ebay customers

[toyraman]

Our branch has only 3 counters. If we have 2 ebay customers with more than 20 packets each to send, it blocks 2 windows for at least 20 min. Are we allowed to refuse the transaction at the busiest time? or what other choice do we have as a branch, if any?

[subbie]

Most Postmasters, will do an estimate of the weekly postage value each ebayer spends, then you ask the ebayer if they would like to just dump their postal items without the need to queue, or to have to stand at the counter whilst you deal with their stuff?

Most sane ebayers will say yes please, so then you ask them to leave a cash deposit with you to the value of a weeks worth of postage,they leave the postings with you, you process them during quiet periods, and take the amount owed to POL from the customers deposit and settle , keep the customers receipts safe and arrange a day when they can come in to collect receipts and to top up their account. Only deal in cash, its less complicated, this system works if you already know the ebayer reasonably well.


POL have their own scheme called drop and go.

Dont complain about the queues ebayers cause, the income you get for one posting of 20 items is worth more than 20 other customers just wanting their POCA or other low fee paying transactions, that's the nature of the pay system, we have to watch out for those who will earn us the most or go bust.

Subbie

[TFL001]

Got to agree with subbie! .. bad ideas to loose any business the way things are going ! Get to know your customer and let them leave money and they can come back later that day or when you have done them ... We have customers leave there bank card to pay for the transaction at the end ... Cash is the best option! ... Also order recorded books so that the customer can write the address out ready for you speeds the Que up and use the 'bulk' button on the horizon system this will produce a print out of all the customer barcodes ! If you want me to get the order number for the recorded book then I will for you ... Hope this helps works great in are office

[toyraman]

thanks very much.

[twaffler]

Quick question on eBay stuff....

I've had a PM complain vociferously to me when taking pre-printed RM parcels to his office that he didn't get paid for them because I printed the labels online via eBay and he then had to scan them through the system (they were all either Special or Recorded). He wanted me to just address them and take them to the office so he could run them though the system, which would have been fair enough except he was a proper charmer about it - "If you're daft enough to waste your paper and ink printing the labels" so I've never been back.

Never had this mentioned at any other PO, was wondering if it was true or not ref the office not getting revenue for pre-printed Recorded/Special items, seems harsh if it's right?

[newsubbie]

Quick question on eBay stuff....

I've had a PM complain vociferously to me when taking pre-printed RM parcels to his office that he didn't get paid for them because I printed the labels online via eBay and he then had to scan them through the system (they were all either Special or Recorded). He wanted me to just address them and take them to the office so he could run them though the system, which would have been fair enough except he was a proper charmer about it - "If you're daft enough to waste your paper and ink printing the labels" so I've never been back.

Never had this mentioned at any other PO, was wondering if it was true or not ref the office not getting revenue for pre-printed Recorded/Special items, seems harsh if it's right?

It does massively impact our pay yes. We earn a fee for printing a label (i.e. selling the postage) and a fee for accepting the item. He'd still earn the second element, but nothing for the first (which is the larger part). You have to understand that the pay we're talking about is so derisory that having the larger portion of it removed means we are left with pennies...literally.

I've never been rude to anyone about it, or refused to accept it. However, I do politely point out that we'd be more than happy to offer drop & go, or process their parcels over a friendly chat if they'd prefer. I do point out that we don't earn nearly as much with online/ prepaid postage. I am very lucky in that most people realise that it is essential for us to turn a profit to keep offering the post office services in a rural location. However, every few weeks we get someone who turns up with a sackload, and demands proofs of posting (which again, we are not paid for at all). Couple that in with all the PPI and franked post that we have to handle but arent paid for and it's a wonder that most of us are still open.

It costs a lot of money to maintain a business premises, heat it, light it, staff it. People then expect a free drop off service - which is really like going to a local pub with a bottle of vodka from the supermarket. It isn't of course the customers fault - it is royal mail...the royal mail who complain about all their competitor's using their network at their expense...but then force post offices to accept our competitors post with no pay...hmmmm

[TFL001]

Are you 100% sure we have to accept ppi .. my office refused a customer because he wanted 20 bags of second class doing a day he contacted royal mail and they now collect from his business for a fee I think it is about £12 ... And I hope you are using rm speedbulk! :D makes life easy

[subbie]

Customers printing their own postage, coupled with the dramatic increase in account mail PPI etc, all wishing to "dump" their mail onto Sub Post Offices, provides little or no benefit to that Office, nor incidentally to Post Office Ltd, so refusal to take in this type of mail mainly on space grounds, H&S reasons etc will increase.

I have no issue with customers making their mail purchases this way, so long as they understand that they have chosen to "go direct" so it is up to the customer to take their mail "direct" themselves to Royal Mail. AND NOT TO A SUB OFFICE.

This situation is getting so serious that many Postmasters are thinking of charging direct postage customers an access fee/convenience fee for entering our premises to dump their mail, in a similar vein that charges are raised for low purchases using a credit card in many stores, I notice Pay Point Operators tend to do this as well, for the services purchased through the paypoint terminal.

Sub Post offices are our premises, we own them, you wouldn't take a flask of your own coffee and go into a cafe sit on their chairs use their cups and other facilities and then walk out without paying a thing? Would you?

There are other ways ebayers and volume posters can continue to support the Network of Post Offices, speak to your local Postmasters how best you can do this, or contact PO Ltd for a Drop and Go account.

Continue to to go direct to RM, and the PO Network will disappear, the irony is that this then will ruin RM's move into ecommerce and the fulfilment of internet purchases, where to leave them awaiting collection and returns etc

Subbie

[TFL001]

Subbie, will this fee be payable to postmasters them self or payable to pol via horion ? It doesn't sound right and am sure are customers won't be happy about this but its not right we are doing work for these customers and not getting a penny for it ... Rm need to have a good think about this ... Customers should have a barcode we scan for the acceptance and we should be paid by Rm for there work... at the end of the day they are still getting paid for it! .... Wonder if any Rm staff have anything to say about this

[barrowc]

If RM amalgamate lots of delivery offices (mainly into buildings on the outskirts of town) and POL close lots of counters then it does make it more difficult for customers both to receive items and to send them. Many of our rivals seem to be going in the opposite direction - teaming up with other businesses to make it easier to send/receive mail with them.

RM recently claimed to be mainly a parcels company so it seems odd that we aren't focusing on the bits which have the greatest effect on the customers who send/receive parcels

[subbie]

TFL, the idea, and thats all it is at the moment, is for a Postmaster to raise this fee and keep it, unless the powers at be come up with a realistic mechanism to pay Post Offices for handling pre-paid mail items, and this does not include RM paying POL lump sums just for POL to fail to pass on this to Postmasters, RM should take an interest in how POL spend RM money, too much gets "lost in the system".

An ideal way to stop this is by raising charges locally direct with the customer.

Subbie

[twaffler]

Thanks for that.

I wouldn't have minded if the PM had politely explained it in those terms rather than having a pop about it, no skin off my nose to just address a packet rather than printing the label myself, but he managed to lose his office my business.

[TFL001]

Greedy Rm ! .. not your fault your only doing what is easiest for you... (Customers allways right)