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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

The postal service in our area is rubbish - discuss

43 replies

isitsnowingyet · 18/12/2014 14:18

We don't get any post until 4pm. And whatever happened to Sunday service!! (Okay - showing my age there).

But really, with the cost of stamps going skywards, the actual service seems to be getting worse and worse.

Ideally I would like letters at 8am - it ain't gonna happen

Does anyone get this now? ANywhere?

OP posts:
mindingalongtime · 18/12/2014 14:24

We only get post 4 out of 6 days a week, and only then if someone is available to do the round on overtime. It comes by van, this isn't the boondocks it is the 5th most expensive city in the country! We just happen to only have a few houses on our road!

Nabootique · 18/12/2014 14:27

My DP has sent me two letters which never arrived and his sister sent him something (from the same area) to him when he was away which didn't turn up until 3 weeks later! This is SE London.

longjane · 18/12/2014 14:30

Royal Mail has been privatise what do you expect .

Suefla62 · 18/12/2014 14:33

And at what time would you like the postman to start work so you can get your letters at 8am.

Electriclaundryland · 18/12/2014 14:37

Our postie is great. Today I passed him in the next street from my house. He called me over and said 'you're 'blah' number right, got your parcels here.' It meant I didn't have to bother getting to the depot for missed delivery.

NoLongerJustAShopGirl · 18/12/2014 14:37

I posted a parcel first class from a suburban Gloucestershire post office at 11 am yesterday, my mother received it in Orkney this morning.

Who cares what time of day they get the post - that was 700+miles - including a cross sea journey, in less than 24 hours, for the same price as if I posted it to my friend 2 streets away.

I think the service is bloody amazing... sorry

JennyBlueWren · 18/12/2014 14:45

I get parcels sent by my parents in Worcestershire that arrive the next day in Aberdeenshire! Amazing.

On the other hand I got a Christmas card today that was meant for someone in Sutton Coldfield! Only similarity is the house number. Why did anyone think to put it through my door. Luckily it hadn't been franked either so am just popping it back in the post.

OodKingWenceslas · 18/12/2014 14:49

Ours is good and helpful but today's somehow got a stealth card through my letterbox when I was standing in the front window folding washing and watching to see if he came to us.

CruCru · 18/12/2014 14:52

I think it is amazing. Other countries have a much worse service than us.

SistersOfPercy · 18/12/2014 15:01

And at what time would you like the postman to start work so you can get your letters at 8am

The same time they have gotten up for the last 30 odd years as getting mail in these parts at 8am has, until the last 3 or 4 years been normal.

I'm sure I'm not alone in reading mail over breakfast. Now we read it over dinner as it's usually around 4pm when it arrives, though the Post Office consider anything before 3pm to be just fine.

Original poster
isitsnowingyet · 18/12/2014 16:39

And at what time would you like the postman to start work so you can get your letters at 8am

WhatSistersofPercy said. Yes, they could start work earlier, a lot earlier. Is everyone so entitled these days that we all have to have 9 to 5 jobs and anything else is unacceptable?

Fair enough that it is a good service if you live in the Scottish islands somewhere, but the point I'm making is that generally the every day services have been cut, whilst the costs have increased. Just because other countries have worse services doesn't make this all right. In fact, I think that is irrelevant to the argument.

OP posts:
Minisoksmakehardwork · 18/12/2014 16:44

Our postal service (rural) is great. I cannot fault it. Lately they've come while I've been on the 3pm school run but this wasn't our regular postie or his regular stand-in but a third person. So I assume they were doing 2-3 rounds instead of just their normal one. At least we got our post.

My regular postman checks whenever he sees me near the school whether I'm going home or out if he has signed for/parcels for me and gives them to me if I'm going out. If I'm out he leaves parcels with neighbours or puts them in my shed. Equally, he knows I'll take in for my neighbours to save them a trip and always tries to find someone to sign for anything which needs a signature.

Perhaps that's just the nature of our road though.

EatDessertFirst · 18/12/2014 16:58

I thought the post in our area was great until I recieved two cards that had been slit open. None of my family send cash/cheques by post but just knowing someone has done this makes me lose respect for the post system.

JoolsSchmools · 18/12/2014 16:58

Postmen now have to sort their post before delivering it. So still start at 545am but most now don't get out until gone 9 to deliver.
As others said blame privatisation (Cameron's cronies) not the postmen.
(yes DH is a postman and has been working bloody hard for weeks, 13+ hour days, 7 days a week)

Original poster
isitsnowingyet · 18/12/2014 17:05

I completely appreciate that it is not the postie's fault - I know ours personally works extremely hard - it's successive governments chipping away at the service until it is virtually non existent that is bothering me!

OP posts:
CoconutSponge · 18/12/2014 17:17

Regardless of how hard the Postmen and Postwomen work though (and they do!!), someone has to be first and someone has to be last on their delivery!

So how do you suggest all the mail is delivered to all the houses by 8am sharp then?

They can hardly deliver parcels throughout the night either Hmm

TooHasty · 18/12/2014 17:21

I hate AIBUs where the op says 'Discuss' as though they are an examiner and we are their bloody students.So wanky!

Goldmandra · 18/12/2014 17:26

it's successive governments chipping away at the service until it is virtually non existent that is bothering me

The responsibility lies solely with the government that sold it off.

IAmAPaleontologist · 18/12/2014 17:30

Rubbish?

For 53p, just 53p I can send a letter anywhere in the country and the vast majority of the time it will get there in just a couple of days! That's amazing!

The other day I sent a largish parcel to the USA. It cost around £12. Brilliant value! £12 to get a load of presents to some friends on a plane, probably then another plane, maybe a train or 2 and then a van and all in time for Christmas!

Ok so these days we only get the postie once a day but really, given wages, fuel costs etc I think it is pretty bloody good.

ghostyslovesheep · 18/12/2014 17:36

9-5 hahahaha you are funny Grin

My step dad is a postie - he is in work for 6am (not allowed earlier) he then has to sort and stack all his own mail (this used to be done for them so it was ready to pick up and head out - reaching you at 8am)

he then has to do his round, go back, do a parcel round and cover other peoples rounds

only recently did he move from a zero hours contract to a basic pt one - he is treated like shit by his managers and works long hard hours (often at short notice - as in a phone call at 6am asking him to come in and cover)

he has no sat nav or company phone and is often sent to cover unfamiliar rounds in areas he doesn't know.

some one hit the nail on the head regarding privatization

they have cut staff, changed conditions for those left - increased the work load and left no time to do the job to the standard you and they would like

it's not the workers fault

Original poster
isitsnowingyet · 18/12/2014 17:52

TooHasty apologies for being wanky - it was a mild attempt at being funny when I put 'Discuss'

Oh and sorry you've had a crap day and feel it necessary to take it out on random strangers on the internet. Hope it gets better Wine

OP posts:
Original poster
isitsnowingyet · 18/12/2014 17:57

*9-5 hahahaha you are funny grin

My step dad is a postie - he is in work for 6am (not allowed earlier) he then has to sort and stack all his own mail (this used to be done for them so it was ready to pick up and head out - reaching you at 8am)*

Exactly my point - services have been cut right back. If there was a separate lot of workers doing night shift, then, yes, letters would be delivered earlier.

Saying at 8am, was an example. I'm not so incredibly stupid to think all post can be delivered simultaneously at 8am.!!!

OP posts:
JennyBlueWren · 18/12/2014 18:04

A few Christmases ago we had awful weather up here (Northern Scotland) and across the north of England. Post was delayed in the weeks before Christmas but then in the last week before Christmas day we got up to 6 deliveries a day! They worked so hard to get through the backlog they were just filling up vans and sending them out constantly.

CoconutSponge · 18/12/2014 18:08

isitsnowingyet you clearly have no idea how the postal service works, the system already works 24 hours a day, but the delivery part (which is only one part of the service) can obviously only operate during reasonable daytime hours!

SacreBlue · 18/12/2014 18:15

Ditto Iam & coconut I took a group of trainees to a postal hub and the work they do is tremendous. You may get the odd one - like in any service - who isn't great, but for the most part our posties have been great & I am very happy to be able to send a letter or parcel to anywhere for a few pence, or pounds, if recorded or going abroad.

I live in a city & run a business, our post arrives about lunchtime. Nothing so far has been so urgent that an 8am delivery would have made much difference - surely you'd email, fax or phone if it was.