We are getting a raw deal from Royal Mail

[TrueBlueTerrier]

http://www.heraldscotland.com/comment/l ... .115304354" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

A FEW weeks ago you published a letter from a Milngavie resident complaining about a significant reduction in the mail collection service in that area, causing much inconvenience.

That reduced service has now reached the West End of Glasgow, with little advance warning and no explanation except for a sticky label on each pillar box claiming that this is to produce "greater efficiency".

This notice also advised that "the last daily collection will be "not earlier" than 9am on weekdays and 7am on Saturdays. What this really means is that, unless there are further collections throughout the night, there is now only one collection per day, compared with the four or five we used to enjoy.

The new arrangement also means that unless the item is posted very early in the morning a first-class stamp no longer guarantees next-day delivery. The one daily delivery of mail which used to arrive about 10am now comes in mid-afternoon, so both the delivery and collection service is very much poorer than it has been for many years.

Presumably all this is the result of the recent privatisation of Royal Mail, which for well over 100 years proudly provided an efficient collection and delivery service throughout the country, at exactly the same postal charges for the farthest outposts as in the centre of cities. Yet living in a major city area only a mile or so from a major sorting office, we are now receiving by far the worst postal service in living memory, and at vastly increased prices.

The same applies in almost all other services previously publicly-owned but now provided by private companies, where the "lower prices and greater efficiency" promised have certainly not been forthcoming. So much for the benefits of greater competition - more like a well-organised cartel, with the public as usual getting a raw deal.

Iain AD Mann,

[GT750rider]

This is exactly the scenario the UCW should have been highlighting to the public in the run-up to going private. This could have been in the form of whole page adverts in the national papers, and a door to door leaflet.
Yes, it would have cost money.
Now we reap the consequences.....

[chrisj]

Rubbish! People can still post their first class mail in PO and Boxes that get collected late afternoons.

Moreover, the time folks receive their mail is neither here or there. Next day does not mean 9am, 10am or even 12 pm - just next day.

RM is still one of the best in the world!

[interesting]

I can't remember the last time I posted a letter

[rubberbond]

Rubbish! People can still post their first class mail in PO and Boxes that get collected late afternoons.

Moreover, the time folks receive their mail is neither here or there. Next day does not mean 9am, 10am or even 12 pm - just next day.

RM is still one of the best in the world!

At what ,exactly? Pissing customers off,certainly, pissing its employees off, it has no equal. Run by managers that have no experience of management ,nor,it would seem of postal work,who think that the way to get things done is by threats and bullying ,coming up with increasingly stupid and utterly inefficient ways of working,check,running a once proud and unequalled service into the ground, check. Need I go on. It might have been one of the best once,sadly no longer.

[deltaforce]

Rubbish! People can still post their first class mail in PO and Boxes that get collected late afternoons.

Moreover, the time folks receive their mail is neither here or there. Next day does not mean 9am, 10am or even 12 pm - just next day.

RM is still one of the best in the world!

Bottom line is that post box collections represent less than 5 % of the Mail we deliver. It makes sense to collect once a day from hardly used boxes. We are operating in a whole new world now. HM government won't step in so readily from now on if we can't make money.

[DirtyHarry]

Rubbish! People can still post their first class mail in PO and Boxes that get collected late afternoons.

Moreover, the time folks receive their mail is neither here or there. Next day does not mean 9am, 10am or even 12 pm - just next day.

RM is still one of the best in the world!

I'd hate to see one of the worst then. Royal Mail is badly run, and utterly inefficient. Yes, it employs less people than it once did. Yes, the fewer staff do more work than ever before.
But, the name of Royal Mail, once regarded with respect, is now associated with tardiness. Everything seems to be late, and that's how the public view us. Slower now in the 21st century, than we were in the 20th century, and it's hard for much of the public to get their heads around such an anomaly.

[NWpostie]

I wonder how many these "customers" were advocates for "sack 'em all and privatise it" brigade

[chrisj]

Rubbish! People can still post their first class mail in PO and Boxes that get collected late afternoons.

Moreover, the time folks receive their mail is neither here or there. Next day does not mean 9am, 10am or even 12 pm - just next day.

RM is still one of the best in the world!

I'd hate to see one of the worst then. Royal Mail is badly run, and utterly inefficient. Yes, it employs less people than it once did. Yes, the fewer staff do more work than ever before.
But, the name of Royal Mail, once regarded with respect, is now associated with tardiness. Everything seems to be late, and that's how the public view us. Slower now in the 21st century, than we were in the 20th century, and it's hard for much of the public to get their heads around such an anomaly.

You need to visit a few more countries - even within the EC to compare. I bet RM is better than the equivalent in the USA. They certainly do not do public utilities very well over there and you will be lucky to get bus stops without even thinking about post boxes within 1 mile of each other.

What exactly is slow? I cannot believe this - coming from a postman. You post a letter and 90% of the time it gets there the next day. We carry a lot more delivery items than any other Postal Service in Europe and possibly employ the most. And our mail system is still partly owned by the public and we all benefit from A a USO for the same cost of a stamp.

You can knock it if you want and reminisce about bygone days when things were much better ans so on; but in an era where most countries have virtually privatised the mail service and things are now run by the likes of TNT and most parcels are done by couriers or multinationals like DHL and UPS, we are lucky to have RM.

And they pay us and treat us well too - just as CityLinks or even the overworked and underpaid DPD contractors on no sick pay, no hols pay, you buy all your equipment, hire the van, cover for you hols, get fined for being sick and so on: but they have a snazzy PDA/Tracking system - so what?

RM is getting more efficient and people need to get their heads around that. It is also a part-privatised business that needs to make profits to continue to innovate and provide an acceptable service. A lot of the items we receive are not exactly urgent - why do people bang on?

[greatredwine]

All the boxes serviced by our office, which have these new collection times on, are within a short distance to a post office and post office box which still has a collection on or after 4. So if you want your letter to go that day you just need to walk an extra mile or so. No problem.