Royal Mail Vans - Why So Abused?
Discussion
I drive past a Royal Mail depot on the way to work each morning so often see loads of Royal Mail vans coming and going, all of them totally trashed! Even the newish vans have mirrors knocked off, scrapes down the side, bumpers hanging off.
Now I know they are tools to do a job, 'just vans' and I imagine seen as commodities to get the job done, but how on earth do they get, and Royal Mail let them get in such as state? If I ran a company with tens of thousands of vehicles, and the profit of that company decided whether I still had a job in the morning, wouldn't you want to look after your assets so you got the best return come the time to offload them?
Out pool cars at work do 30-40k each year and the company have a strict "you pay for the first £100 of damage" rule - so guess what, none of the cars have dents, scratches or ripped seats. Wouldn't Royal Mail want to ensure they're fleet always looked presentable to the public like UPS do, and wouldn't it make good business sense?
Now I know they are tools to do a job, 'just vans' and I imagine seen as commodities to get the job done, but how on earth do they get, and Royal Mail let them get in such as state? If I ran a company with tens of thousands of vehicles, and the profit of that company decided whether I still had a job in the morning, wouldn't you want to look after your assets so you got the best return come the time to offload them?
Out pool cars at work do 30-40k each year and the company have a strict "you pay for the first £100 of damage" rule - so guess what, none of the cars have dents, scratches or ripped seats. Wouldn't Royal Mail want to ensure they're fleet always looked presentable to the public like UPS do, and wouldn't it make good business sense?
I've often wondered this - the ones I see in south east london are, almost without exception, utterly ruined on both sides. We're not talking a few scrapes and dents either, but serious damage. None of the other courier companies seem to have vans in such a state, and surely they all get roughly the same treatment?
Exactly, I wouldn't want my company logo down the side of a total wreck, not really good for your image. There has got to be a fleet manager job that would pay for itself ten fold out there somewhere in Royal Mail. Imagine if you managed £500 extra per van come resale just by looking after your fleet. That's got to be worth it!
chris1roll said:
They drive like nutters on the country lanes.
They really do.My parents live well out in the countryside and the state the Royal Mail vans are in is incredible.
They come down the long narrow lane to my parents house flat out, then instead of just doing a 3 point turn to go back like anyone else, the Postie 'saves time' by driving absolutely on the limiter in reverse all the way back down the lane practically bouncing off the hedges on the way.
It's quite a sight to behold.
chris1roll said:
They drive like nutters on the country lanes.
I live down a stone track. You need to pick your route to avoid taking the exhaust or sump off, just first gear rolling speed.
The postie comes down at about 30mph.
In this corner of the sticks, the postie's round is absolutely sodding huge. If he pootled everywhere, he'd never get it done in the day. I really must ask him how many miles he actually drives each day - I'd guess somewhere around 150 to 200 (it's a 40 mile round trip just from the PO to here), mostly on single-track lanes, and that's before all the foot-delivering.I live down a stone track. You need to pick your route to avoid taking the exhaust or sump off, just first gear rolling speed.
The postie comes down at about 30mph.
Cant speak for royal mail, but the euro car parts vans i've has the misfortune of driving had been driven by loads of people - this resulted in them being in a state, simply because of the increased probability of being driven by an idiot - also there is the sheer number of miles these vans do in towns and cities - that must contribute.
That and the company ran on a minimum cost basis - if it still works, don't fix it. Servicing was just as bad - talking once every 30k miles.
That and the company ran on a minimum cost basis - if it still works, don't fix it. Servicing was just as bad - talking once every 30k miles.
Djw John said:
s m said:
Slower than than the 7.5 tonners I see on the M8It doesn't matter if you were doing 140 on the Motorway, there would be a Sprinter parcel van behind you flashing its lights and trying to get past...
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