The grumpy thread

[outlaw118]

Having just experienced the DHL experience, I can confirm that they are a shower of shit.

Office sends work to my home address, normally by Royal Snail. Sent Tuesday, 50/50 there Wednesday, normally Thuirsday.

Due to OMGSNOWCHAOS, they decided that DHL Overnight 24 hours business pants-down was they way to go. Work dispatched from Huntingdon lunchtime Wednesday 1st December. Feeble attempt to deliver 6th December, no card left, no second attempt. After some to-ing and fro-ing, it's in the depot in Basildon. Got there 9.25am this morning, left there 10.05. Took nigh on 10 minutes for some fucker to come to reception, then another 30 to find the package. Completely unapologetic about the lack of card, and when challenged about the length of waiting time, he said "What do you expect, it's Christmas".

I hope you choke on a mince pie.

[Akron]

As a postman working for Royal Mail, most areas were stopped delivery last week due to health and safety. Including mail centres etc. So processing and sorting is behind along with delivery. 2 week delay does not suprise TBH I have been waiting as long for parcels still no sign yet.

Privatisation is going to screw all mail delivery in this country, they want to work on the Holland model of you have to collect all your parcels and everything over small letter size from the local delivery office and you get your letters one day a week sounds great to me .

Royal Mail is screwed too few staff, not enough recruitment who wants to walk 10 miles carrying 160kgs of mail delivering up to 1100 addresses in 3.5 hours five days a week, deliver up to 10 items of junk mail, and then have to absorb another 50 to 100 houses from a different delivery due to lack of staffing for £186 a week.

Oh yes and my Christmas bonus this year is £43 great isn't it oh and I get a Christmas card and 50 1st class stamps too.

With regards to the rubber bands it fucking pisses me off too, but the quality is so poor they break and go flying off everywhere but I pick them up if I see them on the path.

[Claypole]

I don't mind waiting for stuff but at the minute it's a nightmare as I need to send the stuff I'm waiting for abroad in time for Christmas.

 

I've had a Christmas card last week. Then today a mould posted 1st class on the 10th which is fine, a letter from N Power refunding me £30 as part of some over charging scam they were running

a while back then a threatening letter over the TV licence, I pay or more likely don't pay, weekly so that was the £30 gone 5 minutes after getting it from the PO.

 

DHL didn't come on Friday as booked so I posted it then ad an email saying they'd rebooked it for tomorrow... cheers. - I tried to book it for last Tuesday but the system said the 1st date available was Friday... piss poor.

[Mr Lobster]

Hirst is bang on the money on this post thing. For what it costs the postal service we have is usually terrific.

 

so you guys think waiting 2 weeks for a 1st class item is o.k then??? Everyone thinks it's fine until they don't get something they are waiting for.

No, its not ok at all but thats a fairly rare occurance and its the same situation with couriers.

 

how on earth they aren't making money when they want £22 for special delivery on a 4.2kg package is beyond me though.

 

Thats still a lot cheaper than using DHL etc. Price up an item that size / weight / value for next day delivery with them, it'll be a lot more.

 

As I say, the postal service we have is pretty damn good all things considered. If it does end up privatised then we will end up with one post office in each town (or probably out of town industrial estate), fewer deliveries and greater cost.

[Akron]

When the postal services were opened up to competition any one could get a licence to collect and deliver mail, however Royal Mail are the only company that can deliver the final mile to your front door. So Royal Mail are in the position that they have to sort and deliver their own and everybody elses mail, this is called Down Stream Access (DSA). An example of how this screws Royal Mail is this - Sky asks for companys to bid for the contract to deliver their magazines RM comes in at 18p ,TNT 9p DHL 8p. Sky goes with the cheapest obviously. Why do RM charge 18p though, because they have the responsibility to sort and deliver it TNT and DHL just collect it from the printers and deliver to the nearest Royal Mail sorting office. RM end up losing money around 2.5p for every DSA item.

The Royal Mail, Post Office and Parcel Force are three different companies no longer linked in anyway Parcel Force and Post Office are most at Risk the Royal Mail could never turn a profit except if 1st class stamps were put up to £1.50 and you got rid of all rural deliveries.

£22 for a 4.2kg item special delivery guaranteed before 1pm next day or your money back with an insured value of up to £500 seems pretty good value to me.

[Richard]

An example of how useful the PO/PF/RM service is was last year when Leonard Hatred needed a starter motor in a hurry and couldn't get one locally. I parcelled one up and took it out with me in my van. I was working near Strathaven, a town at the arse end of nowhere. Despite never having been there before it was easy to find the Post Office and the starter was on Leonard's car within 24 hours.

 

There is no way I could have found a courier depot in a strange town- if there was such a thing, and even if I could have they would have charged extra to deliver to Hatred Towers.

 

In my opinion the postal service is there to facilitate business, not to be a business.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

I think we can be fairly certain the PO will end up being bummed over by privatisation and we will all end up with a much shittier and far more expensive service, though the politicians who get involved in it at the time will all give themselves a good old pat on the back.

 

Its the UK doing what it does best - completely losing sight of the fuggin target and managing itself into oblivion on the basis of some specious 'Key performance indicators' or some such bollox which are fundamentally different from,or only a partial representation of, a reasonable customer service.

[retrogeezer]

Thats still a lot cheaper than using DHL etc. Price up an item that size / weight / value for next day delivery with them, it'll be a lot more.

 

£8.99 plus vat here:

 

http://www.parcel2go.com/

[autofive]

or look here for heavier parcels

 

http://www.interparcel.com/

[Pillock]

I can get an object from one end of the country to the other, in a few hours, for the price of a mars bar.

 

Go on, argue that's shit value!

[Richard]

The Royal Mail/Parcelforce/Post Office provide a service that simply wouldn't happen if it was left to the private sector.

[M'coli]

Air travel is one thing, post is another - if the real cost of posting letters is charged, then there would be no post to areas outside of cities and no post between cities either - never mind post to rural areas.

 

Richard's got it right when he says that the Royal Mail should be there to facilitate business, not to be the business. Sometimes shear greed-driven capitalism doesn't work because the greed gets in the way of the business of making money and having enough people making enough money to buy your stuff that allows you to make the money.

[M'coli]

Have you not seen Dollywobbler's complaints about trying to get the internets at his new, rural, house? It's not happened very quickly because it's private companies that are dealing with it. Added to that, the private firms are resisting expanding the broadband system to rural areas because it would cost too much for little return (£250000 for a village in Linclonshire, for example). So they continue to offer faster and faster speeds in the cities, where there are lots of punters who really really need ultra fast broadband, and it keeps the shareholders happy to with nice dividends at the end of the year.

 

PS, Royal Mail delivers the post - I believe it's the other way around in the states, the Postal Service delivers the mail. Here it's definitely the post!

[Tayne]

.

[Cavcraft]

To the coach driver with kids on board on the A41 in Chester this morning: There's a fighting chance you'd have stopped at those traffic lights if you were a) looking and b ) not text messaging someone. Twat.

[Pete-M]

^^Pillie, as you can read above, from both pro- and con- POVs, it's because the RM is SUBSIDIZED by the rest of mailers, then it -itself- is in turn SUBSIDIZING the final down-stream deliveries by tightfisted private carriers.

 

SUBSIDISED Dear chap, this is Autoshite.... not the colonies

[cobblers]

I've not been paid since the 10th of october, because the company I work for has been messed around by clients from every angle. I'm due pay and commissions off a deal which is all signed off and everyone is happy, but the buyer is USELESS. We've sent them the same documents to review 3 times, and they keep "not receiving" them, I suspect to delay the deal enough to get the figures put on next years accounts.

 

I was told to expect to be paid early December, just I've just got the news that because of a number of other shenanigans, unless something miraculous happens I'm unlikely to see any money before 2011

 

When the next few bills come out this week I'll hit my overdraft limit. I'm livin' in da garage @ Mutha Cobblers'zz but she relies on me to pay the mortgage cos she's skint too. Bollocks.

[peter9000uk]

Ordered and paid for parts for new Saab shite last week.

 

Took this week off work to fit and drop sump to de sludge (9-5 thing if not run on fully synthetic

 

Still not arrived yet and snow forecast for Thurs/Fri when I have no doubt they will arrive

 

Poo!

[messerschmitt owner]

Norm

 

it isn't subsidised - it's a universal postal service - in that it has always cost more to send to the more remote parts of the kingdom and the idea is that everyone would pay the same regardless of where they stayed - our country developed the post as you, and the rest of the world knows it today, we invented the concept, the stamps, the ideas - it has worked for 170 years!

[cobblers]

I've not been paid since the 10th of october, because the company I work for has been messed around by clients from every angle. I'm due pay and commissions off a deal which is all signed off and everyone is happy, but the buyer is USELESS. We've sent them the same documents to review 3 times, and they keep "not receiving" them, I suspect to delay the deal enough to get the figures put on next years accounts.

 

I was told to expect to be paid early December, just I've just got the news that because of a number of other shenanigans, unless something miraculous happens I'm unlikely to see any money before 2011

 

When the next few bills come out this week I'll hit my overdraft limit. I'm livin' in da garage @ Mutha Cobblers'zz but she relies on me to pay the mortgage cos she's skint too. Bollocks.

 

Cobbie, I'd go see the head man at your company, explain about the mortgage and mum, and see about an advance - an advance you deserve to get and which you worked hard for. Ultimately, a good boss has got to take care of his salesmen. You're working for him. If he didn't do a credit check on the worthiness of the client, it's not within your control. You shouldn't be aggreived for the company's failure to do its diligence. For this reason, MOST companies pay their sales force REGARDLESS if the customer ever pays, since if they approved the account for shipment of the goods or services, then that is the credit manager's failure not the sales force's failure. Have a meeting with your head boss. Put me on speaker phone if need be....

 

You're right Norm, if it was a "normal" arrangement I'd be kicking off in a big way, but the company I work for is a small company owned by my uncle, and he (and the rest of the employees) is struggling just as hard as I am - My uncle has defaulted on his mortgage this month and they have been dipping deep into reserves to pay me for a while, but cash has finally run out.

I'm really unsure whether to start looking for another job. Most people already would have.

[Richard]

Kris Marshall. Not dead yet.

[messerschmitt owner]

Norm

 

it isn't subsidised - it's a universal postal service - in that it has always cost more to send to the more remote parts of the kingdom and the idea is that everyone would pay the same regardless of where they stayed - our country developed the post as you, and the rest of the world knows it today, we invented the concept, the stamps, the ideas - it has worked for 170 years!

 

^^Yes, it is subsidization. The people who mail a note across the street for "x" guineas (for historical flavor) are a cash cow for the RM, and they "subsidize" the people who put on the same "x" guineas stamp to send a note to the Firth of Forth from London. Let's not play semantics. When you charge the same stamp for short as well as long-haul mail, then obviously - as the RM employee stated earlier in this thread - the short (usually denser, and more profitable) hauls PAY FOR (or subsidize) the long-haul "downstream" routes.

and that's the point - everyone pays the same, regardless of where it goes to! That's good! - and remember, our little country is smaller than some US states!

[MrDuke]

Its the UK doing what it does best - completely losing sight of the fuggin target and managing itself into oblivion on the basis of some specious 'Key performance indicators' or some such bollox which are fundamentally different from,or only a partial representation of, a reasonable customer service.

 

Case in point from another public service: Mr A has been referred to a hospital consultant with a mild hernia which becomes painful when he lifts heavy objects e.g. furniture, however he works in office admin and has adult children living nearby, so he is not overly concerned about having waited 4 or 5 months to see someone. Mrs B is in constant agony with a severe hernia, which leaves her doubled over in pain every time she sneezes or tries to lift a pile of bedding; she's on a cocktail of painkillers and hardly gets any sleep. Guess who's going to get the next available clinic slot? That's right, Mr A... because if he doesn't get seen before the end of the month, it's going to screw up the figure sheets showing the waiting list targets.

I'm not exaggerating, that is exactly what happens all the time. And every day I have to think of some bullshit excuse to tell patients & relatives who quite understandably phone up to complain about the lack of care they're receiving. I can't tell them the simple fact, that numbers are more important than patient care, can I?

I don't have a conclusive answer, but maybe if some current middle-management salaries went towards paying for more medical staff, that might be a good start? But hell, what do I know, I only work at the coal-face...

[Claypole]

Shite-est job ever?

 

"This Vacancy is being advertised on behalf of Right 4 Staff who is operating as an employment business. Experienced drivers mates required. Must have excellent telephone manner and be of a smart appearance. Duties to include loading and unloading lorries, meeting with customers, manual handling and any other related tasks that may be required. This is a. temporary post for 1 day but extra dates may be offered. This is a temporary vacancy for 1 day, Tuesday Dec 14th 2011. Need to be at office by 11am 14/12/2011 to register."

 

[Quintus]

City Link couriers

 

I ordered something earlier this month and received an e-mail on 3rd December confirming that it had been sent and should reach me within 24-48hrs. On Monday 13th I receive an e-mail from the seller asking me what I thought of my purchase and realise that I haven't actually received it yet (it's only had to travel about 15 miles or so).

 

I contacted the seller yesterday enquiring about said purchase and receive an electronic copy of the City Link receipt, which has been signed by someone with the surname Stokes. Thing is, the neighbours on either side of us aren't called Stokes, and the couple upstairs aren't called Stokes either.

 

Bit confused. Time to e-mail the seller again...

[CreepingJesus]

Shite-est job ever?

 

"This Vacancy is being advertised on behalf of Right 4 Staff who is operating as an employment business. Experienced drivers mates required. Must have excellent telephone manner and be of a smart appearance. Duties to include loading and unloading lorries, meeting with customers, manual handling and any other related tasks that may be required. This is a. temporary post for 1 day but extra dates may be offered. This is a temporary vacancy for 1 day, Tuesday Dec 14th 2011. Need to be at office by 11am 14/12/2011 to register."

 

 

All agencies have been doing this since forever. The 'carrot' job. It might have existed once, so they're not breaching JobCentre T's+C's by actually false advertising...but now they've got your details 'Tis effing annoying.

Besides, there's a few 'qualities' they missed out there.

[keef]

Shite-est job ever?

 

Did you ask about sick-pay?

[keef]

has been signed by someone with the surname Stokes.

 

You mis-heard them, they said Hoax!

[messerschmitt owner]

has been signed by someone with the surname Stokes.

 

You mis-heard them, they said Hoax!

was it something good?

[M'coli]

Re: Royal Mail/Parcel Force versus private companies. I've just taken delivery of a parcel from a private courier firm with yellow/green livery, and it's a good thing that everything was wrapped in sealed plastic bags - the van's de-icer burst open and the box is soaked in the stuff. I caught the driver trying to stuff it into the garden waste bin and leave a card... However, the company themselves really couldn't give a fuck, the contract is with the supplier of the goods and not the person who they deliver to.

 

I generally find that private courier firms' office staff are mostly arrogant, cocky, mouthy cunts who should have been drowned at birth, like the twat who told me that "I shouldn't buy things that need delivering if you're going to complain" when I asked for the item to be delivered rather than me go tot their depot and pick it up, on the outskirts of Leeds. At least with RM and PF the depot's in town.