which magazine

[fishtank]

Third class post? Which? investigates Royal Mail's service
Which? investigates Royal Mail

18 July 2011
http://www.which.co.uk/news/2011/07/thi ... ce-259119/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

A Which? investigation has revealed that Royal Mail is delivering a patchy service to its customers.

We surveyed 2,500 adults about their experiences of the postal service. 72% of respondents had had letters delivered to the wrong address; more than half had found first and second class post not arriving when it was meant to or had received a 'while you were out' card when they were actually at home.

While you were out...except you weren't
We also asked members of our online Which? Connect consumer panel to keep diaries for two weeks to track their post and record their dealings with Royal Mail. Our 3,923 diarists completed no fewer than 34,500 diaries over the fortnight.

16% of those diarists who got a 'while you were out' card reported getting one when they were actually at home.

An eagle-eyed 6% of those who got one of the cards reported seeing the card arrive without a knock at the door.

Late in the day
Only a quarter of our diarists' post arrived before 10am, one in ten arrived after 1pm..

Seven in ten of our survey respondents said they had received post at a time they considered to be late in the day. Four in ten of these people said they were affected by this.

Royal Mail doesn't promise to deliver first or second class post by any particular time, and their latest performance figures show a 92% on-time delivery rate for first class stamped and metered mail, rising to 98.3% for second class stamped and metered mail.


Touching a national nerve
In response to our Help Wanted appeals in Which? magazine, we received well over 500 pieces of correspondence about experiences with Royal Mail.

Most of these were negative, but many - even those that who had written to complain - praised their postman or postwoman.

And despite the problems survey respondents had encountered - half of them having got post late in the day four times or more in the past year, for example - two thirds said they were satisfied with Royal Mail's service.


Have your say at the Which? Conversation
Do you think Royal Mail's service has improved, or not? Tell us what you think of Royal Mail's service at the Which? Conversation.http://conversation.which.co.uk/consume ... al-service" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Royal Mail meets my expectations:
Disagree (45%, 192 Votes)
Agree (44%, 187 Votes)
Neither agree nor disagree (11%, 44 Votes)
Total Voters: 423

[post_bitch]

40% of my walk past 1pm..... since park and loop

[clewsy01]

[quote="fishtank"]Third class post? Which? investigates Royal Mail's service


16% of those diarists who got a 'while you were out' card reported getting one when they were actually at home.

An eagle-eyed 6% of those who got one of the cards reported seeing the card arrive without a knock at the door.


Maybe we should ask those people how many of them had door bells not working or "were out the back" as its more work returning items than delivering it.

[fishtank]

Maybe we should ask those people how many of them had door bells not working or "were out the back" as its more work returning items than delivering it.

Customers don't get this no matter how many times you tell them.
We would rather not leave a card....it's more hassle,there is nothing to be gained by writing out a card if the customer is in but still they come out with this "lazy postman left a card rather than knock on the door" garbage.
Think about it idiots....Why would we?

[Lincox]

And why if they see it arrive, have they not answered the door, even if the postie has not knocked or rang the bell, surely you would open the frigging door and ask them for whatever it is they are taking back.

[slave]

A few times I've had people appearing a minute or so after I've been.. I find it amazing that someone can't hear me knocking but can hear letters/739 card dropping through their bloody letterbox!!

As far as they're concerned we're lazy, incompetent etc.. I've had that old favourite once or twice (delivering to x-road, where there's a also an x-road a few miles away in a nearby village) - "I've had loads of mail for x-road in the village being delivered here" - hmm, well no you haven't actually, I'm your regular postman and I know for a fact I don't make mistakes like that.... (unless the mail is completely wrongly addressed, in which case there's a chance, but then that ain't my fault!)

[TrueBlueTerrier]

A few times I've had people appearing a minute or so after I've been.. I find it amazing that someone can't hear me knocking but can hear letters/739 card dropping through their bloody letterbox!!

As far as they're concerned we're lazy, incompetent etc.. I've had that old favourite once or twice (delivering to x-road, where there's a also an x-road a few miles away in a nearby village) - "I've had loads of mail for x-road in the village being delivered here" - hmm, well no you haven't actually, I'm your regular postman and I know for a fact I don't make mistakes like that.... (unless the mail is completely wrongly addressed, in which case there's a chance, but then that ain't my fault!)

I had to laugh once and old woman came out of an address on X Avenue and said "I am glad your our Postman your so friendly, polite and approachable" I was feeling quite proud of myself but then she burst my bubble by adding "Better than the bloke on Y Road he is dead grumpy" I deliver to both addresses.

[Jimmcguinn]

Maybe we should ask those people how many of them had door bells not working or "were out the back" as its more work returning items than delivering it.

Customers don't get this no matter how many times you tell them.
We would rather not leave a card....it's more hassle,there is nothing to be gained by writing out a card if the customer is in but still they come out with this "lazy postman left a card rather than knock on the door" garbage.
Think about it idiots....Why would we?

I think its more the fact that some posties don't even bother taking the packet out with them on delivery,and hope the customer isn't in.

[fishtank]

I think its more the fact that some posties don't even bother taking the packet out with them on delivery,and hope the customer isn't in.

I think i've seen every dodgy practice over the years but i don't get how you could get away with that.
If i handed it to the PHG before delivery he would tell me to piss off and probably bounce it off my head...if i leave it in a drop bag or cage i'm liable to get done for wilful delay so...how exactly does that work?

[clashcityrocker]

In our DO there is an area where 739d packets are put. You don't have to hand it to a PHG.
Another favourite is when a customer has a packet 2 days running. You have 739d the first one, legitimately, and rather than take the second one out you write out another card and tie the second packet to the original one in the callers office. Or so I have heard.

[Jimmcguinn]

I think its more the fact that some posties don't even bother taking the packet out with them on delivery,and hope the customer isn't in.

I think i've seen every dodgy practice over the years but i don't get how you could get away with that.
If i handed it to the PHG before delivery he would tell me to piss off and probably bounce it off my head...if i leave it in a drop bag or cage i'm liable to get done for wilful delay so...how exactly does that work?

I've heard of and witnessed rare occurences where a postie will have a certain customer on their walk who has numerous packets every day,but ,for whatever reason,is never in or never answers the door.So said postie decides to stop taking the packets out with him/her and instead marks them as "p739 left" and so the customer has to go and collect them, ofcourse because the customer is "never in" ,they are none the wiser that their postie is cutting corners.
Needless to say eventually there will be a day where the customer is in and sees a red card being popped through the letterbox,comes out to question the postie and finds out that they don't have the packet on them.Like I say this is something in my experience which is extremely rare,but probably happens in most offices from time to time and probably explains some of the complaints and results in that Which survey.

[fishtank]

In our DO there is an area where 739d packets are put. You don't have to hand it to a PHG.
Another favourite is when a customer has a packet 2 days running. You have 739d the first one, legitimately, and rather than take the second one out you write out another card and tie the second packet to the original one in the callers office. Or so I have heard.

That's piss poor....no wonder customers complain.
Managers unaware or just don't care?

[clashcityrocker]

[

That's piss poor....no wonder customers complain.
Managers unaware or just don't care?

Of course it is piss poor. It is wilful delay to fail to attempt delivery.
Managers? Perhaps we should think of another name for them, because the one thing they don't/can't do is manage.

[fishtank]

That's piss poor....no wonder customers complain.
Managers unaware or just don't care?

Of course it is piss poor. It is wilful delay to fail to attempt delivery.
Managers? Perhaps we should think of another name for them, because the one thing they don't/can't do is manage.

In some respects we are lucky.
To get to the room that the P739's are stored you need access to the callers which is always locked and out of bounds unless you work in there...so there is no way you could sneak anything in there.
The number of ways members risk dismissal amazes and frightens me.
Never mind the rep will always be expected to dig them out.
I think there should be a level of stupidity that bars you from representation.

[dvbuk55]

Our callers office is a shambles, far too small for the purpose, the packets are stored on shelves and in tubs on the shop floor. There is no attempt to secure parcels/packets and no record of them. In addition to which the gas board have their spares delivered to the callers office and wander in and take their new stuff and leave their old stuff at will walking past the shelving to do so.