Customer Collections

[norris9]

Customer Collections.

Since these came in I think 40% of the time I go to do one of these something goes 'wrong'.

-The customer isn't home.

-The customer tells me the collection was cancelled (usually Amazon returns).

-The customer doesn't have the correct number of parcels that correlate to what's on the PDA.

-The customer hasn't even packaged the item, or hasn't printed a label.

-The customer wants to give me more parcels that don't even have labels on them and aren't for me to collect, but for them to take to a post office. I think they called it 'drop off'.

-Once I got to a customers house and they were on hold to Royal Mail asking them when the collection would be as it was 'late'. Royal Mail give them a time slot, when us posties don't actually have a set time period to collect them - so this confuses the customer.


On a couple of occasions the customer has cost me about 5 minutes of time because they don't have the parcel(s) ready or get confused.

[Trumanity]

Customer Collections.

Since these came in I think 40% of the time I go to do one of these something goes 'wrong'.

-The customer isn't home.

-The customer tells me the collection was cancelled (usually Amazon returns).

-The customer doesn't have the correct number of parcels that correlate to what's on the PDA.

-The customer hasn't even packaged the item, or hasn't printed a label.

-The customer wants to give me more parcels that don't even have labels on them and aren't for me to collect, but for them to take to a post office. I think they called it 'drop off'.

-Once I got to a customers house and they were on hold to Royal Mail asking them when the collection would be as it was 'late'. Royal Mail give them a time slot, when us posties don't actually have a set time period to collect them - so this confuses the customer.


On a couple of occasions the customer has cost me about 5 minutes of time because they don't have the parcel(s) ready or get confused.

It's an utter shambles, made even worse in student areas with multiple occupants.

[Lewis123]

It has been fairly frequent for me to have the Customer Collection on the pda for to collect that day however the customer says its not available they actually booked for day later on in the week

[POP2022]

Don’t worry, I just have a chat with them now. It’s royal mails time, not yours the more the better

[deristrong]

Frequently find the packets in question wouldn't even fit in my empty trolley. Also online postage is quite confusing with customers not realising that if they buy tracked it doesn't have to be collected.

[Splappy_McSplap]

On the page that you book these collections RM need to put a few tips:

Since all the posties collecting from people like you are on increasingly short fuses, please do the following:

1) On the day of collection, don't be in your bed fast asleep at 11am.
2) Don't rely on your flatmate to come wake you up when the postie gets there.
3) Tape the ****ing packet up if you want it collected, the postie doesn't carry a utility belt with parcel tape, scissors etc. just for you.
4) Decide which one of the pile of 5+ unlabelled packages on your shop counter is the one you want collected so you don't have to "phone your boss" and keep the postie waiting 5 minutes and then after failing to contact them give up.
5) Don't mess your collection up and then ask the postie if he can "come back later".

Any questions? (insert Simpon Thompson's home phone number)

[sindba]

It always goes wrong, but doesn't cause much hassle.

The biggest hassle is the bloody photo taking. Try to balance 4 packets, a bundle of mail, a PDA and a door knocker in two hands. Then trying to add a pen and docket when they don't answer. Then re-arranging the 10 seperate items in your two hands when they DO decide to answer and you have to turn into photographer of the year while the customer wedges a snarling dog against the door with their thigh. And everything's soaking wet. That's hassle.

[Pidleypoo]

Royal Mail in a nutshell this.

A really good idea on paper but in practice , awfully thought out and implemented.

I keep telling my managers that as soon as people have to pay for it again , you’ll not see any.

[kazardaimenu]

Surprised (not surprised) we haven’t had any type of training on this and they just brought it in quietly without letting us know what the customer is actually booking and what to do with Misbooked or additional parcels (scrap the workplace coach allowance). One customer left a note that there was one in their bin for me to collect but it wasn’t registered on my pda. Lucky I hadn’t cut off by then.

[norris9]

4) Decide which one of the pile of 5+ unlabelled packages on your shop counter is the one you want collected so you don't have to "phone your boss" and keep the postie waiting 5 minutes and then after failing to contact them give up.
5) Don't mess your collection up and then ask the postie if he can "come back later".

Some customers either think we are like Postman Pat and have all day to hang around or they are just selfish keeping us waiting so they can resolve their screw up.

Like I say - being stuck at someone's door for 5 minutes is time well wasted.....I could clear a block of flats in that time, but instead I'm bringing that bundle back.

[Kooyong]

The pda shows whether they are small/medium packets and the weight of them, it would be more useful if it had the dimensions of the parcel as well. Had one saying small parcel 0.25kg. couldn't fit it in my trolley it was about 1.5 metres long.

[Kenfandango]

The pda shows whether they are small/medium packets and the weight of them, it would be more useful if it had the dimensions of the parcel as well. Had one saying small parcel 0.25kg. couldn't fit it in my trolley it was about 1.5 metres long.

Came to say this, had a "small" 0.15kg parcel yesterday that was basically the size of a dog's coffin

[funkflex55]

The pda shows whether they are small/medium packets and the weight of them, it would be more useful if it had the dimensions of the parcel as well. Had one saying small parcel 0.25kg. couldn't fit it in my trolley it was about 1.5 metres long.

Came to say this, had a "small" 0.15kg parcel yesterday that was basically the size of a dog's coffin

I hope it doesn't get buried in the backlog.

[Foxel]

One issue is the website, when you go on to buy postage you automatically have to accept a collection, you can remove it from your basket later but it's very confusing for customers.

This has led many times to turning up for parcels with the customer being none the wiser or saying they took it to the post office.


I have also been stung with the size. One labelled small (I'll walk round and pop it in my bag) it was the size of 40-inch flat screen box. And a medium which was the size of a 46-inch old school fat back monitor box.

[xPandabear1992x]

Lol. We were so hammered with mail and packets the other day that when we finally got through it and went back to the office, i went to do my van check and promptly realised id forgotten the collection.

Dropped my partner off and went back to collect.

No item.

Fgs.