Trying a neighbour???

[Gummage]

I'm sure you did try two neighbours but, like her, nobody answered. Probably like her they just didn't hear you at the door and therefore have no recollection of you trying their door.

Make sure that Your Union Rep is aware, and everybody else is aware [for their safety].

[peshwaarinaan]

I'm sure you did try two neighbours but, like her, nobody answered. Probably like her they just didn't hear you at the door and therefore have no recollection of you trying their door.

Make sure that Your Union Rep is aware, and everybody else is aware [for their safety].

Thank you.

[twoloops]

One day last week between us we ran out of 739 cards had to use some old Christmas 739s that where left in the van think we brought back over 80 parcels

[nickbsmooth]

I won't try neighbours...I don't have time and if I were to and there is a problem it'll be my fault as RM doesn't back it's own employees.

[Celgar]

Was out on delivery yesterday delivering to posh street with massive houses all spaced apart on a hill. Left a docket for a packet and didn’t try a neighbour (yes got a porch but locked). Half an hour later this old bag comes to find me waving her docket saying ‘this is ridiculous! I’ve only been out for half an hour, all my neighbours are at home!’. I say excuse me madam, if you can wait for ten minutes by the van I will get your packet for you.

Got back to the van and she’s fuming. ‘It says on here that a neighbour could have taken it in!!!! It’s Saturday and all my neighbours are home!!!! This is ludicrous! There are cars on all the drives! I’m sorry Madam I say, we are very busy today and if we went knocking on every door to find a neighbour our delivery would take a lot longer. I bet she’s going to complain. Any advice????

If a parcel has a printed instruction to leave a parcel with a neighbour if they are out I will attempt to. But we don't get many parcels that do have that instruction on them. If there were addresses comprising really large houses well spaced apart I would just do a P739 generally. Otherwise you have to go back again to put in a card saying who has the parcel. Little bits of extra time soon add up to an hour that you might not get paid for.

[NewPostieUK]

The only complaint I've had in ten years was after trying THREE neighbours, spending at least 12 minutes trying to get rid of the packet. Big detached houses, knocked on door, no answer, knocked again, waited, tried next door, no answer, tried other next door, no answer, tried door next to that, lady in garden, no chance, doesn't want anything to do with them. Walked back writing out card. In the mean time, Dickhead has woken up and looked out window, He sees me walk up and post card and walk away.

Next day, YOU! WHY DIDN'T YOU KNOCK YESTERDAY?!

Explained it all, he says well, I've put a complaint in anyway, whatever.

No apologies, nothing.

Now he's started getting an awful lots of packets and he has a canny round trip for every single one :)

I spend a lot less time worrying about getting rid..

[Edward Hunter]

Since delivery to neighbour became a royal mail standard procedure, our walks have not been changed to add that into the duty time. Same can be said of the general increase in parcels and added doorstep scanning. Slowly at my place posties are getting the message that this is one big piss take. Once out on delivery you are your own manager. Manage your delivery to suit yourself.

[Anonymous100]

Well.... this all of a sudden has become a huge problem in my office as we are now expected to knock 4/5 doors each side and are given grief by the DOM when we bring tracked items back to the office because we are not meeting the % of the first time delivery.

To cut a long story short my office has recently gone through a revision where they have got rid of a number of duties and made a number of duties a lot longer.
So everyone has to relearn the IPS and there’s lots of people who aren’t completing and as you can expect managers are saying the postmen are lazy and not good enough and that it’s possible to complete.

In my area we have been told by management if we leave any packet in a unsafe place it will go down conduct.
We are not allowed to leave anything in porches, in cupboards which are by people’s front doors. Unless there is a locked box or a gate has a combination lock which we have the code for we are not allowed to leave a item anywhere that’s deemed unsafe.
This is to encourage us to knock neighbours which is fine but how many neighbours do you know when you are already pressed for time to complete your duty in your time.

I have heard people say they have never seen things as bad as they are now under the current management that we have and as someone who is fairly new to Royal Mail with just over a years service, I just think the job is being made so much harder than what it needs to be.

What concerns me the most is I don’t feel as postmen we are protected when it comes to leaving a packet with a neighbour.
What if they turn round and they say they don’t have it?
Where am I protected in that process?
I could scan the item on the doorstep so it goes through as delivered, but then someone makes a complaint or enquiry and everyone could point a finger at me?
The customer will get another item sent out to keep them happy and the poor postmen could be sent up the road.

It’s customer, custoner, customer all the time which I understand to and extent, but if you look after your postmen/postwomen and you are fair with them and treat them nicely I’m sure 99% of them will do there best for you in return.

In my opinion too much of our time is wasting knocking on neighbours, if you see someone is in and it’s going to help you get rid of the packet, that’s fine. But knocking 4/5 each side until someone takes it is just not being realistic in my office I don’t think.
The duties are too long and they are being reduced every what 8-10 years even though flats and houses are going up left right and centre.
It’s just wrong and I think we need to do something to ensure as postmen/postwomen we are protected and not in a vulnerable position.
There should be an option when you buy something to pick the item up from the delivery office to save people like you and me taking it out when they know they are not in. Thats just double handling it and making our bags heavier than they need to be.

I’d be interested to hear from anybody who is experiencing this in there office, or is it just mine like this?

[DGH]

There should be an option when you buy something to pick the item up from the delivery office to save people like you and me taking it out when they know they are not in. Thats just double handling it and making our bags heavier than they need to be.

Excellent idea. So Royal Mail will never do it.

[Gold Fox]

" deliver to neighbour " and leave it at " safe place " has been stopped in our DO. No if and no but .

[greengiant]

Or you deliver a tracked packet to a neighbor, scan it as delivered, thus triggering an email to the recipient, and leave a "with your nrighbour" card. However the recipient who being out at work all day puts in a denial of reciept complaint as they could not have received the parcel as they were not in...

Surely the PDA should have an additional option for "Delivered to Neighbour X" where you can enter the neighbours door number as well as "Delivered" and "Safe Place"...

[Xr4]

Or you deliver a tracked packet to a neighbor, scan it as delivered, thus triggering an email to the recipient, and leave a "with your nrighbour" card. However the recipient who being out at work all day puts in a denial of reciept complaint as they could not have received the parcel as they were not in...

Surely the PDA should have an additional option for "Delivered to Neighbour X" where you can enter the neighbours door number as well as "Delivered" and "Safe Place"...

That makes too much sense

[ArthurPewty]

There should be an option when you buy something to pick the item up from the delivery office to save people like you and me taking it out when they know they are not in. Thats just double handling it and making our bags heavier than they need to be.

Excellent idea. So Royal Mail will never do it.

It took me less than 2 weeks from when I started at RM to work this out.
OK, there could be issues of space in smaller DO's holding more parcels but the increase in locker time giving them out is mitigated by not having to scan all these parcels back in that we currently bring back every day. The official customer (the sender) is happy as the tracking stages, and risk of parcels going missing is cut down. The recipient doesn't have to leave the porch open/hope the neighbour takes it in, RM save MILLIONS OF POUNDS in OPG time, and we don't get shafted physically and metaphorically lugging tons of parcels round that we waste so much time trying to deliver to anyone who'll have them. It's an absolute no brainer, so as pointed out it will never happen!

[gunho]

nobody has ever had the sack for leaving a docket, nothing to worry about

[Interested-seeker]

Well.... this all of a sudden has become a huge problem in my office as we are now expected to knock 4/5 doors each side and are given grief by the DOM when we bring tracked items back to the office because we are not meeting the % of the first time delivery.

To cut a long story short my office has recently gone through a revision where they have got rid of a number of duties and made a number of duties a lot longer.
So everyone has to relearn the IPS and there’s lots of people who aren’t completing and as you can expect managers are saying the postmen are lazy and not good enough and that it’s possible to complete.

In my area we have been told by management if we leave any packet in a unsafe place it will go down conduct.
We are not allowed to leave anything in porches, in cupboards which are by people’s front doors. Unless there is a locked box or a gate has a combination lock which we have the code for we are not allowed to leave a item anywhere that’s deemed unsafe.
This is to encourage us to knock neighbours which is fine but how many neighbours do you know when you are already pressed for time to complete your duty in your time.

I have heard people say they have never seen things as bad as they are now under the current management that we have and as someone who is fairly new to Royal Mail with just over a years service, I just think the job is being made so much harder than what it needs to be.

What concerns me the most is I don’t feel as postmen we are protected when it comes to leaving a packet with a neighbour.
What if they turn round and they say they don’t have it?
Where am I protected in that process?
I could scan the item on the doorstep so it goes through as delivered, but then someone makes a complaint or enquiry and everyone could point a finger at me?
The customer will get another item sent out to keep them happy and the poor postmen could be sent up the road.

It’s customer, custoner, customer all the time which I understand to and extent, but if you look after your postmen/postwomen and you are fair with them and treat them nicely I’m sure 99% of them will do there best for you in return.

In my opinion too much of our time is wasting knocking on neighbours, if you see someone is in and it’s going to help you get rid of the packet, that’s fine. But knocking 4/5 each side until someone takes it is just not being realistic in my office I don’t think.
The duties are too long and they are being reduced every what 8-10 years even though flats and houses are going up left right and centre.
It’s just wrong and I think we need to do something to ensure as postmen/postwomen we are protected and not in a vulnerable position.
There should be an option when you buy something to pick the item up from the delivery office to save people like you and me taking it out when they know they are not in. Thats just double handling it and making our bags heavier than they need to be.

I’d be interested to hear from anybody who is experiencing this in there office, or is it just mine like this?