I hate my post office! Any similar experiences?

emweaver

custardy wrote: »

the PO scales are calibrated,when were yours calibrated?

ive no idea!

another thing they used to do with heavier parcels is not read the scales head on it would be on a angle and with those old fashioned scales of course its inaccurate and they tried to charge me £9 odd for 1 parcel and I posted the same item the day before in a different town for £7. I had 4 of them too so it all adds up

Ilovecubbage

emweaver wrote: »

i have the same with my post office, 4 women work there and 2 are so rude and unfriendly you feel like a nuisance unless of course your over 65 then they chat away and hold the que up! The 3rd lady is so sarcastic and agressive in the way she talks to you and really tries to force you to upgrade your delivery to special delivery for example. Last week my large letter fitted thro the slot but she said as it just fitted and didnt drop in I had to send it as a parcel I told her I wasnt prepared to as its was within the size guides and she was going on and on and on how the receiver would end up with charges etc. she always asks whats in my parcels / envelopes and once I needed to send a chq recorded just for my own records it was received and she wouldnt let me post it said it had to go special delivery and she shouts at you about it infront of everyone

You must live very near to where I am

anna-marie

When I first started selling on ebay I took all of my parcels into the PO to be weighed and to buy postage. There was always a tense atmosphere and I noticed the counter staff exchanging looks when I came in with half a dozen or so. And the prices were always more expensive than I had estimated - they didn't always choose the most economical option (eg sending something as a package when it could be a large letter). Also I felt uncomfortable holding up the queue.
So I started printing the postage at home through RM website. All the counter staff have to do is sign and stamp the pre-printed receipt. Now one lady (the oldest one there) complains every time I come in that I am not saving any time by doing that and I should just pay them direct, and she insists that she still has to weigh and check each parcel individually, then print a receipt on her own till and cancel it because I've already paid, then staple it to my own receipt. All the other staff there just take the parcels and stamp my receipt- it's very quick, but she makes a big drama out of it. I have pointed out to her that she is the only one who does it but she says that the others are wrong. I also asked if it would be better if I just took the parcels straight to the sorting office but she said it wasn't allowed.
I've cut down my ebay sales now because I hate going in there. If I have post something I send my kids in who don't notice that she's cranky! Another reason I cut down my ebay is that I had a spate of people claiming items had not arrived. I can't blame the batty PO lady for that obviously but it began to be more hassle than it's worth:)
Phew, I feel a lot better after that rant...If anyone does know if it's allowed to take pre-paid parcels straight to the sorting office please let me know:rotfl:

soolin

I take all my post straight to the delivery office, they just empty my bag straight into the bins to be sorted and stamp my receipt.

You do need 100% accurate scales though and a proper plastic measuring slot, don't rely on the paper ones for accuracy as they won't double check your postage and if ti is wrong your buyer will be charged at the other end.

Eenymeeny

I'm appalled at the comments on here about Post Office staff. Shouldn't this be brought to the notice of their Head Office? Not sure if it's RM or PO? I've always worked within retail and wouldn't have dreamt of treating CUSTOMERS like those described. It sounds to me like the staff in the large (proper!) Post Offices are properly trained and the sub offices generally seem to be left to get on with it. I've worked within franchises in large department stores and one person's attitude can reflect on the whole store, surely the owners of the shop should be keeping an eye on it? I certainly would be!
I must admit my local sub PO is very slow as the postmaster chats to everyone and his wife dosn't seem to understand English so isn't a lot of help to him. I have to either accept that or use the central PO (bus ride) which has long queues but the staff know what the are doing so it moves quite quickly! Sorry for long rant, I hate poor customer service...:o

custardy

anna-marie wrote: »

When I first started selling on ebay I took all of my parcels into the PO to be weighed and to buy postage. There was always a tense atmosphere and I noticed the counter staff exchanging looks when I came in with half a dozen or so. And the prices were always more expensive than I had estimated - they didn't always choose the most economical option (eg sending something as a package when it could be a large letter). Also I felt uncomfortable holding up the queue.
So I started printing the postage at home through RM website. All the counter staff have to do is sign and stamp the pre-printed receipt. Now one lady (the oldest one there) complains every time I come in that I am not saving any time by doing that and I should just pay them direct, and she insists that she still has to weigh and check each parcel individually, then print a receipt on her own till and cancel it because I've already paid, then staple it to my own receipt. All the other staff there just take the parcels and stamp my receipt- it's very quick, but she makes a big drama out of it. I have pointed out to her that she is the only one who does it but she says that the others are wrong. I also asked if it would be better if I just took the parcels straight to the sorting office but she said it wasn't allowed.
I've cut down my ebay sales now because I hate going in there. If I have post something I send my kids in who don't notice that she's cranky! Another reason I cut down my ebay is that I had a spate of people claiming items had not arrived. I can't blame the batty PO lady for that obviously but it began to be more hassle than it's worth:)
Phew, I feel a lot better after that rant...If anyone does know if it's allowed to take pre-paid parcels straight to the sorting office please let me know:rotfl:

theres nothing stopping you taking prepaid items
however i would check before hand,not all staff on the door will know
also be aware it may add a day to your despatch time as if its a standalone delivery office it doesnt get collections like a PO

soolin

custardy wrote: »

theres nothing stopping you taking prepaid items
however i would check before hand,not all staff on the door will know
also be aware it may add a day to your despatch time as if its a standalone delivery office it doesnt get collections like a PO

Good point, I only tend to think of my one and as I am in London it is a big hub for incoming and outgoing mail. We have all the delivery lorries parked on site .

My mail bypasses all the system, the staff are wonderful and literally take it straight through to be sorted.

custardy

soolin wrote: »

Good point, I only tend to think of my one and as I am in London it is a big hub for incoming and outgoing mail. We have all the delivery lorries parked on site .

My mail bypasses all the system, the staff are wonderful and literally take it straight through to be sorted.

this is the thing
a mail centre/delivery office has streams all day (RM speak lol)
whereas a delivery office has had pretty much all its streams by around 9am
there will be at least one mop up collection later but thats for non critical stuff like returned mail/condemned mail etc

macfly

anne marie - I'm afraid the old awkward one is doing it by the book. That is for the office to be paid for the work. If nothing goes through on the computer, they get nothing for the service. Mail centres don't have that problem, they are on a wage. However she will get nowhere by moaning at you.
I must agree with eenymeeny also. Despite having owned a sub post office. The training is cursory.
My mailing centre is in an awkward place as they are forming big hubs nationwide.
soolin, I do a small amount of online postage. Is there an option to print one proof of postage for them all?

anna-marie

macfly wrote: »

anne marie - I'm afraid the old awkward one is doing it by the book. That is for the office to be paid for the work. If nothing goes through on the computer, they get nothing for the service. Mail centres don't have that problem, they are on a wage. However she will get nowhere by moaning at you.

Thank you macfly - I guess I can't be mad at her for doing her job then, but she could do it without the rolling eyes and heavy sighs!:rotfl:I will make enquiries at the Mail Centre to see if that is an option.