Who said online shopping was convenient?

[TrueBlueTerrier]

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Who said online shopping was convenient? Customers wait in the cold at sorting office for collection for up to 90 minutes

Fed up with the frenzy of shopping for Christmas presents?

Then pop along to your nearest Royal Mail parcel collection desk where things are rather more sedate.

A snap survey by the Daily Mail of customers waiting to pick up parcels found that some of them were left queuing in near-freezing conditions for more than 90 minutes.


Customers queuing outside the Royal Mail delivery office in North Shields, North Tyneside awaiting collection of their Christmas parcels this weekend

Many left empty-handed because they were too busy to wait, while others reached the counter only to be told their item couldn’t be found.

Frustrated customers said the queues could have been avoided if Royal Mail had put on extra staff to handle the workload.

Though some parcels may have been too big for letterboxes or needed to be signed for, a significant number of customers complained that they had been at home when their postman shoved a notice through their door and drove off.


People queue outside Bristol South parcel office for up to and hour to collect parcels that have been delivered this week as the Christmas shopping rush reaches its peak this weekend

A 2009 study found that Royal Mail staff were routinely leaving ‘sorry you were out’ cards without knocking.

North Shields, North Tyneside, saw waits of 20 minutes, while customers in Bristol waited for over an hour in temperatures of 5c. In Cambridge, the delays topped 90 minutes as 70 people stood in line.

Heavily pregnant teacher Jo Starkey, 31, lost 30 minutes of her day in Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester. ‘You can never park here so I had to walk,’ she complained.


Long queues at Chorlton's Post Office Collection Office

Royal Mail apologised to customers who have ‘experienced difficulties’ but stressed that it has taken steps to improve its service, such as extending opening hours for 1,400 offices and carrying out deliveries that require a signature on Sundays to catch people at home.

The company has been criticised for curtailing collections and deliveries while hiking prices and pursuing other money-spinning ventures. It emerged this year that the firm was seeking a five-fold increase in revenue from junk mail deliveries as profits slumped.

[POSTMAN]

Farrrrrkin ell,is there extra staff on in there?

[slave]

Where I work has extra staff and extended opening..

Of course it is a busy time of year and if the people that ordered stuff made sure they or someone else was in or came to an arrangement about the items delivery then there wouldn't be as much of a problem. So it's their own fault and I have no sympathy, why should RM spend millions making callers offices larger with more staff just for one f***ing event a year.

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Today though was a complete switch from last week - on average 50-75% success rate with packets I think everyone was out buying late presents. But today only 2 out of approx 45 had to be form left. Hope it goes the same way all week. (it worked last time)

[TeeferTiger]

Today though was a complete switch from last week - on average 50-75% success rate with packets I think everyone was out buying late presents. But today only 2 out of approx 45 had to be form left. Hope it goes the same way all week. (it worked last time)

Kids have broken up from school and a lot of places have stopped for Xmas so the success rate might be better this week.

[CORTINA]

If people are not in ...Then thats the weakest link regarding internet buying....trying to deliver the items.

Thats life and the public have to deal with it, even more so as the internet shopping gets even more popular...

Taking a van out with 200 packets and bringing 50 back is just plain daft and frustrating.

Having attempted a delivery with no answer..... then the job has been done as far as the postie is concerned, the problem must then be with the addressee.

[TeeferTiger]

I know that you can be in and not hear someone knock, I've done it myself. My neighbour knew I was in and told me I'd just missed the plumber knocking on the door and I was only in the kitchen. I didn't have any music on (and I don't have a TV) so there was no real reason as to why I wouldn't have heard him apart from the noise of emptying the dishwasher. But when you see them in the house and you're knocking until your knuckles are raw and then they come into the Callers Office later and go "they didn't even knock", THAT annoys me! Not "I didn't hear them knock", because it's never the addressee's fault is it!?

[100%]

So sorry people are having to wait on our doorstep...

We can confirm just how it feels to be left waiting unsure when the door will be answered.

[TeeferTiger]

So sorry people are having to wait on our doorstep...

We can confirm just how it feels to be left waiting unsure when the door will be answered.

[Tman]

Strange postie logic in evidence again.
I find it embarrassing that an organisation the size of RM has one little old man in one little caller's office while the queue waiting to collect parcels stretches down the street in our place. Who'd have thought Ebay and InterNet shopping would affect RM after all these years?
Still, make 'em wait eh? That'll teach them to use RM for thier parcel delivery...FFS :

[fishtank]

Perhaps we should have thrown our clogs at the machines Tman.
The whole thing seemed to work so much better when we actually delivered when people were in.

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Strange postie HUMOUR in evidence again.:

Fixed it if you meant this quote

So sorry people are having to wait on our doorstep...

We can confirm just how it feels to be left waiting unsure when the door will be answered.

[fishtank]

I actually agree with Tman.
It's ridiculous to expect to serve that number of customers through a stupid little hatch with one or even two people manning the callers...and usually taking calls at the same time.

[clashcityrocker]

I think it is important for the general public to see just how embarrassingly useless Royal Mail's managers are.
Who cares if people have to wait? Putting extra staff on would only incur costs and we can't have that now can we?
What's the solution? Let's start doorstepping and leaving packets with random strangers.

Clusterfuck.

[Tman]

Strange postie HUMOUR in evidence again.:

Fixed it if you meant this quote So sorry people are having to wait on our doorstep...

, I meant "logic" which is why I said it-

So it's their own fault and I have no sympathy, why should RM spend millions making callers offices larger with more staff just for one f***ing event a year

Might be humourous to you. To me, it's truly sad. Those customers, eh? Who needs them?