Royal Mail contacted me by email today to let me know about some changes to the way their team in Thatcham, where I live, deliver to my house. They explained how letter volumes are falling and parcels are increasing and that they are investing in new equipment to get these larger items to me and my customers – whilst reducing the risk of injury to their postmen and women from carrying heavier mail bags.
“We’re proud of the high regard in which our postmen and women are held in their communities. Whilst these changes may mean a different postman or woman from our local office will deliver to your business, we’re confident all of the local team will provide the reliable, friendly service you’ve come to expect from us over many years.”
– Royal Mail
The sum of the changes are:
- Royal Mail are continuing to deliver in the morning and for a longer period during the day – though many customers will still get their mail by lunchtime. If I currently pay for a Timed Delivery service, the time of this won’t change.
- The time of my standard delivery will depend on where I’m located on the new or existing delivery route. This may be later or possibly earlier than I’m used to.
- And when mail volumes vary, Royal Mail may need to readjust delivery arrangements and times.
- If Royal Mail collect my mail, there should be no change to these arrangements as a result of these delivery changes.
It just so happens that I was at home today when the post lady delivered to my house. She only had one packet for me today and it was delivered at half past two in the afternoon.
To be honest I don’t really care what time my mail is delivered, mostly it’s just bills anyway and I’m never at home to know if they arrive at 9am or, as it was today, in the middle of the afternoon. Nothing is that urgent that I need it before breakfast and usually if it’s a parcel I simply have it delivered to the warehouse and not to home anyway.
What I will say is that the postal workers around my area are invariably friendly and are more than willing to leave my parcels with my neighbour or my neighbour’s parcels with me. So long as my post arrives (sooner or later during the day) and so long as I still get the same cheerful (or moaning about the weather!) service I’m happy.
What about you though? Do you care that you no longer get two deliveries a day or that your post might not arrive until after lunch? Do you even know what time your mail is delivered? What do you think of Royal Mail’s delivery service in general?
16 Responses
I don’t think the Royalmail are that bad. I find it amazing that the Royalmail have to deliver other postal companies mail to peoples letter boxes and not be able to charge the other companies a charge.
I also think that the workers reluctance to modernise over the last few decades has made things worst for them. When is the next round of industrial action?
I don’t care what time they deliver as long as they deliver, plus then need to get their act togther to make the most of the Internet boom!
If their best answer is the ‘Tracked’ service god help them as that is crap!
My post (as in letters) never arrives before 1pm. Parcels however come from 7am – 3pm. I don’t really care about the letters almost all my bills are “paper-less billing” so it is really only junk mail.
Parcels are more of a pain as you don’t know when they are coming and as I do not get along with my neighbours I would hate for anything to be left with them. Especially as most Royal Mail stuff is not tracked, and even if it is often the info isn’t filled in correctly so no hope of proving your neighbour swiped it.
Our post appears when the postman gets here, the delivery office staff collect at about half 3 and they bring any parcels down with them, some may find it annoying, I find it common sense.
Why would any modern company have 2 letter deliveries, a parcel delivery then a collection – all from the same delivery office ?
an opt in self collection service for all mail not just the odd item thats not delivered to the door from a local collection point would save lots of hassle,
we would be happy to collect our mail at a day and time of our choice with in office hours or even a late evening or two
from a secure local collection point
Yesterday, I witnessed a fatal flaw in the ‘leave with neighbour’ policy.
My husbands PSP was left with a man 11 doors away in another street. He had opened the parcel confused, then popped it down to us in the evening.
Fortunately he was honest.
Apparently the postie said ‘its for your neighbour’
We get our regular mail in the afternoon from a cycling postman and have done before we received such a letter about Royal Mail changes and nothing has changed since.
Except when our regular postman is sick or on holiday when we have delivery at about 10am.
Parcels are delivered by van from 7:30am until approx 9am.
Parcels can take a while as they seem to save them up to make less trips.
Apart from that, it’s fine.
.
Well, how about RM’s decision to close the East London Mail Centre…..
This is not supposed to happen till 2012, till after the Olympic Games is over. BUT it’s all but happening now & a bloody mess it is too.
The Centre is quite new & purpose built & assumably will now stand empty till the lease is up in 2020.
Over the last Month our INR claims have shot up. Today a customer who had a INR claim, emailed saying a RM pack had arrived with nothing but the internal paperwork left inside.
A return item, yes you guessed it, only the outer packing, inside empty…
The mail is now taken to 3 different offices ie; Leyton + Ilford + Romford, as non of them can cope with the volumes on their own.
Two local delivery offices are closing soon.
Our local posties all believe it is being done to break the Unions.
Oh and one final bit, all the local Posties are saying there travel times to the ‘new’ offices is taking much longer & some mail is not getting to the buyer next day. The fuel usage has also risen by 25%.
This is all progress apparently……!!