Packets being delivered in batches?

[mazza111]

Bog standard from RM CS I'm afraid. DO manager is your best bet, this is probably being done with the manager's say so, but still should be done :)

[Wezzo]

Do you have a regular postie or is it a different face everyday?

If you know your usual postie, it might be worth having a friendly word with him.
More than likely, he'll do his best to help.

We had a great regular postie until mid-'09 but unfortunately he died in an accident. Since then, we've had a rotating roster; our current one has been delivering fror about six months (the longest since the accident) but isn't especially approachable. One day after we had a batch of packets arrive (about fifteen, I think) he enquired as to whether they'd arrived - "did you get the sack of parcels yesterday?" - so he knows what's going on, I'm sure.

Bog standard from RM CS I'm afraid. DO manager is your best bet, this is probably being done with the manager's say so, but still should be done :)

I will send a letter, thanks for the advice. Will addressing it to "Delivery Office Manager" get to the right person or should I track down a name?

[Straight4ward]

Just addressing it to the Delivery Office Manager will get it to its intended recipient but it would give it more emphasis if you have his name. If you phone the office they will give you this information.

[Wezzo]

I sent a stern letter late last week, and have heard nothing back yet. However this morning my postie told someone else who lives in my house that my area (six postmen) is switching from "using bicycles to sharing two vans". Seems unlikely that this would have anything to do with my letter, but still.. any idea if this would bode well for delivery of oversize packets? As we're a built-up urban area I imagine this would mean vans dropping off batches of mail at various drop-off points, rather than meaning all deliveries would be by van - is this correct?

Sorry to have so many questions for you guys. (I didn't get the chance to talk to the postie myself, I was at work)

[mazza111]

Ahh if your area is in the middle of a revision, then many of the packets may have been batched together while they were organising this. Still shouldn't have happened, especially not with tracked items. It now means that all items will come in the van, letters, recorded items, tracked items and all packets. Not good for the posties as many of these revisions haven't been planned properly but hopefully as it's your own postie bringing your packets that you should get them on the days that they are meant, providing the planners have allotted enough time in the duty to do so :)

[Wezzo]

Ahh if your area is in the middle of a revision, then many of the packets may have been batched together while they were organising this. Still shouldn't have happened, especially not with tracked items. It now means that all items will come in the van, letters, recorded items, tracked items and all packets. Not good for the posties as many of these revisions haven't been planned properly but hopefully as it's your own postie bringing your packets that you should get them on the days that they are meant, providing the planners have allotted enough time in the duty to do so :)

That's great, thanks very much. I'll keep you updated!

[chunk]

hi dont know about your particular situation which may have explanations that are special to your location.
on a more general note postman in my area are getting increasingly aggrieved at the "lumpy" nature of the mail arriving from the big mail centres.
i mean by this that we receive almost no mail on a Tuesday then our knees are buckling under the weight of it Wednesday.
nobody has properly explained this phenomenon!
but i dont believe thousands of unrelated customers all decide to post on the same day?
there is clearly a pattern to the flow and lack of flow.!
all i can say is that in my local office we deliver it the same day we get it.
most offices work the same and except for notice left items in the locker we should have a clear office every night.
my point is that sometime things are outside your postmans control.

[mazza111]

But tracked items scanned into DO and not delivered that day are within the manager's control....

[NewPostieUK]

i mean by this that we receive almost no mail on a Tuesday then our knees are buckling under the weight of it Wednesday.

I understood that this was done on purpose. The traffic is controlled somehow. Thats why we (my office) work longs and shorts ie less hours on a monday and tuesday.

Still, we have a clear office policy, whatever comes in, goes out that day.

[Mr Blonde]

Are you one of these people who are packet magnets who we have to go to every day and knock up every day and smile at every day and say hello to every day who spends a fortune of shite off of the internet yet fails to acknowledge our efforts come the festive giving period? ;)

[Wezzo]

Chunk, that's interesting, and may go some way to explaining some of the delayed packets, but as I (and mazza111 - thanks!) said, a number of Tracked items - perhaps half of all those I've received - have been "ready for delivery" at my local DO for one, two or even three days before delivery.

Are you one of these people who are packet magnets who we have to go to every day and knock up every day and smile at every day and say hello to every day who spends a fortune of shite off of the internet yet fails to acknowledge our efforts come the festive giving period? ;)

I assure you, I really do appreciate the hard work all you guys do - I spent a lot of time reading these forums, and do sympathise with the fact that you guys and girls are often at the liberty of managers who simply don't care enough. And yep, we must get around 100+ packets delivered by RM in December, and I'm sure that doesn't thrill the local DO, and again, I do appreciate that. And in the years when we had a regular postie, we routinely gave a £10 to £20 tip at Christmas. (But I must admit, I do spend a fortune on shite from the Internet! )

[mazza111]

TBH it doesn't matter whether u do or don't tip the postie at christmas, although I'm sure it's appreciated when you do. You're paying for a service you're not getting. Complain Complain Complain!!!! :)

[Wezzo]

TBH it doesn't matter whether u do or don't tip the postie at christmas, although I'm sure it's appreciated when you do. You're paying for a service you're not getting. Complain Complain Complain!!!! :)

I'm eager to find out whether the changes being rolled out this week will have the desired effect!

[CharlesSpooner]

The customer gets a lot of parcels from the sound of it. As I'm sure the customer is aware these parcels will be of varying sizes, some will be tracked, some recorded and others by Special Delivery.

Your area is being changed to a van based delivery but that doesn't neccessarily mean your regular postie will be bringing ALL these packets from the start. I can't say for certain but definitely in our area the van share is being brought in gradually. For the 1st week or 2 it's just going to be our normal mail and packets while we get used to the P&L. After that the tracked, special deliveries and larger items are going to be gradually phased into the delivery.

Personally though I believe the van share issue is irrelevant. There is no excuse for tracked items to be scanned into your local delivery office and then no attempt to deliver being made. I'll pretty much guarantee though that it is down to there not being enough parcel duties in your local area (cost cutting) - hence the backlog. Rather than having 3 drivers deliver to A.B and C every day as is supposed to be the local manager will have just one driver delivering to A one day B the next and C the day after that.

[Wezzo]

The customer gets a lot of parcels from the sound of it. As I'm sure the customer is aware these parcels will be of varying sizes, some will be tracked, some recorded and others by Special Delivery.

Your area is being changed to a van based delivery but that doesn't neccessarily mean your regular postie will be bringing ALL these packets from the start. I can't say for certain but definitely in our area the van share is being brought in gradually. For the 1st week or 2 it's just going to be our normal mail and packets while we get used to the P&L. After that the tracked, special deliveries and larger items are going to be gradually phased into the delivery.

Personally though I believe the van share issue is irrelevant. There is no excuse for tracked items to be scanned into your local delivery office and then no attempt to deliver being made. I'll pretty much guarantee though that it is down to there not being enough parcel duties in your local area (cost cutting) - hence the backlog. Rather than having 3 drivers deliver to A.B and C every day as is supposed to be the local manager will have just one driver delivering to A one day B the next and C the day after that.

Thanks very much for the information!


I've spoken to a local postie on Facebook about the situation (not one who usually delivers to us, but he works from the same DO) and the fact I haven't received a reply to my letter to the DO manager. Here's some of what he's said:

"I had a quick word with [DO manager] today. He did receive your letter and he passed it on to Customer Services. This is something all managers are advised to do as a first course of action. Only after they get back to [DO manager] can he take action. knowing royal mail....don't hold your breath for any further communication"

"[DO manager] says he'll keep an eye and monitor things"