Theo Lap
Theo LapTNT Post Nederland, Postman+, WFP Game Guide
53 years old, married, 4 sons
Theo is calm. Very calm. He says it’s the result of his job. After 32 years at TNT Post, he claims that each morning he gets up to go to work he is heading off to his hobby. That’s an enviable situation to be in. There’s probably plenty to talk about at family reunions too, as three of his sons and his daughter-in-law work or have worked at Post. But Theo does more than deliver letters. He is the Drachten representative for BIC (barcode management of letterboxes and clients) and the regional manager for the company vehicles’ onboard computers. Add his volunteering as a Game Guide for the World Food Programme and it’s no wonder he doesn’t know where the time has gone since he started in 1974. If it was up to him, he’d be at Post for another 30 years.
“It seems like yesterday when I started. I had an interview at Post after leaving school. It looked good: a steady income, the security of being a civil servant and the chance to earn 200 guilders more than with any other company. I’m so glad I went with my gut feeling. I’m still here and I have loved every minute of it so far. Of course many things are different to when I started – the change from PTT into TPG and now TNT; the introduction of the sorting machines; and now open postal markets and the associated competition. But although the company has changed, my colleagues are all pretty much the same. Post people are Post people. Full stop. You either have it in you or you don’t. You have to be reliable, friendly and, above all, you have to be sociable. We’re the neighbourhood social workers! Someone could make a good penny or two by using a postman’s local knowledge!”
“One of my favourite activities at Post is being a Game Guide. I was trained in Leeuwarden and now visit about 70 schools each year where I talk to the 8 to 12 years olds. We play the WFP game and discuss the differences between here in the Netherlands and places where the children are not as fortunate as we are. I’ve spoken to hundreds of children and hope I’ve made a difference to them. Even if they now think just a little more about what they have and feel a bond, a connection with the children who have less, I would be delighted. Maybe I’m helping someone indirectly that way.”
“You know, people ask me sometimes how long I still have to work. I look them in the eye and say: “As long as they’ll let me!”