Australia Post delaying items - 2 weeks for intrastate delivery?!?!

[manatee_music]

Is anyone else having problems with Australia Post lately? I am being inundated with "where's my CD?" messages from customers. Deliveries that used to arrive in a day or 2 are now taking 2 weeks or more, even in Victoria or metro Melbourne. Their standards dropping seemed to coincide with their price rises.

[englishrosegardens]

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@digital*ghost wrote:

It seems I may be one of the lucky ones....for now, anyway.

I'm in Adelaide, and send 100-150 large letters a week, only a fraction of which are registered, but all have priority stickers, and I've only had one INR in recent times, which was actually moderately suspect (the buyer's behaviour was, I mean). (Anything over 250g that I want tracking on goes as a parcel, since a registered, priority letter at that weight is minimum $8.70, if the reg. labels are bought in bulk). 

A lot of my orders go to VIC an QLD, too, but the only thing I would do any differently than to other sellers is - at the end of the day - purely cosmetic and certainly wouldn't influence AP delivery times. 

My local PO staff have told me that there are two services head office want to get rid of entirely - letters, and paying bills (in store, that is - one of the reasons they campaigned so much to get people using My Post was because they want as many people as possible paying their bills via that facility rather than in store, because that way they still get the commission without the expense incurred). 

But, obviously, letters is of primary concern here.... If I didn't know better (and hey, maybe I don't 😄 ) I'd say it seems like they resent still having to accept and deliver them so are deliberately stuffing things around - they would know that a high percentage of large letter mail is business mail, and a high percentage of large letter business mail contains products purchased online, so what better way to get sellers using their "more profitable" parcel service than to make the alternative unviable, by any means necessary. Might sound a bit out there, but I have zero trust in corporate AP's ethics these days. 

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I use prepaid registered letters that cost $6.50 each, or $6.18 if you buy a pack of 10, and $5.85 each if you buy 50 at a time.  Beats parcel post any time and insurance is included.  I'm sure priority could be added, just as you can put a rego sticker on an ordinary prepaid envelope.  I find reg'd letters generally only take a day longer than normal mail, but I don't post heaps of them.

If they're trying so hard to make large letters unviable, why do they offer such good rates on prepaid letters?  I suppose at least they don't need to process one at a time when you post them (except for date stamping them) and it's all done in bulk when you purchase them.

I'm not trying to argue with you, but if they deliberately delay letters they're punishing themselves as well as everyone else, by having heaps of mail everywhere and not being able to move.  While the powers that be may not like having to deliver letters, I think most post offices would prefer to clear the decks as often as they can so they're not tripping over mail all day.

[digital*ghost]

All of the items I want to send as registered letters wouldn't suit AP's pre-paid envelopes. Most go in rigid mailers for protection, while padded mailers are ok for a few, but AP's regs and recommendations are that flexible items only go in paper envelopes, to keep them suitable for the sorting machines, so I err on the side of compliance in that regard.

I don't mind if my "theory" is disputed, or shot down in flames, 😄 I didn't mean it as a conspiracy theory I took seriously....

But, at the same time, one could put that any business that does not address serious problems like this is making a deliberate decision to sabotage themselves and anyone who use the service. Addressing the problem can take several different forms - anywhere from acknowledging its existance and making customers aware, to implementing measures to eradicate it. AP are - seemingly - currently doing neither.

[x3n0m]

AP are - seemingly - currently doing neither.

They are behaving exactly like all the other corporate rorters busily deconstructing industry in Australia .. basically we are being shut down and very soon little opportunity will exist aside from criminal activity . the jails were built over a decade ago to cope with the heightened demand .. most prisons in Australia are run for profit by American security companies contracted to the Australian government (who builds these prisons with public money) .. this is the end game and they will profit from you all the way through your demise and apparent rehabilitation then in all likllihood you will be forced to suckle the government teat and in return your demented new mommy will accuse you of leaning and bludging whilst mean spirited employers are given a free hand to belt you about the head routinely .. this is the new economy .. welcome .. it will have a big cherry on top and say Australia is open for business ..

[englishrosegardens]

I wasn't aware that you use rigid mailers, though I knew that you post stuff that probably needs some sort of protection. I use cardboard to protect the odd item but I don't need it very often so it's easy to keep up the supply, and I know that it takes up part of the 2cms. My PO saves me all their cereal boxes.

I think a lot of the problems with AP is that the powers that be are out of touch with those on the ground, so to speak. Sometimes things have to get really bad before something is done about it. Perhaps we should all complain to our MPs rather than to the ombudsman.

Too many businesses these days go for the short fix and in the process they kill the goose that lays the golden eggs. An example of this is the shop that focuses on profit at the expense of customer service - eventually the customers will disappear and profits will fall again.

[*tippy*toes*]

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@englishrosegardens wrote:
I wasn't aware that you use rigid mailers, though I knew that you post stuff that probably needs some sort of protection. I use cardboard to protect the odd item but I don't need it very often so it's easy to keep up the supply, and I know that it takes up part of the 2cms. My PO saves me all their cereal boxes.

I think a lot of the problems with AP is that the powers that be are out of touch with those on the ground, so to speak. Sometimes things have to get really bad before something is done about it. Perhaps we should all complain to our MPs rather than to the ombudsman.

Too many businesses these days go for the short fix and in the process they kill the goose that lays the golden eggs. An example of this is the shop that focuses on profit at the expense of customer service - eventually the customers will disappear and profits will fall again.

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It's not just AP, the health system is the same. Well, it is in NSW anyway. A good friend of mine is an OR nurse and she said patients are the lowest priority. It makes her sad because she's from the old school where the patients were number 1. These days it's all about numbers. She is regularly being asked to "fudge the books" to make the department look good in the eyes of management. Most of the staff meetings are about kpi's, numbers, times, budgets, performance, the patients no longer matter. As soon as one is wheeled in, they no longer matter. It's all about how quickly they can get the next one in.

They paid some company millions to come in and see how performance could be improved. She comes home from work absolutely knackered every day, often working overtime and this company suggested pushing them even harder. She's at the point where she's going to leave because she's become very jaded. She does what she does because she loves it and she's very good at what she does. Management have no idea and don't care. All they care about is pie charts and graphs.

This friend is the one who collects boxes and packaging for me. She brought me some over tonight and had a big unload. They now have a wall of shame where staff, including doctors, are shamed in the form of pie charts, graphs and percentages over performance. It could be something as simple as a surgeon arriving 5 minutes late because he was attending an emergency. It doesn't matter that he was saving someone's life, all they care about is that he's now wrecked their numbers. It's quite sad.

I reckon there would be plenty of other government organisations that are the same, probably non government too. Sometimes there's a lot to be said for working for yourself!

[lyndal1838]

All very well to say work for yourself Tippy but you need to pick your job.

Choose to be a contractor to Australia Post in any of it's incarnations and colours (Red or Blue) and you will be screwed as hard as AP can screw and cop abuse from customers for things that are not your fault and over which you have no control.

[*tippy*toes*]

That's very true Lyndal. Even though they are a self employeed contractor, they are contracted to a large organisation that doesn't give a toss about the workers or the daily runnings. It's all about the profits, performance, pie charts and graphs. The more the suits at the top push themselves further up the ladder with regular increases in income, the more screwed the important people near the bottom are. The very people that keep the organisation running and generate the profits for them.

[badal20007]

A lot of complains from my customers that they didnt recieve the item and i have refunded so many people i dont know what is hapening with Au post. and they dont give a satisfactory reply too.extremely disappointed.

[spottymeg53]

I spoke with my Postie yesterday and asked if he had any idea why postage was taking so long to be delivered? His reply was it seems like AP are trying to get rid of Contractors and the normal Postie now has to deliver more parcels rather than letters so the letters get left behind.. This morning my local courier (Contractor with Star Track) delivered a parcel and I told him what the postie told me, he informed me that it has been going on for months and there seems nothing can be done about it. He also told me there is worse to come what he meant I have no idea.

[ameliardcottage]

I'm wondering if it has anything to do with the Newell highway beig closed for the last 6 weeks after the floods.It is the main transport link between southern states and QLD,. Closed from Forbes to West Wyalong. Of course this has nothibg to do with local or intrastate mail. Just Australia Post being there usual slack selves.