How can RM compete when it has a USO to comply with?

silver_fox · Post by **silver_fox** » 10 Oct 2018, 19:58

Basic question really, with a 6 day a week USO to deliver to every house, which costs significant amounts of time, how are we supposed to compete with anyone?
If we are private then why do we still have to agree to the USO? If we only had to deliver to 20% of houses each day then rounds would take 1/4 the time and cost a lot less.
Can someone explain to me why the USO applies to a private company and how we can still profit when other companies don't have this obligation?
Many thanks

number one · Post by **number one** » 10 Oct 2018, 20:00

silver_fox wrote:Basic question really, with a 6 day a week USO to deliver to every house, which costs significant amounts of time, how are we supposed to compete with anyone?
If we are private then why do we still have to agree to the USO? If we only had to deliver to 20% of houses each day then rounds would take 1/4 the time and cost a lot less.
Can someone explain to me why the USO applies to a private company and how we can still profit when other companies don't have this obligation?
Many thanks

Are you serious?? Do you like being in the dole queue? Get rid of the USO get rid of 50,000 jobs

Post by **rambo1** » 10 Oct 2018, 20:13

silver_fox wrote:Basic question really, with a 6 day a week USO to deliver to every house, which costs significant amounts of time, how are we supposed to compete with anyone?
If we are private then why do we still have to agree to the USO? If we only had to deliver to 20% of houses each day then rounds would take 1/4 the time and cost a lot less.
Can someone explain to me why the USO applies to a private company and how we can still profit when other companies don't have this obligation?
Many thanks

I agree, it's crazy. It's kinda like them saying to Tesco, you can only open 3 days a week but all the others can open 7. Letters should be 4 days a week with packet duties 7 days, obviously, still only 35 hrs full time, so that would mitigate the job losses. I would say as it is ATM you could offer EVR to 20% of the workforce and they'd all be taken up.

Post by **wacko74** » 10 Oct 2018, 20:25

I have a feeling that this profit warning issued by our new CEO is possibly the start of a campaign to get the USO revised when it comes up for review.
People talk about the very real possibility of job losses if the USO does get reduced at some point in the future, but would that really be a problem? I imagine if VR was offered then RM would be inundated with applicants even if just the statutory minimum payout was on offer.

LaggyBand · Post by **LaggyBand** » 10 Oct 2018, 20:38

That must be the dream for big shareholders; letters on like three days or something.

If all you cared about was profits then that’s what you’d do.

Hmmm sounds like a target

postslippete · Post by **postslippete** » 10 Oct 2018, 20:49

We compete because of our vast network. We may not have a monopoly anymore but we still deliver the final mile on letters that are processed by Whistl and TNT etc and we also still deliver those Amazon parcels. The bosses want an end to what they see as unfair regulation as regards the USO but I have no doubt that getting rid of it would make our company worse off. It would be a world where packets and letters would be "stockpiled" to save on staffing costs, so bad for us, and also bad for customers as well because they are not getting their parcels/mail delivered quickly and efficiently

LaggyBand · Post by **LaggyBand** » 10 Oct 2018, 20:58

postslippete wrote:We compete because of our vast network. We may not have a monopoly anymore but we still deliver the final mile on letters that are processed by Whistl and TNT etc and we also still deliver those Amazon parcels. The bosses want an end to what they see as unfair regulation as regards the USO but I have no doubt that getting rid of it would make our company worse off. It would be a world where packets and letters would be "stockpiled" to save on staffing costs, so bad for us, and also bad for customers as well because they are not getting their parcels/mail delivered quickly and efficiently

But if good for profits then it could still happen.

Sir Henry · Post by **Sir Henry** » 10 Oct 2018, 21:20

Can't compete! We piss on the other companies. The USO is what keeps customers using us.

hero22 · Post by **hero22** » 10 Oct 2018, 21:27

Sir Henry wrote:Can't compete! We piss on the other companies. The USO is what keeps customers using us.

postslippete · Post by **postslippete** » 10 Oct 2018, 21:31

Sir Henry wrote:Can't compete! We piss on the other companies. The USO is what keeps customers using us.

Thank god, someone else is on the right page

clashcityrocker · Post by **clashcityrocker** » 10 Oct 2018, 22:06

Sir Henry wrote:Can't compete! We piss on the other companies.

You clearly don't send many packets.
We are very expensive and very inflexible.

Sir Henry · Post by **Sir Henry** » 10 Oct 2018, 22:20

If you're a company I can see other couriers being attractive. Being a home seller I use RM every time, I trust posties to do the right thing to look after my parcel. Ive seen too many slipshod practices from other couriers when it comes to delivery and security to give them the business. Businesses may be able to replace the items they send in the event of something going missing, getting broken, getting rained on, or even eaten by a dog, I can't and a lot of my items are very hard to come by and almost impossible to replace. RM every time. I'd hazard a guess that RM deliver more parcels than any one courier and more than a few of them put together.

postslippete · Post by **postslippete** » 11 Oct 2018, 19:42

From experience, Royal Mail seem to be cheaper for using smaller/lighter parcels, but for heavier parcels other couriers tend to be cheaper.

However, cheaper is not always better....myhermes left a package underneath my car once...just as well I didn't run over it!!

Also, I don't understand why clash thinks we are inflexible. We are one of the few couriers that offer everything from next day Special Delivery, Recorded signed for letters, Tracked and we now deliver later with LAT products and more importantly because of our vast network we are able to provide a service to areas in the UK where other couriers can't really be bothered to deliver to. This is the benefit a lot of customers have with our USO.

LaggyBand · Post by **LaggyBand** » 11 Oct 2018, 19:48

One thing I’ve noticed in the past what we are really cheap for: high value items requiring high value compo. Hermes and all them, even DPD, don’t come close regarding price, and with special it’s next day as an added bonus.

Woody Guthrie · Post by **Woody Guthrie** » 11 Oct 2018, 20:19

clashcityrocker wrote:[We are very expensive.....

Not if you're sending them by the container load from China.