Royal fail. Again

I've had a couple of items Ive bought from individuals, sent RM24 or RM48 & the tracking says they've sat in the drop off location for almost a week before starting the journey.

TBH I think the problem is that RM is being run as a business, rather than a national service (yay, privatisation), so unless you pay for a premium service (like special delivery), they've cut so many corners to make more profit (like reducing frequency of collections & deliveries)
 
I know of a few people that work for RM. The TLDR is, if you're hungover/CBA/lazy, you just take what you want off the shelf/rack, and leave the rest for the next guy or next shift.
I asked if they had a quota to meet like other couriers, or if they were being tracked/monitored - "NOPE!"
The same questions were asked to the 3 people I know that work for RM, and the answers were the same, despite different depo's.

So that explains why often I'll get 2nd class stuff arrive as fast as 1st, or 48 Hour. As it all depends how lazy/sober the person is feeling that morning.

They also told me, that RM take out countless hire and fire agency workers, and don't do background checks or ask for ID etc.
 
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I was made redundant from my job a couple of years ago and after not getting anywhere in over 4 months I took on a job with Royal Mail to tide me over for Christmas rather than sitting on my backside and claiming the dole. It was, without doubt, the worst job I've ever had. The amount of mail you have to deliver is ridiculous, the amount of abuse you get is soul destroying and the money is very, very poor, (coming from a fairly well paid desk job in Advertising it was a real baptism of fire). Staff turnover was massive, In the time I was there another 10 people had started and left.

Basic week was supposed to be 30 hours but would usually be 50-60 (during the run up to Christmas). The shift rotated so you would always work at least one day at the weekend, average step count of 48000, pushing a barrow and carrying two postal bags full of mail. I went home everyday and literally collapsed on the living room floor, bearing in mind I was 54 and not a youngster.

The classic was being chased up the road by someone who accused me of leaving a card through the door rather than knocking "because I was being lazy" and "couldn't be bothered" He genuinely thought it was easier to fill out a card with a 15 digit code, full name and address, rescan the parcel and take it back to the depot than simply knocking on his door.

I get the service isn't the best but after doing it I'm far more tolerant than I used to be.
 
pastymuncher said:
They have just been fined £21M for exactly this reason. Almost a quarter of 1st class post not delivered on time, what a farce.
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Yeah, I've probably mentioned this before, but RM managers have been experimenting this year with having three posties cover four duties. It made pretty much every day lumpy, rather than when I was a postie, it was Wed/Thurs (along with Black Friday and Xmas run in). Many posties couldn't complete duty within contract hours and the accumilated fatigue from constant lumpy shifts was/is crippling... Because despite the trial fail, I believe RM are still trying a variation on this, something along 7 posties covering 8 duties.

When posties don't want the overtime, line managers are telling posties to prioritise parcels over letters, hence the first class delivery rate failure and consequent fines of recent times.

The job was bad enough '20 to '22, but it's got much worse in the last three years and I'm so glad I don't have to deal with it any longer.
 
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It's not like that everywhere, but it is unfortunately becoming far too common. I'm sad to conclude that to be a resident in one of these places is to live with the most tedious and disappointing existence imaginable. Forget the pride taken in a simple job well done, or the basic virtue of looking after other people's possessions, for in these places so much has been forgotten, never to be relearned. Forget the promise of competence and decency, for in the grim darkness of these places, there is only inadequacy. Only by bringing to bear the unrivaled combined complaining force of our nation's chosen sons and daughters - the local Facebook group Karens, the school mums, and the guys down the pub - can you resist the threats by which you are beset on all sides. I beseach you, call out to them, and they shall forthrightly answer, marching with you in your mission to purge the delayed, the lost, and the folded. There shall be no mercy, no fear, no relenting, and the shameful sting of retreat shall be known only to those Royal Mail employees who's hands remain stained by these heretical acts. Stride forth on your righteous complaining campaign, and may the cries of your defeated enemies echo gloriously across the nation! For the letter post!
 
These targets that get missed, they can all go in the trash in a few years anyway.

Current owner pinky promised he would go along with it for 5 years which invites speculation.
 
It’s funny reading the headlines about the Royal Mail. Like “RM may have to cut Saturday deliveries!” or “RM may only deliver post every other day!”

Mate, I’m lucky if we get our post twice a week.

The other day the postman was coming round and literally all we got was takeaway leaflets and other advertising guff. Ridiculous.
 
Vonhelmet said:
The other day the postman was coming round and literally all we got was takeaway leaflets and other advertising guff. Ridiculous.
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Yes that's common here. I did get some post yesterday, but it was for a property with a completely different address 7 miles away. :confused:
 
Royal mail has always been bad for me, it's not even a new thing for me, just always been bad. The only things I've ever had go missing have been with Royal Mail, meanwhile Evri and Yodel, apparently the worst delivery companies ever, are always on time and have never lost anything for me, I take them over Royal Mail when the option is given.
 
mejinks said:
TO be honest, for £10 I could have driven the card to both locations and the only cost would be time. It wouldn't have cost me £10 in diesel. Wish I had now.

Its not so much the price as the total lack of service. I can well believe a quarter of letters never arrive being that I rarely get hospital appointments or bank documents. This leads me to believe that they are getting in the cheapest labour they can and they are burning letters (again)
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You couldn't have been that bothered about wishing them a happy birthday or anniversary then.. as they must live quite local if you could get to both location within a tenner of fuel.

me personally... I would just sent them a text message and kept the card until next time I saw them, or if I was that bothered about it; got the card ready for when I did see them before the event.

I only tend to send little kids cards now a days along with the gift, so it would have to be delivered speical delivery, otherwise it's just a waste of trees.
 
slinxy said:
You couldn't have been that bothered about wishing them a happy birthday or anniversary then.. as they must live quite local if you could get to both location within a tenner of fuel.
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Pffft, you're actually expecting OP to wish them a happy birthday or anniversary in-person? :p
 
mejinks said:
Is there an alternative as they are less than useless. The post that does come is usually folded in half and rammed into the letter box, so cards etc are ruined.
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Yes you could take it yourself -but it will cost you a lot more than £1.70
 
aardvark said:
for some reason i automatically assumed this thread was about prince andrew.
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Me too.

Nabinium said:
I've had an RMSD package delivered before 13:00, but to the completely wrong address a couple streets away.

Amazing service that.
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It's in the small print. They will deliver by 13:00... even if they can't quite reach your house.


The Royal Mail is still out of date, but it's changing slowly.

I can understand the high cost of first class, no one sends letters any more. They are pretty much just small parcels.

The next thing they have to sort out is sending one van with one parcel in it. My local depot delivers to my street a lot of times per day and usually each time its a van and it only has one parcel.
 
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