Chad chat

Hi, my name is Chad Blythe, and I am a postman from Norwich Delivery Office. I joined Royal Mail at the age of 18 and have been working here now for five years. During my time, I’ve been involved with various roles from delivery and parcels, to working in the customer service point. I can genuinely say no day is the same for me. My family always said I should apply to become a postman, so when I saw an advert one day, I decided to apply - and I’ve never looked back. It has opened up endless opportunities for me, including presenting for RMtv. 

I was fortunate enough to be invited to be the RMtv presenter when Simon was announced as the new CEO of Royal Mail. I joined him at his local office, where he caught up with the team to better understand the business from a frontline viewpoint.

Simon said he was keen get out there and visit locations, including those that are considered the “extremities”. When he heard I was from Norwich, that was it – he promised to make an appearance. 

It was nice to see that Simon stuck to his word and in a matter of weeks, he was here in my hometown. He visited Norwich Delivery Office (where I am based), Norwich Mail Centre and our Parcelforce depot. I think it was beneficial because Simon could see first-hand how Norwich may differ to other parts of the country, we are quite rural.

I introduced Simon to my colleagues and managers, to give them an opportunity to ask their questions and provide their opinions of the business. I do encourage my fellow colleagues from every part of the business to get in contact if they have an issue or point that they wish to voice.

For example, it was mentioned via Your View that PDA batteries experience wet-weather issues. Royal Mail is now keen to get this fixed as they recognise these are a fundamental tool that we use day-in, day-out. If you have a problem that you would like sorted, do get in contact as it is possible. In a business the size of Royal Mail, the quicker we sort out an issue, the more people it will benefit.

It's nice to see senior management visiting operational units. I know things can be planned out on a computer and look good on graphs, however with a business the size of Royal Mail no two places are the same. Every village, town and city work in different ways, so it’s good to see management understanding the various areas and their individual requirements.

Fun fact: you may not know, but Norwich was where the postcode was first introduced on a trial basis in 1959. They used the first three letters of the code 'NOR' representing the city's name, which has since been changed to just 'NR'.

I know the business is focusing on three key topics: customers, growth and trust. If we get this right, it will help us to grow the business and put us in an excellent position. We need to listen to what our customers need from a delivery service. Grow the business by investing in new technology, while exploring new avenues for the business to thrive.

I think we do have trust at the doorstep, we need to keep that to maintain our position as one of the best delivery companies in the UK.