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Don't you just hate Royal Mail?
Comments
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Whilst there may be little to no competition if you compare to the courier market, companies like Amazon are squeezing companies like Yodel for lower prices (due to consumer behaviour) and the service seriously suffers with 'home delivery networks' creating a varying level of service due to staff being paid peanuts. There is always a cost to lower prices somewhere.
Totally agree
I run websites as a sideline and we go through couriers at a fast rate. Having said that we have used the current one for well over two years.
They usually start off very well and we would get 6 months of good service before it all started to go pear shaped. The expression you pay peanuts, you get monkeys is true but in a competitive market that is the way it is.
We offer a next working day service to customers which puts an added load and associated expectation on the courier. I have noticed that the cheaper services take a long time, City Link being the exception when they do their cheap offers.
In my opinion letter delivery is a public service where reliability needs to be excellent and price need to be low. A rare case where public funding can be justified. What do you think will happen to the cost of posting a letter and reliability of the service if this goes into private hands?0 -
but in a competitive market that is the way it is.
So RM's lack of competition means they don't have to cut service to meet unrealistic price expectations.
The courier is only bowing to the retailer who is bowing to the consumer who has little brand loyalty and jumps from retailer to retailer to save a few pence.
RM's service in my view is very good and whilst I obviously don't want to pay more at the same time I don't want to suffer (or more accurately, my customers to suffer) a poor service.
If there were competition you have the choice of paying more for a better service but the consumer shopping on price wouldn't choose the retailer making, what would seem, a smart decision of picking service over price and would then complain about the poor delivery service without understanding the cost, it's a no win situation.In the game of chess you can never let your adversary see your pieces0 -
At the moment, there is no real competition for letter/small packet delivery.
Who would be able to put in place the required infrastructure and come up with a price to compete?
Regardless of technical movements forward, we still rely heavily on a reliable letter delivery service from Christmas cards to Court summons.
The existing system works well but there has clearly been a desire to offload the public financial burden. Cutbacks and efficiencies haven't worked so the price hikes. Surely the answer is an efficient Royal Mail, subsidised by taxpayers money?
If the price of letter delivery rises sufficiently or the the service is privatised facilitating that same price rise, by definition, your scenario, as outlined accurately, will result. Letter delivery needs to be preserved and to a certain extent protected from competition.0 -
At the moment, there is no real competition for letter/small packet delivery.
Who would be able to put in place the required infrastructure and come up with a price to compete?
Regardless of technical movements forward, we still rely heavily on a reliable letter delivery service from Christmas cards to Court summons.
The existing system works well but there has clearly been a desire to offload the public financial burden. Cutbacks and efficiencies haven't worked so the price hikes. Surely the answer is an efficient Royal Mail, subsidised by taxpayers money?
If the price of letter delivery rises sufficiently or the the service is privatised facilitating that same price rise, by definition, your scenario, as outlined accurately, will result. Letter delivery needs to be preserved and to a certain extent protected from competition.
once again. not gonna happen.
ship sailed etc.
you would have needed that gem pre DSA.0 -
Surely the answer is an efficient Royal Mail, subsidised by taxpayers money?
Given that the Uk is already in debt/overspent to the tune of around £120bn, where do you propose the money comes from?
The other alternative of course is for RM to increase their prices....<--- Nothing to see here - move along --->0 -
How about the Chancellor retrieving the undeclared, untaxed billions that have somehow managed to find their way into offshore accounts? Particulalrly those funds held in UK territories.stevew8975 wrote: »Given that the Uk is already in debt/overspent to the tune of around £120bn, where do you propose the money comes from?
Failing that, how about the Chancellor offsetting a bit himself with his own trust fund, since "we're all in this together"."The secret of life is honesty and fair dealing.
...If you can fake that, you've got it made."
Groucho Marx0 -
porto_bello wrote: »How about the Chancellor retrieving the undeclared, untaxed billions that have somehow managed to find their way into offshore accounts? Particulalrly those funds held in UK territories.
Failing that, how about the Chancellor offsetting a bit himself with his own trust fund, since "we're all in this together".
It's a drop in the ocean in the grand scheme of things. Besides, it's a basic rule of economics, whether it's a nations finances, or your own household finances, that if you are in debt, you have to cut costs.
You can not spend your way out of debt.<--- Nothing to see here - move along --->0 -
It wasn't a serious suggestion. It would require a brave PM and Chancellor to seriously and genuinely take on the tax evaders syphoning off billions from our economy.
Maybe Greek based MSE users would like to argue otherwise.stevew8975 wrote: »You can not spend your way out of debt."The secret of life is honesty and fair dealing.
...If you can fake that, you've got it made."
Groucho Marx0 -
porto_bello wrote: »Maybe Greek based MSE users would like to argue otherwise.
But the Greek economy is needing multiple bail-outs from the rest of the EU, yet the Greek people still do not want to or understand the need cut costs. Austerity is a necessary evil when governments get too frivolous with the borrowing and spending.<--- Nothing to see here - move along --->0 -
Sort of going off the topic now but I'm guessing one of RM's biggest increases is fuel, and like everything else we buy, this cost hits hard but we are talking about companies and government making billions in revenue and with those kinds of figures you are naive if you believe actions will be taken in the interest of the majority.In the game of chess you can never let your adversary see your pieces0
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