To think the Royal Mail are shit and generally useless at this time of year?

[CiderBomb]

They know that more and more people are doing their Xmas shopping on line, but seem to have employed relief staff who are either lazy, stupid or both.

My regular postie is fine, I have no problems with him and he now stops me and gives me my post in the street if he sees me. However over the past few weeks we've been getting our neighbours post and they've been getting ours. They've also apparently "attempted" to deliver parcels when I've been at home and they didn't even bother knocking or ringing my door bell. One time they pushed a card through saying a parcel was next door, but instead they'd left it with some people down the road who I didn't know from Adam.

This culminated today with an expensive Christmas gift being left with my next door neighbours. That's fine, however the RM didn't even push a card through at all so I didn't even know it had been delivered and the first I knew of it was when the neighbour brought it round. It had been delivered at 11am, I was at home then sitting in my living room. Once against they'd not even attempted to ring the bell or knock the door! It's a good job I have a good relationship with my neighbours and they are honest isn't it?

AIBU to think that this industry needs to pull its socks up? Christmas must be their busiest time and they don't seem properly equipped to deal with it. Also they should employ more competent people to cover the delivery side of things, most of them seem bone idle and unable to read addresses and names properly.

[diabolo]

Good to know I'm not the only one. For years now, on and off, I've received post for a house with the same name as mine, but in another village miles away. How the postie doesn't know which village he is in is beyond me. The post codes are totally different too.

The escalated complaints team are dealing with it at the moment (again) but I got more today, despite having a flag on my postcode (whatever that means).

I forward the post I get for the other house, but the person who lives there clearly doesn't do the same for me as I've had all sorts go missing over the years, bills, birthday cards etc.

The guy in the complaints centre says it's because we share the same house name, but I used to live at a number 12, and certainly didn't get post for other number 12s. He funnily enough, can't explain that one.

They are shit. Totally shit. If someone had complained about my work for 4 years, I doubt I would still have my job .

[teenagetantrums]

My post is normally great but i keep getting letters this week addressed to xxxroad, we live in xxxgardens, is driving me mad, i only have to walk 2 mins to redeliver, but i also missing 3 parcles which in assured have been divlered i think they may be in xxxroad house although they deny it, normally not a big deal but a week till Xmas is stressing me out.

[hackmum]

I've always found Royal Mail to be excellent, and our regular postie is lovely.

At Christmas, they take on lots of casual labour, so you get all sorts. But that's inevitable, isn't it? A few years ago I had a friend who did casual work for the RM at Christmas, and he had a story about a colleague who dealt with all the mail he had to deliver by simply reposting it. He got found out quite quickly, however.

[MarshaBrady]

PO and DHL are fab. Haven't tried yodel etc

[viewwitharoom]

I have nothing but praise for RM. Brilliant service and in often appalling weather at the moment. The couriers here only deliver in our area once a week (if we are lucky) so I frequently hassle companies into using RM rather than anyone else.

[IHeardMummyDissingParcelforce]

Btw postman from RM knocked us up at 7.20 the other morning.

I had to ask who it was before I took the chain off.

[IHeardMummyDissingParcelforce]

Oh...well I agree that RM is sadly falling down in its performance and it is indeed in my estimation.

PF, occasionally known as Arseholeforce in this household, have been surprisingly reliable this year. The driver is lush which helps.

I do not rate Yokel, or Hermes, or sh*ttylink. UPS are always good but I think they are expensive so they rarely come...only things I get from Germany really get sent with them.

DPD though have got to be the worst.

[trikken]

My postie Clive is the best. I will actually miss him when we move in a month.

[MooseBeTimeForSnow]

Waves to MrsTerrys

My old RM postie was fabulous. I'd quite happily have him back over crappy Canada Post any day.

[Salmotrutta]

Our posties are generally great.

It's the other delivery types like Hermes that don't seem to bother knocking

ciderBomb - you say your regular postie will stop you on the street to give you your post? I thought they weren't allowed to do that?

[starsandunicorns]

Most delivery offices dont have temps they recuirt part timers on 3or 6month contracts they may recuirt angrncy staff if very very desprate but normal angency staff are only in the mail centres or driving and yes they are ALL crb checked they also have own inhouse angency called royal mail causals also anguard

[Owllady]

Maybe gun club membership levels make a difference to the level or service one would wish to receive

[Owllady]

I live on a lane and get the farms post every day atm and some days I get everyone's post, mine, the farms, next door, across the road and several houses further up the lane!
I feel like an unpaid postlady

[Bohemond]

Ours are excellent.
As is our Yodel lady
As is the UPS man
And the Citylink man
And the Hermes man
I live in the countryside - perhaps they all take it a bit more seriously around here.

[Alibabaandthe40nappies]

They are a total PITA. They always come at the same time with parcels, which is the ten minutes I am out picking DS2 up from preschool. So then I have to schlep over to the other side of town, where I never need to go for anything else, to pick the thing up.

Today I went, and was greeted with a queue out the door that was moving at snail's pace. I couldn't wait half an hour, so I left it and will have to go another time.

My Yodel guy is fab, he is reliable and never throws things over fences or anything else as I have seen people say on here! Also the City Link and Hermes people are great - far more reliable than Royal Mail/Parcelforce or whatever they call themselves.

[ElizabethBathory]

I find them really good - I order loads and loads of stuff online and have had very few problems.

It's a massive relief to me when online shops use Royal Mail instead of couriers like Hermes and Yodel (who are the very definition of utter shite). At least when I miss a Royal Mail parcel they tell me about it and I have a number of ways of getting it!

[Golddigger]

I find them good.
It probably depends on where you live?

[cantbelievemyeyes]

Does anyone else think it's strange that there are often complaints about posties not knocking, and leaving stuff with strangers instead. Why would a postie NOT knock on your door, but then choose to knock on a neighbour's door to deliver it there instead. Surely that'd just be creating more work? Not saying it doesn't happen as I've heard it often enough, but it doesn't make much sense!

Got to say I'm generally very happy with RM- I run a business and use them for all deliveries; touch wood, never had a damaged or lost parcel in over 2 years. One late Special Delivery when we had awful snow but that's it. On the other hand, nothing but problems with every courier except Parcelforce. I always check delivery methods and don't buy from anywhere using a courier unless it's absolutely unavoidable.

[JeanSeberg]

Well they've privatised them, wages are being cut so they have little motivation. Not a surprise really.

They've been appalling for years. The organisation is too large and cumbersome and the management too far removed from the customer interface.

Bring in performance related pay with targets.

[caroldecker]

thegreathunt
In the privitisation, they got around £10k of shares each and no wages have been cut

[Longdistance]

Well, my lovely posty had one of my parcels at the bottom of his bag. He'd already given us our large bundle of post. He came back half an hour later saying he found my parcel in the bottom of his bag.

He's a new posty as they hate doing the round around us as it's all hill. I can't even begin to tell you how many posties we've had. We had a local 'celeb' doing our post at one point. When I say celeb, it's a very zzz lister, but a guy well known in our town.

[MincedMuffPies]

Yodel surprisingly have been really good, everything I have ordered has been delivered no problems.

[TheGreatHunt]

Well they've privatised them, wages are being cut so they have little motivation. Not a surprise really.

[whereisshe]

Our RM posties are great - both this time of year and in general. And that's taking into account the fact that I average about 2 amazon orders a week + I have an eBay habit that I'm trying to kick!

I can't say the same for Yodel or Hermes...

[JeanSeberg]

Heaven help you if you attempt to receive any form of telephone support from these organisations