Print

[Alan Drover]

Our postie told me this morning that he's working throughout the strikes as he can't afford not to.

[Wittsend]

Just a heads up that the Winter issue of B2L is ready to go.

No doubt there will be delays in getting it onto some of your doormats.

When this issue is released we'll have the 2023 Rally booking form online here on this forum and B2L can be downloaded to read if you can't wait.

[Worf]

My gaskets have just arrived! Posted on 23rd November, Was only 2nd class though

[Wittsend]

I've never understood the logic or reason for 1st & 2nd class post.

The postie still has to walk up your path whether it's today or tomorrow.

Lets just have one postage rate - set at the current 1st class rates.
Then just have a rate for letters, packages, parcels.

The Royal Mail is just badly managed; didn't see the rise of technology and slow to act - letting no end of (cowboy) courier firms come in and take their business/customers away 

The volume of letters posted is falling all the time, albeit with a peak at Christmas.
More & more are using electronic means of communicating; emails and voice over internet reducing the need for land lines.

I enjoyed my (short) time as a postie, wouldn't like it now as you have to wear shorts.


 

[Bonnet-rouge]

Well my winter Built 2 Last , arrived yesterday

[gilbo]

What postage delays??
I sent a small package yesterday morning (monday) from deepest, darkest Dorset to the back of beyond in Scotland (so back of beyond it has to travel to the end of several miles of track in a van!!!) and ........ I have just had confirmation it arrived a short while ago today (Tuesday).
How did this 'miracle' occur?
It was sent Special Delivery (mainly due to the value of the contents) for the princely sum of £7.85.
You pays yer money and all that - and in the scheme of thing a bargain as the round trip in fuel from the nearest town would have cost me that to say nothing of the 800+ mile round trip from home!

[Porkscratching]

As I recall when initially checking out the chapter and verse of this strike lark, it said that special delivery and the like were basically immune from all this and would run uninterrupted... 

[Porkscratching]

I enjoyed my (short) time as a postie, wouldn't like it now as you have to wear shorts.


 

Very scary .. Are they compulsory then?

[Wittsend]

I don't know, but they seem to be 

[Exile]

I have several packages on their way to me, sent 48 Hour Tracked delivery.

They've been so long, I think they will be more like 48 Day random delivery.


I posted my Christmas cards today. 2nd Class as I already had the stamps.
 
In retrospect, I suppose I should have made them "Happy New Year" cards....

[crumbly65]

My item, despatched 1st December, is only “Partially tracked”. Evidently this means that I can only track it when it’s put out for delivery from the sorting office…..
So I’ll continue being patient.

[LN11AAB498A]

I've never understood the logic or reason for 1st & 2nd class post.

The postie still has to walk up your path whether it's today or tomorrow.

Having different levels of service & cost for doing exactly the same job makes very good business sense, just a marketing ploy. They know there are many who are willing to pay extra to jump the queue.

I have often thought, if everyone boycotted all First Class postage, the Post Office would only have Second Class postage to deal with. Maybe then, everything Second Class would be delivered just as fast as the current First Class.

A word of caution though. If the Post Office lost their golden egg layer, where would they find a replacement? Because it`s probably true that First Class revenue helps keep the general postage costs lower than it otherwise might be, now that`s the conundrum 

[gilbo]

I think what many people fail to understand is that the Post Office Ltd and the Royal Mail are two seperate businesses now and have been for some years. There a several notices in my local Post Office informing customers of this - never seen them before so I suspect the counter staff have been getting the abuse hurled at them regarding the Royal Mail workers being on strike.
I wonder what it would take for the Post Office Ltd to ditch RM as the delivery mechanism - maybe the RM workers need to be careful what they wish for?
I guess the inhibitor is the issue about who would deliver the 'last mile' with the letters  i.e. the local sorting office to the front door, as there are other companies out there already doing the long haul bit.

[Exile]

I had a 24-hour delivery brought by Parcel Force today, despite the rest of RM being on strike. OK it took 48 hours, but the driver made a big effort to find me in my shed behind the house.

Some of their competitors would have just bunged it over the gate.....