Royal Mail customer service points

[simonineaston]

As one who sends parcels fairly often, I rather like the Royal Mail's click & drop service. So this is just to let like-minded folks know of the RM's plan to change hours.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/20 ... ice-points

[Biospace]

Not click and drop, but perhaps relevant and part of more re-organisation in our post. The local postbox has seen its collection changed from 5.30pm to 9am. Over time, the last post collection in the nearest town has been moved forwards from 7.30pm to 4.30pm. This doesn't appear to be a business looking to increase trade.

I see earlier this year, their request to end Saturday post delivery was rejected by the Government. https://www.theguardian.com/business/20 ... deliveries

[steve.y.griffith]

Your post person will now collect parcels at no cost and even bring the label . Since covid the volume of undeliverable items has dropped massively .Due to home working , people having safe places to leave parcels etc . Reducing opening hours makes perfect sense .
Don’t forget RM have huge competition and most competitors leave items in a local shop often one open all hours . Impossible for RM to compete with that in terms of convenience and access .
On the subject of competition how do you compete against companies paying low wages with no sick, holiday pay etc ?

Re pillar box times , yes the days are long gone when you could receive a letter and send the answer the same day using the local Pillar box . (All boxes should however advertise the nearest later collection box ) But that’s simply a reflection of the huge decline in letters which we all contributed to by going on line for bills etc . Next time you post a letter listen for the sound of the letter falling on metal …that means the box is empty .

Should declare an interest being a retired RM employee

[Biospace]

Your post person will now collect parcels at no cost and even bring the label
...
Don’t forget RM have huge competition and most competitors leave items in a local shop often one open all hours . Impossible for RM to compete with that in terms of convenience and access
...
On the subject of competition how do you compete against companies paying low wages with no sick, holiday pay etc ?
...
Re pillar box times , yes the days are long gone when you could receive a letter and send the answer the same day using the local Pillar box ... a reflection of the huge decline in letters which we all contributed to by going on line for bills etc
...
Should declare an interest being a retired RM employee

Parcel collection is a great service and should give them a competitive edge, totally agree with your comment regarding the competition and its ability to pick and choose its business while getting away with dubious methods of employment.

I wasn't suggesting there should be a return to posting/receiving same day and I can understand that missing out many 15 minute detours to collect from a post box at the end of the day makes sense to the RM, but surely when a van is passing within a few metres of a post box with the collection from a local post office it would make sense to empty it?

[steve.y.griffith]

Yes you are right if the van is passing the box makes sense to go there.
Re Saturday deliveries .The issue for RM is they are obliged to deliver six days a week, that means on days when there is a low volume of Mail the route becomes inefficient ie too much time driving /walking not enough delivering . Of course the competition have no such obligation no do they have regulated quality targets . The competition can have a variable pricing structure eg more for Scottish islands RM quite rightly can’t have . (Although quite often Amazon etc just dump the hard to deliver Mail on RM .) Having said that I think it would be a mistake to stop/reduce Saturday deliveries ,day when most people are home and often want to get stuff then
Makes you question the benefits of opening up the Mail market and privatisation RM . Unless you count clogging our street up with vans I can’t see any .

[Biospace]

Makes you question the benefits of opening up the Mail market and privatisation RM . Unless you count clogging our street up with vans I can’t see any .

Yes, totally. Privatisation is one long, sorry story which has failed everyone, perhaps with the exception of the telecoms market.