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Original poster

Industrial action: update from Royal Mail Postal Strike THINK BEFORE YOU POST

54 replies

WotzNow · 03/10/2007 14:15

Royal mail

The Communications Workers Union (CWU) has announced further strike action. Two 48-hour strikes are planned. The first will begin at lunchtime on Thursday 4th October and ends at lunchtime on Saturday 6th October. The second will begin in the early hours of Monday 8th October, ending in the early hours of Wednesday 10th October.

This will be followed by an unspecified programme of weekly strikes, starting week commencing October 15th, until the resolution of the dispute.

OP posts:
LilBloodRedWantsGore · 04/10/2007 13:39

I have something finishing today on eBay! Bugger!

tiredemma · 04/10/2007 13:47

Feck. I have just posted something aswell.

Original poster
WotzNow · 04/10/2007 14:15

TheMuppetMuggle, thats horrid.

Callers can be such complete idiots !

Here's some tips:
Ask the caller to improve their behaviour.
If they continue say that you may have to terminate the call and suggest they call back later.
If they continue being abusive, say you are giving the best advice and can not get involved in a heated conversation about something that is outside of your control.
Ask if they would like to discuss something related to the call/task/product.
Keep a note of the caller and the date/time of call and a brief content of the conversation. Report it to a senior person if you need to.

If all else fails--keep them on hold or cut the them off-oooppps!

OP posts:
saltire · 04/10/2007 14:18

I have emailed all my buyers whos auctions ended yesterday or are due to end over the weekend and said that due to the strike I won't post until Wednesday, if they want me to post sooner, over the weekend I will but can't be held responsible if nothing turns up till next week

TheMuppetMuggle · 04/10/2007 14:18

Wotznow - i did tell him that it has been all over the news and we as a company have no control over the way its being handled. Also asked him 3 times to stop swearing or i would terminate call, he just said means he can't get to work now as got no tax, so i said well not mine or the companys fault you brought a car with no tax, and if has a problem with no post then to log a complaint with royal mail.

And i'm a senior operator, so dealt with it tackfully but just don't get why they have been moaning at me for something that myself or the company have no control over grrr

Original poster
WotzNow · 04/10/2007 14:24

TheMuppetMuggle, its so annoying, you did well to keep your calm, you have to remember the public are an odd lot at the best of times. There are other postal services, he could arrange a collection if he was that desperate!

I had someone yesterday who was not swearing (not about post another matter), but they had very bad manners and were being rude. In the end I said something like "sorry I don't think I can help you any further, thanks for calling"!

OP posts:
TheMuppetMuggle · 04/10/2007 15:29

Wotz he could of picked up but lives up north we are in Good Ole Pompey

I just said if he had listened to the news about whats happening around the country maybe he would have a better understanding that its not just affecting him but the whole of the UK

Original poster
WotzNow · 04/10/2007 15:54

chuck it over here (I'm north) I throw it at him as I drive past (in my car)

OP posts:
Hulababy · 05/10/2007 12:29

Just to let you know that if you have a smaller parcel/package to post you could try Parcel2Go (using DHL Express). It cost me £5.86 to send a box yesterday - box could have been up to 25kgs and 100cm in length. It said economy service, 2-4 days. They collected yesterday lunch time - I booked about 9:30am online that day. And it has already arrived before lunch time today!

A good alternative for packets and packages.

minorityrules · 05/10/2007 12:40

I think we should all be supporting our postpeaople

They are striking over something very important and aren't doing it lightly

They are having their pensions messed with, money they were promised and expecting, is now being taken away! It isn't exactly a high paid job to start with

Hulababy · 05/10/2007 12:53

I agree to an extent, but not sure these very long strikes will do them much favours with the public, esp businesses who rely on RM. The odd day here and there maybe, but theis type of strike - going on for alonger period of time will just get people's backs up.

fedupwasherwoman · 05/10/2007 13:11

minorityrules,

we've all had our pensions messed with...

state pensions now will be delayed, no more retiring at 60 or even 65. We now have to work longer and make more contributions.

Gordon Brown also raided eveyone's personal pensions as soon as Labour got in to power in 1997. We now have to put more money in to try and achieve the same returns by retirement age.

I appreciate it's not a highly paid job to start with, neither is being a school dinner lady or lolipop person.

preggersagain · 05/10/2007 13:16

................or a nurse/midwife etc- who work in worse conditions for equivalent pay.

MerlinsBeard · 05/10/2007 13:21

i saw this the other day and they are requesting that people not post anything because of the back log...well yes thats what happens when you do no work...it piles up.

Our local postie feels he has to strike and he LOVES his job, always stopping to talk to us, his round is so long that he has one of the cart things but he is always smiling whatever the weather, he sems genuinley upset by the strikes.

what are they for this time?

Original poster
WotzNow · 05/10/2007 14:28

Maybe there shoudl be another thread, not just in ebay.

While no one would argue that workers have no right to fight for better pay and conditions, it?s questionable whether anyone is benefiting

Yes support them if you wish to, but for many companies who spend thousands with Royal Mail each year, they will look for alternative services in the future to secure their business and their workforce.

It may help the posties pensions and working hours now, but in the long run, it may jeopordise their jobs, way before they have chance to claim their pensions.

OP posts:
saltire · 05/10/2007 14:31

Does anyone know of a company that would deliver a bigger parcel through ebay? I am selling something and had put down pick up only as I thought it was quite heavy and big, but some has asked a question and said how much would they have to pay to have it delivered to Cumbria by courier.

MerlinsBeard · 05/10/2007 14:33

we use city link for deliveries or another one that the name of has slipped my mind (someone else does deliveries) we used royal mail once and the mirror was smashed to smitherines by the time it arrived!!

saltire · 05/10/2007 14:34

I don't want to use Parcel Force which as far as I know are not on strike, but I am prepared to be corrected on that. it's just quite big, and if I used PF I would have to take it intotown and I couldn't manage it on the bus

MerlinsBeard · 05/10/2007 14:35

payperdrop?

saltire · 05/10/2007 14:36

Sorry MoM, I hadn't read your first post about City Link. Do they ahve a weight/length limit?
I was thinking of pay per drop but someone on MN had a thread about them not collecting a parcel

Hulababy · 05/10/2007 14:37

Payperdrop (£5.99) or Parcels2Go (£5.58) - both use DHL.

I used Parcel2Go yesterday for first time and very impressed. Ordered service at 9:30am. Parcel collected at lunch time, and it arrived at its destination this morning! Service was their economy service which gave me an approx delivery of 204 days, took less than 24 hours!

Only ever had one problem with payperdrop - used lots of times. That is a current issue as the parcel when astray and ended up in wrong town, but now in right place before I had to chase, and being collected at depot today as my buyer doesn't have a place where the parcel can be left when out.

MerlinsBeard · 05/10/2007 14:39

how big is your item??!

we deliver big heavy mirrors and prints.

DP just informed me that the other one we use is fast way(will link in a min) and thinks its 28kgs limit

saltire · 05/10/2007 14:40

So do I book it through ebay - just buy it like a normal auction? And then what, do they contact you to arrange a collection day and time?

MerlinsBeard · 05/10/2007 14:41

fastway

saltire · 05/10/2007 14:41

it's one of these, which is in a box