Today the Royal Mail have asked us all not to use post boxes so as to avoid backlogs when the strikes are over. There will be no deliveries until next Thursday. My question: since it was privatised, and mail delivery has been opened up for competition, why does this affect me? Why can’t I just post a letter in a post box belonging to some Royal Mail rival?
UPDATE: Royal Mail was not privatised, but postal delivery was opened up to competition except for the last mile.
In the mean time, if you live near a nice old Post Office building and like using it: hurry up! Near me there’s one in Post Office Road — POST OFFICE ROAD! — that’s going to be closed when they move it into WHSmith. Has it really come to this?
Comments
77 responses to “Royal Mail strike”
george, i know at least our posties are descent enough to wait a couple of minutes for you to get to the door or leave them with a neighbour, some couriers drop them and go, or leave a stupid card in your letter box, oh well long as i get me prezzies! im a happy bunny.
Hahaha! I’m sorry but my delivery person doesn’t even wait five seconds for me to run to the door and answer! I understand they have to get on with it, but it’s seriously frustrating since I have a disability and can’t RUN like a hyped up bunny to the door, and when they’ve gone and left me a card, well it makes it that much harder since I can’t just go strollin right up to my delivery office whenever I please! And they DO NOT NEVER answer the phone at my local sorting office! I’ve even requested redeliveries and they don’t take any notice at all….
I’ve not had any mail since October 2nd! And for those posties on here complaining about the work load… maybe you should put in a request for one of those big square bags that are on wheels, where the mail carrier has a long handle descended from the bag. to push along the street – unfortunately, I can’t find a picture as I have no idea what they’re called, but I have seen them!
i guess this states the obvious then, were all different, some will be striking cos they have to, some just cos they enjoy the drama, some cos they beleive what there striking for, but everyones got there reasons right or wrong and we carnt blanket them all, as my posties great and obviously some are not, i gotta say when i ring the sorting office on the rare occasion i have had to they always pleased to help, thats not to say in some office somewhere else, they not so great, i just got a package yeeeeeeeeah, x
I’ve recently got REALLY hot under the collar.
Post is currently taking over a week to get to its destination.
So why is this not indicated in the Post Office where you send things? They’re quite happy to take my money for recorded-first class post, but don’t bother to inform me it will actually take over a week. This will have influenced my decision and what service to use, if only they’d bothered to inform me.
This has really screwed some things up for me and has caused a £1000+ cost due to inability to attend an international meeting. If there was some sort of indication (other than on obscure parts of the internet) that the delays would STILL be so great, then I would not have sent it this way.
Without even worrying about whether the strikers are justified or not, the Royal Mail management themselves clearly have no concern for their customers. I will not be using Royal Mail for important post again. I will give DHL’s Parcel2Go.com a chance next time instead.
Tet Says:
“I’ve not had any mail since October 2nd! And for those posties on here complaining about the work load… maybe you should put in a request for one of those big square bags that are on wheels, where the mail carrier has a long handle descended from the bag. to push along the street – unfortunately, I can’t find a picture as I have no idea what they’re called, but I have seen them!”
well once again money comes into it we have 8 trolly’s in our office 4! and there are 100 people there so we are kinda short as you could guess.
and as for waiting 5 seconds if you know you cant answer the door int time how about putting a polite notice on the door? saying oh i don’t know (pleas e wait as i’m unable to reach the door right away thank you)) we are human and we do like to help ill try my best to not docit but if i have to i will and one thing is more annoying if you complain affter WE TRIED if you don’t answer in time with no note NOT OUR FAULT!!!!!!!
hello again, i have to say once again, yes were all human and i think you will find as i do, if you let people know of circumstances many times posties and actually people on a whole everywhere are usually very willing to help, and if there not then you can rip strips of them, but i have found that now all my post seems to be coming very quick and my post ladies a diamond shes always pleasent and helpful and the delivery guy with the big items and they always wait or pass them on to my mom next door, so i will say i agree with above statement, let people know and most times youd be suprised, and if not then tell them your not happy!
I’m with Pete, there is no way that the service being provided at full prices can justify itself as ‘fit for purpose’ at the point of sale of a stamp or one of those badly printed stickers. I live in a remote village in the NW corner of the UK, living a 64 mile trip away from the nearest supermarket and shops we are completely dependent upon the post, even for transport. Fortunately the postal service here contines as usual but what use is that if the two sides everywhere else refuse to agree on anything so the rest of the country is at a standstill ? The strike is not working and the postal service should be classified as an ‘essential service’ because lives depend on it. I believe that the striking postman are selfish, thoughless and greedy to persist for so long. I am not completely without understanding, however Royal Mail has been demonstrated to be a complete shambles which is not capable of even providing a rudimentary service. Maybe the Government should intervene and require that until a reasonble service is being provided they should only be permited to charge one eigth of the usual posting tariffs. That might wake people up.
My girlfriend is in UK at the moment and sends me a letter every month for the past 18 months. The delivery times from the UK to Australia where we live is approx 5-7 days and thats how long her letters have been taking for the past 6 months. We had Fathers day here in Australia first Sunday in September and she posted a card by airmail for me on 13th September. I received it today October 26th. Thats 6 weeks or 42 days to get her letter. Thats Unacceptable even in strike conditions. We had wiped it off as lost, stolen or misdelivered by Australia Post. She only informed me Mid October there are strikes there by Royal Mail. I am NOT impressed with the strike action at all. I’m lucky we live here in Australia where strike action by Australia Post is unheard of. Pay disputes are worked out fairly and the mail gets through no matter what. I should know. I was a postman for 20 years here. Shame on you Royal Mail in this day and age to let cutomers down and not resolve the dispute quicker.
I am a postie and proud of it and on behalf of postpersons everywhere who saw fit to strike recently I/WE APOLOGISE WHOLEHEARTEDLY for the delay of very important mail to everybody! On behalf of those who chose not to strike and will willingly be first in the queue and hold their hand out for the resultant benefits I say WOT A SAD BUNCH OF AR*OLES!!!!!!! These strikes are not an objection by a load of ‘CRAZIES’ or ‘LAZIES’ after more money, they are a stand for our rights and statement against the FAT CATS who use any and all excuses to feather their own nests at the expense of others including their own undermanagers. WE don’t want something for nothing, we’ll leave that bit to the bosses! Genuine posties everywhere will do anything and everything within reason to rectify the situation ASAP. Just ask yourselves for one moment why our current management team were available to the RM in the first place? LAST BUT NOT LEAST; WHEN WILL ROYAL MAIL DECLARE ‘LAST’ YEARS PROFITS & THE AMOUNTS PAID TO ITS DIRECTORS ????????????????? COULD BE A SOURCE OF EMBARRASSMENT COULD IT NOT !
Follow up please about this issue….
Here is what is happening as my husband works for the RM. Its not about the increase in pay, its about upper management making tons of money, while pensions are being gagged out of the employees, and please, you can make fun of the posties, but they have their rights as we all do.
Mr Leyton should not be in charge, the government should just take this over, since when is this a monoply game with a private entity running it. Maybe hes a mate of R. Murdock and ya know what, the government needs to step in and stop this utter bs. Mr. Leyton shame on you…..the Royal Mail is not a one stop shopping center, its an entity for the people and you are basically giving it away to DHL, Fed Ex and such. I guess you must be buying stock in their companies, otherwise, you are totally clueless and in my eyes, no compassion. Oh yeah right, your a businessman out for himself.
Sad state of affairs,
At last the figures, WOT DID I TELL YOU! Please look at mine a couple of mails back! Only somebody without a heart could screw with the service provided by Royal Mail to say little of the lives of 200,000 postal workers(all grades) and their families. Only somebody without a brain thinks he will get away with it! TAKING THAT MONEY FROM ROYAL MAIL FOR YOU AND YOUR CRONIES AT THIS JUNCTURE IS OBSCENE. GRAB IT AND RUN ADAM(SORRY, ‘MR CROZIER’), you know how deep the pot is, that sort of money won’t be on the table for long, except as a ‘golden handshake’ or is that what you’re after?
Customers still waiting for items to be delivered from 8th October. Over 3 weeks for first class recorded items to arrive. Now that is a service to be proud of!
RM staff don’t care about the knock on effects of their actions. Think about yourselves, that’s all that matters really hey!
I am astonished that RM want their staff to work to a finish time. Is that unreasonable? How many other jobs let you do your work and then go home, while still getting paid?
As to the comments above about leaving a note for posties to let them know that I might take awhile to answer the door – I live in a house with flats, as does most of London 😛 So I doubt that most of the people around here even get the chance to talk, let alone even see their postie.
I’m not going to openly advertise that I might take awhile to answer the door, because if I was a smart thief or criminal, and I saw a sign like that on a window, I’d be sure to check it out as this person MUST be weak or something if it takes them time to get to the door for their mail.
No, I just have to hope that my postie with my packages is a nice postie, and does wait ‘sufficient’ time….
Gone a bit quiet on here since the heirarchy at RM have stopped prodding their friends in the press to write a bad story or three about thick, selfish, greedy, inconsiderate and self-centred posties. Any backlog will soon be cleared, Crozier & Co have banked unbelievable amounts and a little period of calm will ensue. Be assured that all the things that postie was REALLY on strike for will come back to HAUNT those at the top! Unfortunately the nearest they ever came to posting a letter was in the ‘OUT’ tray, and, the sad part about it all is that the short-sighted, gullible & misled public who have chosen to write criticism of ‘faithful old postie’ in the spaces above blame the man/woman at the bottom as always! Suck it & see guys & girl whingers, RM need Christmas Staff, they’re advertising, bet you don’t last 5mins !!!!!!!!
I worked for Royal Mail and tried to work from the bottom up: you cánnot become a manager without being a postman first. Ha!
The amount of abuse and intimidation that I had to endure from the accepted enclave of `Manangers ` was ridiculous. If you have an idea to increase efficiency, it’s either their idea or not viable. Often it is `not viable`; change etc..
I was turned down as a Manager initially but after appeal became an acting Manager.
I was a marked man.
Anyway, have been sacked twice by this glorious company of fools, and I say this:
LET POST MEN AND WOMEN RUN THE COMPANY WITH GOVERNMENT FUNDING (owners ) DON’T LET THE PUBLIC/ BUSINESS SUFFER.
I am at present on waiting list for post of postman in my local area, however to make ends meet I am working as a taxi driver, can I continue this and be employed by royal mail?
The actual workers – from the depot guys to the postmen are fantastic but I would very much like to speak directly to Adam Crozier and Alan Leyton if they are the ones responsible for the atrocious service breakdown and the number of parcels I am losing, annually since the change in the delivery times, which to try to recoup on is itself a bureacratic procedure that requires weeks of waiting!
Some bright and ineffective person at the top decided that Postmen could not longer deliver before 9 so, now everything I have sent to me via the post does not arrive until I have already left the house for work. Which means I see a dreaded red card instructing me to either have it resent (more cost to the PO) etc or collect it, so more work on my part, or fuel costs!
If anyone whose idea this was after hundreds of years of effective service, and who the two top-drawer clowns are that instigated such an onerous system smack them in the mouth for me!