postman sacked for signing for goods

soolin

I saw this story in the Metro yesterday and have just found an online link. Basically a postman that signed for a parcel for someone to save her the problem of going to the delivery office for it later has been sacked:

http://www.clickliverpool.com/news/local-news/127794-southport-postman-sacked-for-signing-on-behalf-of-frail-elderly-lady.html

Now all RM has to tackle is the fact that most posties dont even bother getting signatures at all.

mambury

my postie does this for me all the time..... I live 15 miles from the sorting office in a rural area and I trust my postie.....

NeverInDebt

I know he may well be doing the lady a kind service but it make a makes a mockery of the service, he is after all failing the service to which the customer is paying.

Having said that I think a friendly warning may have been better

mjm3346

Obvious why they should not be doing it and presumably it is "gross misconduct" hence the sacking.
The application of a little commonsense and telling the postie not do do it again will no doubt not have been considered as they are needing to reduce staff numbers and sacking is the cheapest way to do it (you really do need to be spotless when numbers are being cut).

Edinburghlass_2

Its actually a shocking article regarding all the incidences quoted and especially the fact it was noticed due to the lady phoning to say thank you. Its the sort of thing I do often for good service and I would feel terrible if a simple thank you resulted in someone getting the sack for doing a good turn.

*Scottish*Lass*

If my postie didn't sign for my parcels I wouldn't get them. They'd go to the sorting office 6 miles away, which is only open until 1pm. As I am at work during the day I would not be able to collect it. Even paying to have it redelivered to my local post office would be no use as I'm away from home before it opens and back after it closes. Like mambury I live in a rural area. I don't drive so it's not as though I can even just pop out at lunch for it.

I appreciate what people say about it not fulfilling the service etc, but for me it does.

cyberbob

*Scottish*Lass* wrote: »

If my postie didn't sign for my parcels I wouldn't get them. They'd go to the sorting office 6 miles away, which is only open until 1pm. As I am at work during the day I would not be able to collect it.

Why don't you phone on a friday and get it redelivered on a Saturday?

soolin

I think there is a problem though from an ebay point of view that some people do still trust recorded. They therefore pay an additional 75p for an item in the mistaken belief it is somehow safer, yet it ends up being pushed through the door regardless, worse of all would be a scenario where a recorded is signed for and then put through the wrong door, and that happened to me as I got someone else parcel once with the old signatur ebit torn off. Then the buyer has no parcel and no paypal chargeback is possible either.

However on the story as told it does seem harsh to sack on a first offence and I agree that if postie had an otherwise unblemished record surely a warning would have been more appropriate?

quietheart

Surely all the best posties do this?! They know their customers and help them out, that's how they get Xmas tips isn't it?!
Total over reaction by Royal Mail.
I hope my postie doesn't change his ways, it's such a big help.

mazza111

I had a customer complain that i posted a letter thru her door without obtaining a signature. Guilty as charged! But with management's permission. It's on a starburst duty. Where they split the duty between a few posties, we've been told we don't need to get a signature for them, ofc the management will never agree to saying this.

I actually even get signatures on my starburst duty, but on this particular day the letter had been placed at bottom of pile for said house instead of top, so u don't always see the stickers, grrrr, some numpty on sorting. I felt quite peed off about it in all honesty, because it was the first time a customer had complained about me

Have just read the article all the way through and seems typical of RM's tactics. I have an elderly disabled lady who i sign for, as she can't get to the door unless her son's home. I even collect her prescription for her. Seems that will be the next thing we aren't allowed to do.

soolin

quietheart wrote: »

Surely all the best posties do this?! They know their customers and help them out, that's how they get Xmas tips isn't it?!
Total over reaction by Royal Mail.
I hope my postie doesn't change his ways, it's such a big help.

Mine doesn't and I would be extremely unhappy if he did so. It makes a mockery out of the whole paying 75p extra for a signature'.