Royal Mail

[TitanTim]

Sorry a slight rant :roll: but why is Royal Mails parcel service so rubbish.

They send their delivery notifications which for the most part are pretty pointless so is their tracking service which is never updated real time. I Was due a delivery on Saturday between 8.25 to 10.25am. Stayed at home all day and nothing delivered. Out on Sunday and came back home to a parcel sitting on the doorstep.

Due another delivery today which is of high value so want to be at home. Ive noticed with Royal Mail these days if you're not at home they rarely return parcels to the local depot for collection and usually leave it on the doorstep as a prime picking for the local crackheads. Notification for today said 9.25 to 12.25 so cancelled this mornings plans. Received another notication that delivery will now be from 4pm to 8pm today. The delivery notications always stipulate it's not a guaranteed time, ok fair enough but it makes the service completely random if they don't even stick to the stipulated day never mind a time.

Never have these issues with the likes of DPD. 2 hour slot and they pretty much always bang on the first hour.

Think I'm going to write to Charles to say your Royal service is cr@p.

Tim.

 

[Pondrew]

I completely agree; RM is total crap these days.
The email/ text notifications of a delivery 'slot time' are useless, as you say, as they will then change it during the day.
I have had a couple of deliveries which turned up 4-5 hours after the quoted latest time. I complained to the postie and both times got a snotty reply of "we're really busy". I told them that I am busy aswell; far too busy to wait around all day just in case they decide to deliver to me.

The Royal Mail now sign up to that classic saying of "we may be expensive but at least we're rubbish".

As you say, Tim, every other parcel delivery company deliver when they say they are going to. And they're all cheaper. And their drivers (except Amazon who are shite) are all friendly.

I think the RM is not going to be around very much longer, as they seem to not be interested in competing with the others.

 

[Pondrew]

Think I'm going to write to Charles to say your Royal service is cr@p.

If you send it by post, it may take a while.

 

[Usel]

I have found Royal Mail's service to be excellent for receiving and sending out parcels.

The sorting office is in my town so maybe that helps?

I have a box for parcels for all deliveries and Royal Mail are the only ones who are able to use it. The couriers ignore the request and the sign on the front door.

Evri used to be brilliant as we had a chap called Andy for years. He no longer comes and the others leave parcels on door step without even ringing the bell.

 

[TitanTim]

Think I'm going to write to Charles to say your Royal service is cr@p.

If you send it by post, it may take a while.

I'm not actually sure what the Royal connection is if any with Royal Mail anymore. A very long time ago they used to be good but these days, a very poor service, sign of the times in this country

Tim.

 

[Pondrew]

Think I'm going to write to Charles to say your Royal service is cr@p.

If you send it by post, it may take a while.

I'm not actually sure what the Royal connection is if any with Royal Mail anymore. A very long time ago they used to be good but these days, a very poor service, sign of the times in this country

Tim.

Our RM used to be the envy of the world. Not anymore.

I have a friend who came over from SA in the mid 90s. He said he used to actually make a note of telling people in SA about our postal service as he thought it was unbelievably good. He doesn't do that anymore, either. :roll:

 

[TitanTim]

I have found Royal Mail's service to be excellent for receiving and sending out parcels.

The sorting office is in my town so maybe that helps?

I have a box for parcels for all deliveries and Royal Mail are the only ones who are able to use it. The couriers ignore the request and the sign on the front door.

Evri used to be brilliant as we had a chap called Andy for years. He no longer comes and the others leave parcels on door step without even ringing the bell.

Whether it's regional in terms of quality of service I wouldn't know. I often see with posting on local community groups people moaning they don't receive any post for days then will receive a glut of post often missing things like hospital appointments due to letters floating around in the postal system. I've spoken to my local postie and he says its usually down to staff shortages.

Tim.

 

[coldel]

Yeah my mate is a postie, fair play he works his nads off, in the sorting office 5am and works till 3pm most days including 25k steps a day. He says that they are always short staffed, they ask most staff to work overtime which most do to make up the shortfall of staff each day. I like his attitude to his job, he calls every person he delivers to 'his customers' even when just chatting generally about his job, and has a vested interest in them. The other day he helped one of his customers that collapsed at the front door, calling in passers by and calling an ambulance.

As with most things, its often the system that fails, and RM seems woefully out of date. That said, Evri DPD etc. have lost stuff, chuck parcels on the doorstep without ringing, and change delivery times just as much as RM.

 

[Rockhopper]

I've found them to be fine with parcels etc, always deliver to my safe place if I'm not in and always deliver when they say they are going to. Evri are great round here as well. DHL are usually abysmal.

 

[buzyg]

Think I'm going to write to Charles to say your Royal service is cr@p.

If you send it by post, it may take a while.

Best address it to William. :wink:

 

[sars]

A lot of it is down to your local sorting office, I'm lucky to live in a village with a proper Post Office, with friendly staff and posties, never had a major issue with the service and if when there's been a hiccup, they've really helped.

 

[Pondrew]

I'm lucky to live in a village with a proper Post Office,

Presumably your post-master/ mistress was released early from prison, then?

The Post Office and The Royal Mail are run separately nowadays.

I now live in the centre of town; we have a different postie every day (or would if they delivered every day which they definitely don't). Never met one yet who is friendly, or seems at all interested. They come at all hours (but usually not at all). Our local Post Offices (we have three) are all staffed by snotty bitches who go out of their way to be awkward and avoid taking anything IME.

Yet when we lived in the middle of nowhere just a few years ago (in the same district) , we had the same postie every day, Dave, who was friendly and always happy to chat. I knew about his kids, his divorce, everything. He would always make sure any parcels were delivered at a certain time, as he knew I would be in. We always bought him a present at Xmas which is not something I would normally do.

I wouldn't give my local lot now the steam off my p*** TBH.

 

[TitanTim]

So latest delivery notification was between 4 and 8pm, turned up at 2.30ish :roll:

Not a real world problem just mucks up your day

Our local Evri aren't much better as they keep changing delivery times throughout the day.

DPD still about the best around my area.

Tim.

 

[TitanTim]

I'm lucky to live in a village with a proper Post Office,

Presumably your post-master/ mistress was released early from prison, then?

I thought most of them evaded capture and are now living it up in the Bahamas

Tim.

 

[Jollygiant]

I use RM for all my shipping apart from the big stuff then its UPS.

I have used RM for the last 8 years (multiple items a week) and send everything either Special delivery or if its abroad it's tracked and signed and the service has been spot on and the only holds up tend to be receiving countries customs.

 

[TitanTim]

I use RM for all my shipping apart from the big stuff then its UPS.

I have used RM for the last 8 years (multiple items a week) and send everything either Special delivery or if its abroad it's tracked and signed and the service has been spot on and the only holds up tend to be receiving countries customs.

I think as mentioned it seems to be down to your local sorting office and available delivery staff on the day of delivery. I've never actually had any issues sending parcels etc but it's not receiving parcels on the day or time they notify you.

Tim.