I wanna ask all Royal Mail Drivers - How annoyed do you get for home collections??

[Aspwlf]

Hello, I hope your day isn’t going too bad so far?

I know it might sound weird, but I wanna ask all you who work for Royal Mail

( I’m in the United Kingdom )

How annoyed do you get at me for arranging home collections?

I’ve done one everyday or sometimes every other day, so like Monday then Wednesday.

There’s normally only 1-5 boxes at a time but I feel
like there’s an awkwardness just the fact they see me everyday?

And I also hate taking peoples time up

So I was just wondering how annoyed would you get? Is it not even a consideration as it’s built into their route and wouldn’t make a difference as that’s like how far theyd travel in a day anyway or?

I wish I could Goto a drop off but there’s none near me
( at lest for these biggish boxes. Carrying them 2 miles is lol )
and I don’t drive

[Woody Guthrie]

It's just part of the job.

The only things that annoy us are..

1. Incorrectly booked items, for example when it says a 200g small parcel but it's really five 20kg large parcels.

2. Poorly packaged items, I once had a guy hand me a dress in a carrier bag and then he asked me if I had a spare box to put it in.

3. Item not available,this is very common, you knock on the door and someone appears who has no idea what you're talking about because his wife must have booked it and he has no idea where the item is.

4. No answer, if you want it collected be in or designate a safe point.

5. No label or label request, we'll print a label or you can but choose one and stick to it.

So no, regular customer collections like yours don't annoy us because unlike some usually you know what you're doing.

[clashcityrocker]

6. When they have 2 boxes and I turn up with 2 labels and they think I know which label goes on which box.

[Lounge Lizard]

"2. Poorly packaged items, I once had a guy hand me a dress in a carrier bag and then he asked me if I had a spare box to put it in."
But that could be an opportunity for Royal Mail, charge for packaging as well as for collecting !

[Nildesperandum]

"2. Poorly packaged items, I once had a guy hand me a dress in a carrier bag and then he asked me if I had a spare box to put it in."
But that could be an opportunity for Royal Mail, charge for packaging as well as for collecting !

Agree, and it also feels like a way for royal mail to turn into a version of an Amazon fulfilment centre....?
Presumably the CEO would like his very own phallus shaped rocket and superyacht etc, just like good old Jeff and who can blame him

[Numberone63]

For me…. All in a days work. Not an issue.

[Aspwlf]

6. When they have 2 boxes and I turn up with 2 labels and they think I know which label goes on which box.

"2. Poorly packaged items, I once had a guy hand me a dress in a carrier bag and then he asked me if I had a spare box to put it in."
But that could be an opportunity for Royal Mail, charge for packaging as well as for collecting !

"2. Poorly packaged items, I once had a guy hand me a dress in a carrier bag and then he asked me if I had a spare box to put it in."
But that could be an opportunity for Royal Mail, charge for packaging as well as for collecting !

Agree, and it also feels like a way for royal mail to turn into a version of an Amazon fulfilment centre....?
Presumably the CEO would like his very own phallus shaped rocket and superyacht etc, just like good old Jeff and who can blame him

For me…. All in a days work. Not an issue.

It's just part of the job.

The only things that annoy us are..

1. Incorrectly booked items, for example when it says a 200g small parcel but it's really five 20kg large parcels.

2. Poorly packaged items, I once had a guy hand me a dress in a carrier bag and then he asked me if I had a spare box to put it in.

3. Item not available,this is very common, you knock on the door and someone appears who has no idea what you're talking about because his wife must have booked it and he has no idea where the item is.

4. No answer, if you want it collected be in or designate a safe point.

5. No label or label request, we'll print a label or you can but choose one and stick to it.

So no, regular customer collections like yours don't annoy us because unlike some usually you know what you're doing.

I pretty much avoid all these.


I’ve always boxed and labelled my packages so their ready to just be scanned instantly
I’m overprotective too so I always make sure the boxes are definitely secure




Would you prefer it if I done one big collection at the end of the week so say idk could be 10 boxes
Or if you had to come everyday for only 1-3 boxes?

[BenacreNick]

Aspwif, it's only annoying at the moment because it's a free service until April and some of the things listed above by others (two labels, no label, no parcel because its was taken to the PO yesterday etc).

Also, if there's a post office 10 mins walk away from the customer, then you sometimes think badly of the customer, why not take a walk, exercise, fresh air etc.

It slightly feels like you have no idea how much work we gave crammed in the back of the van, given the time constraints on our daily routes and that will soon increase with the nationwide revisions.

[2yearpostie]

For me, 1 collection per address fine.
prefer ready to go in a safeplace.

Dont like multi items on door step, no one in when we bring labels, i post them the labels and leave them on the doorstep.

wouldnt want to get into a situation where we are collecting from over 25% of the walk though as our vans just couldnt take that amount of stuff.

[fluxburner]

It's just part of what we do now, so no problem.
Others have already started most of the annoyances but here's another one.
Arrive at door, random plastic bag taped up on doorstep, no marking on it, no indication that this is the parcel I am meant to collect, no one at home...
Several other parcels around it to be collected by Evri or whoever.
Now it probably is but that's just annoying.
Another chap gave me an open box (no lid) facepalm.

[yubin282]

Aspwif, it's only annoying at the moment because it's a free service until April and some of the things listed above by others (two labels, no label, no parcel because its was taken to the PO yesterday etc).

Also, if there's a post office 10 mins walk away from the customer, then you sometimes think badly of the customer, why not take a walk, exercise, fresh air etc.

It slightly feels like you have no idea how much work we gave crammed in the back of the van, given the time constraints on our daily routes and that will soon increase with the nationwide revisions.

From personal experience I've collected from a PO and a flat above the PO.

[twoloops]

Yesterday turn up with 9 labels, she’d not even wrapped her eBay junk, snatched them off me & slammed the door, temper temper

[RobJames]

Yesterday turn up with 9 labels, she’d not even wrapped her eBay junk, snatched them off me & slammed the door, temper temper

Oh, dear!

And the free collection (for private customers) has been extended again, to August 2023! Seems to be going on and on.