Postmaster travels 300 miles to deliver passport on time : Interesting update 2 Apr

Post by **POSTMAN** » 30 Mar 2016, 12:40

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-35917299" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

A dedicated postmaster embarked on a 300-mile journey to hand-deliver a passport on time.

David Shepherd, 26, of Stratton, Cornwall, drove 50 miles and took four trains after realising he had forgotten to get it in the post.

The passport had to get to customer Hugh Munro in Rye, Sussex, by 09:00 BST the following day so that his planned visit to Amsterdam could go ahead.

Mr Shepherd said his instinct was to "keep the customer happy".

'Vital' delivery

Mr Munro was heading to the Dutch capital for a charity board meeting after stopping off at his sister's house in Rye.

Mr Shepherd, who has been postmaster at Stratton Store for 11 months, said: "I knew it was vital he had it.

"His neighbour brought it in. But it wasn't given to the postman at collection time, so I finished work at 7pm and drove to Exeter to catch the 1am train to London."

Mr Shepherd drove 50 miles to Exeter; caught the train to London Paddington; took the Tube to St Pancras; a further train to Ashford, Kent; and a final train to Rye.

He had just 15 minutes to deliver the passport before catching the train straight back, a journey which cost him more than £150.

Mr Shepherd said: "I just thought, 'I know the customer, I know it has to get there'. I didn't want to let him down."

Mr Munro said he was "amazed" to hear that Mr Shepherd had beaten him to his sister's house.

"It shows how dedicated he is," said Mr Munro. "Stratton is a fantastic place and David is a brilliant part of it.

"People keep stopping me in the street and asking if I've got my passport, though."

meercat · Post by **meercat** » 30 Mar 2016, 17:16

Must have been on a final warning and didn't want to lose his job.

Post by **Lounge Lizard** » 30 Mar 2016, 21:39

meercat wrote:Must have been on a final warning and didn't want to lose his job.

No, Mr Shepherd is a Sub Postmaster running his own village Post Office business.
Either he or someone he employs forgot to give the 9am Special Delivery to the postman at collection time and so he went the extra mile, or 300 miles, to ensure the customer got what they had paid for.

Pompey Boy · Post by **Pompey Boy** » 30 Mar 2016, 23:15

..............and broke just about every rule in the book in doing so. Also, why the special wasn't picked up by the collection driver is glossed over to say the least!

Postie45 · Post by **Postie45** » 31 Mar 2016, 00:59

surely he would need to get permission to take the item out of the official RM system like this ?
Anyway, something about this story stinks.... no way is someone going to go to these lengths to make a customer happy, unless its to cover his own arse.

Post by **POSTMAN** » 02 Apr 2016, 17:35

Interesting...

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/ ... ering_mail" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Dear Post Office Limited,
Please can you advise me if you allow postmasters to deliver customers mail personally?

It is my understanding that once an item of mail is in the system,then it cant be taken out and it is then the responsibility of Royal Mail to deliver any items processed in branch.

A recent article that appeared in the national press concerning a branch in Cornwall, quotes the postmaster as saying" he forgot to hand the item to Royal mail" so he then took it upon himself to deliver the said item.

This clearly indicates that the customer paid for the item to be processed in branch and therefore entering a contract with Royal mail to deliver the item.

If the item was not processed in branch,then please can you advise if you allow postmasters to offer a delivery service that would be in direct competition to the services that Royal mail provide.

Im sure post office ltd must have spoken to the branch concerned,so please can you advise me how the item was processed in branch? was it sent special delivery as the article suggest? or was regular 1st or 2nd class postage paid for by the customer?

I would also like to know how you insure postmasters to deliver customers mail?

Yours faithfully,
Charles kelly

Postie45 · Post by **Postie45** » 10 Apr 2016, 22:12

although i do agree that mail shouldnt be taken out the system like this, i wonder for what reasons this charles kelly is asking and pressing on this....

meercat · Post by **meercat** » 05 Jun 2016, 21:27

Lounge Lizard wrote:
meercat wrote:Must have been on a final warning and didn't want to lose his job.
No, Mr Shepherd is a Sub Postmaster running his own village Post Office business.
Either he or someone he employs forgot to give the 9am Special Delivery to the postman at collection time and so he went the extra mile, or 300 miles, to ensure the customer got what they had paid for.

Yep I read the title I can see he's a Postmaster, but they can get warnings too I assume and lose their PO contract if they fail to meet standards? You say he may have forgotten to hand it over, so maybe this wasn't the first time?

Part of the reply on the FOI request-

''Whilst Postmasters are involved in the acceptance of mail it is the responsibility of
Royal Mail Group to process and deliver the mail. The case referred to was
exceptional where, in the interest of ensuring the customer’s mail item arrived within
the timescale required, the Postmaster concerned, having realised that they had made
a mistake, carried out a series of actions that resulted in the timely delivery of the
mail item to the satisfaction of the customer concerned.

Information Rights Manager
Post Office Limited''

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/ ... 6.pdf.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;