Royal Mail

[maggiebee]

Surprise, surprise.  I received a birthday card this morning.  It was posted on the 4th of December for my birthday on the 7th. Seven days to travel less than 100 miles - is that a record or par for the course these days?  

[Barmaid]

It's very hit and miss these days isn't it?  Although I posted 5 similar small parcels on Friday afternoon, second class.  One was delivered on Monday and one yesterday.  I don't know about the others yet since I did not "track" them.  But I was quite impressed with such quick delivery second class.

[DDIL]

a letter was posted to us on thursday it has not yet arrived - sent 1st class apparently

[Smowball]

Yep same Barmaid. In fact a parcel I'd posted 2nd  class actually arrived before one I'd posted 1st class.

[windywillow]

I recently chatted to a PO counter clerk whose brother is a postman. She told me he'd told her not to send 1st class as 1st and 2nd class get treated the same.

Don't know if it's always the case but it makes you think. I sell on eBay and always post 2nd class. Items often arrive the next day.

 

[jourdain2]

No-one in our village appears to have had any post (apart from parcel deliveries) since the weekend.  Now that does make you think.

[gingejbee]

"to travel 100 miles"...it may not be the travelling that's the problem. Round here there just aren't enough post-persons to deliver and they actually ration deliveries (other than tracked letters and parcels) to two or three a week. We've taken to collect mail from the local delivery office.

[cashier]

My sister posted all her cards at the same time. Mine arrived 2nd December and my daughter's (four miles from me) arrived yesterday,

[gramps85]

In the early 1960's I was a postman in London where we had 4 deliveries a day, the last one in early evening. There were times when a letter was delivered on the same day as it was posted, all for an old 2d.  How things have changed.  However in defence of recent happenings, there has been serious disruption to transport links throughout the country which could explain some of these delays.

[davebro3]

Just got a "missed appointment" letter from the hospital. For sure I never got an original appointment letter or any reminder call/text.

Dunno if it's the RM to blame or the NHS trying it on. I suspect the latter TBH as I've never had issues with post going astray .

[Canary42]

Par for the course with privatised public services - profits before people.

[Khandro]

And yet Amazon seem to get everything to work spot-on - even something yesterday was a day earlier than predicted. 

A belated Happy Birthday anyway, maggie ☺

[jourdain2]

Yes, belated happy b., maggiebee (in case I missed it).

Just to say that I am feeling more sympathetic to our local postal service since meeting our regular postman at about 3.30. 

He's had a week off with this horrible chesty infection that we and everyone seems to have and he says that there are 10 staff off with the same thing, which he reckons is unprecedented.  He and the remaining workers are fixated on getting it all done by 24th Dec. and working as hard as they can. 

I believe him, he's been our postie for 10 years.