Australia Post not attempting to deliver the smaller parcels

[amber-eyed-girl]

Today I received a card for a registered small parcel. I was home and had heard the postie's bike.

Seeing the card, I waited by the letterbox for him to drive back past on his normal route, and asked him for my parcel.

He said he didn't have it, it was at the post office.

Explains why he didn't stop and try to get a signature.

This happened to anyone else? Or more cards when people are at home?

It would be hard to know unless one catches the postie...but that's not a good thing, is it...not what one expects, or the sender pays for.

If this is what AP is now doing, it will be a pest for a lot of people, and if they miss the cards, could lead to unwarranted hassle for sellers too.

[lyndal1838]

Digi, I said that the postie was hesitant, not that he did not know how to use it.   It was the very first week that he had the scanner and we had been using it for some time.  Like any new electronic device, proficiency come with use.  Couriers use their scanners a lot more than a postie does so it stood to reason that I was quicker than he was.

As for the post office staff...again, proficiency comes with use.  Couriers scan everything they deliver....between 70 and 140 parcels a day for most of the year.  Yes, there are glitches and occasionally you just have to give up as something will not scan no matter what you do.  It does not happen often, but it can be entered manually so there should not be any excuse for not getting the information into the system.

[lyndal1838]

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@bookmanx500 wrote:

Aust Post signed a contract with Telstra in October to supply a new scanner, Motorola M2M.
That was to be used by all posties, when they introduced the >500gm parcel deliveries.
so maybe their is some problem with these.

They are also under time pressure to finish their delivery round by a certain time.

Barrie

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If AP is using Motorola now then that could indeed be the problem.  Aae/Startrack got rid of Motorola some time ago as they were not considered as good as what they have now.

Couriers are also under time pressure...deliveries in the Sydney CBD are supposed to be finished before lunchtime.  My postie rarely comes before mid afternoon and he certainly does not deliver 70+ items that need scanning/signing for.

[digital*ghost]

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@lyndal1838 wrote:

Digi, I said that the postie was hesitant, not that he did not know how to use it.   It was the very first week that he had the scanner and we had been using it for some time.  Like any new electronic device, proficiency come with use.  Couriers use their scanners a lot more than a postie does so it stood to reason that I was quicker than he was.

As for the post office staff...again, proficiency comes with use.  Couriers scan everything they deliver....between 70 and 140 parcels a day for most of the year.  Yes, there are glitches and occasionally you just have to give up as something will not scan no matter what you do.  It does not happen often, but it can be entered manually so there should not be any excuse for not getting the information into the system.

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Like I said, I don't know how true it is, re: being too hard to use/not knowing how, but it has been mentioned on the boards before and I know AP are relatively notorious for not providing training on new technology, plus having seen some of the problems with using it I know that they can take a bit of time to go through alll the necessary motions - it's been a long time since I had a registered letter delivered to my home, but I do recall just having a bit of paper for me to sign at one stage, which required no fiddling or input on their behalf so it seems like a reasonable thing (in some ways) for a postie to decide the time and hassle of the device is not worth it.

[amber-eyed-girl]

Maybe in my job I should decide that if something's a bit fiddly, or I don't have the time for it, I can just not do it 🙂

Like having to work three cases over Christmas, what was I thinking.

oh, hang on a minute, that would be letting people down.

Rather than

1. ask someone how that difficult thing is done i.e. ask for some training on the equipment I'd be using every day, if that was the issue

2. find a job I had the skills to manage

so...if the scanners have recently changed, it is understandable there will be a training period while everyone gets acquainted with them.

But leaving the mail at the post office rather than actually delivering it, is not what the service is meant to be.

Whatever the issue. Be interesting to see if that's the standard practice from now on.

I pay for registered to try to ensure I receive my parcels at all, because there is some accountability.

Not so I have to collect the mail and do their job for them.

They can do this because it's basically a monopoly 🙂

[amber-eyed-girl]

Lyndal, it's lovely that you're nice to your postie.

So am I, oddly enough. But I don't expect being polite and friendly, asking after their holidays and children etc., and treating a snakebite to make a difference in the service.

If they're keen to do a good job, they'll do it 🙂

It wasn't the postie's decision, but the post office, to card.

[amber-eyed-girl]

if it continues, it might be a way for AP to encourage more people to use their collection lockers, as the post offices have regular business hours to collect, but the lockers are all the time. That would reduce the load they have to deliver, but how would that affect AP couriers payments? Not good for them if their deliveries drop.

[digital*ghost]

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With the advent of the digital mail boxes, standard letter services might (eventually) be a thing of the past. As it is, I receive paper bills for a very small percentage of the (far too many  ) bills I get, and most of the other letters that would once have arrived by post are now digital alerts, emails, notices in customer accounts, or text messages, with the bulk of my mail now made up of physical items (if 3D printers ever become standard home appliances, even much of that might phase out, they reckon they can even print pharmaceuticals  ). 

I have the PO box (@$100 per year) for security and convenience, plus it saves giving out my home address to every customer, and ultimately it saves me the worry of missed deliveries (except when services are used which are non-deliverable to PO boxes), as well as the expense of registered for the purpose of ensuring it isn't stolen from my letterbox/doorstep (I sometimes request SOD / insurance if it isn't offered when the contents are of high - $100+ - value). I do have to generally collect during business hours as half the stuff won't fit, and even though it's a minimum 1-hour round trip for me, I'm there almost every day by necessity anyway, so for me it's pretty much win-win and AP probably think so too. 

[amber-eyed-girl]

The nearest collection point for me would be a 20 minute drive; the post office is a 20 minute walk one way. But shut on the weekend.

Snakebitten postie fine by the way 🙂

[lyndal1838]

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@amber-eyed-girl wrote:
Lyndal, it's lovely that you're nice to your postie.

So am I, oddly enough. But I don't expect being polite and friendly, asking after their holidays and children etc., and treating a snakebite to make a difference in the service.

If they're keen to do a good job, they'll do it 🙂

It wasn't the postie's decision, but the post office, to card.

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My postie started on this run in the January so his first Christmas gift was 11 months later.....a Thank You for 11 months of exemplary service, not a bribe to provide it in the first place.

And I can see nothing wrong with having a chat with the postie when I see him.....he is the same age as my children, was bought up in the same area and has friends/acquaintances in common.

And shock-horror I have even been known to offer him a cold drink on a hot day if I see him....although I can go weeks without setting eyes on him.

[lyndal1838]

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@amber-eyed-girl wrote:
if it continues, it might be a way for AP to encourage more people to use their collection lockers, as the post offices have regular business hours to collect, but the lockers are all the time. That would reduce the load they have to deliver, but how would that affect AP couriers payments? Not good for them if their deliveries drop.

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I would be furious if I had to go anywhere to collect my mail on a regular basis.  We are not that far from our local Post Office...years ago I would walk down there to collect something that had been carded without thinking twice about it.  But 40 years later and knee and hip problems becoming more painful...I doubt that I could even get there let alone home again carrying parcels.

I have to rely on my OH collecting carded items on Saturday morning but I am sure the PO staff would not like a whole week's worth of my mail taking over the whole PO.

BTW Amber, forcing people to pick up their own mail would not impact on the AP couriers very much, but it would put posties out of a job as well as the subcontractors who now deliver your parcels from the local delivery centre.

AP Couriers are a seperate section again and deal mainly with bulk deliveries, not the day to day deliveries of your parcels from the local delivery centre.