Are Royal Mail becoming the new Evri/Herpes?

[mangocrazy]

Got an email earlier in the day from Royal Mail, saying that an item I'd ordered was 'out for delivery'. When 17:00, then 18:00 came round with no sign of the package arriving, I assumed it would be delivered tomorrow.

At 20 past eight in the evening (20:20) there was a knock at the door and a bedraggled looking lady (it was raining) handed over a soggy cardboard box with my stuff in it, apologising for being late. There was no evidence of any Royal Mail/Post Office branding on her clothing.

Are Royal Mail now employing random members of the public to deliver stuff, in the same way that Evri/Herpes/Yodel do?

[Skub]

Royal Mail have had some kind of agreement with Evri for the last couple of years.

[Felix]

Funny as they dumped a parcel on my door today what would have fitted in the obvious cat flap. Ringing my more than obvious fucking door ball would have been better. What is stating to boil my piss is ordering through Amazon only for Evri to deliver it. Oh and DPD are no better. Bring back Yodel FFS

[Ian]

I found a no delivery card in the front garden not the letter box. I looked around the usual places, nothing. Later that evening I went to put something in the car and noticed a parcel under the car next to the front wheel. I would have driven over it at 6:30 am, WTF were they thinking putting it there?

[Skub]

Depending who the Evri operator is on the day,they have 'delivered' my parcels to random neighbour's houses. My garage has a big fuck off house number clearly visible from the road,so it's not like they need to work shit out!
The helpline is absolutely useless. They suggest you do a tour of neighbouring properties to see if any of them resemble the delivered pic.That's it ffs. So I ended up sloping around other folk's houses,peeking in all the possible places like a dickhead,doing their job for them.
When I see Evri mentioned as the delivery company,my heart sinks. It's a lottery whether you get a parcel or not.

They always deliver,though....just not correctly.

[Count Steer]

I guess most of these services depend on where you are and the people they can get. Our Royal Mail service is tip top - but we know our postie by name and he's been delivering here as long as we've been here I think. Goes above and beyond on leaving parcels in a safe place. (They actually hate taking stuff back to the depot because of the paperwork). Even when he's off I recognise the chaps that cover for him.

He says they're short staffed and find it hard to recruit people with the right attitude. In part because the employment Ts & Cs have been degraded since they became a plc - pay peanuts, get monkeys.

We had the same DPD guy (Graham) for a long time (I think they're self-employed?) but now it seems like a different person every time, as do most of the others although all I ever see - if I get a glimpse at all - of the Amazon people is their back in the distance. Usually I just hear the van leaving and get a 'your parcel has been delivered' email.

Yodel was the worst (they went bust and have been bought ought recently). Evri always seemed to be local women doing a job that fits in with looking after kids, lots of evening deliveries in ordinary cars but now it seems to have changed.

Parcelfarce have almost disappeared.

I'd suggest that standards have dropped in line with pay, vs increased hours and increased daily workload, oppressive monitoring and punitive cultures for not hitting targets. Shit job, shit pay = shit service, high staff turnover etc. It's the modern way.

[Felix]

I was at a recycle centre. The type where the council take your garden rubbish. I was chatting to the lass who sorts out the non recycle items and ask has she found any body parts yet. No but i did find a parcel with new shoes in it. Turns out the Post office thought the bin would be a safe place to leave the parcel

[Mr. Dazzle]

Our posty is a real RM posty - you can tell he's legit 'cause he wears shorts all year round, even when it's snowing He's got a fancy new electric van too. Electric 'last mile' delivery vehicles for domestic runs, who'd have thought that might be a good idea

I do laugh slightly at how much Evri et al lie, given modern tech. Like loads of people, we've got Ring cameras on the doorbell etc. They still claim "tried the door, no-one home" etc. when we can categorically see that's not the case 'cause we have them on camera standing at the end of the path and just chucking the box They just DGAF. Surely they know they can/will be filmed alot these days.

Still....I never say anything to Evri about it, so I guess I'm the dickhead here really.

[MingtheMerciless]

Our old Postie retired last year, we see him whilst he’s walking his dogs and chat and he is so happy to have retired, the last few years the culture has massively eroded with unrealistic management expectations and changes to working practices leading to undelivered post and high staff turnover.

[MrLongbeard]

oppressive monitoring

I stood and chatted for 10 minutes with a delivery driver last month, which I thought odd as I expected the usual 'dump n run' delivery style, but apparently he was ahead on time and his system wouldn't let him scan the delivery until he was in the correct time window

Maybe a system put in place to dissuade drivers from speeding / taking risks.

Anywho, I've never had any dodgy deliveries, help that I WFH and my study / office looks over the front door, driveway and private cul-de-sac.

Our postie is great, got to know her and have a chat during covid when I wouldn't see anyone else for 6 days a week, she has carte blanche to sign for any of my deliveries should no one be in.

[roadster]

Up until a couple of years ago our road had a regular postman who everybody new and passed the time of day with occasionally. Since his disappearance ( I hope he got promoted not fired!) the service has become random and unpredictable. As far as other services go I have had a parcel dumped in the wrong street under someones car and of course the photo was no help. Luckily the owner spotted the parcel and was kind enough to deliver it to me. When I registered a complaint I suggested that the good neighbour be recompensed for his trouble but I think we know that didn't happen! Not bothering to ring the doorbell is another common failing even though I have marked mine with a bright yellow arrow!

If you put employees under minute by minute electronic scrutiny and performance related rewards this is what you get!

[Count Steer]

Up until a couple of years ago our road had a regular postman who everybody new and passed the time of day with occasionally. Since his disappearance ( I hope he got promoted not fired!) the service has become random and unpredictable. As far as other services go I have had a parcel dumped in the wrong street under someones car and of course the photo was no help. Luckily the owner spotted the parcel and was kind enough to deliver it to me. When I registered a complaint I suggested that the good neighbour be recompensed for his trouble but I think we know that didn't happen! Not bothering to ring the doorbell is another common failing even though I have marked mine with a bright yellow arrow!

If you put employees under minute by minute electronic scrutiny and performance related rewards this is what you get!

If he was over a certain age I imagine he quit/took early retirement if it was around 2 years ago. A lot of people with years of service did.

I wouldn't suggest that all was well before they became a plc - over-powerful unions running things at local level (eg sorting offices were absolute fiefdoms), 'Spanish practices', flab/overstaffing at the top etc etc. At the sharp end though you tended to get people that the job suited and they stuck with it. (Wife did a 'walk the job' - literally - exercise with some posties and found that the early start and 'job and done' arrangement, whereby once you'd done your round you went home, suited people for a range if reasons*. She was surprised to find quite a lot of artist posties and others that were very dedicated to hobbies or the free afternoons worked for family reasons).

* I imagine you'd find the same with milk delivery people.

[Cousin Jack]

One problem with Posties was that delivery rounds were agreed years ago, and new developments increased the load on some rounds, sometimes massively, and not others. Then there was the system that Posties could select their round, in order, based on seniority. So the guys that had joined recently got the shit rounds and left pretty rapidly. End result is if you live on a big new estate, crap service. Live in posh leafy suburb with big gardens and zero development, great service.

May have changed now, but it was like that a few years ago

[Sunny]

My Evri bloke, Paul, is great.
Our postie is good too, but not a patch on the old lads who all retired a couple of years back.

DPD seem decent.

Amazon NEVER ring the bell, but as long as they come through the gate instead of chucking stuff over it, I don't mind.

[Count Steer]

One problem with Posties was that delivery rounds were agreed years ago, and new developments increased the load on some rounds, sometimes massively, and not others. Then there was the system that Posties could select their round, in order, based on seniority. So the guys that had joined recently got the shit rounds and left pretty rapidly. End result is if you live on a big new estate, crap service. Live in posh leafy suburb with big gardens and zero development, great service.

May have changed now, but it was like that a few years ago

Still like that with round allocation according to our postie. The older/longer service people get first dibs on the easier rounds. Makes some sort of sense that the young 'uns get the tough stuff I suppose but you could be an older starter.

One thing I'm unanimous about is some things are better for not being a monopoly. Shame they did it (like energy) as a free for all though. (Better than private monopolies like water though).

[Noggin]

Funny as they dumped a parcel on my door today what would have fitted in the obvious cat flap. Ringing my more than obvious fucking door ball would have been better. What is stating to boil my piss is ordering through Amazon only for Evri to deliver it. Oh and DPD are no better. Bring back Yodel FFS

I think Amazon have started to screw the price down to decent delivery companies. A mate runs a parcel delivery firm and is getting less and less Amazon work. Sucks cos he's good at what he does, but can't afford to run a business on what they pay. (very basic comment as haven't asked him all the details!!)

Our postie is great, got to know her and have a chat during covid when I wouldn't see anyone else for 6 days a week, she has carte blanche to sign for any of my deliveries should no one be in.

Mine is lovely. She signs for stuff for me if I'm not there and then will text me to tell me it's signed for and in the post box or that she's put a parcel in the cupboard by my front door Awesome lady

[Ian]

A woman turned up with a fistful of letters my postie stuffed through her door a week ago and a no delivery card for a parcel that wasn't mine. I checked the number on an on line tracker, the photo was just some random shit not a delivery and it's now been returned to sender

Nice work new postie