Does stating HANDLE WITH CARE OR DO NOT BEND OR FRAGILE on a pack do any good

[bjlcr]

I have heard that some postal workers take no notice if warnings are written on parcels and sometimes do the complete opposite to what is asked on parcels.A Buyer has asked me to write Handle with Care and Do not bend on her pack.I pefer not to do this but if she wants to take the repondsibility of what may happen .I will do it for her...I alway pack very well and have had no damage to items .

[cathyjoyjoy]

I don't believe there is an official AP position on "handle with care" "do not bend" or "fragile" written on a letter/parcel.  Maybe there used to be a FRAGILE sticker that meant something previously.

Some people might say that noting these on an item causes the handler to do the opposite but I doubt it.

However, there are many very good posties around who will ensure at the very least that a "do not bend" item is not folded for the letterbox.

So if a buyer has requested "do not bend", make sure it is very clear as well as ensuring it is reinforced to make sure bending it is not easy.

[*tippy*toes*]

It's pointless as AP don't offer a fragile service. The best thing you can do is keep doing as you're doing and pack your items well so they can't be bent or broken in transit. If it's something flat like say a magazine, pack it between 2 sheets of heavy cardboard so it can't be bent. You could write it on to keep your buyer happy, but from AP's perspective, it means nothing.

[enigmabear]

I have had many experiences of it doing the opposite

The fill in postie here and at my last place (different town) always THROWS parcels at the front door as if they are a football

I mentioned it to the po who just shrugged and suggested using a courier if it's 'that important' 

[kopenhagen5]

As tippy suggests, to have fragile stickers (obtainable at local AP) it shows the buyer you have done everything you can even if some AP contractors don't adhere to it.

[bjlcr]

I don't think it's the posties that misshandle the mail I think that the workers at the post office sites where the mail is sorted dont handle packs as they should.Even at the post office things are just thrown into bags without much care..I am glad that I overpack even if it costs a bit more

[enigmabear]

I have both seen and heard the postie here throw things as hard as possible. I have no doubt it happens in the post office and while being loaded on to the trucks,too

[davidc4430]

about a year ago there was a youtube video that went wild showing some delivery persons throwing mail/boxes into a delivery truck, these guys worked (not any more thanks to the video) for one of the big delivery companys. no mater what we sellers do, what we write on our packages there will allways be brain dead morons in the system that think 'fragile' means 'wont it be funny when i kick the carp out of this box, tee hee arnt i funny. but with the WWWeb sometimes they get caught cos everyone has a camera with them these days and before you know it its on youtube.

[robinsonmarineparts]

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@bjlecr wrote:

I have heard that some postal workers take no notice if warnings are written on parcels and sometimes do the complete opposite to what is asked on parcels.A Buyer has asked me to write Handle with Care and Do not bend on her pack.I pefer not to do this but if she wants to take the repondsibility of what may happen .I will do it for her...I alway pack very well and have had no damage to items .

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IMO you should do as the buyer asks, that way the buyer can't come back at you.

[mbselections00]

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@enigmabear wrote:
I have both seen and heard the postie here throw things as hard as possible. I have no doubt it happens in the post office and while being loaded on to the trucks,too

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A bit off topic, sorry, but for years we have suffered at the hands of one such postie.  If it's labelled 'Do Not Bend' he always folds it in half to put it in the letterbox.  He also never placed anything at the front door - just hurled them across the patio as he flew past on his bike and tore back off down the driveway (we live on small acreage).  I was inside one afternoon and heard a windchime go berserk, thought to myself oh no, a bird must have flown into it, then a huge thud !  Mmmm well that's some big bird, better investigate !  Aaah, there goes the postie, heading off down the driveway. Windchime in tatters & a parcel on patio.  I mentioned it to my local PO staff , who advised it best not to complain as he's a very vindictive man & if you put in an official complaint it is NOT anonymous - the postie is told who complained &  the exact nature of the complaint.

Yesterday, toot toot, oh must be a courier delivery, off to the door I go.  Hi, I'm Sue, I'm the postie's daughter & as of this week, I will be your new parcel delivery person.  Strange, I said, I thought our postie only had a son.  Oh NOOOOO, she exclaimed, he's not my dad !  He's gone, (told his services were no longer required) you will love my dad - he's been a postie for years and I'm now working with him !  She is delightful.

So I guess the moral is, like in any work place, there are the good and the bad, honest and dishonest, some with a good sense of humour, some with warped and those with none at all.

Likewise, I would pack with care as usual (maybe a little extra padding to cover the not always so good postal system) and follow the buyers instructions for labelling - perhaps she knows her postie !