We Are Royal Mail

Tracey Atcheson has been with Royal Mail for 27 years. She started off as a postwoman, and is now responsible for repairing damaged packaging at Warrington mail centre.

Tracey’s day starts at 6am, when she works her way across the mail centre collecting damaged items from previous shifts.

If items have been severely damaged, Tracey will include an apology note inside the new packaging – part of maintaining a good relationship with Royal Mail customers.

Tracey enjoys her job, citing the sense of achievement she gets at the end of her shifts.

‘It feels great knowing that someone is going to get their mail despite the fact the packaging has been temporarily damaged,’ she says.

It’s a busy role, caring for a mail centre that processes on average 16 million items per week, some of which get separated from their packaging.

‘Sometimes it’s like completing a jigsaw,’ says Tracey. ‘Mail gets mixed up and you’ve got to put it all back together.’

Tracey is also responsible for finding mail that has been lost within the mail centre, and – although she works in a non-customer facing role – says people often go out of their way to thank her personally for reuniting them with their belongings.

‘A lady once posted a significant amount of money by mistake and reported it to the mail centre. I managed to locate it and she came down especially to show her appreciation.’

Tracey is keen to point out how important teamwork is at Warrington mail centre. ‘Teamwork is all about good communication,’ she says. ‘And without it you simply can’t get the job done properly.’

Tracey is part of We Are Royal Mail, our campaign to showcase the different people and roles that make up our unique operation. See more profiles here.