Mail: Appeal to logical thinking

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Derek Goodman, by email

As someone who used to deliver parcels and packets for Royal Mail at one time, let me put Ann Squires’ worries ‘to bed’ (YEP Letters December 22). In all my time I have never heard of a rule that says we could not use doorbells, or any other legitimate way to attract the attention of customers so a delivery could be made.

I did however note that up to 40 per cent of doorbells did not work or could not be heard. So my strategy was to ring the bell and knock on the door.

Because there are 27 million delivery addresses in the UK and everyone has a different take, I have had the following statements made. “Bit pushy/rushy ain’t you? No need to do the bell and the door”, “Well done you realised the doorbell didn’t work” (no I didn’t!), “You should have realised the doorbell didn’t work” (how?).

Let me appeal to logical thinking, when I loaded my van in the morning mine and my colleagues main aim in life was to deliver as many as possible on the first ‘sweep’.

Walking endlessly round neighbours who weren’t in or refused to take it because they didn’t get on with them, and then spending time filling in cards was a total waste of my time.

Leaving on doorsteps and in bins is a disciplinary offence, although I can’t vouch for other carriers as I have seen them leave them all over, and on occasion been blamed for it.

Filling in cards taking the parcels back to the office, handing them in, and having to re-deliver them usually on a Saturday morning was never my ideal solution to getting finished on time. Either on that day or the Saturday.

From a business point of view, providing storage for non delivered parcels, staff to answer the phone, staff to check ID and hand them out or time and fuel to re-deliver the item means that the wafer thin profit margin in today’s competitive market is non-existent.

Most post persons are now shareholders why would they want to drive down profits and dividends? All the rumours about not knocking or just taking cards out is street myth and absolute rubbish.

The win, win, win solution is that the parcel is taken out, it is delivered first time, this suits the customer, the delivery person and the company.

Logically speaking why would anyone purposely want or design to do anything other than that?

Think about it who does that advantage?