Yodel

shaun_from_Africa

There's got to be something better than the service we've got now.

It's probably already available, but only if the retailer, (therefore the customer) is willing to pay extra for it.
Amazon are one of, if not the cheapest online retailer in the UK, and although the delivery service provided by Yodel is often very poor, most people are willing to accept it because of the low total price of the delivered goods.

IMO, it's a bit like low cost airlines. Some of them often get very bad reviews on various forums, but at the end of the day, the aircraft are often fully booked and the airlines themselves are making a nice healthy profit.

RHemmings

shaun_from_Africa wrote: »

It's probably already available, but only if the retailer, (therefore the customer) is willing to pay extra for it.
Amazon are one of, if not the cheapest online retailer in the UK, and although the delivery service provided by Yodel is often very poor, most people are willing to accept it because of the low total price of the delivered goods.

IMO, it's a bit like low cost airlines. Some of them often get very bad reviews on various forums, but at the end of the day, the aircraft are often fully booked and the airlines themselves are making a nice healthy profit.

I'm not convinced that the current situation cannot be improved without additional costs. Delivery to people's homes during working hours is inefficient, and results in many repeated delivery attempts, returned packages, and claims for lost packages. Much time is wasted waiting for collections etc., which when it's on the part of the vendor, costs. I believe that something like Collect+ is a more appropriate model for sending packages. But, first it has to be run properly. And second it has to build a critical mass, e.g. being made an option for major vendors such as Amazon, etc. Both of these will take time, but I believe that they will happen. Not necessarily with Collect+. If using local shops as dropoff/delivery points started becoming popular, then other existing companies would probably introduce competing services. What if the PO changed its system so that you could pick up packages at your local post office, not a centralised sorting office? And that you could specify that you didn't want the package delivered, that you would pick it up. The infrastructure is already all there.

scheming_gypsy

RHemmings wrote: »

What if the PO changed its system so that you could pick up packages at your local post office, not a centralised sorting office? .

it would be carnage. The sorting offices just do collections but having people turning up to the local post office between 9am and 5:30pm when people are doing the normal post office stuff (car tax, pensions, bill paying etc etc) then it's going to make them even busier. It'll also cut down on the times people can collect as sorting offices open at about 7:30am.

RHemmings

scheming_gypsy wrote: »

it would be carnage. The sorting offices just do collections but having people turning up to the local post office between 9am and 5:30pm when people are doing the normal post office stuff (car tax, pensions, bill paying etc etc) then it's going to make them even busier. It'll also cut down on the times people can collect as sorting offices open at about 7:30am.

There would only be carnage if there was going to be a large number of people picking up packages. And if so, then the P.O. would have more business and could have more windows open to accommodate that business. Clearly the local POs would have to be paid for their part in the service, but as the Yodel/Collect+ model suggests, they could undercut actual deliveries to home while still making a reasonable profit from providing the service.

I'm not suggesting that this would be the model for everyone, just for people who choose it. As with the current Yodel/Collect+ service. So anyone who would prefer to pick up their item from the sorting office would continue to do so, and only those who want to collect from the sorting office could use the current model

I looked on the Yodel Collect+ page for prices. I note that they have two services, one where you drop off the package, and it's sent to the recipient's home, and the second where the recipient picks it up from a store. The second case is much cheaper, despite the local stores getting a payment for handling the pickup. This strongly suggests that it's a more efficient model than delivery to home. And if people are given the option of selecting collect at store, that this is feasible without raising current delivery costs. Cutting them even.

custardy

RHemmings wrote: »

I'm not convinced that the current situation cannot be improved without additional costs. Delivery to people's homes during working hours is inefficient, and results in many repeated delivery attempts, returned packages, and claims for lost packages. Much time is wasted waiting for collections etc., which when it's on the part of the vendor, costs. I believe that something like Collect+ is a more appropriate model for sending packages. But, first it has to be run properly. And second it has to build a critical mass, e.g. being made an option for major vendors such as Amazon, etc. Both of these will take time, but I believe that they will happen. Not necessarily with Collect+. If using local shops as dropoff/delivery points started becoming popular, then other existing companies would probably introduce competing services. What if the PO changed its system so that you could pick up packages at your local post office, not a centralised sorting office? And that you could specify that you didn't want the package delivered, that you would pick it up. The infrastructure is already all there.

already exists
http://www.royalmail.com/delivery/outbound-mail/local-collect-business

RHemmings

custardy wrote: »

already exists
http://www.royalmail.com/delivery/outbound-mail/local-collect-business

Interesting. But, it's not widely used. I'd certainly want to pay an extra £0.75 + VAT to pick it up. It seems that sellers have to register for this service. Have many registered? This may be a good idea that hasn't caught on due to the high cost (over and above Royal Mail costs), because not may people are aware of it, and because of the need to register.

custardy

RHemmings wrote: »

Interesting. But, it's not widely used. I'd certainly want to pay an extra £0.75 + VAT to pick it up. It seems that sellers have to register for this service. Have many registered? This may be a good idea that hasn't caught on due to the high cost (over and above Royal Mail costs), because not may people are aware of it, and because of the need to register.

it has existed for 5+ years

RHemmings

custardy wrote: »

it has existed for 5+ years

I don't understand your point here. Could you please explain?

custardy

RHemmings wrote: »

I don't understand your point here. Could you please explain?

well its been in place that long
so I would say sellers simply aren't interested in using it
In my time i saw one item using local collect 2(as it was called then)

scheming_gypsy

RHemmings wrote: »

There would only be carnage if there was going to be a large number of people picking up packages. And if so, then the P.O. would have more business and could have more windows open to accommodate that business. Clearly the local POs would have to be paid for their part in the service, but as the Yodel/Collect+ model suggests, they could undercut actual deliveries to home while still making a reasonable profit from providing the service.

I'm not suggesting that this would be the model for everyone, just for people who choose it. As with the current Yodel/Collect+ service. So anyone who would prefer to pick up their item from the sorting office would continue to do so, and only those who want to collect from the sorting office could use the current model

I looked on the Yodel Collect+ page for prices. I note that they have two services, one where you drop off the package, and it's sent to the recipient's home, and the second where the recipient picks it up from a store. The second case is much cheaper, despite the local stores getting a payment for handling the pickup. This strongly suggests that it's a more efficient model than delivery to home. And if people are given the option of selecting collect at store, that this is feasible without raising current delivery costs. Cutting them even.

It also depends on the size of the post office. My two nearest only have two windows which is what my comment was based on (ie the smaller post office rather than a main one).
Although a lot of customers could help themselves better. There must be a lot of people who order for delivery who could have them delivered to a friend / neighbour / family member, or have them delivered to work. I'm not too bad as the depots for pretty much anything (bar City Link) are within a couple of miles, but some could save a lot of hassle by changing the delivery address (where possible)