Like many online shoppers, I’m no stranger to my local Royal Mail Delivery Office, the local sorting office, call it what you will. If I miss my postie then I end up strolling to the Hove depot with my card and ID to collect my missed delivery from Royal Mail.
It’s no particular hardship but I do often grumble that there’s only one day a week (Wednesday) when the Hove depot is open after 2:30pm. And often on a Saturday lunchtime there is a queue snaking out of the door as people come to collect their missed parcels for the week. (It’s even worse at the Brighton depot.)
So it was a joy, and novelty, to be able to collect my parcel last week on a Sunday. A SUNDAY! And there are greatly extended collection times available for Christmas during the week too.
Needless to say, I spoke to the lady behind the jump and asked how it was going and she cheerfully said the extended times were “extremely popular.” I asked a fellow shopper what he thought and he called it “very convenient.”
Obviously this is a Christmas trial aimed at relieving peak pressure, but hopefully we can see extended collection times at Royal Mail Delivery Offices throughout the year.
This is the age of Click & Collect, Sunday deliveries by couriers, defined 15 minute slots and even delivery within the hour. Greatly increased opening hours from Royal Mail shouldn’t be seen as a novelty but the norm. Bring it on!
One Response
And hopefully one day we can have more flexibility and later collections and parcel drop off arrangements too.