Postal Delays

[hayfield]

4 minutes ago, fezza said:

I'm not knocking people who are working hard but I don't have much sympathy for RM who knew Covid would disrupt Christmas deliveries months ago but have failed to recruit and train enough people to deal with it. I know several people in the pub and catering trade who have tried to get seasonal RM work but have  been rejected. One got taken on straight away by DPD. Guess which firm isn't struggling to fulfil delivery schedules? 

 

Nothing to do with Royal Mail other than a user, I was amazed they had employed so many extra staff. Staff cannot be just plucked out of the air, its takes time to find and train them

 

I would also assume a centralised personnel department has taken over employing staff. This happened where I worked, it takes so much longer to find and employ staff now. We had a lovely lad with special needs who worked one day a week free as part of his education. It was nearly impossible to offer him a job owing to his lack of computer skills and centralised employment strategy. Supposedly to prevent discrimination on race or gender. Totally forgot about some disabilities. I think in the end it took an area director to bang a few heads together. 

[fezza]

Just now, hayfield said:

 

Nothing to do with Royal Mail other than a user, I was amazed they had employed so many extra staff. Staff cannot be just plucked out of the air, its takes time to find and train them

 

 

 

They knew when Christmas was coming. They knew six months ago that Covid would disrupt matters. There are thousands laid off banging on their door looking for work. I don't see their problem? Other firms seem to have seen it coming and planned appropriately. 

 

There is a reason why other parcels and courier firms have taken off despite RM's protected status. The firms I deal wouldn't touch RM - they would lose so much business if they did as at key moments of the year the RM service falls apart. 

[TheQ]

err umm 

Post Office bosses are in talks to handle Amazon and Hermes parcels for the first time  | Daily Mail Online

 

[meatloaf]

12 minutes ago, TheQ said:

err umm 

Post Office bosses are in talks to handle Amazon and Hermes parcels for the first time  | Daily Mail Online

 

We already do Amazon returns which accounts for a significant proportion of parcels taken over the  counter

[hayfield]

1 hour ago, fezza said:

 

They knew when Christmas was coming. They knew six months ago that Covid would disrupt matters. There are thousands laid off banging on their door looking for work. I don't see their problem? Other firms seem to have seen it coming and planned appropriately. 

 

There is a reason why other parcels and courier firms have taken off despite RM's protected status. The firms I deal wouldn't touch RM - they would lose so much business if they did as at key moments of the year the RM service falls apart. 

 

Saying other firms have taken off because Royal Mail are constantly failing their customers seems a very jaundiced view . I must be very lucky as I have not had any issues with Royal Mail for years, either sending or receiving. They have increased their staff by 30,000, I doubt if they could fit any more in, plus it takes time to find and train staff. 4 weeks ago there was a completely different outlook to that of the past week.

 

However Hermes is a totally different story. A few months back I had an email and a photo saying my parcel had been delivered, problem was it was not either my house or any other in the road. Their bot is not programmed to accept reports that the parcel was incorrectly delivered else ware ware, then when I got hold of them initially denied being the carrier then never called me back.

 

Then waiting for an express delivery from Germany by DHL, missed its connection to the UK so had to wait several days till DHL could be bothered to forward on the container (loads of customers inconvenienced) None are perfect !!!

 

My last remaining package from a sale on Sunday arrived today, Posted on the 14th 2nd class, given its Christmas let alone delays caused from the pandemic

[caradoc]

3 hours ago, hayfield said:

 

I took it as tongue in cheek, having said this is there not a very large Royal Mail rail centre in Willesden ?

 

There is, but it is grossly underused (for rail), and some of the other depots built as part of the project have been completely abandoned, eg Bristol Parkway. 

 

[AY Mod]

2 hours ago, fezza said:

I don't have much sympathy for RM who knew Covid would disrupt Christmas deliveries months ago but have failed to recruit and train enough people to deal with it.

 

Please don't be so daft/selfish/dismissive. It's not your job to sit there on the 1st September to make a call on how the country is likely to be functioning and how many people you need. They'll be doing everything they can; I've just had a parcel posted in London yesterday afternoon arrive here this morning - maybe there's a degree of last-in-first-out depending on how big the piles are in some centres, how many staff are available and just where your parcel is in that pile and even being queue-jumped by those who paid for special delivery (as did the sender of my parcel today).

[LimboBrit]

Hattons trunk shipment by priority air mail to Netherlands.......... 3 months according to input Hattons have had from RM. This was already shipped on 18th November so can't be totally blamed on Christmas peak. Pfff

[fezza]

2 hours ago, AY Mod said:

 

Please don't be so daft/selfish/dismissive. It's not your job to sit there on the 1st September to make a call on how the country is likely to be functioning and how many people you need....

 

We had to make this call in our office as have thousands of other businesses up and down the country - including RM's rivals. I don't want to get into a fight on this so I will leave it there. I just don't understand the public support for RM when those of us who are critically dependent on logistics avoid them. The odd thing about Britain is that people leap to defend  certain "national" institutions / corporations even though all the evidence suggests they are substandard by any sensible international benchmark. 

[hayfield]

2 hours ago, fezza said:

 

We had to make this call in our office as have thousands of other businesses up and down the country - including RM's rivals. I don't want to get into a fight on this so I will leave it there. I just don't understand the public support for RM when those of us who are critically dependent on logistics avoid them. The odd thing about Britain is that people leap to defend  certain "national" institutions / corporations even though all the evidence suggests they are substandard by any sensible international benchmark. 

 

Fezza

 

With eBay sales I avoid Hermes at all costs, I sigh with relief when I see it is being sent via the Royal Mail. I am a customer not an employee.

 

Just search this thread about delivery companies, you will find lots of feedback about Hermes, few of them positive. Rather than jump to defend our national companies we seem to knock them down.

 

Now if you are talking about the better courier companies, compare like with like. Premium service with premium service 

[Butler Henderson]

Long post box sized package received today posted in Bridgewater 1st class on Wednesday; whatever issues RM are having so far a lot of Christmas post seems  to be shifting with negligible delay

Edited December 18, 2020 by Butler Henderson

[Derekl]

Oh well, after my previous posts on overnight delivery by RM, today (Friday) I receive a parcel posted by Peterspares on Monday on RM24. Didn't quite make that...

 

But, on returning to the house earlier in the week, I found a parcel neatly tucked behind the car, so not visible from the street, but addressed to my house number in a different street. Inside, a blank delivery slip from DPD, with no reference to where it had been left. I walked it to the house it was intended for - nobody in, so I left it in a space reasonably invisible from the road. Perhaps I should have taken a photo to show where it was, but so far no come back.

[stewartingram]

Order to eHattons online for 2 new items in stock this week, at 15.45 Wed 16/12.

Order received here in rural Cambridgeshre between 0910 & 0930, Thur 17/12. (My wife got in at 0910, I got in at 0930, postvan arrived within that 20min slot apparently).

Sent by Royal Mail.

Sums up the quality service I usually get by RM.

 

Stewart

[andyman7]

I am being philosophical about the delays, over the years there are times when the RM system gets overwhelmed but parcels eventually emerge. Interstingly I had one superquick delivery this week sent by Hermes, and also needed some paints which were set FedEx and arrived very quickly too.

I have posted some items too and I hope buyers will be understanding as well.

[Legend]

It is very patchy . I had to wait 10 days for an Accurascale Black Friday  48 hour delivery . My package seemed to spend 6 days at Atherstone and was still there according to tracking when it was delivered to me . But I knew it was on its way I wasn’t concerned .  I also bought some old Railway Modellers off eBay that took more than a week extra to get here . 

 

Don’t underestimate the effect of Covid . It’s wreaking havoc in lots of ways with folk having to isolate whether they’ve got it or not .
 

[Sir TophamHatt]

On 18/12/2020 at 08:05, Legend said:

It might be getting used as an excuse but I can assure you it’s real . I don’t work in Post Office but I am sitting in on calls from manufacturing sites and I can tell you managing people in the Covid crisis is challenging.

To be fair though, the quoted OP has a point.

 

There are many experiences I have had over the past few months that companies are just blaming Covid for.

I'm not saying Covid doesn't exist or the threat of it isn't real but it's been around for nearly a year now.  My question is why haven't businesses responded better (you can't tell me all have been the best they can be)?  Or are we saying this is the best they'll get?  If so, that means they're not really going to change and this is how their new normal is now.  I think we both know there are many companies that are still floundering and many don't know what to do for the long run.

 

Our Postman is great and he too has told me that Amazon have dumped a load of their stuff on them very recently, but I've usually sent my returns back via them so not sure what that meant (unless he means deliveries, which strangely enough, I have had one package via Royal Mail, which is unusual these days).

But at the same time, aren't letters automatically sorted (until the last mile so to speak)?  And thus yes, I expect a week ago, something to get within the same county that shares the same sorting office to get there before Christmas.

Perhaps population density has a part to play too?

 

More to the question, does the lack of deliveries have a legal obligation with their "expected times" advertised?  If they haven't changed, I would say that's delibverately mis-leading as we've been in this Covid mess with slower deliveries for months now.  Or if you pay for Next Day specifically (Special Delivery) and it doesn't get there, is there a claim?  It's not about getting money back but it is about paying for a particular service and getting it.  Don't offer it if you can't deliver it.

 

If you pay for a pint and get half, you wouldn't be happy.

Edited December 19, 2020 by Sir TophamHatt

[phil-b259]

20 hours ago, fezza said:

 

We had to make this call in our office as have thousands of other businesses up and down the country - including RM's rivals. I don't want to get into a fight on this so I will leave it there. I just don't understand the public support for RM when those of us who are critically dependent on logistics avoid them. The odd thing about Britain is that people leap to defend  certain "national" institutions / corporations even though all the evidence suggests they are substandard by any sensible international benchmark. 

 

It might be because no other courier / postal company in the UK has a thing called the 'Universal Service Obligation'

 

Basically without Royal Mail those living in awkward to reach bits of the UK - be that the middle of Wales or the Scottish Islands would suffer from either sky high charges or no postal service at all.

 

Thus despite its failings, most Brits remain supportive of the organisation in general terms - just as they do with the NHS

 

 

[melmerby]

I'm finding Royal Mail (and only RMs) deliveries are totally shot.

So far we have received about half the expected Christmas cards by this time.

A subscription magazine that should have arrived by the 5th arrived on the 15th, another due around the 8th, still hasn't arrived*. One parcel due has gone missing totally. (it's now more than 3 weeks and RM have lost track of it)

(The seller sent another DPD and it arrived the next day)

 

*arrived 3:45PM today.

 

Deliveries from others seem to be OK, with only slight delays.

 

IMHO RM seems to be disproportionately affected by Covid than other carriers and seemed to have been totally caught out by the Christmas rush.

 

BTW In the last month I have had several items sent via Amazon Logistics and they all came in the normal time.

Edited December 19, 2020 by melmerby

[postierich]

30000 agency  was quoted most of them left with in a week if I'm honest and those under 25 don't want work im afraid I.e if I do more than 20 hours a week I won't get my tax credits I don't do Saturdays etc....oh well just got home Sunday of for some of us and into battle again Monday...keep up the patience folks please.

[Dave47549]

.

Edited October 4, 2021 by Dave47549
Removed pointless guff

[Free At Last]

Sorry folks, I hold my hands up. I think I may be the one responsible for the cause of a lot of the delays.
I have been receiving lots of emails informing me of missed parcel deliveries that I haven't followed up on and they have probably caused a backlog at the distribution depots at this busy time of the year.
As these are parcels I was not expecting, sent to me by anonymous persons, I am willing to accept their loss and for their contents to be donated to charitable causes as I have not the time nor inclination to respond to emails sent to the many alias addresses I have.

[brianusa]

On 19/12/2020 at 07:32, melmerby said:

'm finding Royal Mail (and only RMs) deliveries are totally shot.

So far we have received about half the expected Christmas cards by this time.

 

Trouble is you don't know where the problem is!  I have a book on order from the UK for nearly a month now.  It was mailed in good time and normally Christmas traffic arrives in ten to fourteen days and as this was for a Christmas present, its only got a few days left!  So where's the problem?  USPS? Royal Mail?  Who knows!  Can't blame everything on covid!

     Brian.

[hayfield]

10 hours ago, brianusa said:

 

Trouble is you don't know where the problem is!  I have a book on order from the UK for nearly a month now.  It was mailed in good time and normally Christmas traffic arrives in ten to fourteen days and as this was for a Christmas present, its only got a few days left!  So where's the problem?  USPS? Royal Mail?  Who knows!  Can't blame everything on covid!

     Brian.

 

I think the Royal Mail does have understandable issues, especially as the virus is spreading so rapidly at the moment. 

 

However many companies it seems are using covid as a convenient reason to cover up their poor service. Back in March this was quite understandable when employees were transitioning to work at home, 8/9 months down the line these things should be sorted out into slick operations. But mainly office based services now seem to be much slower, excessively long introduction messages, followed by longer sets of mainly unnecessary instructions. The exception I found was BT, had trouble with getting football on the computer, straight through to an English call centre, the chap knew his stuff and quickly repaired/restored

[newbryford]

I've waited 11 days for a delivery of a model.

That tallies with similar delivery dates for stuff we've sent out from work.

 

It's here - so what if it took 11 days - it's only a "toy train" at the end of it all.

 

 

 

 

[D9020 Nimbus]

The situation in Yorkshire appears to have eased. A (non-railway) parcel posted in Yorkshire on Saturday arrived Tyneside today — 48-hour tracked. A fortnight earlier, one took 10 days having taken a detour via "Home Counties North MC".