RM office reduced hours again

soolin

I’m sure there was an earlier thread but I can’t find it so apologies for starting another.

My local RM mail centre recently cut its opening hours making it difficult to drop post off for a receipt if you were busy in the day. Added to that the closure of a small local PO and cutting of staff in the main PO has resulted in queues of around 30 minutes on most days .I went in one day last week , there was one counter open and the staff member was assisting a woman with a visa application , and it took about 20 minutes and there were a few rather unfriendly shouts and calls from the queue of people waiting to post items or buy stamps which was getting a bit uncomfortable They did eventually open a second counter as  we have 7 available counters . 

This morning I went round to the mail centre early and they have cut their hours further. It’s now 2 hours a day , 6 days a week with an extra 2 hours in the afternoon on Wednesday. 

I am going to have to sit down and think about my postage options, I like RM, my stuff seems to arrive OK, on the very very rare occasions I have to make a claim I’m now being paid out in about a week . Most of the time now for cheaper items I’m just risking using a normal post box , larger parcels go to the PO but are just left with no receipt. I have used RM48 and had it collected for expensive things but that tied me to the house waiting in for collection. 

I have started looking at couriers, I obviously use them for Vinted , but I have a large number of large letters so a courier wouldn’t be cost effective anyway. 

How are other people managing with RM? 

Spoonie_Turtle

Collection, for me, but being mostly housebound that works just fine!  Although on the rare occasion I'm able to go out AND on a day I need something collected, we have a decent safe place our postman knows and will happily use.  If I have multiple items I stick the postcode on them so he knows which label is which.

Brie

Not quite the same thing but I think this is only going to get worse as more bank branches close and many of us have to depend on post offices to do our banking.  One of our local POs normally has 3 people working but a queue of 50 people is quite common.  And as you say it just takes 1 person to have something complex to sort or one of the employees needs a loo/lunch break and it's a near riot.  

soolin

Brie said:

Not quite the same thing but I think this is only going to get worse as more bank branches close and many of us have to depend on post offices to do our banking.  One of our local POs normally has 3 people working but a queue of 50 people is quite common.  And as you say it just takes 1 person to have something complex to sort or one of the employees needs a loo/lunch break and it's a near riot.  

I think actually you’ve hit the nail on the head. Most people at our main PO are either adding money onto gas or electric type cards, sorting out visas or other official documentation or general banking. It is very rare for anyone to be doing post office type things. 

RFW

My RM depot is the same. I've never been fussy with receipts and they're usually fairly small and rarely over a tenner so I drop them in the big post box.
They're after getting everything collected but that really doesn't suit me at the moment, I'm only ten minutes from the depot and can drop off when I have them ready. If I had to have a collection I'd feel more like I was working for Royal Mail than having any freedom to shuffle things in my day.

Catsacor

As a recipient of goods, whenever RM has been the sellers chosen courier, and i'm not there to sign etc, i too have the same gripe as you @soolin, the sorting office opens 8-10am - which is not helpful when you're working during that specific window.

I can definitely see why sellers use the other couriers, their flexibilty seems to be greater than RM, increasingly.
What i very much like is when a seller, or myself, have the choice of a RM Sunday delivery - that's the perfect option for people that work 'different' hours but rarely seen/offered, i think only twice i've had it.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

soolin said:

I am going to have to sit down and think about my postage options, I like RM, my stuff seems to arrive OK, on the very very rare occasions I have to make a claim I’m now being paid out in about a week . Most of the time now for cheaper items I’m just risking using a normal post box , larger parcels go to the PO but are just left with no receipt. I have used RM48 and had it collected for expensive things but that tied me to the house waiting in for collection. 

Personally I think Royal Mail are great, I would only consider other couriers for heavy or very large items. 

Currently I book free collections and put them in the shed for the postie to pick up, if you have a viable safe place it might be worth trying a few cheap items to see how it goes.

If they ever end free collections I'm going to post letters and large letters in a local post box and probably pay for collections on parcels, a Post Office trip costs more than £3 in fuel, there is a local one closer but, instead of waiting 30 minutes, if no one else is there it's hard to get away without being impolite!  

Time is key really and Royal Mail tick the boxes for me, easy labels, easy pick up and a good service with as little headache as possible.

When buying I tend to avoid sellers who don't post with Royal Mail if there's a viable choice for another that does.

soolin

Unfortunately I don’t have a safe place otherwise the free collections would be ideal. 

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

soolin said:

Unfortunately I don’t have a safe place otherwise the free collections would be ideal. 

Any chance of a cheap storage shed in the front garden? Appreciate, depending upon specifics, it may not be safe or indeed you may not have a front garden  

moonpenny

On the subject of "safe place" for parcels, I have toyed with the idea of getting another council waste bin  (different colour) just for the use of parcels.
Of course this would only work if bins are kept round the back of the house.

soolin

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

soolin said:

Unfortunately I don’t have a safe place otherwise the free collections would be ideal. 

Any chance of a cheap storage shed in the front garden? Appreciate, depending upon specifics, it may not be safe or indeed you may not have a front garden  

Unfortunately not as it would be ideal. We have a wide open drive in Greater London - we need the drive and garage clear enough to pile cars on if we have  several visitors as otherwise it’s London priced meters outside. Security wise it’s not a safe place , neighbours further down the street had Christmas decorations stolen one year, and anything left outside is fair game. 

I just wandered  down to the PO with a few parcels, only one counter open and a queue so I put the large letters in the post box and the 3 parcels on the drop part of the counter. There was nothing over £12 and it’s all pre printed labels which usually have delivery confirmation so I think the risk is low. 

Edit, for any newbies reading this I should clarify. If any of my items are lost or damaged I can’t make a claim as I have no proof of postage , so please make your own decisions based on your own comfort level.