3 times a year). And we don't always go to the road where we were in at the time ... so it's not very familiar to me. As my wife was with me - and we were searching for much needed coffee - we just decided to move away from the area and I just didn't think to take the reg and log the exact location.

 

[Chicken Run]

I made the same point early in the thread.

This thought has been very useful to me, prone as I am to getting incredibly angry and upset and outraged at the absolute shite-house behaviour of a minority of people.

I have started making myself feel sorry for them. It doesn't solve any problem but it makes me feel better.

We can't spend our lives fulminating in anger, often directed against imaginary as well as real foes, or we'll end up like a certain poster who was eventually relieved of his position as a NSC member some years ago.

And revenge is a dish best served cold. Often without any action needing to be taken. It just happens. I may have mentioned the weird number of times people who have done me a bad deed have come a cropper without my having to lift a finger. Of course this isn't magic or karma. It is simply that people who reach for the bastard option, as first instinct, probably have underlying issues that will eventually bite them on the bum

(The school prefect who gave me a vindictive detention when I was a mere year younger than him, and died a few years later of some sort of brain disease, well, that was clearly just bad luck).

This is great advice, I feel sorry for you already

 

[Justice]

Postman Pat the f***ing twat

 

[Brian Fantana]

Well that's what I thought and it did seem like they were trying to brush it under the carpet with a rather weak excuse.

Lewes is somewhere we only go to a few times a year and not planning another visit this year.

I'll see what @Brian Fantana suggests in terms of if it's worth escalating.

From my perspective, it does seem like a fairly weak excuse. Given you've provided the address (or certainly fairly close to), they should be able to identify which delivery office covers that area. Unless, and I don't have a close working knowledge of the delivery offices of Sussex, Lewes is covered by two different ones, with a border running through it somewhere!

In either case, I would certainly reply to the email thread again reiterating that you think more could be done to trace whoever this was. I can in theory appreciate too that potentially without a number plate and a very good description of the person that it could be quite difficult to identify them (loads of temps are taken on). However, I don't think they've yet exhausted all reasonable routes to try as yet.

 

[Brian Fantana]

Even if he was employed only for one day the PO will have a record. They need to know where their drivers will be for insurance purposes. And there will be a written rosta - they won't assign deliver routes on a whim. So they are giving you bullshit.

It also means that he will almost certainly be delivering to the same street again. If you can be arsed, you could do a bit of reconnaissance with a camera.

Ordinarily, yes. However, the Christmas period with extra temps etc can make it fairly chaotic. That is no slight on those running the operation though.

If this person was indeed a Christmas temp, there's no guarantee at all that they'll necessarily be delivering on that same route again. They may have been covering someone's regular day off, for instance. Some temps are used in that way to plug gaps when others are off or doing different duties/routes to normal.

As I've said elsewhere on this thread, the behavior of this individual is absolutely terrible, but I can also appreciate the internal difficulties that *might* make it quite hard to definitely identify who it was.

 

[PascalGroß Tips]

From my perspective, it does seem like a fairly weak excuse. Given you've provided the address (or certainly fairly close to), they should be able to identify which delivery office covers that area. Unless, and I don't have a close working knowledge of the delivery offices of Sussex, Lewes is covered by two different ones, with a border running through it somewhere!

In either case, I would certainly reply to the email thread again reiterating that you think more could be done to trace whoever this was. I can in theory appreciate too that potentially without a number plate and a very good description of the person that it could be quite difficult to identify them (loads of temps are taken on). However, I don't think they've yet exhausted all reasonable routes to try as yet.

I have followed the link to the escalation process and will see what happens.