Why does my Post Office always try to upsell postage?

Azari

arcon5 wrote: »

Sorry but you kinda brought this one on yourself when you said yes you'd like it to be there next day. The cashier didn't know you was saying yes merely being an awkward !!!!!!

He wasn't being awkward, just answering the question as asked.

The counter person should have asked: "Do you want guaranteed next day delivery", to which the correct answer (in the given circumstances) would have been: "No".

dukesy_2

Complaints about staff doing their job

If PO Counters (who are a stand alone business) dont make a living, there will BE no post offices.

WIthout them, all you ebayers (and the rest of you) will rely on the overnight couriers (TNT etc) and pay £5-7 per consignment for a delivery.

Royal Mail are obliged to offer loss making services under the Universal Service obligation, which also stops them being able to compete in "profitable" business sectors (which are being hammered by DSa's)

The only get out for local PO's is TRYING to make a living by upselling services such as Passport services, Recorded deliveries, photography etc.

Choose to decline these at your own risk.. Without local PO's being profitable, they wont exist.. A simple "no thank you" is better than the alternative......HNDL charging £5 a packet and delivering a service a thousand times worse..

And no, I dont work for anything to do with RM, i actually compete against them. But i also appreciate the service that they offer & the MASSIVE constraints that are put on them ,and the ungrateful attitude that Joe Soap has on people simply trying to earn a living whilst offerting them the best and cheapest service available today (but not for long if this attitude pervails)

arcon5

Azari wrote: »

He wasn't being awkward, just answering the question as asked.

The counter person should have asked: "Do you want guaranteed next day delivery", to which the correct answer (in the given circumstances) would have been: "No".

It's abundantly clear where the cashiers question is leading, so yes it is just being awkward.

In the same way if you buy a TV and they say 'would you like the extended warranty?' they aren't just making pretty conversaton

pmduk

Dukesy, I understand their need to compete. I just wish they made customer service an aspect they aspired to deliver. They've closed our local Sub-offices which worked hard to provide a decent service, leaving us with a main office with poor management and a dispirited staff who don't give a toss. Then they wonder why people choose to go elsewhere for so many transactions.

accman68

In my post office I have seen then scare people into buying upgraded post options.
1. Telling someone returning a catalogue parcel using the catalogues own postage paid pack that if it gets lost then they would be responsible for the loss. However if they paid for recorded delivery they wouldn't be liable. This is bull on both areas as ultimately a receipt of postage is all that you need to prove that the parcel has been sent. It would be up to the catalogue company to deal with the loss as they are the person that the post office has the contract with. Recorded delivery is not worth buying as it only provides details of the recipient assuming the parcel actually gets delivered. If its lost then there will not be a signature so you are back to the fact all you need is a 'receipt of postage'.

2. The one I really object to is where the items is put through the sizing guide and they say its a little tight so you need to have the next postage option. Again this is bull.... if the item goes through the guide without being forced then it qualifies.

3. Passport checking service. How many times must I hear them telling people that the failure rate for passport applications is so high and how it severly holds up applications along with the fact that they get lost in the post and get stolen for frauds. To me it sounds like what they are saying is the post office can't be trusted.

I have seen my local post office do point 2 on 3 occasions and 2 of those involved elderly people which is a complete disgrace.

Today I sent my elderly father to the post office with a parcel weighing 0.204 Kg and it qualified as a large letter. The cost for this should have been £1.20 I asked him to ask for a proof of postage (assuming 1st Class). When he arrived home he presented me with the receipt which was for £3.65 as they had put through as a small packet and added the recorded delivery. Thats an uplift of £2.45 (200%) I am sorry to say that whilst I like others do not want to lose my post office I am not prepared to be ripped off to save them. In future I will do all my postage online.

Tomorrow I will make a complaint and tell them exactly what I think of them......

malid

Glad to see that others are annoyed by this. One of my pet hates. My teenageson was 'done' the other day. I had asked him to post a letter by recordeddelivery because I needed to know that it had arrived. Should have been £1.55.He came back with bill for something like £5.50 having been 'convinced' if itwas important to know it had arrived, he should have a special service.

My experience varies from one post office to the next and to the point thatI have stopped using some. On several occasions, I have carefully packed anebay item so that it can go as a large letter only to be told it's too long orwon't fit in the slot. In the past I accepted this. Not now, I now refuse tosend it as a package and say I will repack. A take it to a second post office,they say it's ok and it goes as a large letter. Or, they say 'is it ok to bendthis over a bit then it is within dimensions' - they also cellotape it for meand are very helpful!

Last year, having explained what was in my parcel I was advised to send anitem by parcel force and paid extra to increase compensation. A couple of itemswere broken on delivery. I contacted ParcelForce immediately; filled in all theforms and sent photographs and the recipient kept the items and packaging.Result - 'Please see our terms and conditions and we do not cover....' blahblah. Yet PO knew what was in the parcel andspecifically told me to go for the service and pay extra! I tried to followthis up three more time with PF and never had a response. Foolishly (because Iwas so busy in work etc) I left it but I am still annoyed (as you can see).

NBLondon

I agree with the OP (and others). If I've stated the exact service I want, it's because I've already thought it through. The questions are then just annoying.

Though I must confess I do do things that confuse PO staff...

I write letters to friends overseas. I try to always use interesting stamps. I pre-weigh the finished letter (got a little set of desk scales) and if I've got a suitable stamp I'll use it. If it's borderline on the weight or I haven't got a high enough stamp I'll use the one I've got then go to the PO, weigh it properly and ask for the stamps to make up the difference. If I don't have any suitable stamps, I make a point of saying something like "Air Mail to USA, stamps please, not a label, and commemoratives if you have any." as I put it on the scale. This confuses them because they are used to just pushing the button for the label...

Occasionally I have to explain that commemoratives are the ones with pictures on instead of the Queen :mad:

On the other hand - Praise is due for those who do pay attention - Karen at the West Ham sub-postoffice for a start.

Charliezoo

I totally agree. I had to send my driving licence to the DVLA and wanted it sent 2nd class recorded. The guy in the Post Office did everything he could to convince me that it should be sent special delivery. He said things along the lines of 'how would you feel if it got lost' and 'a driving licence, that's got to be worth insuring' to which I replied that it really had no monetary value, I'd just get it replaced if it got lost. He went on to say that I was taking risks, blah, blah, blah. I was fuming.

Do they work on commission or something?

custardy

Charliezoo wrote: »

I totally agree. I had to send my driving licence to the DVLA and wanted it sent 2nd class recorded. The guy in the Post Office did everything he could to convince me that it should be sent special delivery. He said things along the lines of 'how would you feel if it got lost' and 'a driving licence, that's got to be worth insuring' to which I replied that it really had no monetary value, I'd just get it replaced if it got lost. He went on to say that I was taking risks, blah, blah, blah. I was fuming.

Do they work on commission or something?

well not quite
you would 'just' get it replaced
you would have to pay
Also if it was lost then you have the identity theft etc issue
making an informed choice is fine,however there are many many threads on the boards of people who have lost items,lost out etc through losing/not having proof of delivery of items

Charliezoo

custardy wrote: »

well not quite
you would 'just' get it replaced
you would have to pay
Also if it was lost then you have the identity theft etc issue
making an informed choice is fine,however there are many many threads on the boards of people who have lost items,lost out etc through losing/not having proof of delivery of items

Sorry but I disagree.

Special delivery is great if you're sending a valuable item and need it to arrive by a certain time. I did not require either and the staff member should've known this.

Cost of replacement driving licence - £20
Second class mail compensation for lost item - £46

Special delivery wouldn't protect me from identity theft in any way, things can still get lost in the post whether you pay for Special Delivery or not!