Priority service suspended

[digital*ghost]

Just been to the PO where they advised priority services are being suspended until June next year, and letter deliveries will only be every second day (PO box deliveries will still be daily).

[lyndal1838]

I just heard the same information from my postman and contractor.

I noticed that the postman only came round here every second day last week and wondered what was going on.

[sandypebbles]

No doubt something else buyers to blame sellers for (or that we are making it up like we are making up about the virus causing delays)

Glad I did not re-list anything on my selling ID 

[curraone]

21 April 2020

As Australians adapt to living under COVID-19 restrictions, Australia Post has been optimising our business to manage the significant disruption and unprecedented parcel volumes being sent across the country.

The Federal Government today announced temporary changes to delivery standards for our business to continue to service the broader needs of the community as quickly as possible.

The temporary relief includes:

• removing the Priority Mail letter product
• adjusting the existing service standards on other letters, meaning Australia Post will deliver letters in metropolitan areas every second day
• extending the required delivery time for regular intrastate letters to five days after the day of posting

Delivery frequency in regional, rural and remote Australia will not change, in recognition that Australia Post is often the only operator in these areas.

Post Offices will also continue to remain open, in-line with health and safety guidelines to protect our people and customers.

We will be working through the details of what the temporary relief means for our business and will update Post Offices and our information page over the coming days.

[porcelain_dolls_by_me]

Priority mail service has generally failed to meet its delivery guarantee for over a month now.

General mail deliveries only every second day? - Will not be any slower than the second rate service we now get.

Reviewed June 2021 - Please AusPost at least be honest this decision is permanent.

[davewil1964]

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@porcelain_dolls_by_me wrote:

Priority mail service has generally failed to meet its delivery guarantee for over a month now.

General mail deliveries only every second day? - Will not be any slower than the second rate service we now get.

Reviewed June 2021 - Please AusPost at least be honest this decision is permanent.

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Makes you wonder.

Maybe very few people are paying the extra for a service indistinguishable from the standard service.

Maybe they know something the rest of us aren't privy to, given the government line is for later this year for the crisis to be over.

I certainly hope their parcel deliveries aren't delayed through to June next year.

As with most, I'm starting to get flak from buyers who don't think COVID-19 has anything to do with delivery delays to them, even when they're on the other side of the country.

[digital*ghost]

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@davewil1964 wrote:

Maybe very few people are paying the extra for a service indistinguishable from the standard service.

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No, a lot of people were paying for it given how quickly my PO went through their supplies and restocks, and I would often get priority letters to arrive to some destinations as fast as express packages would to the same areas (Tas and WA are the most notable exapmples, i.e. the next day delivery network was limited to the capital cities in those states, so when I would get FB 2 days after posting to non-city areas, it was pleasantly surprising).

Plus, I got a lot of feedback from buyers noting the faster delivery times, with some advising the main reason they bought from me all the time was the simple fact my stuff arrived faster than everyone else's. 

For me, it was worth every penny I charged buyers to send every letter priority.... (I'm being slightly facetious, but my postage charges didn't actually cover all costs incurred after fees, so I subsidised it a bit - using past tense as I will have to revise some things tonight). 

[everard6920]

I assume the every-second-day metro delivery will be Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. If it's only Tuesday and Thursday, that's going to be a little problematic.

However, at least there are three tiers for trackable letters now. I've moved to 100% trackable envelopes with my letters (which account for about 60% of all my orders) so I'm not too concerned. As long as I lodge within my handling time, I'm covered for late delivery anyway.

I never used priority because I found that my letter delivery times were very reasonable without paying for it.

I almost always post same or next day, but I extended my handling time to account for delays within the network, and that will hopefully take care of anyone with unrealistic expectations.

[jfmgray]

As with digi, my experience with priority letters has been positive. I have happily paid the 50 cents and I have not had one late delivery defect in over 18 months (sending, on average, 15 priority letters per day).  

[jfmgray]

oh and I hope I can "cash in" the 100 priority labels I am holding