Royal Mail

[Puzzledstill]

if I was to order tomorrow for next day delivery would you risk it?

It’s a shame for Royal Mail. I generally think of it well but it’s going to be harder against competition

It's kind of ingrained, isn't it? We think of them as a good old traditional British institution and want to feel favourably disposed towards them, but there comes a time when you just stop and get a sharp reality check as to how - without necessarily apportioning blame to any individual (least of all the ordinary posties) - you realise that the system is just clunky and unreliable; and other companies have got their act together and everything just works.

I have shares in Royal Mail, they are certainly not making me a fortune, they are quite rubbish in fact, I shall be getting rid of them soon.

I also don't get why there's a need to make the people sit up and think. How is anything my fault, as an ordinary individual user of RM's services, and what power do I have to change anything? The only change I have the power to make is to stop using them!

i try and use Amazon Prime if I can or John Lewis delivery to Waitrose and Next Directory, that covers most things and avoids using Royal Mail, the supermarket also covers most other things so no need to shop anywhere that uses RM

I shall be viscerally sad to see RM go; but when people are actively avoiding using you and looking for almost any alternative - on the basis that at least it's not you - it's the beginning of the end for any business. To be honest, it wasn't a greatly reliable service even before the strikes.

My parcel from dpd was lost and by evri next day parcel is 3 days late so far. Royal Mail has been delivered as promised so far. Maybe it’s location based?

I’d be really sad if Royal Mail didn’t survive too. I hope it will. But with all these strikes (not just RM) people adapt and find alternatives.

By striking like this the workers are effectively killing the business. Maybe that's what they think the management will respond to? People will find alternatives and not go back. Many people no longer send Christmas cards or even birthday cards, etc. RM is effectively a parcel delivery business these days and it needs to adapt or die.

I have a job that needs on effective postal and courier services for legal documents that can't be emailed in soft copy. I've paid more for the peace of mind a good courier (DHL/UPS, etc) provides this year rather than rely on RM. When you pay for a premium service, but they don't deliver on time it's not good enough. It's workers have better terms and conditions than your average courier delivery driver, but for how much longer?

My parcel from dpd was lost and by evri next day parcel is 3 days late so far. Royal Mail has been delivered as promised so far. Maybe it’s location based?

True: no one company has the monopoly on perfection! Amazon is usually head and shoulders above the rest, but even then we had a package stuffed behind our next-door neighbour's bin (very clearly a different house number) that was only discovered when she went to put it out on bin day.

It's workers have better terms and conditions than your average courier delivery driver, but for how much longer?

That’s exactly why they are striking.

When you pay for a premium service, but they don't deliver on time it's not good enough.

Out of interest, what's the position with getting refunds when you pay for a premium service that isn't delivered? Can you get your money back (which doesn't necessarily fully compensate for the problems caused by a time-critical item not being there on time)?

I ordered an item which I didn't realise was coming via Parcel Force and I chose that particular one because it would come on Saturday - I needed it for Saturday and Monday nights - but they (allegedly) first attempted to deliver it on Monday (didn't knock or use our parcel box, no card put through) and then came back on the Tuesday. I had to manage without it and have now paid £20+ for something that I won't now need for at least a year.

Is it actually legal to charge extra for a 'guaranteed' delivery, when all that means is that it's maybe guaranteed unless it isn't?

I think the problem is that, working conditions at royal mail have changed alot over the years. Some people have worked there for years, and don't like how it's changed. Their hours, shifts and role has been affected.

Yes you can get a refund, but it's not the point. I think it was the former boss of FedEx who said people pay for peace of mind. Reliability is key. Occasionally there's an issue with a premium courier service - a freight flight gets delayed, etc.

@Italiandreams - but if there's no business left there'll be no jobs for any of them.

@WeAreTheHeroes , so they should just get in with whatever they are told? I know if the terms and conditions of my job changed in a way that drastically changed my lifestyle, I would expect to have a say. Lots of changes have happened at Royal Mail, and posties have gone along with it. With the changes now some will no longer be able to afford to do the job, no lifestyle changes but lack of wage rises and changes in working hours. You can’t tell me that is ok and they should just suck it up. The bosses won’t negotiate, what else can they do?

Good to know that refunds are available, but, as you say, that's not really the whole story.

Plus, I didn't actually directly pay them - the retailer was their client - so I'd have to go via Amazon to ask the retailer to claim and then forward it on to me. Because of the two parties involved - sender and recipient - it muddies the waters and makes the burden of proof that much harder.

A certain large flower delivery service also allegedly takes advantage of the fact that the person paying them is not the person receiving (or even knowing how much/what was paid for) - so they know they're highly likely to get away with sending half-dead flowers.

Nobody wants that level of faff, so I won't bother; I'll just be more careful to avoid RM & PF completely in future. Imagine having a business with such a poor reputation that companies' customers specifically take the trouble to check with them that they won't be using you before ordering!

Italiandreams - I know it must be concerning for them, but lots of companies change their policies and operating methods over time, whether reacting to changing market forces or ideologies/greed. You can't expect nothing to ever change - especially in an industry that has been so massively transformed by the threat and challenges posed by the internet in the past couple of decades.

Photo developing places have also had to transform their practices or go to the wall - you can't just rail against the arrival of the digital camera and expect people to go back to the old ways, just to support you and keep things familiar for you.

Unfortunately, if a company you previously enjoyed working for changes beyond all recognition, the most practical thing to do is to start looking elsewhere.

They have accepted lots of changes, but you can not treat workers they way they have treated them and not give them the right to respond. Workers have hard fought for rights in this country. They deserve to earn a wage they means they can afford to support their family, and have rights to decent working conditions. Else we may as well employ everyone on zero hour contracts and force them to work whenever we want.

We had a great village postwoman, efficient, organised, reliable and much appreciated. Until she contracted COVID in July 2022 and was treated like sh*t by her employer Royal Mail. She decided to take early retirement, perfectly understandable. Her replacement is utterly daft and disorganised; 'sorts' mail on the pavement, arrives at random times, if at all, and doesn't appear to have the first clue. Has scraped the van on both sides and generally acts dumb. Struggles with basic literacy and scrawls with a crayon.

I've complained twice via the online system about receiving mail for other addresses and not receiving items, months before the recent strike-related issues (we now receive no mail at all). No response beyond an acknowledgement.

Royal Mail does not deserve to keep anyone's business.

and other companies have got their act together and everything just works
But have they really and which of them will deliver letters like royal mail?
also what about shipping overseas I send some orders overseas cost about 13 quid if I wanted to go by FedEx it would cost about 50 or 60 quid

Her replacement is utterly daft and disorganised; 'sorts' mail on the pavement, arrives at random times, if at all, and doesn't appear to have the first clue. Has scraped the van on both sides and generally acts dumb. Struggles with basic literacy and scrawls with a crayon
Sounds utterly dreadful😖but doesn't it illustrate that if you want competent people you need to pay decent wages?

Ultimately it takes a certain amount of person hours fuel and time to deliver a certain weight and number of items to a certain amount of people.
How can another company do it cheaper than royal mail whilst at the same time treating the employees better and giving them higher wages?

TBH, you could pay this one all the money in the world and it wouldn't make any difference.

Royal Mail set the bar low if this one got through.

The thing is if they’re going to loose their way of working they may as well take down the company with them.

Their T&Cs are changing to be more aligned with what other couriers offer their drivers. And if RM crashes, those couriers will have lots more to deliver so will need more staff.

essentially, they may as well try to stop the change and if they can’t then they might as well bring RM down with them. They can go to other couriers and have the lesser conditions, but at least they fought hard.

and other companies have got their act together and everything just works

But have they really and which of them will deliver letters like royal mail?

I can well imagine Amazon doing this before long. If they're in every street all the time anyway, it wouldn't be that much of a stretch for them. Letters and parcels go hand-in-hand when it comes to deliveries, except that letters are lighter to carry and don't need somebody at home.

I don't know about overseas parcels, but it's obviously not just RM that do the whole job without working with other countries' postal systems and companies - which any other large company could theoretically negotiate.

I think the pricing is maybe a little bit low right now and will need to increase a bit to take account of new service standards. I've never understood the grumbling about postal charges for (what could/should be) an amazing service. I think, if people knew that they could expect a top-level service once again, a more realistic pricing model may be accepted.