Post Office question

Post Office question

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MartG

Original Poster:

20,626 posts

203 months

Thursday 23rd October 2014
quotequote all
When dropping off some parcels with pre-paid ( via ebay ) postage at my local post office this morning the guy serving me spent the entire time whingeing at me for pre-paying - "we don't get paid for these", "taking time from paying customers" ( I was the only customer there ), "costs us money taking these" and other comments along those lines.

Any post office staff out there - Is it true that you don't get any money for accepting items with pre-paid postage ? In today's environment where post offices are often being closed I'd have thought that anything that shows your branch is busy and therefore should be kept open would be welcomed ?

I hasten to add that it was just this one person complaining - this is the first time I've been served by him, and all the other staff are friendly and helpful.

gretsch drummer

622 posts

156 months

Thursday 23rd October 2014
quotequote all
Being a RM collection driver I'm pretty sure they don't get a bean when accepting your PPI mail. They only take a cut from the amount they process through their counter sales.

(P.s Keep me in a job and pay for a private collection instead....)

soad

32,829 posts

175 months

Thursday 23rd October 2014
quotequote all
I heard that sub post offices only get paid on what they sell?
Not an excuse really for poor customer service though. Or comments like "you're responsible for killing post offices".
Royal Mail allows you to print off postage online, and get proof of posting at the Post Office.

LordGrover

33,532 posts

211 months

Thursday 23rd October 2014
quotequote all
That'll be progress for you. wink
Royal Mail <> ParcelForce <> Post Office Counters, etc.

steveo3002

10,494 posts

173 months

Thursday 23rd October 2014
quotequote all
alot of the staff dont really help themselves

go in there for a basic "1st class stamp on this please" then get quizzed do i want special delivery , whats it worth , whats inside, will it pass through this slot and all that vs press a button and print your own

MysteryLemon

4,968 posts

190 months

Thursday 23rd October 2014
quotequote all
steveo3002 said:
alot of the staff dont really help themselves

go in there for a basic "1st class stamp on this please" then get quizzed do i want special delivery , whats it worth , whats inside, will it pass through this slot and all that vs press a button and print your own
That's called upselling and they'll likely get a bking if they don't do it or make certain percentages on certain products. That's retail and selling for you. The website does it too, difference being you don't notice because it's just an option rather than actually having to actually tell someone no thanks.

mattdaniels

7,353 posts

281 months

Thursday 23rd October 2014
quotequote all
The point my village shopkeeper made, was that if I'm bringing it to the shop anyway (as opposed to having a collection) and he's got to weigh it anyway (to check that the postage I've stuck on is correct) then he might as well sell me the postage too.

TBH in this case I can see his point, as he probably needs every little bit of income to keep the shop and sub post office viable.

bingybongy

3,858 posts

145 months

Thursday 23rd October 2014
quotequote all
I hate local PO's.
No I'm not interested in your fking insurance, internet access etc.. Just sell me the fking stamp I came in for.

mattdaniels

7,353 posts

281 months

Thursday 23rd October 2014
quotequote all
bingybongy said:
I hate local PO's.
No I'm not interested in your fking insurance, internet access etc.. Just sell me the fking stamp I came in for.
You really should come off the fence a little and have an opinion about stuff.smile

bingybongy

3,858 posts

145 months

Thursday 23rd October 2014
quotequote all
mattdaniels said:
bingybongy said:
I hate local PO's.
No I'm not interested in your fking insurance, internet access etc.. Just sell me the fking stamp I came in for.
You really should come off the fence a little and have an opinion about stuff.smile
I'll try.

How about Jodie Foster in Elysium looks lovely.

LordGrover

33,532 posts

211 months

Friday 24th October 2014
quotequote all
Jodie Foster - swoon. I know she bats for the other side and all that, but I've always had a thing for her.

soad

32,829 posts

175 months

Friday 24th October 2014
quotequote all
LordGrover said:
Jodie Foster - swoon. I know she bats for the other side and all that, but I've always had a thing for her.
She's in her (early) 50's! Have some standards, chap. wink

LordGrover

33,532 posts

211 months

Friday 24th October 2014
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Precisely, she's a couple of months younger than me. hehe

jas xjr

11,309 posts

238 months

Friday 24th October 2014
quotequote all
when we sold on amazon , we were going to the local sub post office with hundreds of parcels per day . some of the miserable workers used to visibly slow down their rate of work so that they did not have to
serve us . or they might conveniently go on a toilet break . we soon found a really good deal with a courier who collected all our parcels , large and small . we might have continued to use the local post office if the service had been better . not all the staff were like that but it was off putting to be treated like that.

The Don of Croy

5,977 posts

158 months

Friday 24th October 2014
quotequote all
mattdaniels said:
The point my village shopkeeper made, was that if I'm bringing it to the shop anyway (as opposed to having a collection) and he's got to weigh it anyway (to check that the postage I've stuck on is correct) then he might as well sell me the postage too.

TBH in this case I can see his point, as he probably needs every little bit of income to keep the shop and sub post office viable.
Modern retailing should allow for him to stock other products/services you might be interested in...

I'd always thought a village post office would be a good place to offer package keeping for customers not at home to accept the myriad of courier deliveries, being a secure environment and open when peeps are coming home/going to work.

soad

32,829 posts

175 months

Friday 24th October 2014
quotequote all
LordGrover said:
Precisely, she's a couple of months younger than me. hehe
She's old enough to be my Mother. wink


LordGrover

33,532 posts

211 months

Friday 24th October 2014
quotequote all
Yes, m'boy.

ninja-lewis

4,226 posts

189 months

Friday 24th October 2014
quotequote all
The Don of Croy said:
mattdaniels said:
The point my village shopkeeper made, was that if I'm bringing it to the shop anyway (as opposed to having a collection) and he's got to weigh it anyway (to check that the postage I've stuck on is correct) then he might as well sell me the postage too.

TBH in this case I can see his point, as he probably needs every little bit of income to keep the shop and sub post office viable.
Modern retailing should allow for him to stock other products/services you might be interested in...

I'd always thought a village post office would be a good place to offer package keeping for customers not at home to accept the myriad of courier deliveries, being a secure environment and open when peeps are coming home/going to work.
Royal Mail and Parcelforce already offer a collect from local post office service for 75p. The main issue is that most sub post offices are tiny and have nowhere near sufficient space to accept a reasonable number of parcels at once - especially in December when postbags are crammed into every available space.

soad

32,829 posts

175 months

Friday 24th October 2014
quotequote all
ninja-lewis said:
Royal Mail and Parcelforce already offer a collect from local post office service for 75p. The main issue is that most sub post offices are tiny and have nowhere near sufficient space to accept a reasonable number of parcels at once - especially in December when postbags are crammed into every available space.
Yes, one local to me only has two counters! There's usually at least 12 people queuing...with half of them outside the shop.

egor110

16,818 posts

202 months

Friday 24th October 2014
quotequote all
MysteryLemon said:
steveo3002 said:
alot of the staff dont really help themselves

go in there for a basic "1st class stamp on this please" then get quizzed do i want special delivery , whats it worth , whats inside, will it pass through this slot and all that vs press a button and print your own
That's called upselling and they'll likely get a bking if they don't do it or make certain percentages on certain products. That's retail and selling for you. The website does it too, difference being you don't notice because it's just an option rather than actually having to actually tell someone no thanks.
Rubbish.

What's it worth , some things should be sent special delivery purely for the insurance.

Will it fit thru the slot ,you may think a 1st class stamp is sufficient but if its too big it will be surcharged and delayed, plus the other end will have to pay for it.