NEVER EVER sign for and post a special through a letter box even if someone begs you though a "ring door bell" . Personally i dont sign for anything for anyone as its your job at risk if anything goes wrong
On my rounds, we have many a written request from customers to post/ leave signed for items and sign on their behalf. They sit in the frame or with the redirects. If a customer is keen on this, there are channels to go down.
On another note, everyone here is so good. Yet only one person I work with will not cross the signed for line. I've even been told to go back and post something I left a slip for.
This cant be official policy and would I eff be doing it
Royal Mail's customer is who has paid Royal Mail to get the signature and proof of delivery - not the recipient of the mail/parcel so it matters not a jot whats been requested
If you tolerate this, then your paid break will be next
Do we carry parcels/ small packets on behalf of the sender or for the benefit of the recipient? The sender.
If an aunt or uncle has but £50 in a birthday card and sent it to their niece or nephew and paid for a Special Delivery I would love to get that item to the birthday girl/boy for 13:00 on the day. However, it's my job to hand it to someone in the house that the card is addresses to. Just because I see the recipient in the street around the corner doesn't mean I should scan it there and hand it over (I can stop and tell them I've got it and work out when it's best to deliver it before 1 pm - that's being nice).
Hence we should be scanning things as close to the address as possible (ideally at the door or somewhere on the property) and we should not be signing things just for the convenience of (a) the recipient nor (b) ourselves so we can just whizz past the house to the next one. In the scenario above our responsibility is to the aunt/uncle - it's still their birthday card and cash until I deliver it.
If we don't take these responsibilities seriously on a daily basis trust in the service will deteriorate. If the whole honour and ethics argument is lost on you try the "to cover your own a$$" approach.
Never sign for anything especially if it’s a request over the dystopian nightmare that is a ring doorbell. The general public are bellends, don’t trust them. Couple months back I had some posh twat begging me over a ring doorbell to sign and post a special, started abusing me for not providing good customer service. Gave him a nice polite sarcastic wave and smile after I posted red card through his door.
With the delivery changes I feel I'm being pushed to deliver 1st time & find/ invent a 'safe place' - i can do that, "under cover & out of sight" has always been the mantra but now are we expected to do Amazon style? Blatent door stepping lol? I can do that. My problem with 'leave with neighour' is that a significant amount of time neighbours dont get on, I have several calls where they have a sign by their front door "DO NOT LEAVE WITH NEIGHBOUR". My biggest problem is with getting Signatures - Special Deliveries Tracked, Signed For - is anyone prepared say how they deal with these? Eg if I speak to the customer on their Ring bell & we agree I'll squiggle in the box & post it thru the box thats not a bad thing right? What about less than that. My van share buddy has a very relaxed stance about this but I don't , I do want to leave RM but I want to avoid being fired for this lol. Writing "DNS" -- am I semi-ok doing that, what protection does that give/ when should you only use it?
By engaging in these actions, not only would you breaking RM protocols, you would also be jeopardising your employment as your bosses generally wouldn't think twice about throwing you under a bus; they're being actively encouraged to do so particularly if you have the status of a LTFT employee.
I don't utilise camera doorbells full stop; if there's no answer from a sharp knock on the door then it's a P739. If you cut corners, they will use the tracking data against you whether in the form of adding more delivery points to your schedule or hang you out to dry when the inevitable disgruntled customer makes a complaint against you. Also please consider that RM management are seeking to cull operational hours at your CSP, if you are taking away processing work on these duties by doorstepping then you are actively compromising the employment security of your fellow colleagues. Play everything 'by the book'; do your time and cut off if you can't fulfil your walk.
You do the work, they get the loot. The men with the smiles and the 3 piece suits.
On the point of camera doorbells - I have no problem with them. They have actually helped me and I like them - I'm not afraid that I'm opening a can of worms by pressing the button.
Just last week I lugged a box up a steep sloping drive and then to the top of steep steps and knocked and rang the Ring doorbell. 10 seconds later the guy came on "I'm coming up behind you. You can leave it there". I thought I heard the voice from the doorbell and an echo way off behind me so I turned around (the steep drive and steps allowed me to look down the road) and saw a guy with a child in a pushchair waving at me with his phone in his hand. Without pressing the Ring bell I would have carded the parcel and be on my way to the van with the thing just as the guy arrived and asking me to bring it back up to the door.
Another time the person was at the top of the garden in the back and got the alert that I was at the door because of their phone - quicker to get rid of the parcel than card and then auto re-deliver the next day. Yet another time a lady over the doorbell said she will be there in a minute and just leave it (I didn't hear a flush upstairs but I heard the water rushing down the soil pipe on the side of the house) - no problem, no rush. Happy customers; happy postie!
Yes, there are a few times when I have a signed for or SD and even if not the audio is breaking up - I just say clearly I cannot leave it. I card the parcel and write "sorry, signature required" or "I couldn't hear you on the camera" etc. and leave. I'd press the button every time now re-delivery is a thing.
With the delivery changes I feel I'm being pushed to deliver 1st time & find/ invent a 'safe place' - i can do that, "under cover & out of sight" has always been the mantra but now are we expected to do Amazon style? Blatent door stepping lol? I can do that. My problem with 'leave with neighour' is that a significant amount of time neighbours dont get on, I have several calls where they have a sign by their front door "DO NOT LEAVE WITH NEIGHBOUR". My biggest problem is with getting Signatures - Special Deliveries Tracked, Signed For - is anyone prepared say how they deal with these? Eg if I speak to the customer on their Ring bell & we agree I'll squiggle in the box & post it thru the box thats not a bad thing right? What about less than that. My van share buddy has a very relaxed stance about this but I don't , I do want to leave RM but I want to avoid being fired for this lol. Writing "DNS" -- am I semi-ok doing that, what protection does that give/ when should you only use it?
By engaging in these actions, not only would you breaking RM protocols, you would also be jeopardising your employment as your bosses generally wouldn't think twice about throwing you under a bus; they're being actively encouraged to do so particularly if you have the status of a LTFT employee.
Why would they want rid of the LTFT employees over the FT employees?
If you tolerate this, then your paid break will be next
The problem with specials is people will use them instead of tracked 24 because they can’t buy that from the post office. They might just want a guaranteed scan & post next day jobbie instead they get all the faff that comes with a SD.
I card everything,always take about 10 parcels back and it wastes at least 20 to 30 mins and put it all in a trolley the next day and leave 2 bags,less walking and they make the rules of signature and out of sight undercover,if your ever questioned just invite them out on delivery to counsel you,they never will because they know if you do it by the book you'll be leaving 4 bags,they hate me but i dont care.
The problem with specials is people will use them instead of tracked 24 because they can’t buy that from the post office. They might just want a guaranteed scan & post next day jobbie instead they get all the faff that comes with a SD.
If RM were to ever offer Tracked via post offices in addition to the RM website, I reckon the number of SDs going through the system would plummet like a stone. I suspect that many who use SDs aren't worried so much about the compensation, more just for being able to track where their item is throughout the system
