Cheap Parcel Delivery - official discussion

Obviously_the_best

stuartroberts wrote: »

The van livery looks like uk mail to me

So it does, I stand corrected. I was just looking at the conveyor chaos.

@pulliptears

The only thing I'd say is to not give the customer the Collect+ tracking number. On your drop off reciept, you'll se just above the tracking number, a parcel number which will be 16 digits. Knock off the last three digits, and then give that number to the customer to track at yodel.co.uk, tracking is far more precise.

Other than that, they're a great way to send parcels around cheaply.

edit: almost forgot, don't sellotape over the barcode, it makes it hard to scan.

@excel

Interlink will be the cheapest including insurance.

pulliptears

Obviously_the_best wrote: »

So it does, I stand corrected. I was just looking at the conveyor chaos.

@pulliptears

The only thing I'd say is to not give the customer the Collect+ tracking number. On your drop off reciept, you'll se just above the tracking number, a parcel number which will be 16 digits. Knock off the last three digits, and then give that number to the customer to track at yodel.co.uk, tracking is far more precise.

Other than that, they're a great way to send parcels around cheaply.

edit: almost forgot, don't sellotape over the barcode, it makes it hard to scan.

@excel

Interlink will be the cheapest including insurance.

Thats a fantastic tip, thank you!

rose_cosmetics_uk

Hi,
I try to find a reliable and not too expensive inernational small packets delivery service for our Ebay Shop. We sell parfumes, EDT, EDP and other cosmetics. We had a lot of customers from international destinations but we lost them due to new restrictions implemented by Royal Mail. We no longer are able to send our items to international destinations through a small packet service.
Can anyone suggest a replacement service for Royal Mail International Small Packet Airmail for perfumes and cosmetics?
Thanks in advance
Anna

Obviously_the_best

rose_cosmetics_uk wrote: »

Hi,
I try to find a reliable and not too expensive inernational small packets delivery service for our Ebay Shop. We sell parfumes, EDT, EDP and other cosmetics. We had a lot of customers from international destinations but we lost them due to new restrictions implemented by Royal Mail. We no longer are able to send our items to international destinations through a small packet service.
Can anyone suggest a replacement service for Royal Mail International Small Packet Airmail for perfumes and cosmetics?
Thanks in advance
Anna

No. The minimum with a private company for small items is far more than RM will charge. They have always, and probably will always, be the best for small items abroad.

mrbadexample

I need to send a box of mineral specimens weighing around 20-25kg. Any suggestions please? The box shouldn't be much bigger than a box of A4 photocopier paper.

Cheers,
MBE

John_Pierpoint

John_Pierpoint wrote: »

For what it is worth Channel 4 is doing a documentary next Monday about parcel delivery.
It will be interesting to see if they name names or will it just be sensationalism, like this trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=J0XWJ7tZsqw

Brooker_Dave wrote: »

http://www.vehicleandfleetgraphics.com/images/gallery/ParcelPete1_b.jpg
?

Well spotted Dave.
I think the boss of UK mail seriously needs to do one of those back-to-the-floor investigations, to find out what is really happening on the grave yard shift in his organisation.
Is he being told what he wants to hear, or is Bournemouth the only dodgy depot?

The post office bosses were on a down hill slope with their 150++ year old business, when they lost British Telecom.
Totally failing to see the impact of the internet, with all the "free" computers finding their way into the library service, sealed their fate.

It is pretty obvious that TNT, [famous in the UK for assisting Murdoch in breaking the monopoly, exercised by the print unions, together with the associated rail unions, over the production and distribution of newspapers], is intending to take over the postal services in the UK.
However they are in danger of throwing out the Royal Mail's technical expertise, as they try to turn being a postie into a minimum wage every other day service.
Channel 4 has in the past done similar documentaries featuring foreign scumbags getting agency jobs with Royal Mail just for what they could steal.

Time to introduce more secure email systems to replace the unreliable expensive paper letters, I think.

More info on TNT here - as it expanded from a van job, set up by Mr Thompson's de-mob gratuity (?) in Australia after WW2.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TNT_N.V.

Lucy_Lastic

Re UK Mail

I watched the Dispatches programme last night and was quite horrified to see those fragile packages being thrown and kicked around the depot. Why would anyone want to do that? What's the point of trashing someone's new TV or computer?

Will we ever hear of the consequences? Those caught on camera will surely get the sack, especially those who took home steak, venison and wine!

How widespread is this? Not just Bournemouth I imagine.

Obviously_the_best

To be honest, compared with some other carriers, that is 'handled with care' **cough**hdnl**cough**.

Chrysalis

John_Pierpoint wrote: »

For what it is worth Channel 4 is doing a documentary next Monday about parcel delivery.
It will be interesting to see if they name names or will it just be sensationalism, like this trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=J0XWJ7tZsqw

I have done parcel deliveries as a self employed courier, the main problems are:

It is an "industry" driven by time and cost - it can be difficult to make minimum wage. So the employees are transient.
Unlike taxi driving, there is no requirement to pass "the knowledge" or a CRB check.
A sat nav is no substitute for having a spatial map in your head and local knowledge of when commercial addresses are open for deliveries.

The reality was I would be called in, because the employee driver had not turned up and some gorilla would throw a ridiculous number of parcels into the van and I would shoot off - that enabled the manager to tick the box saying all the parcel deliveries had left the depot before xx:00 hours.

I would then park up somewhere in a field and try to sort the mess into some logical order. The big difficulty was that some parcels would be before 10:00, some before 13:00 and the rest realistically before 16:30. In the winter many firms start refusing deliveries then and searching for house names in the dark is a no hoper.

Some of the "difficult" parcels would have been out for delivery for as much as a week.

Then there would be the phone calls, some little chain of muppets would have had that 'phone call from Mr Angry and tried to pass the pressure down to the driver. I was quite happy to say "Have you checked the map [key the postcode into any suitable application] ?" "Well if you had, you would know that Loose Chippings on Sea is 10 miles from Central Loose Chippings, so you tell me which of these half a dozen before noon parcels I should not deliver in exchange for delivering Mr Angry's parcel that appears to be a not-at-home from yesterday". !@!*! "Feel free to give Mr Angry my telephone number, I am happy to talk to him".

Most of the time it is just a matter of communication and calmly discovering the facts of the situation. Obviously if it was a medical emergency the before-noons would have to look after themselves; but usually nobody is going to die and if Mr Angry really has a problem, then perhaps he can jump in his car and come and get his parcel.

Personally I think all homes should have something like an old fashioned bank night safe for secure "not at home" deliveries. Given modern technology it should be possible to issue a receipt "reference number" on a small display, while filming the transaction. Perhaps the delivery driver should key in the registration number of his vehicle?

As I write, I can glance at the TV and see a mother bird bedded down on a clutch of eggs, the bird box with its camera and microphone cost £35, so I cannot see the parcel drop off arrangements costing more than (say) a meter cupboard and its contents.

My reply is this.

Most people who do complain on the internet ARE at home when their parcel doesnt arrive. Do these people have no just cause fo been unhappy?

Next and sorry if it causes offense, dont blame the paying customers. Blame your boss if the work conditions are unreasonable, eg. if I pay for pre noon delivery thats when I expect it, its not my fault if the deliveries are not organised properly.

Also its damn near impossible to ring a depot, and many courier companies dont allow pickups, I expect if they did there would be less angry customers.

Chrysalis

John_Pierpoint wrote: »

Well spotted Dave.
I think the boss of UK mail seriously needs to do one of those back-to-the-floor investigations, to find out what is really happening on the grave yard shift in his organisation.
Is he being told what he wants to hear, or is Bournemouth the only dodgy depot?

The post office bosses were on a down hill slope with their 150++ year old business, when they lost British Telecom.
Totally failing to see the impact of the internet, with all the "free" computers finding their way into the library service, sealed their fate.

It is pretty obvious that TNT, [famous in the UK for assisting Murdoch in breaking the monopoly, exercised by the print unions, together with the associated rail unions, over the production and distribution of newspapers], is intending to take over the postal services in the UK.
However they are in danger of throwing out the Royal Mail's technical expertise, as they try to turn being a postie into a minimum wage every other day service.
Channel 4 has in the past done similar documentaries featuring foreign scumbags getting agency jobs with Royal Mail just for what they could steal.

Time to introduce more secure email systems to replace the unreliable expensive paper letters, I think.

More info on TNT here - as it expanded from a van job, set up by Mr Thompson's de-mob gratuity (?) in Australia after WW2.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TNT_N.V.

that documentary as scary. the post system is extremely important and relied on for many things by many people. What i dont understand why there is such a clamour to rip the royal mail apart. the only people to gain from it is investors of the private firm that takes over (seems most likely TNT).