Royal Mail Surveys rewarded with Stamps.

NBLondon

General_Grant wrote: »

Agreed. Though you can select whichever Smart you like from the drop-down list if you make up the items before they have smarts already assigned online.

You can - but I'd always avoided that in case it turned out to be the SMART they were about to ask me to send back. Still no items yet - so moot point.

custardy

NBLondon wrote: »

Any time before the postperson gets there... But perhaps don't leave it to the last minute; I have been caught out once or twice when I thought I'd posted at 1728 (or I did according to my watch) and it came up as a query when the SMART showed it wasn't collected until the next day. Mind you, it could also be that the box was emptied ahead of time, or not completely emptied which RM would want to detect if it happened regularly on the same round.

Simple test (if the box has them) is the day tag.
Check that if you are posting near final collection. Then check with the time.
This is really one of the core rationals of the panel.
If RM has scanned the box cleared at 17:30,and you are saying you posted at 17:28,yet the item doesn't hit the mail centre till the next day. This means someone is wrong/falsifying data.

Chocmonster7

Message on the front page of their website:-

Because of severe weather and flooding at our operations centre, there will be interruptions to our panel support services over the next few hours. This means our helpdesk will only be offering a limited service and there may be additional delays in responding to telephone and email queries. Thank you for your patience, we will provide further updates in due course.

So expect our next posting packs to be a bit soggy! :eek:

Skinster

Raspberry wrote: »

I received a cube box from the postie this week that the sender hadn't sealed - they had just folded the box bits in on each other. When I got it the box was open and damaged. I contacted TNS who said that as my secret identity has now been leaked to Royal Mail then I would be taken off the survey scheme! :mad::mad:So I have to miss out because someone else can't send an item securely?! I hope TNS deal with them too :mad::mad:

I have also received a cube which was folded closed today :mad:

NBLondon

custardy wrote: »

Simple test (if the box has them) is the day tag.
Check that if you are posting near final collection. Then check with the time.
This is really one of the core rationals of the panel.
If RM has scanned the box cleared at 17:30,and you are saying you posted at 17:28,yet the item doesn't hit the mail centre till the next day. This means someone is wrong/falsifying data.

Is the clearance time logged by the scanner or by the operative entering the time? I'm considering that if my watch is a couple of minutes slow and they are a couple fast - it's possible that they could have cleared at 1728 (real time) and logged as 1730 just before I arrive at 1731 (real time) and logged as 1728.


Alternatively, is it possible for the box to not be completely cleared? I presume you are expected to check - but if it's overfull and the operative is in a hurry... Or possibly a bag got delayed at the local depot and the SMARTS weren't tracked in until the next morning.


At the local boxes I use - the tag is empty maybe 1 in 3 visits (which gets logged with TNS). If I remember rightly, they are in a rack inside the box and the collector swaps them over to show they have done the last collection for that day. So if the slot is empty - could be the appropriate tag has been lost and not replaced yet or again the operative was rushing.


You're right - the point of us doing it accurately is to check whether there is something going wrong in the system. So an occasional mismatch might be human error - but repeated in a pattern would suggest a problem.

General_Grant

Because of severe weather and flooding at our operations centre, there will be interruptions to our panel support services over the next few hours. This means our helpdesk will only be offering a limited service and there may be additional delays in responding to telephone and email queries.
Thank you for your patience, we will provide further updates in due course.

Oh dear. ...............

ETA I see the message had been on the site before today. Any way it shows they haven't been able to clear up quickly.

custardy

NBLondon wrote: »

Is the clearance time logged by the scanner or by the operative entering the time? I'm considering that if my watch is a couple of minutes slow and they are a couple fast - it's possible that they could have cleared at 1728 (real time) and logged as 1730 just before I arrive at 1731 (real time) and logged as 1728.

Both. You are logging for your posting. RM has its own data from the postie scanning the box. A post box should never be cleared ahead of planned times.
Alternatively, is it possible for the box to not be completely cleared? I presume you are expected to check - but if it's overfull and the operative is in a hurry... Or possibly a bag got delayed at the local depot and the SMARTS weren't tracked in until the next morning.

Yup,again part of the surveys purpose. Best practice is for a collection driver to clear and check all boxes with an upward sweep o check for stuck items.

At the local boxes I use - the tag is empty maybe 1 in 3 visits (which gets logged with TNS). If I remember rightly, they are in a rack inside the box and the collector swaps them over to show they have done the last collection for that day. So if the slot is empty - could be the appropriate tag has been lost and not replaced yet or again the operative was rushing.

Day tags should never be missing for more than one day.There should be a weeks worth stored inside every box.

You're right - the point of us doing it accurately is to check whether there is something going wrong in the system. So an occasional mismatch might be human error - but repeated in a pattern would suggest a problem.

Having previously dealt with collection investigations and sadly multiple sackings over collections failures. It should never happen now,yet staff are still being caught not following process and at worst following deceptive practices.

NBLondon

Thanks for the insider info...

custardy wrote: »

RM has its own data from the postie scanning the box. A post box should never be cleared ahead of planned times.

By scanner, I meant - does the collecting postie have a hand-held device with which they scan a barcode on the inside of the door? If so, does that device timestamp the collection or does the postie type in the time they reached the box. The latter could be open to manipulation or error.


I'm guessing there isn't actually one collector per box all arriving at 1730 but each has a round and does the first at 1730, the next at 1732 etc. So it's possible (but not reliable) to drop something in just after the last time and it will still be picked up.

johnmoney05

Skinster wrote: »

I have also received a cube which was folded closed today :mad:

Tell TNS! :D

redagila

johnmoney05 wrote: »

Tell TNS! :D

Not if you (as the receiver) want to stay on the panel - see post 4996
You will have been deemed to be compromised and removed from the panel immediately.