Rant about the postal service

[Graham]

Nothing to do with motorhomes but what time do other people get their mail? A few years ago our postman would come early in the morning sometimes before 8.00am, nowadays he comes in the afternoon around 1.30pm, once he arrived at 3pm! If it gets any later he will be able to bring tomorrow's mail with him.

Has anyone else noticed this, or is it just me?

Phew, glad I got that off my chest.

Graham (turning into a grumpy old man)

[lunnie]

He is late because of staff shortage, due to Annual Leave/sick leave/vacancies.

The staff themselves are fed up as well as we are. They now start later, it is all to do with trying to keep the costs down, so that the stamp price do not rise.

If you saw how the systems works, you would wonder how ANY of the mail arrives at all, it is absolutely fasinating, and the delivery offices (your postie) is chaotic but with good banter.

So your postie who is late has completed his round, returned sorted another then delivered, and he has been at work since 5am.

But agree annoying if you are waiting for a particular letter.

[Graham]

Hi Joan

It sounds as if you have a bit of inside information, I wasn't really having a rant at our postman who I am sure is doing the job to the best of his ability, I was more having a go at the postal service itself which seems to have changed over the last few years - and not for the better.

Incidentally my dad was a postman, he joined the post office when he was demobbed, in those days they only took ex service men and they had to look immaculate. I remember his peaked cap with a shiny peak and the red stripe down his trousers.

Eeee those were the days.

[lunnie]

Hi Graham,

Ex RM but on the cleaning side. Yes, standards have certainly slipped, I remember there being a full length mirror by the exit door, so that they could check their appearances.

Trainers unless issued by RM are the only ones, allowed, but posties, ignore this ruling and if the Manager pulls them up, they run like babies to the union which most of the reps I have met across the midlands are us to say the least, they have allowed standards to slip, they appear to absolutely love to break down all rules and reg. even those that are in place to keep safe their members, logic is just out of the window. Bit like our present Govt.

You wouldnt believe what the drivers leave in the cabs! nor what grown men do in toilets!!!! ppl would think that you are having a laugh! they are disgusting, But they are your son, husband, dad and grandad, but they change when they enter the loos!!! That is my rant! and I certainly did a lot of that a few times, my revenge was I locked them off, so they had no loos for a few days!!!! (Mother's heavy hand)

I knew you wasnt having a go at the postie, just the system.

But I certainly did enjoy my 9yrs there, and I certainly ejoy my RM pension!!!!!!

Joan xx

[Graham]

Hi Joan

Sounds like you could write a book about the RM toilets ;D, you certainly had some interesting times by the sounds of it. I love the comment about locking the toilets - serves 'em right.

Graham

[karenw]

I can understand this rant!

I have an online shop and am dependent on the postal service for delivering orders. Our own 'morning' mail can arrive any time up to 4pm and 2nd class packages I mail out can take anything from 2 to 16 working days to arrive at their destination. Overseas mail is just as interesting - it is usually delivered within 5 wording to overseas addresses yet can take up to 3 weeks to arrive from the same addresses...??!!

[viv]

We receive our mail at about 11am. That is fine but we don't have a post office and as it is a £4 bus journey to the nearest one, I'm never sure what postage to put on a larger than standard package.

As I don't keep a variety of stamps and cannot be sure, I tend to put a 1st and 2nd class stamp on to be safe. Probably way over the top! Just not worth going to the post office to have them weighed and buy the exact stamps.

[lunnie]

Hi Viv,

did you not receive a notice from Royal Mail when they started the postings for different sizes of envolpes etc? I kept mine taped on the inside of my kitchen wall unit, handy for checking,and the website will keep you costings regarding weight etc. If you request a new chart I am sure that they would oblige you.

Joan

[paul]

I can have the most vitriolic rant about my postman without fear of him finding me. I know this because he has my name address and postcode and he most of the time he still has a problem knowing where my house is.

Even when he does get to my house he often leaves somebody else's mail and I often wonder where mine goes. He left two items today for next door and once I discovered that he'd left a cheque, correctly addressed to me, in an empty house a mile away. The new owner very kindly brought it round to me three months later but by that time I'd had an angry exchange with the sender - nobody believes the old 'the cheques in the post' excuse, especially when it doesn't arrive.

Once he delivered to my house a two similar packages clearly and correctly marked with names and addresses half a mile away. Not one of the details even vaguely resembled any of mine and they were big enough that they couldn't have accidentally been picked up in the same handful. I could tell from the franking and size that they were passports. God help my postman if he ever tries tries travelling anywhere.

A lot of parcels are tracked these days when they are sent. Some tracking systems are so accurate that you can nearly hear the van pulling up outside. I have one in transit now though, which has been sent with the Royal Mail. When you go to the website and enter the 13-character reference number it says 'Recorded Signed For™ items are only tracked after the item has been delivered'. We got a man on the moon without computers but the best that the post office can do is to tell me I've received something only after I've signed for it!

At the top of the page it says 'With us it's personal®' (yes, they've actually registered that as a slogan). So what I want to know is what is it that they have against me.

[lunnie]

Silly question, and I apologise if you have already done this.

Have you complained to the Delivery Office Manager? there is a complaints dept, for the whole country but I find that the delivery office concerned is the best place.

Take the incorrectly delivered item to your house into the office but do ask for the DOM, not just leave it with the postie in reception. I am sure that he would sort out the postie, he is obviously not trained, or could be untrainable, and he needs be 'sorted' ( sorry about the pun, couldnt resist it )

The DOM does sometimes report a postie to the internal security and they do a marvellous job, in trapping naughtly posties,,

[Graham]

Our last postie (a lady) used bring recorded delivery letters and if we weren't in she used to sign it herself and pop it into the letter box! I'm sure she shouldn't have done it but it was fine until one day she did the same thing but dropped it into a letter box down the road, luckily the chap brought it round to us. Once she shoved a parcel under out back gate and when we got back from a week away in the van it was wet through because it had rained. We thought about complaining but she was really nice (just incompetent) and didn't want to get her into trouble.

I have also been walking down the road and found letters dropped by the postman.......and why do they drop those red elastic bands all over the place? Surely they could keep them and use them again!!!

[paul]

Sept 17, 2008 9:35:22 GMT lunnie said:

Have you complained to the Delivery Office Manager?

Oh yes, I've complained several times before. That rant was just the tip of the iceberg - there's plenty more; and it's not just one postie.

Last time I complained was because they delivered to me a scrap of brown paper with my address on it and a label which said 'this is alll that we could find of a parcel addressed to you. If you have any complaint please ring this number . . .' I rang the number and was told that it was none of my business since they had no contract with me. They would only accept complaints from the sender because this is who paid them for the service.

The parcel was out-of-print academic books, professionally wrapped by a seller who was well aware of the vagaries of the Post Office. I got my money back from him, but the books were irreplaceable.

Today I had two items. One was packed in a thick card, Post Office Approved, envelope clearly marked in big red letters 'please do not bend' . They bent it.

The other was too big for the letterbox so a card was left for me to collect it from the sorting office. Until recently, these said 'leave two hours before collecting'. It was left at 1.00pm and sorting office collection counter closes at 4.30. The card though, said that I must wait 24 hours to collect. Apparently, items don't just go back to the sorting office any more. They are effectively re-posted, it was explained to me, but this time they are sorted (the next day) as 'for collection' instead of 'for delivery'.

The Post Office is a never-ending-rant.

I could tell you much more from the other side of the fence from when I did the Xmas post, but you have to sign the Official Secrets Act even to be a temporary postie so if I told you anything it would be treason and I'd be locked in the Tower.

[jayjay]

Sept 17, 2008 22:30:11 GMT paul said:

Sept 17, 2008 9:35:22 GMT lunnie said:

Have you complained to the Delivery Office Manager?

I could tell you much more from the other side of the fence from when I did the Xmas post, but you have to sign the Official Secrets Act even to be a temporary postie so if I told you anything it would be treason and I'd be locked in the Tower.

LOL! ;D ;D ;D

I've had similar experiences here, esp. with just the wrapping being delivered. There used to be three different households with the family name in our street, the postman used to put everything for the other two as well as me through my letterbox, so I ended up doing his job for him!