Post Office upsell

jon81uk

KatrinaWaves said:

Anyway back on topic, aren’t post offices franchises? No? Maybe I’m wrong, probably an. I just know when my local closed before it moved into a shop, I ended up going to the one in the next village and the postmaster was ALWAYS on his phone. Everytime I went in he would be talking on his mobile. Maybe I went in at the right time everytime but it was constant! To me, I’m not bothered, I’m the same I suppose, as long as he took my parcel and my money I didn’t care, but for someone like my mum who is constantly telling me to be off my phone she’d definitely have been put off by that.

maybe that was just him as a manager but yeah, I imagine diff managers will require up selling and some will be more chill etc 

Smaller post offices are run by a local Post Master so yes are effectively franchises. Larger city/town centre ones are "crown" post offices, in that they are run and managed by the "crown", ie directly by Post Office.

jon81uk

barbiedoll said:

My larger PO branch closed a couple of years ago and I now have to use another local one, which is abysmal. Even before Covid, they were never open on time, I've queued up for half an hour outside on a Saturday morning, before giving up and going elsewhere.

I ordered a couple of cheap dresses online, which didn't fit, so I had to send them back. I was quoted £2.95 postage on the website, if I sent them back via PO. At the counter, I just said, " Can I send this, cheapest option, it's nothing of any value".  I bought some stamps at the same time, and as I have no idea how much stamps cost now, I didn't query the total amount that I was asked to pay. When I got home and looked at my receipt, they'd charged me almost six quid! The dresses only cost £7.99 each, so I was well miffed. I won't be making that mistake again 😠

£2.95 (now £3.10) would be second class small parcel. £6 would probably be first class if its over 1kg.
If you were expecting it to be £3ish then i would have challenged it at the time, same as if it was the supermarket.

[Deleted User]

KatrinaWaves said:

MarkN88 said:

KatrinaWaves said:

MarkN88 said:

BethRobinson said:

Which service got it delivered within 12 hours? Simply not possible.

I beg to differ. I’ve sent letters, cards, etc to my mum and tend to post between 3 and 4pm and she gets them the next day by noon. Granted she only lives 25 miles away but it is possible as I’ve had it happen frequently. 

I mean that’s more than 12 hours 😂

Miscalculated on my part agreed.

Don’t see the need for laughing though. Bit disrespectful. Can’t all me maths geniuses. 

It’s all meant with good humour. You’re taking a correction too seriously and an emoji far too personally. Youd made a daft mistake. I corrected you with a bit of jest. It’s really not that serious. 

I apologise. I admit I did take it too seriously. I honestly felt very stupid I made such a mistake. No hard feelings. 

KatrinaWaves

MarkN88 said:

KatrinaWaves said:

MarkN88 said:

KatrinaWaves said:

MarkN88 said:

BethRobinson said:

Which service got it delivered within 12 hours? Simply not possible.

I beg to differ. I’ve sent letters, cards, etc to my mum and tend to post between 3 and 4pm and she gets them the next day by noon. Granted she only lives 25 miles away but it is possible as I’ve had it happen frequently. 

I mean that’s more than 12 hours 😂

Miscalculated on my part agreed.

Don’t see the need for laughing though. Bit disrespectful. Can’t all me maths geniuses. 

It’s all meant with good humour. You’re taking a correction too seriously and an emoji far too personally. Youd made a daft mistake. I corrected you with a bit of jest. It’s really not that serious. 

I apologise. I admit I did take it too seriously. I honestly felt very stupid I made such a mistake. No hard feelings. 

No worries at all. My latest 'daft moment' was confusing fingerprinting (like what the police do) with fingerpainting (like what kids do...)

Spank

No confusion, your kids are narcs 

sheramber

I hand my parcel/letter to the assistant and they say 1st or 2nd class?I normally say 'how much is each? and then decide which I want.

Scrutiny

The large letter which recently obtained a 6p rise from 88p to 96 p is under scrutiny

Royal Mail Guidleines on large Letters are blatantly clear , Counter Staff must make a reasonable effort to pull or push with reasonable force the item through the 25 mm Guideline. Having investigated the disparity arising at PO Counters I have come to the following conclions

(i) PO Counters are the subb contractor acting on behalf of RM

(ii) RM Guidelines clear to all require the staff member to pul the item through 

(iii) On a number of occasions PO Counters have sent training staff to small counters and told staff that the letter must fall through by gravity to be accepted ( and without any effort to pull through the guide ) Additionally the staff are told to hold the guide to vertical a plane were a longer letter is likely to straddle the gap and not go through . Its clear that if a letter held to a guide which is parrallel to a floor like a letter box that the item is required to be either pushed or pulled to go through the letterbox , particularly those with draft brushes

(iv) within the meaning of any legal challenge it would be reasonably expected that any postal agency contracted to deliver mail would be required to undertake work - work being defined as the application of a force through a distance> It would also be the role of a chartered Physicist to determine within the meaning of law what precisely a reasonable force or effort constitutes , it is clear and apparent that many Posties have to make a substantial effort to place mail through draught excluders yet dont reture such items to depot

(v) Moving forward it is interesting to to look at why Post Office Counters are flagranting the direction of the Contractor RM. Two possible reasons come to mind (i) the The large letter which recently obtained a 6p rise from 88p to 96 p is under scrutiny

Royal Mail Guidlines on large Letters are blatantly clear , Counter Staff must make a reasonable effort to pull or push with reasonable force the item through the 25 mm Guideline. Having investigated the disparity arising at PO Counters I have come to the following concuslions

(i) PO Counters are the sub contractor acting on behalf of RM

(ii) RM Guidelines clear to all require the staff member to pul the item through 

(iii) On a number of occasions PO Counters have sent training staff to small counters and told staff that the letter must fall through by gravity to be accepted ( and without any effort to pull through the guide ) Additionally the staff are told to hold the guide to vertical a plane were a longer letter is likely to straddle the gap and not go through . Its clear that if a letter held to a guide which is parallel to a floor like a letter box that the item is required to be either pushed or pulled to go through the letterbox , particularly those with draft brushes

(iv) within the meaning of any legal challenge it would be reasonably expected that any postal agency contracted to deliver mail would be required to undertake work - work being defined as the application of a force through a distance> It would also be the role of a chartered Physicist to determine within the meaning of law what precisely a reasonable force or effort constitutes , it is clear and apparent that many Posties have to make a substantial effort to place mail through draught excluders yet dont reture such items to depot

(v) Moving forward it is interesting to to look at why Post Office Counters are flagranting the direction of the Contractor RM. Two possible reasons come to mind (i) the Upselling needlessly of the RM II Large letter to the next tier ( £2.95) or (ii) More likely PO Counters or sub franchises protecting themselves from the fines that RM impose if those items are oversized . All siad legitimate customers packing there items to the 25 mm guideline should not be frivously peanalised by a System introduced by Post Office Counters. Indeed it should not be assumed that all legitimate customers are stuffing their envelopes to capacity  nor should they be obstructed from accessing the Universal ostal Service that RM are obliged to provide 

(vi) In respect of the Contractor RM , they are bound by the Universal Postal Obligations , and it is not for Post Office Counters to impose a regime so disparate from what is clearly stated to RM Customers a reasonable effort must be made to move the item through the Guide

From my initial approaches and challenges to RM they are in agreement that Post Office Counters should not be training Counter Staff in this way 

(vii) It is intended to update this post when full facts and statements are available from both RM and Post Office Counters however my view is that PO Counters are Obstructing RM Universal Postal Obligations and indeed failing within their contracted remit to handle LL in the way RM clearly ascribes on all of their available documentation - to make a reasonable effort to push or ppull mail through a letterbox

(viii) there are other extremely valid reasons why reasonable effort should be made to encourage for example envelopes with bubble wrap which invariably have an enhanced role in protecting contents and remediating any potential losses RM might have by having the items damages if sent in a plain envelope . It i also unclear how those items packed level at the time of posting and passing through a gap might subsequently pool as a result of handling procedures

Moving an envelope through a 25 mm gap does not require either substantial grey matter or the muscles of Charles Atlas it is clear and obvious what will and will not pass though , howver for it to pass through it requires someone who is paid to make the effort , to do precisely that needlessly of the RM II Large letter to the next tier ( £2.95) or (ii) More likely PO Counters or sub franchises protecting themselves from the fines that RM impose if those items are oversized . All siad legitimate customers packing there items to the 25 mm guideline should not be frivolously penalised by a System introduced by Post Office Counters. Indeed it should not be assumed that all legitimate customers are stuffing their envelopes to capacity  nor should they be obstructed from accessing the Universal ostal Service that RM are obliged to provide 

(vi) In respect of the Contractor RM , they are bound by the Universal Postal Obligations , and it is not for Post Office Counters to impose a regime so disparate from what is clearly stated to RM Customers a reasonable effort must be made to move the item through the Guide

From my initial approaches and challenges to RM they are in agreement that Post Office Counters should not be training Counter Staff in this way 

(vii) It is intended to update this post when full facts and statements are available from both RM and Post Office Counters however my view is that PO Counters are Obstructing RM Universal Postal Obligations and indeed failing within their contracted remit to handle LL in the way RM clearly ascibes on all of their available documentation - to make a reasonable effort to push or pull mail through a letterbox

(viii) there are other extremely valid reasons why reasonable effort should be made to encourage for example envelopes with bubble wrap which invariably have an enhanced role in protecting contents and remediating any potential losses RM might have by having the items damages if sent in a plain envelope . It i also unclear how those items packed level at the time of posting and passing through a gap might subsequently pool as a result of handling procedures

Moving an envelope through a 25 mm gap does not require either substantial grey matter or the muscles of Charles Atlas it is clear and obvious what will and will not pass though , however for it to pass through it requires someone who is paid to make the effort , to do precisely that

[Deleted User]

Is there a question in there?

Pollycat

MarkN88 said:

Is there a question in there?

I'd prefer it if there were more paragraphs...

NBLondon

There are repeated paragraphs.  Looks like a bot....