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Why the Royal Mail should go quietly
Sunday, September 5th, 2010
A Government report recommending that the Royal Mail be sold off is music to my ears. Surly staff, endless Post Office queues and missing post are just three reasons. Two weeks ago I heard the post drop through the letterbox. Picking it up I found a ‘While You Were Out’ card detailing why a packet couldn’t be posted because it was too big for my letterbox. But the postman hadn’t even knocked on the door! I then spent a fortnight using the online Redelivery service, which promised that the parcel would be posted. Nothing arrived. I then called the helpline, which ‘helpfully’ advised me to use the online service, before cutting me off. I eventually got through to a real person, only to be told that he couldn’t help me because the helpline was shutting in less than a minute. ‘But I’ve been on hold for 20 minutes!’ I protested, which cut no ice.
The same week I went to the Post Office to dispatch a couple of parcels. 12 customers were ahead of me, by the time I got to the counter over 30 minutes later (and yes, I was counting every minute, as were the screaming newborn and scratchy toddler who were with me) 24 customers were behind me. It took a few seconds to sort out the parcels, and about five minutes for me to say that no, I didn’t want to look into some holiday money, open a Post Office account, and I was sorted for car insurance, thank you very much. I pointed out that as I’d found the experience of sending a simple parcel pretty tricky, I wasn’t exactly keen to entrust the Royal Mail to something important like insurance.
A quick glance around most Post Offices around the country reveals the state the company is in – I can’t imagine a better metaphor than cracked linoleum floors and peeling walls. Apparently none of us send letters any more, preferring to communicate by email and phone. But if that’s the case, why the enormous queues every time you need to buy stamps?
I’ve got to update my passport soon, and am contemplating driving to Newport, Wales, rather than enter a Post Office again. Or I might just give up travelling any further away than my laptop. So if I become a hermit, I know who to blame.
Tags: The Urchin Rants
10 Responses to “Why the Royal Mail should go quietly”
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I hated it when they brought in measurement of parcels by size as well as weight. Nice move – adding another process for the counter staff to have to go through with each parcel.
However, I am a huge fan of post offices in rural areas. Sometimes they’re a complete lifeline in a village.
And don’t get me started on the strikes.
If the Royal Mail was privately owned, competition might kick in and force the respective branch managers to get their bums moving a bit quicker. I am currently waiting for a ‘lost’ parcel. I mean, seriously, how hard can it be???
I’m still in love with the post office, but only because I’ve become accostomed to dealing with the Bosnian post office customer service, which was painful for everyone involved. Got to say, we used them to sort out passports and they did a good job relatively quickly and as I fluked a time when there wasn’t much of a queue it was almost an enjoyable experience!
Do your passport online – it’s BRILLIANT!! Fill the form in, they send it to you, all printed out – you check it, sign it, get your photos and have them countersigned (and the form if need be) then send it all back with your credit card details (weigh the letter on your kitchen scales, check the postage cost on the RM website, buy a couple of stamps from your local shop). Less than two weeks later, et voila – one passport and no queuing!!
Iota – My mother’s village in Devon now has a roving Post Office which chugs into the Village Hall carpark every Friday morning. The next door village has moved the Post Office into the village shop where, result, they also sell coffee and cake. Everyone seems pleased, which is great because they were all in a panic when they first heard their Post Offices would shut. Maybe city centre ones could try to do the same thing, because urban or rural, we all need the services they offer.
Anya – I seem to have deleted your comment, but thank you for coming by.
Handpicked – Oh yes, last year’s strikes. Gulp. Let’s hope they don’t reappear.
Metropolitan Mum – So frustrating, isn’t it? Hope your parcel has turned up.
Pants with Names – OK, where is your secret, brilliant Post Office? Need to know for the next time we have to brave the passport queue.
Nickie @ Typecast – Two weeks, you say? That does, indeed, sound completely BRILLIANT. I need a new passport, new babe needs his first one – I’ll report back! Thanks for the tip.
there is a fantastic post office at my parent’s house – the Hengistbury post office in Bournemouth. Awesome service, run by a family including a rather large and long-haired greasy biker-looking chap who is into Metallica but really knows the best way to post things around the world/country in the right time scale and for the right price. Love it. I know that on balance it is not always brilliant going to a British post office, but I am with Pants with Names: If you have lived in other places (Brazil, Kazakhstan) it is not that bad. On the other hand, if you have lived in South east Asia especially Hong Kong or Singapore, then GB post office is awful but then so is everything else and don’t even get me started on mobile phone networks!
Gail – Your parents are lucky people. I know queuing in a post office isn’t the worst thing in the world, but it is extremely annoying to be part of a 30-strong queue with only two people to look after it. And what’s with the mobile phone? Oh, sorry, you said not to mention that…
[...] for the Royal Mail. However, I’ve written before about how I feel about their services in Why the Royal Mail Should Go Quietly, and don’t see why I should hand over the better part of a day’s salary just to have my [...]