Another Royal Mail classic

[rik_uk3]

I try and avoid using RM but had to today. Took the parcel to the post office and the woman asked my what was in it.

"Why do you want to know"

"If its prohibited we may not be able to fly it"

"Your flying it from South Wales to Kent"

"More than likely, happens all the time now"

"So goodbye Postman Pat and hello Pilot Pat"

"We have a zero tolerance policy against verbal abuse sir"

"Sorry...Its a 6" long vibrating massager that runs on two 'C' type batteries but they are not included, its for a friend who suffers a lot with wrist problems"

£3 please sir.

RM is now beyond a joke.

 

[Kepis]

RM is now beyond a joke.

That they are Richard, i hate going to our local Post Office and like you only do so if i have absolutely no other choice, i use Collect+ all the time now, far less hassle and a superb service too

 

[tiger stacker]

Local staff are friendly and polite, enough parcels to sister in Oz, ensure parents and myself are always recognised.
I do miss the night train service replaced by lorries to be replaced by airfreight

 

[ozzy1977]

Never have any problems with our local post office, others near by are shocking and if a proper business had customer service like that they would go out of business soon.

 

[Midnitehound]

I try and avoid using RM but had to today. Took the parcel to the post office and the woman asked my what was in it.

"Why do you want to know"

"If its prohibited we may not be able to fly it"

"Your flying it from South Wales to Kent"

"More than likely, happens all the time now"

"So goodbye Postman Pat and hello Pilot Pat"

"We have a zero tolerance policy against verbal abuse sir"

"Sorry...Its a 6" long vibrating massager that runs on two 'C' type batteries but they are not included, its for a friend who suffers a lot with wrist problems"

£3 please sir.

RM is now beyond a joke.

Only 6"? You could have posted a Rabbit for that price!

I'm just on my way out to the post office with a load of parcels. They know better than to ask me what is in my parcels now, I have kicked off too many times, they ask other customers but not me. I have yet to use the "It is a book on the East German Stazi" line, saving that for a particularly obnoxious teller! We seem to get on just fine now that they are minding their own business, smiles and friendly, that's more like it.

Update: Yep, they were as nice as pie, no questions, no problem, didn't even measure the standard small parcel boxes I use, they are learning. My grandfather used to just write N/A across sections on forms that asked stuff that was nobody else's business. We have lost the art of saying NO!

 

[craeg]

There is one nosey parker bitch that works in the sub-post office in our local shop. She asked me what was in the envelope when I sent an axe case in a 6"x8" envelope. I said it wasn't flying anywhere so it made no difference and she didn't need to know! She said she had to know or wouldn't send it. So I told her it was a small thermonuclear device! She asked did it contain any fuel or chemicals!!! I kid you not, thick as mince.

I did complain to the manager about her as she has no manners or customer service. She has since been nice as pie with me.
Apparently, I wasn't the only person to complain about her. Other than her, the staff in the shop are helpful and really nice and never ask what is in the envelope.
Regardless of her, I like to support our local shops and RM too, where I can but find myself using collect+ more for bigger parcels.

ATB
Craeg

 

[Qwerty]

I had a real ding dong with the Irish postal service before Christmas. I was sending a box of stuff abroad. He asked me if there were any liquids, I told him a small bottle of lotion as part of a gift set.

"It's going by commercial plane, no liquids allowed"

That's ok, says I, it's only 100ml, so allowed on flights.

"Take it out or they may incinerate the entire box"

So I had to open the sealed box, take out the gift and reseal everything. Then send on my apologies as one family member wouldn't get a Christmas present this side of 2013.

Not a happy camper

 

[Toddy]

I sew, everyone knows I sew , and I bought quilting cottons from an ebay seller 13/11/13. I have bought from the lady before and she is always very prompt....but no parcel, and mind this is before the Christmas snarl up. Contacted her, waited, contacted her again, and she organised a full refund, even though she had proof of postage from the post office, etc.,

The packet arrived today..........the printed post office stamp on it says 16/11/13.
I'm pleased to finally get the fabrics, but now I need to suss out how to pay her without either of us ending up paying more paypal fees.
I'm incredibly grateful that I didn't leave her any feedback rather than leave half hearted ones that would have screwed up the star point thingies.

How the hang can they mislay a parcel for nearly seven weeks when it's only going from Manchester to nearby Glasgow ?

Not best pleased with the Post Office just now

M

 

[wingstoo]

I had a real ding dong with the Irish postal service before Christmas. I was sending a box of stuff abroad. He asked me if there were any liquids, I told him a small bottle of lotion as part of a gift set.

"It's going by commercial plane, no liquids allowed"

That's ok, says I, it's only 100ml, so allowed on flights.

"Take it out or they may incinerate the entire box"

So I had to open the sealed box, take out the gift and reseal everything. Then send on my apologies as one family member wouldn't get a Christmas present this side of 2013.

Not a happy camper

And there was me thinking you can only "Take" 100ml containers (however many you want) in your hand luggage, pretty much an fluid amount in the hold luggage?

Airport security regulations state that you’re only allowed to carry small amounts of liquids in your hand baggage.
[h=3]How much you can take[/h] Liquids make up part of your 1-bag hand luggage allowance. You’ll need to pack them in containers of no more than 100ml – 3.5 fluid Oz and carry them in a clear, resealable plastic bag up to a maximum size of 20cm x 20cm – 8 inches x 8 inches, or that can hold up to 1 litre.

Any liquids in containers bigger than this need to be packed in your checked-in luggage.

[h=3]How to pack your liquids[/h]Make sure the containers fit comfortably in the bag and that the bag is completely closed. You’ll need to ensure the containers are easily visible, too.

You’ll need to provide the plastic bag yourself. Each person travelling – including infants – can carry 1 plastic bag for liquids.

Also

https://www.gov.uk/hand-luggage-restrictions/overview

Maybe it is different in Eire?

 

[onfire]

The RM seem to have things wrapped up at both ends though, so at least they are consistent! We had a Red Card saying we had a parcel waiting for us at the Main Post Office so my wife went to get it. She had to wait 20 minutes in the queue (a big deal as she is pregnant) and when she got to the front they wouldn't give her the parcel as she didn't have the Red Card with her. She 'phoned me, I left work early, picked up the Card and went to the PO.

After queuing I got to the front and said 'there is a parcel waiting for me here, name and address'. The chap asked for my Red Card so I made a bit of a scene and bet him that, whether I had Red Card or not, there was a parcel with my name on it waiting to be collected. He refused to look as I didn't have a card, despite me asking him why I would bother to turn up and queue if there was nothing waiting for me. I gave in and gave him the Red Card and he got my parcel ... he did not verify my identity or check that the name on the card matched what I had asked for. I was livid and saw the manager who turned out to be polite but ignorant to the point of stupid.

He did not understand, and I cannot believe that they would not give the parcel with our name on it to my wife or myself when we knew it was there and were happy to prove our identity with foto-ID yet they gave my parcel to someone who happened to have the Red Card ... perhaps I had found it on the floor, or sticking out of a letter box ... with no thought to verifying who were really were.

The RM are rubbish -- but are still better than My Hermes -- so we seem stuck with them lol

 

[Nalsheen]

One of my uncles used to be a Royal Mail manager, so I asked him about this.
He reckons that the only time anyone is allowed to ask about what you are posting is if you are using the Priority Service; something which is pretty much only used for large amounts of cash/valuables.
Im not sure if the staff in the local post office know this though

 

[Coldfeet]

I used to like the RM, and used them regularly, generally with a good level of service. However, now they are a privately owned company, then can (removed) unless I absolutely have to use them.

 

[Midnitehound]

One of my uncles used to be a Royal Mail manager, so I asked him about this.
He reckons that the only time anyone is allowed to ask about what you are posting is if you are using the Priority Service; something which is pretty much only used for large amounts of cash/valuables.
Im not sure if the staff in the local post office know this though

I suspect there has been a recent high up policy change, it is one they need to reverse. It is time the overly patient tolerant Brits start to say NO to the collectivist totalitarian tiptoe that is chipping away at the traditions of freedom and privacy our forefathers gifted to us. Why is it that we fail to learn from History? It may only seem a small thing but it is a symptom of a rotting disease, my Grandfather would have been calling for the Manager to be fired but then there were far fewer people in his day that had an ignorant slave like mentality. Oh you've got me started now.

 

[Mesquite]

I had to send out a parcel before Christmas and when I was asked I told them truthfully it was full of twigs. She refused to believe me and asked me twice including why am I sending that so I said I'd told her what the parcel contained and I didn't have to explain any further as to why I was sending it

She only took the parcel when her more senior colleague sided with me.

I sew, everyone knows I sew , and I bought quilting cottons from an ebay seller 13/11/13. I have bought from the lady before and she is always very prompt....but no parcel, and mind this is before the Christmas snarl up. Contacted her, waited, contacted her again, and she organised a full refund, even though she had proof of postage from the post office, etc.,

The packet arrived today..........the printed post office stamp on it says 16/11/13.
I'm pleased to finally get the fabrics, but now I need to suss out how to pay her without either of us ending up paying more paypal fees.
I'm incredibly grateful that I didn't leave her any feedback rather than leave half hearted ones that would have screwed up the star point thingies.

How the hang can they mislay a parcel for nearly seven weeks when it's only going from Manchester to nearby Glasgow ?

Not best pleased with the Post Office just now

M

Mary, if you paid by Paypal and the seller gave you a full refund then as far as I know her Paypal fees were refunded as well.

Obviously check with her and if they have been refunded then do a personal payment for item bought and she'll only pay the original fees she had with the initial purchase.

 

[Wetneck]

I had to use Royal Mail before Christmas, there were big signs all over the place saying that it was now policy that anything sent as a packet/parcel or anything bigger than a letter had to have its contents declared.

I use Parcel2go now, normally get UPS or TNT to pick anything up for £4 or there abouts. By the time I've factored in the petrol, parking costs and my time and effort it's far cheaper to pay £4 and get it picked up from the house.
Out of the hundreds of things I've sent I only had one problem and that was with Hermes, thankfully the insurance was very good and everyone got a refund and new items re-sent within a week.
Any interaction with the post office's these days is avoided at all costs.

 

[slowworm]

I suspect there's lots of RM employees moaning about all the rude customers they have to put up with.

I don't think you can blame any one specific person, you get bad staff everywhere, some of the restrictions don't seem to be well thought out and I doubt RM have much say on some of the restrictions either as there's a legal ban or their insurance will not cover them etc, etc.

I've not had a problem at our local PO, they do seem to be a happy and helpful bunch. They just asked if the item was on the prohibited list, pointed out a chart on the side of the till, and happily accepted my explanation.

It is useful to look at the prohibited list first if you're unsure, then you can come up with simple answer: http://www.royalmail.com/personal/help-and-support/Tell-me-about-Prohibited-Goods

And if you don't agree with something on the list, write to the RM or lobby an appropriate organisation to do it for you.

 

[John Fenna]

I had to send out a parcel before Christmas and when I was asked I told them truthfully it was full of twigs. .

You really get into the spirit of Xmas, don't you ...

 

[Mesquite]

You really get into the spirit of Xmas, don't you ...

There was a very valid reason for sending them

 

[John Fenna]

There was a very valid reason for sending them

Along with sacks of ashes, small bags of coal and coke, bitter aloes etc etc ... ?

 

[Mesquite]

Along with sacks of ashes, small bags of coal and coke, bitter aloes etc etc ... ?

Nah... I don't send those sorts of things to prank people, not unless you can get pink coal