Royal Mail loses 2m presents.

saru · Post by **saru** » 23 Dec 2007, 06:57

Well, they want to try giving us the tools to do the job, don't they.
In our office they sent 2 ex-RM vans over that should have been scrapped, the brakes are metal on metal on one of them. Needless to say we all refused to drive it! I have worked late a couple of days to clear the packet backlog in the area I'm doing but other's are taking the piss because the DOM lets them. They are the ones that are going in today to clear the packet mountain because they have been allowed to let it build up all week.
I told him there is NO WAY I'm working Sunday. I left my area clear yesterday & I'm not helping those two lazy f*ckers!

Post by **rhino49** » 23 Dec 2007, 07:35

It's a shame the Snottytimesonline website doesn't note the following:

Many customers can't be bothered to answer the door if they are busy or have their music turned up or their hearing aid down and don't hear it whereas the postie is under pressure to cover 4-600 delivery points in a limited time - it takes longer to write a card than to knock on the door so why wouldn't he call first?

How many deliveries do people think they have paid for - if you ain't in, spend some time in the cold and get a small impression of how we feel all day on your behalf.

95% of the "lost items" are poorly addressed or badly packaged and have become detached from the packaging or labels. We have a competition in our office for the worst written and most obscure address and their are plenty of entries. As responsible and professional delivery staff we consult and interpret on these items and save virtually all of them - how about some recognition of that!!!

Recorded delivery IS a crap service - reduce it to a choice of Special Delivery or normal mail - still far cheaper and far better than any competition can offer.

On a good note - I have delivered all my packets and recordeds in the last week because I am what RM is trying to get rid of - a full time long service postie on an established walk who knows all his customers and knows which neighbours will help out - I trust them and they trust me.

Pity I can't say the same for the company I work for.

axeman · Post by **axeman** » 23 Dec 2007, 08:01

We have an estimated 350,000+ items oustanding without whats due to come in at our local m.c according to a guy who works there. He doubts very much if with the mail due in that they will clear it extra staff are doing a sunday but not enough to clear that much thats for sure only 20 or so are due in.
penny pinching just does not work ?.......good on yer r.m what a lack of foresight you did your customers proud !!! or is it you didlled your customers and your proud of the extra profit without the added cost ?

Post by **rhino49** » 23 Dec 2007, 08:12

axeman wrote:
penny pinching just does not work ?.......good on yer r.m what a lack of foresight you did your customers proud !!! or is it you didlled your customers and your proud of the extra profit without the added cost ?

I think that just about sums it up

Post by **dvbuk55** » 23 Dec 2007, 13:39

If the packets in our DO are delivered by tomorrow I'll show my a*se on the town hall steps on christmas day. I wouldn't expect the 5 who volunteered to work for 5 hours apiece today make much of an impact on the 25 yorks that were still there yesterday and we still have tomorrows mail to contend with. I reckoned we would need in excess of 120 hours to clear the parcels. I'm surprised no one has hit on exactly WHY we have so much work left to do.

Post by **POSTMAN** » 23 Dec 2007, 16:03

ROYAL MAIL faces an angry consumer backlash this weekend over more than 2m parcels and letters lost or delayed in the Christmas post.

Customers across the country are in danger of being left without their presents as postal workers are overwhelmed by the Â£10 billion boom in online shopping. The backlog has allegedly been compounded by postal workers deliberately failing to deliver presents to save time on their rounds.

Yesterday, at depots round the country, customers were being forced to brave the winter chill and wait in long queues to reclaim their Christmas parcels.

About 1.2m letters and parcels are already estimated to have been lost in the Christmas post. Hundreds of thousands of other items are delayed or awaiting collection at depots where queues of up to two hours have formed.

Postwatch, the independent watchdog, last week wrote to Adam Crozier, chief executive of Royal Mail, to demand that the recorded mail service be improved or scrapped, because so many customers who had paid extra for recorded mail complained that postal workers were routinely failing to get a signature on delivery.

The chaos managed to disrupt the last weekend before Christmas for thousands as they were forced to queue up to collect undelivered packages. At mid-morning there was a two-hour queue outside Totterdown depot in Bristol and similar waits at depots in Brighton and London.

Several customers claimed that they had been forced to queue because postal workers had delivered â€œyou were outâ€

Post by **POSTMAN** » 23 Dec 2007, 16:07

Telegraph has picked it up as well.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jh ... ail123.xml

Post by **POSTMAN** » 23 Dec 2007, 16:08

Interested in knowing was there enough resources at your place for extra xmas parcels.
Places i know down here had extra vans and drivers but was it enough??

Spedley · Post by **Spedley** » 23 Dec 2007, 16:22

I presume lost means delayed but without the scandal rubbish that sells newspapers?

As to people leaving dockets instead of delivering packets, it is usually nonsense. Why spend all that time writing a docket out when it's much easier to deliver the package?
I've found it different this week. There are so many packets that I've had to take two bags over my shoulder several times - against health and safety but still under 16Kg - one with packets and one with letters.
With this many packets, I can see the point in writing dockets out in the office for those people who are likely to be out and then not taking the parcel. It's not taking the delivery that is the problem, it is carrying tjhem all and then putting them back in the bag when they aren't in! You can't get anything out from under the undelivered items.

My point is that slagging off the RM is no good for anybody. People lose faith without there being any real reason except the newpspaers want to make and extra 20p. It is a busy time of year and everyone expects there to be problems without people who have no idea what they are talking about sticking their two pence in. Why not publish something helpful like write on the packet - I'm in between 10 and 3 or just leave a card and I'll collect it myself etc.

norbet colon · Post by **norbet colon** » 23 Dec 2007, 16:24

Spedley wrote:I presume lost means delayed but without the scandal rubbish that sells newspapers?

As to people leaving dockets instead of delivering packets, it is usually nonsense. Why spend all that time writing a docket out when it's much easier to deliver the package?
I've found it different this week. There are so many packets that I've had to take two bags over my shoulder several times - against health and safety but still under 16Kg - one with packets and one with letters.
With this many packets, I can see the point in writing dockets out in the office for those people who are likely to be out and then not taking the parcel. It's not taking the delivery that is the problem, it is carrying tjhem all and then putting them back in the bag when they aren't in! You can't get anything out from under the undelivered items.

My point is that slagging off the RM is no good for anybody. People lose faith without there being any real reason except the newpspaers want to make and extra 20p. It is a busy time of year and everyone expects there to be problems without people who have no idea what they are talking about sticking their two pence in. Why not publish something helpful like write on the packet - I'm in between 10 and 3 or just leave a card and I'll collect it myself etc.

st postie · Post by **st postie** » 23 Dec 2007, 16:54

This packet situation is a joke ,they are stacked up to be delivered, but there is no spare men, or vans to deliver them, this problem is caused by penny pinching royal mail managers who would rather send the spare men to mail centers, where they are not really needed, than out on delivery at there own office providing a service to the customers, as one middle manager put it we are no longer a service we are a buisness try telling people on my round who are still waiting for there childrens xmas presents to be delivered you jumped up little prick

Pokemon Postmon · Post by **Pokemon Postmon** » 23 Dec 2007, 16:59

They always forget to mention that these 'lost' items are often misaddressed so they often end up misdelivered or are just undeliverable (and the amount of folk who still refuse to put a return address on items is criminal!).
As for parcels, well I always knock twice (pardon the cliche!) and, considering the time of year I think it's safe to say more posties will make that extra effort to get an answer just for the chance of a tip to boost the crappy bonus that we get....
I sympathise with these customers but perhaps they should have posted/ordered these items earlier?! Just a thought...

Stormproof · Post by **Stormproof** » 23 Dec 2007, 17:16

All packets should have a return address on, the post office should enforce it. The amount of items I have to send to Belfast is unbelievable.

k979aaa · Post by **k979aaa** » 23 Dec 2007, 17:36

Royalmail is failing fast for the following reason's 1 later start's introduced two month's ago later start's mean less likely to catch people in most have gone to work by the time the first letter is delivred!. 2 a 20% increse in packets orderded online is not being catered for ie not enough staff/van's!. 3 driver's takeing out walk's instead of doing packet's!. 4 callers office closes early so most now have packets redeliverd so more work for driver's. 5 other courrier company's dumping packet's on us for this is the competion they T.N.T DHL UK MAIL take the money and we do all the work and take all the blame for phony competion!. FOR THIS IS ALL DOWN TO MARKET LIBERALIZATION OF THE UK POSTAL SYSTEM FOR YOU CANNOT DELIVER A SERVICE WHEN YOU HAVE BECOME A BUSINESS!.

DGP1 · Post by **DGP1** » 23 Dec 2007, 18:10

Just been told that ALL Amazon packets that have been guaranteed for delivery before Christmas are being sent out Special Delivery. Anybody else heard that???