Roland Perry wrote:
In message
, at 08:36:25 on Fri, 14 Mar 2014, Recliner remarked:
But perhaps each postie now delivers more items than before?

Not to my household. I currently get an average of about two letters a
day [I don't count their 'three a day' junk mail flyer allocation].

Back in the day I'd have got about a dozen, several of which were
usefully actioned later that day, rather than the following day [it's
difficult to have a day-job and also pick up your daily post from the
doormat much after about 8am].

I don't mean more letters per property, but more items delivered in total
per shift.

If the letters are spread thinner per household, I don't see how that could be the case.

Because they work longer hours, and don't spend unproductive time walking
or cycling to the start of the round.

In message

, at 10:17:58 on Fri, 14 Mar 2014, Recliner
remarked:
But perhaps each postie now delivers more items than before?

Not to my household. I currently get an average of about two letters a
day [I don't count their 'three a day' junk mail flyer allocation].

Back in the day I'd have got about a dozen, several of which were
usefully actioned later that day, rather than the following day [it's
difficult to have a day-job and also pick up your daily post from the
doormat much after about 8am].

I don't mean more letters per property, but more items delivered in total
per shift.

If the letters are spread thinner per household, I don't see how that could be the case.

Because they work longer hours, and don't spend unproductive time walking
or cycling to the start of the round.

How do they get there if not by walking or cycling? Every postie I've
encountered does the rounds on foot or by bike, even if they've bought
their own car to get them from the depot to the start of the round.
--
Roland Perry

Roland Perry wrote:
In message
, at 10:17:58 on Fri, 14 Mar 2014, Recliner remarked:
But perhaps each postie now delivers more items than before?

Not to my household. I currently get an average of about two letters a
day [I don't count their 'three a day' junk mail flyer allocation].

Back in the day I'd have got about a dozen, several of which were
usefully actioned later that day, rather than the following day [it's
difficult to have a day-job and also pick up your daily post from the
doormat much after about 8am].

I don't mean more letters per property, but more items delivered in total
per shift.

If the letters are spread thinner per household, I don't see how that could be the case.

Because they work longer hours, and don't spend unproductive time walking
or cycling to the start of the round.

How do they get there if not by walking or cycling? Every postie I've
encountered does the rounds on foot or by bike, even if they've bought
their own car to get them from the depot to the start of the round.

You've answered your own question...

In message

, at 11:15:45 on Fri, 14 Mar 2014, Recliner
remarked:

How do they get there if not by walking or cycling? Every postie I've
encountered does the rounds on foot or by bike, even if they've bought
their own car to get them from the depot to the start of the round.

You've answered your own question...

That's not new; they've been doing it way before the ~5yr horizon
mentioned as when things changed.
--
Roland Perry

On 14/03/2014 12:17, Tim Roll-Pickering wrote:
Graeme Wall wrote:

Cost and the buyer rather than the sender is the one who experiences the
problems. For me the main annoyances are the need to put yourself under
virtual house arrest when expecting a delivery and it still doesn't come,
the inability to put together a decent flat delivery service (some of
them
don't even know how to buzz the reception or phone the number supplied),
the
failure to come at the times stated, the remote depots that are hard to
reach on public transport and have terrible opening hours, the
ludicrously
excessive requirements for ID and proof of address when you can get in,
the
premium rate phone numbers and the fines sent to senders because the firm
is
incompetent.

Fines sent to senders, who by?

It was a few years ago now so I forget which one it was, but I had placed an
order online and awaited delivery in a period when I was generally based at
home in a flat overlooking our main gate. The next I know I get an email
from the sender stating the courier would fine them if the package wasn't
collected.

Never heard that one before. Sounds a quick way to lose a contract. My
answer would have been tough and I'm cancelling the order.


I was especially annoyed as the depot is in Beckton at the far end of the
borough which lacks good direct non-car transport links from here - in those
days it was either train&tube&DLR or an awkward combination of buses - and
when I got there they nearly didn't give me the package because I had
limited proof of address because all the utilities are paid either online or
through the rent. They had never left a card - and I specifically asked at
our reception - and I question whether the package had ever even been driven
up here.


I have problems with proof of address as most of the utility bills are
in my wife's name!

--
Graeme Wall
This account not read, substitute trains for rail.
Railway Miscellany at http://www.greywall.demon.co.uk/rail

Tim Watts writes:
Amazon Lockers kick ass too - just need to have more of them -
especially at main London railway stations (bringing the thread back
on topic). Their lack of appearance at places like Charing Cross is
very conspicuous.

It would also be nice if all goods (of acceptable size of the lockers)
sold on the Amazon site could be delivered to the lockers and not just
those sold or shipped by Amazon themselves.

Roland Perry writes:

In message , at 16:42:17 on Thu, 13
Mar 2014, Phil Cook remarked:
I find the courier firms are far superior to RM for customer
service. They actually answer the phone when you ring the number
on the card to say they have a package for you but you were out.
They will leave in the porch or elsewhere if you wish.

RM usually don't leave items in porches because of the risk of theft.

Can descend into farce. I had a parcel delivered at my front door last
week by one of the minor couriers, where the chap said I didn't need
to sign for it because he'd already logged it as "left in back
garden". It wasn't clear if this was a one-off error on his behalf, or
a widespread form of expediting delivery without bothering to discover
if the householder was actually at home.

Royal Mail offer me a far better service, and don't inconvienience the
neighbours. The neighbours are old and take looking after things
seriously and worry.

When I get a card from the Royal Mail, I just stop off at the delivery
office on my way to work and get my stuff. As long as you are there
before 9:30 when they go out delivering, they are happy to help. Or you
can go in the afternoon at the time on the card.

But thats the advantage of living in a small town.

Phil

Roland Perry writes:

In message

, at 16:23:21 on Wed, 12 Mar 2014, Recliner
remarked:
In 1970 I could post a letter at the main post office in Oxford up to
midnight and it would be delivered in South East London at breakfast time.

And now you can send an email, text, tweet, IM, DM, usenet post, etc,
usually for little or no charge, and have it delivered anywhere in the
world in seconds. With that sort of competition, no-one's going to pay for
the huge network of people, sorting offices and vans that would be needed
to maintain the old style of physical mail services, that delivered locally
in hours, from a previous era.

Vans? It was all bikes and Shank's pony. Even today a lot of postmen
buy their own cars and use those to get to their delivery patch
earlier, Royal Mail doesn't buy them vans. (Let's not get confused
with Parcelforce).

Royal Mail has several vans here, its the only way to deliver
efficiently to the rural area.

Phil

On 14/03/2014 14:01, Roland Perry wrote:
[...]
But perhaps each postie now delivers more items than before?

Not to my household. I currently get an average of about two letters a
day [I don't count their 'three a day' junk mail flyer allocation].

Back in the day I'd have got about a dozen, several of which were
usefully actioned later that day, rather than the following day [it's
difficult to have a day-job and also pick up your daily post from the
doormat much after about 8am].

I don't mean more letters per property, but more items delivered in total
per shift.

If the letters are spread thinner per household, I don't see how that
could be the case.

They have larger rounds and so deliver to more households.

On 14/03/2014 18:18, Phil wrote:
Roland Perry writes:

In message , at 16:42:17 on Thu, 13
Mar 2014, Phil Cook remarked:
I find the courier firms are far superior to RM for customer
service. They actually answer the phone when you ring the number
on the card to say they have a package for you but you were out.
They will leave in the porch or elsewhere if you wish.

RM usually don't leave items in porches because of the risk of theft.

Can descend into farce. I had a parcel delivered at my front door last
week by one of the minor couriers, where the chap said I didn't need
to sign for it because he'd already logged it as "left in back
garden". It wasn't clear if this was a one-off error on his behalf, or
a widespread form of expediting delivery without bothering to discover
if the householder was actually at home.

Royal Mail offer me a far better service, and don't inconvienience the
neighbours. The neighbours are old and take looking after things
seriously and worry.

When I get a card from the Royal Mail, I just stop off at the delivery
office on my way to work and get my stuff. As long as you are there
before 9:30 when they go out delivering, they are happy to help. Or you
can go in the afternoon at the time on the card.


My local office insist you wait 24 hours from the time on the card.


--
Graeme Wall
This account not read, substitute trains for rail.
Railway Miscellany at http://www.greywall.demon.co.uk/rail