Post office staff asks too many questions...is it a right to know?

custardy

wishuponastar said:

custardy said:

soolin said:

powerful_Rogue said:

You want to use the postal service, you need to follow thier rules. Does it really matter?

Which rules though? That’s  the point of this thread, trying to find out why Post Office counters are asking these questions, they work for the post office and there doesn’t seem to be any requirement from Royal Mail for POC employees to closely question people on what’s in their parcels. A simple response ‘the package doesn’t contain anything prohibited’ should suffice. 

Its a requirement to aviation laws, due to the fact mail may travel by air.

Can't be that much of a requirement as it's not noted anywhere other than in her noseyness file. When i try saying something like clothes or a top, she asked ladies, mens or kids, one time she felt it and says ooh it is knitted. Or when i say it's a baby soft toy gift, she asks if there are any batteries inside (when it's clearly as light as a feather). I don't insist on making the PO staff lives hard, i do tell them well her as she is the only one but i feel that she is just being too nosey and it makes me feel weird having to explain what i'm sending just to her. Maybe i'll wait on other staff and never go to her. 

Really? This is the sort of thing that started the change to aviation laws.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UPS_Airlines_Flight_6

custardy

General_Grant said:

custardy said:

soolin said:

powerful_Rogue said:

You want to use the postal service, you need to follow thier rules. Does it really matter?

Which rules though? That’s  the point of this thread, trying to find out why Post Office counters are asking these questions, they work for the post office and there doesn’t seem to be any requirement from Royal Mail for POC employees to closely question people on what’s in their parcels. A simple response ‘the package doesn’t contain anything prohibited’ should suffice. 

Its a requirement to aviation laws, due to the fact mail may travel by air.

What, when it's second class and they can see the address is in the same town?

Of course,I totally forgot mail for the same town is sorted in that town and RM has a micro network with rules and regulation separated from the national mail and how that is handled.

vacheron

I now use 4 post offices depending on where I happen to be passing. Three never ask anything. The fourth will only ask if there is that same particular lady on duty which I mentioned in the link I posted above
.
When asked these days I have made a point of explicitly what is in the parcel. Recent examples include:

• "It's a 3DConnexion Spacepilot"
• "It's a Valjoux 7750 Movement"
• "It's a Landlite 54 Watt Ballast"
• "It's a Campagnolo freehub body"
  

On each occasion I receive a nod and the little glass door opens to let them through. I am sure that 95% of people would not know what each of these are without googling them. The odds of her knowing what all four are is extremely improbable and so that information makes absolutely no material difference to the safety of the items in flight or transit as no further questions were asked.

From that I have to conclude that it is purely down to nosiness, or following the guidance to the letter (but not achieving the actual reason) for being required to ask the question.

 

wishuponastar

custardy said:

wishuponastar said:

custardy said:

soolin said:

powerful_Rogue said:

You want to use the postal service, you need to follow thier rules. Does it really matter?

Which rules though? That’s  the point of this thread, trying to find out why Post Office counters are asking these questions, they work for the post office and there doesn’t seem to be any requirement from Royal Mail for POC employees to closely question people on what’s in their parcels. A simple response ‘the package doesn’t contain anything prohibited’ should suffice. 

Its a requirement to aviation laws, due to the fact mail may travel by air.

Can't be that much of a requirement as it's not noted anywhere other than in her noseyness file. When i try saying something like clothes or a top, she asked ladies, mens or kids, one time she felt it and says ooh it is knitted. Or when i say it's a baby soft toy gift, she asks if there are any batteries inside (when it's clearly as light as a feather). I don't insist on making the PO staff lives hard, i do tell them well her as she is the only one but i feel that she is just being too nosey and it makes me feel weird having to explain what i'm sending just to her. Maybe i'll wait on other staff and never go to her. 

Really? This is the sort of thing that started the change to aviation laws.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UPS_Airlines_Flight_6

Interesting...though i think you've missed the point in my thread. I'm not sending anything by airmail and i'm not sending batteries nor do i have a problem if they ask are there any batteries (i know not to send them and i tell them if they ask that no batteries are in whatever). If they aren't noting down what's inside anywhere it's not my fault that laws have to change because someone sends batteries when they aren't supposed to or staff don't ask. It's the 20 questions when you've confirmed what it is and that it's not batteries....like ooh is it a knitted top, did you knit it? is it ladies etc and so on. Have you sold it on Ebay? Even one time, she commented on the place i was sending to and asked if it was a friend i knew there as she knew someone there. That i get from this one particular member of staff and it just makes me feel a bit odd. I do answer but i'd prefer if she didn't ask irrelevant questions.

custardy

wishuponastar said:

custardy said:

wishuponastar said:

custardy said:

soolin said:

powerful_Rogue said:

You want to use the postal service, you need to follow thier rules. Does it really matter?

Which rules though? That’s  the point of this thread, trying to find out why Post Office counters are asking these questions, they work for the post office and there doesn’t seem to be any requirement from Royal Mail for POC employees to closely question people on what’s in their parcels. A simple response ‘the package doesn’t contain anything prohibited’ should suffice. 

Its a requirement to aviation laws, due to the fact mail may travel by air.

Can't be that much of a requirement as it's not noted anywhere other than in her noseyness file. When i try saying something like clothes or a top, she asked ladies, mens or kids, one time she felt it and says ooh it is knitted. Or when i say it's a baby soft toy gift, she asks if there are any batteries inside (when it's clearly as light as a feather). I don't insist on making the PO staff lives hard, i do tell them well her as she is the only one but i feel that she is just being too nosey and it makes me feel weird having to explain what i'm sending just to her. Maybe i'll wait on other staff and never go to her. 

Really? This is the sort of thing that started the change to aviation laws.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UPS_Airlines_Flight_6

Interesting...though i think you've missed the point in my thread. I'm not sending anything by airmail and i'm not sending batteries nor do i have a problem if they ask are there any batteries (i know not to send them and i tell them if they ask that no batteries are in whatever). If they aren't noting down what's inside anywhere it's not my fault that laws have to change because someone sends batteries when they aren't supposed to or staff don't ask. It's the 20 questions when you've confirmed what it is and that it's not batteries....like ooh is it a knitted top, did you knit it? is it ladies etc and so on. Have you sold it on Ebay? Even one time, she commented on the place i was sending to and asked if it was a friend i knew there as she knew someone there. That i get from this one particular member of staff and it just makes me feel a bit odd. I do answer but i'd prefer if she didn't ask irrelevant questions.

What is airmail? You think nothing in the UK travels by air? RM run mail flights all week.
If you have an issue with a person at a particular Post Office,then take it up with Post Office.

theoretica

It does sound like she starts with official questions and then carries on in what she probably sees as a chatty way.  Have you told her you aren't as chatty as she is and just want a business transaction?

wishuponastar

custardy said:

wishuponastar said:

custardy said:

wishuponastar said:

custardy said:

soolin said:

powerful_Rogue said:

You want to use the postal service, you need to follow thier rules. Does it really matter?

Which rules though? That’s  the point of this thread, trying to find out why Post Office counters are asking these questions, they work for the post office and there doesn’t seem to be any requirement from Royal Mail for POC employees to closely question people on what’s in their parcels. A simple response ‘the package doesn’t contain anything prohibited’ should suffice. 

Its a requirement to aviation laws, due to the fact mail may travel by air.

Can't be that much of a requirement as it's not noted anywhere other than in her noseyness file. When i try saying something like clothes or a top, she asked ladies, mens or kids, one time she felt it and says ooh it is knitted. Or when i say it's a baby soft toy gift, she asks if there are any batteries inside (when it's clearly as light as a feather). I don't insist on making the PO staff lives hard, i do tell them well her as she is the only one but i feel that she is just being too nosey and it makes me feel weird having to explain what i'm sending just to her. Maybe i'll wait on other staff and never go to her. 

Really? This is the sort of thing that started the change to aviation laws.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UPS_Airlines_Flight_6

Interesting...though i think you've missed the point in my thread. I'm not sending anything by airmail and i'm not sending batteries nor do i have a problem if they ask are there any batteries (i know not to send them and i tell them if they ask that no batteries are in whatever). If they aren't noting down what's inside anywhere it's not my fault that laws have to change because someone sends batteries when they aren't supposed to or staff don't ask. It's the 20 questions when you've confirmed what it is and that it's not batteries....like ooh is it a knitted top, did you knit it? is it ladies etc and so on. Have you sold it on Ebay? Even one time, she commented on the place i was sending to and asked if it was a friend i knew there as she knew someone there. That i get from this one particular member of staff and it just makes me feel a bit odd. I do answer but i'd prefer if she didn't ask irrelevant questions.

What is airmail? You think nothing in the UK travels by air? RM run mail flights all week.
If you have an issue with a person at a particular Post Office,then take it up with Post Office.

I hadn't really thought about it before, i just thought that UK mail went by ground. Learn something new every day, thanks for enlightening me. Regardless my parcels are still perfectly fine to go by air or by road. I don't really have an issue with her, i just prefer less chatty types.

wishuponastar

theoretica said:

It does sound like she starts with official questions and then carries on in what she probably sees as a chatty way.  Have you told her you aren't as chatty as she is and just want a business transaction?

I agree i don't think she means any harm and no i haven't told her i'm not as chatty as she is, not sure how best to say that without her thinking i'm a weirdo (which i probably am) haha or her taking offence. So i tried a new approach and went down the ok, so you want to chat, then let's chat about you...so she started asking me usual nosey (not relevant) questions and i replied briefly and asked her two questions back about herself each time and she didn't like it and in turn processed the transaction the quickest and quietest she has ever done. 

mgdavid

good result!

A_Lert

Numerous people and machines are going to handle the parcel you're sending. If what's inside is something that shouldn't be there then it poses a real risk of hurting someone or breaking something. With that in mind, stop being a prat and tell the post office worker what's in your parcel when they ask.